1 Chronicles 21:8 And David said to God, I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing: but now, I beseech you… David was a man who both sinned grievously and repented bitterly. If we have nowhere more striking examples than in his life of human frailty, we have nowhere more than in his recorded experience an example of anguish and of penitence for sin. Witness the state of mind manifested in the fifty-first psalm. We have in this most touching verse - I. CONFESSION OF SIN. This language may be regarded as a model of sincerely uttered confession. 1. It was offered to God. "David said unto God." So in Psalm 51., "Against thee, thee only, have I sinned." Not against society, not against the state; but against the Searcher of hearts and the Judge of all. 2. It was a taking to himself of the guilt. "1 have sinned." Instead of laying the blame upon another, the king accepted it for himself. It is a sad thing when men take excuses into the presence of God. 3. David had a just sense of the heinousness of his sin. He felt that he had sinned greatly. It was not in his view a light thing of which he had been guilty. How can we, as Christians, regard sin as a light matter, when we remember that sin brought our holy Saviour, the Lord of glory, to the ignominious cross? 4. The folly of sin was very apparent to David's mind when he poured out his soul in contrite confessions before the Lord. "I have done very foolishly." II. ENTREATY FOR PARDON. It would be a sad case, indeed, if, when the sinner acknowledged his errors and faults, he did so with no hope or expectation of grace and forgiveness. But David knew that God was a God delighting in mercy and ready to forgive. Accordingly he added to his confession this entreaty: "I beseech thee, do away the iniquity of thy servant." What abundant encouragement have we to present a prayer like this! The revelation of God's character, the provision of a Divine Redeemer, the promises of a welcome gospel, all alike induce us to come unto God in the attitude, not only of sinners, but of suppliants, beseeching of him a favourable reception, and the extension to us as sinners of his clemency and grace. T. Parallel Verses KJV: And David said unto God, I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing: but now, I beseech thee, do away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly. |
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