Covenant Protestant Reformed Church
83 Clarence Street, Ballymena BT43 5DR
Rev. Angus Stewart
Lord’s Day, 13 September, 2020
“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies,
kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering …” (Col. 3:12)
Morning Service – 11:00 AM
Holding Fast the Form of Sound Words (6)
The Grand Sweep of Salvation [youtube]
Scripture Reading: II Timothy 1
Text: II Timothy 1:9-11
I. Its Beautiful Meaning
II. Its Rich Applications
Psalms: 147:1-8; 135:4-11
Evening Service – 6:00 PM
Scripture Reading: Hebrews 9:11-28
Text: Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 18
I. In Terms of Space
II. In Terms of His Two Natures
III. In Terms of Its Benefits
Psalms: 24:3-8; 68:16-20
For CDs of the sermons and DVDs of the worship services, contact Stephen Murray
If you desire a pastoral visit, please contact Rev. Stewart or the elders
CPRC Website: www.cprc.co.uk • Live Webcast: www.cprc.co.uk/live-streaming
CPRC YouTube: www.youtube.com/cprcni
CPRC Facebook: www.facebook.com/CovenantPRC
Quote to Consider
Herman Hoeksema on Lord’s Day 18: “On the one hand, we are of the earth earthy. We have our earthly house, our earthly body and soul, our earthly relationships and friendships. We are strongly, with a thousand ties, attached to the earth and to the things that are earthly. We do not desire to be unclothed. On the other hand, our heavenly Lord, who gave us his heavenly Spirit and who made us partakers of his own heavenly life, is ever drawing us unto himself, so that we are strangers in the earth, and even now our conversation is in heaven. By virtue of this drawing power of our heavenly Lord through the Spirit he has given to us, we long to be with him and to be clothed upon with our house that is from heaven” (The Lord of Glory, pp. 75-76).
Announcements (subject to God’s will)
Tibor’s mother arrived this past Wednesday to live in Ballymena. She is now in quarantine after arriving from Hungary. May the Lord be with her as she begins a new life here.
Timothy’s new address is 55 Bloomfield Avenue, Belfast BT5 5AA. Please make this change on your address list.
Free copies of the Acts of Synod of the PRCA 2020 are available.
Monday catechism classes:
5:45 PM Eleanora, Hannah, Jorja & Somaya (Beginners OT) – Bible study room
6:30 PM Angelica, Bradley, Josh, Samuel & Taylor (Seniors OT) – upstairs open area
7:15 PM Alex, Jacob & Nathan (Essentials) – catechism room
Tuesday Bible study at 11 AM will meet at church to consider assurance in connection with justification and calling.
Saturday night Bible study will be held this Saturday (19 September) at 8 PM in the church building and on-line to discuss Acts 28, the last chapter in the study guide. All are welcome. The meeting on 3 October will begin a study of Hebrews. To prepare, buy the Hebrews Study Guide (£4) and answer the questions on Hebrews 1.
The Reformed Witness Hour broadcast next Lord’s day (Gospel 846 MW at 8:30 AM) by Rev. Spriensma is entitled, “The Mediator of the New Covenant” (Heb. 12:22-24).
Belgic Confession Class will begin on Wednesday, 23 September. We will meet upstairs and continue with Article 36 on “The Magistrates.”
Rev. Ron Hanko is to preach for the CPRC at both services on 27 September.
Offerings: General Fund: £1,804.60.
Translation Additions: 31 Burmese (we now have 268 items in Burmese on-line), 2 Hungarian and 1 Spanish.
PRC News: Kalamazoo PRC called Rev. R. Kleyn. Rev. DeBoer declined the call to Cornerstone PRC.
Adultery and Murder
Brian D. Dykstra
II Samuel 11
Israel prospered under David’s reign. They enjoyed victories over their enemies and were no longer oppressed by the heathen nations around them. Now it was spring, “the time when kings go forth to battle.” However, David did not go with his army. He stayed in Jerusalem. David wanted to enjoy the luxury of his position. He had had some difficult years fleeing from Saul and fighting Israel’s enemies. He felt he deserved a break. Therefore, he was not with his men on the battlefield where he should have been. This was David’s first step on a path of sin which would change the rest of his life.
The houses of that time and place had flat roofs which people used in a way similar to how we use patios and decks. While on his roof, David saw “a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.” This was David’s second sinful step. He does not fight against the lust gathering in his heart but asks his servants if they know who this woman is. When he hears the woman, Bathsheba, is married, he should have left her alone, but he takes another step on the path of sin and invites her to the palace. The invitation results in adultery and Bathsheba being pregnant with David’s child. David has an embarrassing problem. What will Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, think when he returns from battle and finds his wife pregnant?
We might wonder about Bathsheba’s part in this. How much of the responsibility is hers? She was not bathing on the roof to exhibit her beauty or to see how many hearts she could stir with sinful passion. Bathing on the roof was the practice of the day. Bathsheba was young and she missed her husband. We don’t read of her already having children so she did not have many responsibilities in her home. She might have felt honoured to receive an invitation from her king and was taken by his flattery. Trying to determine some “percentage of responsibility” for sin is not Scripture’s interest, so it should not be ours either. We must make confession of our sin, not try to pass on some of the blame.
David cannot blame God or Bathsheba for his sin. “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed” (James 1:13–14). Our temptations result from our own sinful natures, for which we are responsible. This is a reminder for us that when we busy ourselves in the work which God gives us, Satan has less opportunity to present temptations to us.
David decides to have Uriah come home and spend time with Bathsheba so that, when it becomes evident that she is with child, people will recall that there was a brief time when Uriah was with her. People would think that was when the child was conceived. David sends for Uriah under the pretence of hearing a report of the battle. David encourages Uriah to go home and even provided some good food so Uriah and his wife could enjoy a good dinner as a treat from the king.
But Uriah did not go home. He didn’t go home the next night either, even though David had made him drunk in the hope Uriah would go home out of habit. While his friends, Joab and the ark are on the battlefield enduring hardships, Uriah does not think it right for him to stay in his own house and enjoy the pleasurable company of his wife. David is denied his easy route for covering his sin.
During the time of his trip back to Jerusalem, Uriah had time to think. It is likely he had some suspicion about what had happened while he was absent from home. Uriah was not an ordinary soldier in David’s army. He is listed among David’s mighty men in II Samuel 23. Joab would need Uriah’s leadership abilities on the battlefield. There were many other men of lower rank who could serve as messengers or sources of information on the progress of the battle. He must have wondered why David needed him, specifically, to give a report.
This was another opportunity for David to do what was right. When he realized Uriah would not go home, David should have confessed what he had done. It would not have been easy. It certainly would not be a nice conversation. David knew the punishment for adultery was death. Rather than confessing, David has Uriah carry a letter to Joab, telling Joab to see to it that Uriah died in battle. The condition of David’s spiritual life continues to decline. We learn how important it is to watch over the steps we take on the path of life. When we do not quickly turn away after taking the first sinful step, we soon find ourselves deeper in sin’s pit. Sin follows sin.
The Bible does not tell us the thoughts of Joab. He must have wondered why David would want the death of one of the better soldiers in his army. Joab does his duty for David. Messengers bring a report to David. Joab made a mistake, on purpose, during the battle. He had his men go too close to the city. Archers on the wall killed some Israelites. Joab tells the messengers that, if David becomes upset because some of his men died because of Joab’s careless attack, they must tell David what happened to Uriah. David would then realize why Joab made the “mistake” he had made. It is sad to consider that other soldiers died in David’s plot to cover his iniquity. What must their families have thought once they knew the truth!
David hears the report. He tries to comfort himself, and possibly Joab, by saying that it is inevitable that men die in battle. One could die just as well as another. Bathsheba mourned for her husband. How deep her sorrow must have been for she had a part in the death of her husband, as well as David. David quickly marries Bathsheba so that when David’s child is born, people would think she just had the baby a little earlier than usual. David believes he has covered his sin. Perhaps he even thought he was rather clever in how he used his position in his time of crisis. The chapter closes with the dreadful words, “But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.” We sometimes fear being “caught” in our sin. One consequence of sin is our Father’s displeasure. We should take His displeasure far more seriously than our fear of what other people will think of us.
When we try to cover our sins in our own way, we only go from bad to worse. David’s sin of adultery was bad. His murdering of Uriah made things worse. The coverings we try to supply for our sins are as ineffectual as Adam’s and Eve’s fig leaves. The only covering for our sins is the blood of the Lamb of God, Christ, who would come from the line of David and Solomon, the son David had with Bathsheba. We must believe Christ’s sacrifice alone is sufficient to blot out our sins.
