Later, a time came when David had to be rebuked. He had sinned gravely against God and against his fellowman in the adulterous affair with Bath-sheba. When God sent the prophet Nathan, who by an illustration brought David’s guilt home to him, David immediately responded: “I have sinned against Jehovah.” (2 Sam. 12:13) The fifty-first and thirty-second psalms reveal how deeply David was affected by Nathan’s rebuke. David did not need strokes, only a rebuke to bring him to his senses and to the acknowledgment of his wrong.

If a person who has understanding makes a mistake and it is called to his attention, he immediately sees the damage his mistake can or does cause and, particularly, the strain that it can put on his relationship with God. He does not put on a show of indignation or anger, or brush aside the rebuker, trying to make himself appear right in the matter. The understanding person is immediately affected in his conscience by a rebuke. Thereafter no more needs to be done, for his conscience will move him to make efforts toward getting the matter straightened out if possible. He will also seek forgiveness from the person wronged and from God.