Read: Psalm 51
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. (v. 1)
I was watching a crime drama on television. The criminal was attempting to get rid of the murder weapon, a gun. He walked to the Hudson River and threw it over a railing. The gun sank without a trace, making it nearly impossible to find. Amazingly, that is what God does with our sins! He casts “all our sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19), never to be brought up again. They are gone for good.
What a relief that was for David. In this psalm we see him confessing his terrible sins of murder and adultery. David knew that God was merciful and forgiving. As Psalm 103 puts it, God “does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities” (v. 10). Because of that, David knew he could go to God in prayer.
This is how it is for us too. When God forgives us, he does not keep throwing our sins back at us. Unlike the criminal, attempting to avoid punishment for his terrible crime, we give our sins to Christ who takes our punishment himself. In Hebrews, Paul tells us: Christ “has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Heb. 9:26). When you accept Jesus as your savior, he wipes away your sin completely. Praise God for forgiveness.
As you pray, confess your sin, and accept God’s forgiveness.
About the Author
Rev. John C. Koedyker is an ordained minister in the Reformed Church in America. He has served as a missionary to Japan as well as pastor of several churches in Iowa and Michigan. Until recently he served Muskegon Classis as its Stated Clerk for 18 years. He resides in Grand Haven, Michigan.
