1 "Have mercy on me, O God, because of Your unfailing love. Because of Your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.
2 Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.
3 For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night.
4 Against You, and You alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in Your sight. You will be proved right in what You say, and Your judgment against me is just.
5 For I was born a sinner--yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.
6 But You desire honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom even there.
7 Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Oh, give me back my joy again; You have broken me--now let me rejoice.
9 Don't keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.
11 Do not banish me from Your presence, and don't take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and make me willing to obey You.
13 Then I will teach Your ways to rebels, and they will return to You.
14 Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; then I will joyfully sing of Your forgiveness.
15 Unseal my lips, O Lord, that my mouth my praise You.
16 You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifice You desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.
18 Look with favor on Zion and help her; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then You will be pleased with sacrifices offered in the right spirit--with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings. Then bulls will be sacrificed on Your altar." (Psalm 51 NLT)
2 Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.
3 For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night.
4 Against You, and You alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in Your sight. You will be proved right in what You say, and Your judgment against me is just.
5 For I was born a sinner--yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.
6 But You desire honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom even there.
7 Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Oh, give me back my joy again; You have broken me--now let me rejoice.
9 Don't keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.
11 Do not banish me from Your presence, and don't take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and make me willing to obey You.
13 Then I will teach Your ways to rebels, and they will return to You.
14 Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; then I will joyfully sing of Your forgiveness.
15 Unseal my lips, O Lord, that my mouth my praise You.
16 You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifice You desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.
18 Look with favor on Zion and help her; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then You will be pleased with sacrifices offered in the right spirit--with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings. Then bulls will be sacrificed on Your altar." (Psalm 51 NLT)
Hello, Mrs. Kurtz.
Throughout our discussions on repentance, I've learned a lot about God's nature and who He is, and how that relates to forgiveness and repentance. I've decided to summarize some main points.
Justification
I learned that God justifies us as sinners when we repent. This means that we are made right by God's standard despite our shortcomings because of His sacrifice. The world, however, has a different idea. This is what Ravi Zacharias discussed in the article, "Threads of a Redeemed Heart". We make our own standard of what is just based on what we want/like, but in reality only God's standard is true.
Redemption
God redeemed sinners through His death on the cross (Romans 5:6). In a sense, He paid our debt from sin so we can have a relationship with God. Just like justification, redemption is made available through Jesus' sacrifice, if we repent.
David
In 1 and 2 Samuel as well as in Psalm 51, we read about David. God had entrusted David, a shepherd, to be king of Israel, but he sinned. David was a man "after God's own heart" (1 Samuel 13:15), yet he still managed to get himself into a bad place because of sin. David repents and cries out for mercy in Psalm 51. Because of who God is, God shows mercy on David, justifying him. This is yet another point where we can see God living out Micah 6:8 like we are called to do.
Psalm 51
Psalm 51 is a good model for what a person who is truly repentant looks like. David doesn't defend himself or try to cover up his sin. Instead, he takes the blame fully, admitting his sin and rebellion against God. He goes to God with his heart in the right place, asking for mercy. All too often I try to "make my own rules" when I feel conviction. This is essentially me trying to defend what I know is wrong. Instead of arguing with God, I need to admit that I am wrong and ask for mercy, like David does in Psalm 51.
Throughout our discussions on repentance, I've learned a lot about God's nature and who He is, and how that relates to forgiveness and repentance. I've decided to summarize some main points.
Justification
I learned that God justifies us as sinners when we repent. This means that we are made right by God's standard despite our shortcomings because of His sacrifice. The world, however, has a different idea. This is what Ravi Zacharias discussed in the article, "Threads of a Redeemed Heart". We make our own standard of what is just based on what we want/like, but in reality only God's standard is true.
Redemption
God redeemed sinners through His death on the cross (Romans 5:6). In a sense, He paid our debt from sin so we can have a relationship with God. Just like justification, redemption is made available through Jesus' sacrifice, if we repent.
David
In 1 and 2 Samuel as well as in Psalm 51, we read about David. God had entrusted David, a shepherd, to be king of Israel, but he sinned. David was a man "after God's own heart" (1 Samuel 13:15), yet he still managed to get himself into a bad place because of sin. David repents and cries out for mercy in Psalm 51. Because of who God is, God shows mercy on David, justifying him. This is yet another point where we can see God living out Micah 6:8 like we are called to do.
Psalm 51
Psalm 51 is a good model for what a person who is truly repentant looks like. David doesn't defend himself or try to cover up his sin. Instead, he takes the blame fully, admitting his sin and rebellion against God. He goes to God with his heart in the right place, asking for mercy. All too often I try to "make my own rules" when I feel conviction. This is essentially me trying to defend what I know is wrong. Instead of arguing with God, I need to admit that I am wrong and ask for mercy, like David does in Psalm 51.
Dear God,
Thank You for Your merciful nature that You forgive me when I fall short of Your will. Help me to repent of my sin rather than hide from it, following the example given through David. I pray You would help me to do what is right even when it's difficult, and to repent and ask for mercy when I fail to do so.
Dear friend,
Amen! May you have these two strengths: doing what is right, even at great personal cost, and repenting and asking for mercy when you don't. Remember that I continue to pray for you!
Thank You for Your merciful nature that You forgive me when I fall short of Your will. Help me to repent of my sin rather than hide from it, following the example given through David. I pray You would help me to do what is right even when it's difficult, and to repent and ask for mercy when I fail to do so.
Dear friend,
Amen! May you have these two strengths: doing what is right, even at great personal cost, and repenting and asking for mercy when you don't. Remember that I continue to pray for you!
"Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what He did for me. For I cried out to Him for help, praising Him as I spoke. If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer. Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer or withdraw His unfailing love from me."
(Psalm 66:16-20 NLT)
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