May 3 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Psalm 32:

¹Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
²Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.
³When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.
⁴For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.
⁵I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
⁶For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.
⁷Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.
⁸I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
⁹Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.
¹⁰Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about.
¹¹Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.

Devotional

"The wages of sin is death." "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." "There is none that is righteous, no not one." We all have deserved death. Sin must be punished. The justice of God must be satisfied. Is there a way for the sinner of escaping this just judgment of God, and to be received into favor by the Almighty? Yes, there is, but only on the basis of atonement through Christ, who made full satisfaction for our sin. "The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." "He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the right­eousness of God in him."

But we must confess our sins, as David did. "I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin." Just as soon as we sincerely confess our sins before God, we are assured of our forgiveness. Nathan the proph­et said to David, Thou art the man. David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And quick as a flash the answer comes, "The Lord also has taken away thy sin." "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." And where there is forgiveness, there is blessedness now and for ever.

Prayer

If Thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquity, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his Word do I hope. — Let Israel hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. And He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. The Lord liveth, and blessed be my Rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted. Amen.

---

Scripture in Devotional: Rom. 6:23; Ezek. 18:4; Rom. 3:10; Isa. 53:6; John 1:29; 2 Cor. 5:21; Ps. 32:5; 2 Sam. 12:73; 1 John 1:9, Ps. 130:3-8.

Click here for background on Light and Comfort and the author.