THE VERSE
David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die."~2 Samuel 12:13
THE THOUGHT
Here in David's confession we find the key of true repentance. "I have sinned against the LORD," he said. He sees his sin with new eyes, and looks beyond Bathsheba, past Uriah, to the real object of his iniquity: God Himself. "Against You, You only have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight," David prayed in anguish. It is only when we, with the Holy Spirit's help, adopt David's perspective on our own sin, can we hope for true repentance.Examples from Scripture serve us well as a warning here. Many people in the Bible sinned and then "repented," but only those who saw sin like David were genuine in their repentance. Pharaoh multiple times repented, saying, "I have sinned," only to harden his heart later. When King Saul was caught in his sin, he could confess, "I have sinned."
But it was David, the man after God's own heart, who faced his sin, saw it for what it was, and said, "I have sinned against the LORD." It was the prodigal son who said to his father, "I have sinned against heaven and against you." Real repentance, like David's, looks to God, both as the One sinned against and the only one who can put away that sin.
THE PRAYER
Lord, I have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, in what I have done and what I have left undone. I have not loved You with my whole heart, and I have not loved Your people as myself. I am justly deserving of Your temporal and eternal punishment. But, for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, have mercy on me. Forgive me, renew me and lead me, so that I may walk in Your will and rejoice in Your ways, to the glory of Your holy name.EXTENDED READING
2 Samuel 12:7-13Exodus 9:27-28
1 Samuel 15:22-26
Luke 15:20-24
THE QUOTE
"Keep us little and unknown, prized and loved by God alone." ~Charles Wesley
No comments:
Post a Comment