“David’s repentance was sincere and deep. There was no effort to palliate his crime. No desire to escape the judgments threatened, inspired his prayer.... He saw the defilement of his soul; he loathed his sin. It was not for pardon only that he prayed, but for purity of heart.... In the promises of God to repentant sinners he saw the evidence of his pardon and acceptance.... ‘The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.’ Psalm 51:16, 17.

 Though David had fallen, the Lord lifted him up ...

 David humbled himself and confessed his sin, while Saul despised reproof and hardened his heart in impenitence.

 This passage in David’s history is ... one of the most forcible illustrations given us of the struggles and temptations of humanity, and of genuine repentance.... Through all the ages ... thousands of the children of God, who have been betrayed into sin, ... have remembered ... David’s sincere repentance and confession ... and they also have taken courage to repent and try again to walk in the way of God’s commandments.

 Whoever ... will humble the soul with confession and repentance, as did David, may be sure that there is hope for him.... The Lord will never cast away one truly repentant soul.” — Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 725, 726.

 1. How can we find the balance between recognizing our inherent sinfulness and need for forgiveness, and at the same time, living like the forgiven sons and daughters of the King of the Universe that we are?
 2. Why is all sin, ultimately, sin against God? What does it mean to sin against God?
 3. What can we say to someone, not a believer, who struggles with the suffering of innocent people, such as Uriah or the newborn son of David and Bathsheba? How do we explain the love and justice of God in such a situation? How does the perspective of the great controversy offer a helpful outlook?
 4. Why would the Bible devote two full chapters to the sordid story of David and Bathsheba? What purpose does the recounting of this story serve?
 5. Dwell on the idea that sin separates us from God as expressed in Psalm 51:11, 12. What has been your own experience with how this happens? How do you feel? How would you explain to someone what this separation feels like and why it’s so uncomfortable? Why is the promise of grace the only remedy?