Chapter II.
David is praised for the humility of his confession; and three reasons are given why it is useful for saints to fall into sin, and God allows it.
Each one of us sins many times throughout the day, and yet each one of the common people does not think that they should confess their own sin. That king, so great and powerful, did not let the consciousness of his sin remain with him even for a brief moment; but by confessing early and with immense sorrow, he gave his sin back to the Lord. Now tell me, can you easily find someone who is honored and wealthy, who would not be greatly distressed if they were accused of some wrongdoing? But that region, famous for its empire, proven by so many divine oracles, when it was rebuked by a private man for having committed a serious offense, did not become indignant, but groaned, confessing with sorrow for the fault. Finally, the Lord, moved by the pain of intimate affection, prompted Nathan to say: 'Because you have repented, and the Lord has forgiven your sin.' Therefore, the maturity of forgiveness declared that the king's repentance was deep, which had brought the offense of such a great error.
Others, when they are rebuked by priests, aggravate their sin by desiring to deny or defend it; and in this way their fall is greater where correction is hoped for. But the holy servants of the Lord, who strive to complete the righteous struggle and run the race of salvation, if perhaps they stumble due to the weakness of human nature rather than a desire to sin, rise up with greater fervor to continue running, repairing greater battles with the spur of modesty; so that not only is it considered that their fall has brought no impediment, but also that they have accumulated incentives for swiftness. Therefore, if the course of those who are running is not disrupted, when perhaps some fall, it is not a contention of those who mourn, but rather harmless competitions; indeed, many even after one or two falls have won with greater grace: how much more should those who have entered the race of piety not be considered offended by a single stumble, seeing that blessed is he who can restore himself after a fall; since even after death, the gift of resurrection belongs to the blessed.
Moreover, we can understand that sin can also be advantageous, and that the providence of the Lord allows the saints to be overtaken by faults. For their purpose is to serve as examples for us to imitate; and therefore it has been arranged that they themselves should sometimes stumble. For if they had completed the course of this slippery world without being beset by vices, they would have given us an opportunity to think of them as having possessed a certain superiority of nature and divinity, so that they could not receive sin or have a share in guilt. What opinion indeed, so that, having been freed from that substance, it would call us back from impossible imitation. Therefore, for a short while, by the grace of God, those [saints] passed by; so that their life might become discipline for us to imitate; and just as we would accept the instruction of their innocence, so also of their repentance from their actions. Therefore, while I read about their failings, I also recognize them as partners in weakness; while I believe in them as partners, I presume that they are to be imitated.
The apostle Paul also warns (2 Cor. 7:7) that our Lord God foresaw that, due to the height of revelations and the ongoing progress of his works, even human emotions might be exalted in the saints and they might ascribe to themselves and attribute to their own virtue what was given to them by divine operation. Therefore, in order to prevent them from falling into such great prejudice and sinking into the pit of unfaithfulness, the Lord allowed them to be confronted with guilt, so that they themselves might recognize the need for divine assistance and understand that they should seek the leader of their salvation. Finally, Paul testifies that weakness has been beneficial to him, with the Lord saying to him, when he asked that the stimulus of his flesh depart from him: My grace is sufficient for you; for power is made perfect in weakness (Ibid., 9). And rightly he boasts in weaknesses; for he knew that the abundance of virtue caused many even holy ones to fall without remedy. How much more advantageous, then, to have given place to one or two reproofs than to have incurred the eternal offense of the divinity?