May 9 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Psalm 130:

¹Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD.
²Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
³If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?
⁴But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.
⁵I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.
⁶My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.
⁷Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.
⁸And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

Devotional

By our debts, we understand our sins, our transgressions. Only when we realize the greatness of our sin and misery shall we pray this petition, and pray it aright.

What a great and wonderful thing it is that God is willing to forgive sins! But we must never forget: He forgives sins only on the basis of the perfect satisfaction that Jesus has made for our sins. Rather than to let sin go unpunished, God has punished the same in his beloved Son, Jesus Christ. Now all sin is atoned for, "and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin." For Christ's sake God will abundantly pardon. And when He pardons, it is "as if I had never committed nor had any sin, and had myself accomplished all the obedience which Christ has fulfilled for me." Heidelberg Catechism, 60.

"I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgression for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins." And if we have received forgiveness of sins, we shall be willing to forgive those who have sinned against us. What is a hundred pence as over against ten thousand talents? We can no longer look with disdain upon the woman who was a sinner, as did Simon the Pharisee. We can no longer be angry because the father received the prodi­gal son, as was the elder brother; but we shall recognize such as our brothers and sisters: if not, then we have no forgiveness.

Prayer

Have mercy on us, O God, according to Thy loving kindness; according unto the multitude of Thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine in­iquity, and cleanse me from my sin. Be pleased for the sake of Christ's blood not to impute to us miserable sinners our manifold transgressions, nor the evil which still always cleaves to us; as we also find this witness of Thy grace in us, that it is our full purpose heartily to forgive our neighbor. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

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Scripture in Devotional: 1 John 1:7; Isa. 55:7; 43:25; Matt. 18:23-30; Luke 7:36-50: Luke 15:25-32.

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