Sermon for Sunday, September 20, 2026 at Unionville Presbyterian Church (BPC)
Old Testament Text:
[Psalm 51:1-19 ESV] 1 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. 14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem; 19 then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.
New Testament Text:
[Acts 2:36-41 ESV] 36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” 37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
Gospel Text
[Luke 22:39-42 ESV] 39 And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. 40 And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” 41 And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
SermonText:
[2 Samuel 12:15-23 ESV] 15 Then Nathan went to his house. And the LORD afflicted the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and he became sick. 16 David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. 17 And the elders of his house stood beside him, to raise him from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. 18 On the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us. How then can we say to him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm.” 19 But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David understood that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.” 20 Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate. 21 Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” 22 He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ 23 But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”
Last time that we were in 2nd Samuel we saw David’s sin being confronted by the prophet Nathan, and then David’s repentance, and even God’s forgiveness of that sin. But despite the forgiveness of sin, it was told to David that there would be earthly consequences, even the death of his infant son. In our text today we have that account of that death in greater detail.
We’ve not had easy subjects in recent sermon passages!
We had from Matthew 18, reconciling with a brother who has sinned.
Then 2nd Samuel on God’s forgiveness of David despite terrible sin.
Then from Matthew 19, Jesus teaching on divorce.
Now, we have in 2nd Samuel, “the death of a child;” David’s own infant son.
A DIFFICULT SUBJECT
And there is no subject which draws up my emotions more than this. It is a subject that I have known as a minister I must handle, and sadly earlier this year I preached a funeral for a child.
And, as I prepared that sermon, I took note of the people in our own village who have lost children. It is a considerable number. I quickly counted at least a half dozen.
And the death of a child brings up BIG questions:
Why does God allow death, even for children?
Is there an age of accountability before which a child is sinless, holy, and therefore heaven-bound upon death?
So this is a difficult subject.
A DIFFICULT TEXT
It is also a difficult text, not that it is grammatically challenge or hard to understand, but that it is a challenge to focus on a central meaning.
1. We could call the central meaning to be that which we noted last time; that there are consequences to sin.
2. But there is also a focus on David’s reaction to the sickness of his child, and then a contrast with how he acts upon the death of his child.
3. Then finally we ought to look at the text as a place to go to more generally for that question of the salvation of children who die in infancy.
So I’ve summarized the passage in three headings: The Consequence, The Reaction, and The Hope.
I. The Consequence
The consequence is “the consequence of the sin of David.” This isn’t the entirety of the consequence of his sin, but it is a great part of it; the death of a child. And it is the death of THE child that he bore with Bathsheba. Notably, the text says “Uriah’s wife.” And so while this is among the consequence that God brings upon David, it might also be said to be “Uriah’s Justice.”
I want to step back for a minute though, because when I preached on the previous passage I noted how SHORT DAVID’S REPENTANCE was. Indeed, it was a simple statement: “I have sinned against the Lord.”
But there really is much more of his repentance shown in Psalm 51. The Psalm tells us exactly that it was written upon the occasion of this sin of David with Bathsheba. And David says: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.” AND MORE for 19 verses, as we read earlier.
David’s sorrow over sin, and desire for God are evident. The Lord has worked in him repentance. The Lord has granted him repentance. But there are yet the consequences of sin.
And that consequence firstly is the death of his child, a mere 7 days old. It may be, as Matthew Henry has noted, that “at seven days old, the child was therefore not circumcised, which David might perhaps interpret as a further token of God’s displeasure, that it died before it was brought under the seal of the covenant.” See, a boy was to be circumcised on the 8th day; dying on the 7th day meant the child did not receive that sacrament.
II. The Reaction
What is David’s reaction to all of this?
First, when the child is sick, David did all those things one might do in such difficult times:
– he sought God on behalf of the child. He interceded in prayer.
– he fasted and “went in” (either to his house or to the tabernacle”) and lay all night on the ground.
– and he had his elders beside him.
– and he did not eat.
Why is David doing all this? Especially, why is he doing this when Nathan SAID his son was going to die?
Well, for one it is a sign of his repentance; he is going to God! That is exactly what one should do in such circumstances. And because David knows of the mercy of God in sparing his own life, he pleads to God to spare his sons life.
But also, David is praying so fervently to God because WHILE THERE IS YET LIFE, THERE IS YET HOPE. [REPEAT: While there is yet life, there is yet hope.]
David hopes that God will not do what He said he would do.
Now, God does not “change his mind.” God never changes. He is eternal, unchangeable. But, from our perspective in the Scriptures, it can look something like change.
Consider, for example, in Exodus 32:14, Moses intercedes for the people, asking God to spare them, and what happens?
[Exodus 32:14 ESV] 14 And the LORD relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.
God knew from all eternity that he was going to relent; so he didn’t change his mind there, but he used the circumstances to draw Moses closer to him.
David knows such passages of Scripture, and considering the idea that “while there is yet life, there is yet hope,” He then reaches out to God with prayer and fasting that God might heal David’s son so that he would not die.
But, in the plan of God – for His own purposes – THE CHILD DIES.
And we are apt to ask “Why?” And say “The child didn’t do anything wrong! The child didn’t sin!”
But we know that Sin brings death; and it is the sin of Adam that brought the curse of death upon all of his posterity. We don’t “DESERVE” to live; our life is not in our control; life and death are God’s decision.
So the child dies.
And David’s reaction now changes. While previously he had been imploring God, interceding for his son, now upon the death of the son, David discontinues his prayers, discontinues his fasting and eats again. He washes up and changes his clothes and then he goes to the temple and worshiped God.
WHEN IT’S DONE, IT’S DONE. The ship has sailed, the bridge you’ve crossed has collapsed; there is no going back. David’s son is dead.
Some things then in David’s countenance and actions have changed, but some things stay the same. While David ceases all of the “rituals” and imploring of God, he doesn’t cease to draw near to God. It has gone from prayer (prayers of intercession, of supplication) to worship; to praise, to honoring God EVEN THOUGH DAVID’s SON HAS JUST DIED!
THAT IS A REACTION! And it is a good reaction. Worship the Lord. The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord!
David surely is a repentant believer. He is showing that! He is following the Lord even through suffering the consequences of his sin.
When his servants ask “What is this thing that you have done?
David responded: You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” 22 He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ 23 But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again?
This explains David’s thought pattern.
APPLICATION: WE ARE NOT TO PRAY FOR THE DEAD
See how David’s prayers cease upon the death of his child. While he was alive, David prayed. When his son died, David ceased prayers for him. Nowhere in the Scriptures do we see a positive example of praying for the dead. That is a bad false tradition that developed in places centuries ago. It is simply not recommended to us, or given to us from God; so we simply ought not to pray for the dead.
Now, if we ended the passage here, it would be quite perplexing, even perhaps aggravating. Yes, we are to submit to the Lord; but this is terrible, serious, and terribly serious business – the death of a child! LORD HAVE MERCY!
III. The Hope
But, praise the Lord, the passage doesn’t end there. It ends with HOPE.
It is good to remember that “hope” biblically is not “wishing” for something good in the future, but “knowing” that our good God will indeed deliver the blessing he promises.
And here, the blessing is stated by David:
“I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”
We might reverse that, because putting the Good News second is the best way to conclude:
“He will not return to me, but I SHALL GO TO HIM.” [REPEAT: I shall go to him.”
That is a profound statement.
David recognizes 2 truths:
1: David himself is saved. He heard this already from Nathan the prophet: “The Lord also has put away your sin.”
2: His child is saved. “I shall go to him” is a recognition that when David goes to heaven, his son will be there also.
And some might think that is only referring to “sheol;” the place of the death. Indeed it is, but it is referring to even more; it is referring to HEAVEN. We know this because David himself is blessed of God; he is chosen, saved, redeemed, and forgiven. Saying then that he will go to his son, this means that his son is FIRST in heaven; chosen, saved, redeemed and forgiven.
That is the beautiful hope.
And remember before we noted that this son was not circumcised; and yet he is saved! We can conclude this: “the benefits of the covenant do not depend on the seals.” [REPEAT: the benefits of the covenant do not depend on the seals.” To say in a more colloquial way, baptism is not necessary for salvation.
APPLICATION: SALVATION IS DISTINCT FROM BAPTISM
Now, I’m a big proponent of Baptism. All believers and their children should be baptized. I don’t doubt that. AND, baptism is a means of grace in which God conveys spiritual blessings, strengthens our faith, and points us to his promises.
BUT, one can be saved without baptism.
Circumcision does not in itself save!
Baptism does not in itself save!
These are signs and seals of salvation in Christ.
And where there is a child who dies before baptism, we are not to alarmed by that fact, but to trust in Christ for their salvation. The covenant exists even without the sign.
David’s statement gives us hope in the COVENANT OF GOD.
It is that covenant, we are told, that is “for you and your children.”
This isn’t just that it is something that will be passed down to future generations later; it is God’s covenant promise for HIS PEOPLE, NOW!
APPLICATION: DO INFANTS WHO DIE GO TO HEAVEN?
And so, believing parents are to be encouraged that their children too are of the covenant family. As David has an assured hope for his son’s salvation – based on the Covenant of Grace – so to ought believers to have that hope in all times and places, including ours.
Such children are salved, not because they are without sin, nor are they saved because of ignorance; they are saved because God calls them his own. [REPEAT]
Now, the Canons of Dort – one of the documents of the Reformed church affirms that truth in its Article 17:
Canons of Dort. Article 17: The Salvation of Deceased Infants of Believers
Since we must make judgments about God’s will from his Word, which testifies that the children of believers are holy, not by nature but by virtue of the gracious covenant in which they together with their parents are included, godly parents ought not to doubt the election and salvation of their children whom God calls out of this life infancy.
Are ALL infants saved? The answer, while some will not like this, is either “No” or “we don’t know.”
Children are every bit as much under the curse as are adults; if some adults are not elect, there is no reason to think that the it is not the same with children. An “age of accountability” isn’t a Biblical concept.
And while believing parents can have confidence in the salvation of their covenant children, there is no similar assurance given to unbelievers. It is more complicated when we come to children of unbelievers. They are not in the visible church, not in the covenant of God. But here, the question requires humility for us to say “we don’t know.” God can save a person if He so desires. BUT, the parents asking “is my son in heaven” is something that rightly only a believer should ask. The unbelieving parents either won’t ask that question at all, OR, that ask it in self-contradiction, not actually believing that there is a heaven. So how can we give them hope that their child is in heaven, if they don’t believe there is a heaven to be in?
Conclusion:
But what are we to conclude with?
WE know the hope of Christ. We have assurance of salvation.
And we have it EVEN THROUGH the suffering, even through the chastening due to sin.
Matthew Henry says of David:
Hereby it appeared that David was willing to bear the shame of his sin, to have it ever before him, and to be continually upbraided with it; for this child would be a continual memorandum of it, both to himself and others, if he lived: and therefore he was so far from desiring its death, as most in such circumstances do, that he prayed earnestly for its life. True penitents patiently bear the reproach of their youth, and of their youthful lusts.
Indeed, our sins are ever before us, and many are those who “bear the reproach of their youth.” The sins of our past, though they are forgiven of God, do greatly affect us.
And yet, through it we trust in God, and walk with him, even in chastening we remember His grace, for we deserve death, but in Christ we have the promise of eternal life.
Zach Dotson: Even the strikes you endure in God’s chastening are from the hand of a loving father, to correct and make you see your error, they are not the avenging wrath of a holy God on an unrighteous sinner.
That is grace. David himself is not put to death. David and his son have the promise of eternal life, by the grace of God.