SEEKING FORGIVENESS

“For Your name’s sake, O LORD, pardon my iniquity, for it is great" (Psalm 25:11 NKJV).

God’s name represents His character and His reputation. Because David’s sin was so appalling, the Lord would bring glory to His name by forgiving David. In examining this prayer, we note the recognition in it and the request in it.

Recognition in the prayer - “My iniquity, for it is great.” According to our verse, the Psalmist recognizes two things: Firstly, he recognizes that he is a sinner - he speaks of his iniquity. Rom. 3:23 reminds that all men have sinned. Recognizing our sinfulness is important in getting our great spiritual needs met. To deny our sinfulness is to deny the truth of the Word of God. Secondly, the Psalmist recognizes that he is a great sinner. The word “great” can mean great in size and great in number. So the Psalmist is saying that his sins were great in magnitude and great in multitude. God’s holiness will convince and convict every person that they are a “great” sinner even if they have sinned less than others. Isa. 64:6 says that even “our righteousnesses are like filthy rags” before God.

Request in the prayer - “For Your name’s sake . . . pardon my iniquity.” The request was twofold: Firstly, there is the pardon in the request. Here the Psalmist is praying that God would forgive him. Some folks feel they have sinned too much to be pardoned of God. Yet the Psalmist is asking for pardon even though his sin was “great.” The greater the sin, the greater the need for pardon. Secondly, there is the purpose of the request - “For Your name’s sake.” This phrase “name’s sake” means something done for the honor and glory of someone. The Psalmist does not ask pardon for his own benefit; he wants to be pardoned primarily for the glory of God. When God pardons a person, He will be honored because it shows His grace, love, wisdom among His many other attributes. Nothing honors God more than the pardoning of sinners.

(Adapted from Butler Daily Bible Reading)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“God does not forget the sinner; He forgets the sin!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Disobedience

In Heb. 4:6 we read, “Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience” (NKJV).

Disobedience is the is the Greek word apeitheia (ἀπείθεια = ap-i'-thi-ah). It is made up of two words: “a” which means without, and “peitho” which carries the basic idea of trust. Thus the word means disobedience, willful unbelief, and obstinacy. Literally, it is an unwillingness to be persuaded, and thus describes the condition of being adamant.

In Classical Greek apeitheia means disobedience and is synonymous with disbelieve, mistrust. Apeitheia is not found in the Septuagint (LXX). It is only used seven times in the New Testament, where it always speaks of disobedience to God and is often shown as the result of or with the connotation of unbelief. In Eph. 2:2 and in Ep 5:6, unbelievers (unrepentant sinners) are referred to as sons of disobedience or those who are the “offspring” of disobedience. Apeitheia thus denotes a willful unbelief and obstinate opposition to God’s will. Note that apeitheia is not ignorance but obstinacy.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – Life would come through faith in the Messiah (Psalm 2:12)

New Testament Fulfillment – John 20:31

Bible Facts About Jesus

Jesus and John the Baptist

John the Baptist was Jesus’ second cousin. Mary (the mother of Jesus) and Elisabeth (the mother of John) were cousins (Luke 1:36). John was about 6 months older than Jesus (Luke 1:36). When John the Baptist declares Jesus as the Lamb of God in John 1:36, this is probably not the first time they met. They were likely together often as children and young men growing up. .

Bible Quiz

At which festival did the 12-year-old Jesus stay behind at the temple?

**Answer to last week’s trivia: When king Nebuchadnezzar looked into the fiery furnace, how many men did he see walking in the midst of the fire? Four men (Dan. 3:24-25)

That’s in the Bible

"Spoil the Egyptians”

"But every woman shall borrow of her neighbor, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians” (Exodus 3:22 KJV).

“Spoil the Egyptians” - The expression “spoil the Egyptians” carries the idea of one ravaging one’s enemies. The word “spoil” speaks of the recovery of property that had been taken away by violence. In this sense, the Israelites recovered a part of their property - their wages, which they had been unjustly deprived by the Egyptians. God’s people were not to leave empty-handed after 400 years of slavery. Later the gold and silver were used in constructing the tabernacle. Knowing that God will right every injustice is comforting.

Did You Know – Christian History

Phillips Brooks was born December 13, 1835 in Boston, MA. He was an American Episcopal clergyman and author, and particularly remembered as lyricist of the Christmas hymn, “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”

As a boy, Brooks’ parents had hymn-sings on Sunday evenings; and by the time Phillips went to college, he knew over two hundred hymns. Many of these came up again in his sermons, and Phillips wrote poems and hymns himself. Brooks graduated from Harvard University in 1855, from Virginia Theological Seminary in 1859, was ordained in 1860, and became rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Philadelphia in 1862.

During the American Civil War Brooks supported the North and opposed slavery. His sermon at Harvard’s commemoration of the Civil War dead in 1865 attracted attention nationwide. In 1869 Brooks became rector of Trinity Church, Boston, where he defended the idea of God in three Persons at a time when Unitarianism was a rising force in New England. Today, his statue is located on the left exterior of the church. Brooks is probably best remembered for the hymn: “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” written in l868.

In 1877 Brooks published a course of lectures on preaching, which he delivered at the theological school of Yale University. In 1879 he published the Bohlen Lectures on The Influence of Jesus. In 1878 he published his first volume of sermons, and from time to time issued other volumes, including Sermons Preached in English Churches (1883) and ‘The Candle of the Lord’ and Other Sermons (1895).

Brooks’ close ties with Harvard University led to the creation of Phillips Brooks House in Harvard Yard. On January 23, 1900, it was dedicated to serve ‘the ideal of piety, charity, and hospitality.’ It ceased formal religious affiliation in the 1920s, but remains in operation today as a student-run group of volunteer organizations. Brooks’ alma mater, Virginia Theological Seminary, honors him with a statue outside its library. A private elementary school in Menlo Park, CA – Phillips Brooks School – is named for Phillips Brooks, as is Brooks School in his hometown of North Andover, MA.

Brooks died unmarried in 1893, after serving as a bishop for only 15 months. His death was a major event in the history of Boston. One observer reported: ‘They buried him like a king. Harvard students carried his body on their shoulders. All barriers of denomination were down. Roman Catholics and Unitarians felt that a great man had fallen in Israel.’

A Little Humor

A church had a great Sunday service. The next Sunday one of the deacons prayed, “Lord, the last morning service was so great. It was wonderful, just unbelievable. Lord, You should have been there.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Sin is not in the deed; it is in the doer of the deed!”