Today’s Reading: 2 Samuel 24; 1 Chronicles 21; Psalm 51

Then David confessed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”
Nathan replied, “Yes, but the Lord has forgiven you…” – 2 Samuel 12:13

But after he had taken the census, David’s conscience began to bother him. And he said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly by taking this census. Please forgive my guilt, Lord, for doing this foolish thing.” – 2 Samuel 24:10

I am so thankful that we serve a God who sees our regret, hears our confession and willingly forgives us when we have sinned against Him. Like all of us, David was the recipient of that grace over and over again. The Lord gave David this beautiful ability to put his emotions into words, leaving us with so many psalms we can relate to — songs that celebrate the mercy of our God!

WASH ME CLEAN FROM MY GUILT

Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love.
Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.
Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.
For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night.
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.
For I was born a sinner – yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.
But you desire honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom even there.

PURIFY ME FROM MY SINS

Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean;
Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me – now let me rejoice.
Don’t keep looking at my sins.
Remove the stain of my guilt.
Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Renew a loyal spirit within me.
Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.
Then I will teach your ways to rebels, and they will return to you.
Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness.
Unseal my lips, O Lord, that my mouth may praise you.

HEAL MY BROKEN HEART

You do not desire sacrifice, or I would offer one.
You do not want a burnt offering.
The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God. – Psalm 51:1-17

Let’s intentionally praise God for His patience and compassion. Let’s thank Him for His mercy and grace. Let’s sing His praise and confess our sin.

Oh, what joy for those
whose disobedience is forgiven,
whose sin is put out of sight!
Yes, what joy for those
whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt,
whose lives are lived in complete honesty!
When I refused to confess my sin,
my body wasted away,
and I groaned all day long.
Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me.
My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.
Finally, I confessed all my sins to you
and stopped trying to hide my guilt.
I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.”
And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. – Psalm 32:1-5

Lord, thank you for hearing the prayers of a sinner, even when we are unworthy of your audience. We praise you for your plan of salvation — that you would give your Son as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. We humbly come before you this morning praying for you to lift away the burden of our guilt and replace it with the joy of restoration. May you be glorified through our repentance and the cleansing of our unrighteousness. Purify me from my sins and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow. Amen.

This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. – 1 John 1:5-9