February 3, 2009

In Psalm 51 David laments his sinful nature and begs God to hide his face from David's sin and blot out all his iniquity. This psalm refers to David's lustful desire for Bathsheba and her husband Uriah's death as directed by David. We read this and say to ourselves, "Whoa! I never did anything like this." Do we consider ourselves better because our sin is not as evil as adultery and plotting the death of an innocent person? Now none of us is befuddled enough to say we do not sin, if we do we are only deceiving ourselves (1 John 1:8) Paul tells us we are no better and all of us are sinful and fall short of the mark (Romans 3:23). So what do we do?

David asks God to create in him a new heart and cleanse him of his sinful nature but David also realizes that the sacrifice God requires of us is a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart. Without true sorrow and remorse for our sin we dare not ask for forgiveness.

So it all comes down to a matter of the heart. Are we really sorry for our sin? Do we truly see ourselves as deserving God's judgement for our actions? If we do that is the beginning of wisdom. "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation..." (2 Corinthians 7:10). And the totally beautiful thing about this is that when we ask, with true repentance, for forgiveness of our sin, God is gracious to forgive.