Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion - September 15th - Psalm 130:3-4

Psalm 130:3-4 If you, LORD, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you. One day in 1738, John Wesley reluctantly attended a Christian meeting In Aldersgate Street, London. He was feeling thoroughly depressed, but during the meeting someone read from Martin Luther’s Preface to the letter of St Paul to the Romans and Wesley felt that his heart was “strangely warmed”. He saw this as the moment when he truly trusted in Christ alone. What is less well known is that, later that same day, Wesley went to St Paul’s Cathedral where he was deeply moved by this particular psalm. It perfectly expressed his experience of salvation through the forgiveness of his sins. The psalmist speaks of the completeness of God’s forgiveness. He doesn’t keep a record of our sins. They are wiped out. When someone has done you wrong, the hardest part is often to forget what has happened, but that’s what God does. He chooses to erase our sins completely from His memory. The psalmist knew that his life was totally distorted by sin. He couldn’t think of standing in God’s presence. But now the door was open to a new life in which he could confidently stand before God and serve Him. This message of forgiveness comes into sharpest focus in the New Testament because it was precisely why Jesus died upon the cross. Through Jesus taking the full weight of our sin upon Himself, He is able to offer us new life. Question How do you respond to the fact that God is willing to forgive and forget all your sins? Prayer Loving God, thank you for Your willingness to set me free from my sins. Amen