darkest crimes of all history and "shows what
terrible remnants of sin there are in the hearts even of converted
men". Primitive society followed the course of nature in condemning
adultery as worthy of more severe punishment than murder itself. And
"no crime today involves more sudden and terrible consequences in the
individual; no crime is capable of exerting as malign an influence
upon the innocent family and later descendants of the culprit; no
crime leaves in its wake as many physical and moral ills."

The Bitter consequences of this sin soon became apparent. Nathan
brought to him a worthy rebuke and he showed himself different from
other kings of his time by the bitter repentance with which he bewails
his iniquity in the fifty-first Psalm. God forgave his sin but its
evil consequences in his family and nation could not be removed. The
nature of his chastisement is suggested in the following incidents:
(1) The death of his child born to Bath-sheba. (2) Ammon, his oldest
son, one of the pitiable products of his oriental harem, shamefully
treated his sister, Tamar, in the gratification of his brutal lusts.
(3) Absalom treacherously murdered Ammon as a matter of revenge for
the outrage upon his sister, Tamar. (4) The rebellion of Absalom, his
son, which almost cost David the throne and led to the destruction of
Absalom. (5) The rebellion of Shebna and following events, which
almost destroyed the empire. (6) Many incidents in the family and
kingdom of Solomon, his son.

While David must always be judged by the social standards of his age
it must be remembered that his own generation did not hesitate to
condemn his act and we must not excuse in the least this awful sin.
The message it has for us is supremely applicable to our present age
in which social evil threatens to undermine our boasted Christian
civilization.

The Inspiring Career of David. The life of David is so varied and
beautiful that one finds difficulty in outlining any study of him in
the space allowed here. There are several ways of studying his career.
Sometimes it may be profitable to consider him from two viewpoints,
(1) His character, (2) His life after he became king. For our purpose,
however, it would be better to look at him somewhat as follows: (1)
_As a shepherd lad_, where he laid the foundations of his great
career. (2) _As a servant at the court of Saul_, where he became the
object of a bitter jealousy and suffered great indignities. (3)