Yesterday, on the Lord’s Day, I heard a marvelous sermon that addressed Psalm 51- the magnificent Psalm of repentance after David committed adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah. One aspect of this sermon that hit me hard was the tendency to have remorse rather than repentance. Remorse looks inward to the feelings of guilt and shame and gets stuck on one’s own shortcomings and sin. David gives us the example of turning to God, asking for His mercy to blot out our transgressions. What immediately stood out was David’s faith to seek God and ask for a new heart and to be restored to the joy of his salvation. It is truly a gift of God, and it points to the work of restoration God grants to a humble and contrite heart. In trying to deal with my own sin, I turn inward and try to take on the role only God can give through His power and grace.
David shows us how to appraoch God in daily repentance, recognizing that it against Him that we have sinned. Of course the ramifications affect our relationships with others, but our sin is primarily an affront to a holy and righteous God. I pray for restoration as I seek God, trusting in His work of salvation. To Him be the Glory.
