The McDowell times. [volume] (Keystone, W. Va.) 1904-1941, 1940-08-23


GOLDEN TEXT-Confcss your faults one
70 another. and pray one for another. that
ys may be healed.-James 10
II the Bible told us only of perfect
people, we would recognize it as
being not true to life and assuredly
OF no help to us who know our own
sinful natures. The Bible. however.
tells US in all truthfulness of the
bad as well as the good, the weak
as well as the strong, the humble
as well as the mighty.
1t honestly portrays the sins of
its greatest characters, revealing
the heart Of man as 'deceitful above
all things, and desperately wicked"
Ger. 17:9). 1t tells us of a gra-
cious God (when man repents and
forsakes his SIM who invites the
sinner to come and be delivered
from his sin.
The lesson centers around David,
the humble shepherd boy who be-
came king; and in the height of
his glory, being tempted of his own
evil desires, fell into the lowest of
sin, which he then sought to cover
by well-planned murder. He finds
no peace until he repents and re-
turns to God. Three words sum-
Marie the lesson.
I. Sin OH Sam 1918, l4).
That little three lettered word
seems to have the hiss of the SER
pent In it-sin-the cause of all
mans woes and the heartache of q
loving God.
David had tried to hide his sin
and he said, "My bones waxed old
through my roaring all the day long.
For day and night thy hand was
heavy upon me" Cps. 80: 3, ~. BE
sure your sin will find you out"
(Num. 32:23) is just as true today
as 1t was in David's time.
The nature of sin Is described in
Psalm 81, and if we may anticipate
O bit, we note that it is described
by three words: "transgression,"
meaning a rebellious stepping
over" Gods boundaries; "iniquity,"
from the same root as our word
unequal" meaning crookedness OF
heart and Life; and "sin," which
means missing the mark, life GO
ing the wrong way.
Note that sin, while II may bring
sorrow and trouble to us and those
round about US, is "against the
Lord" ". Is and Ps. 51:4). The sim
ner must face and answer to God
for his sin.
Nathan's straightforward dealing
with David brought him to
III. Repentance (Ps. 51:1-3, 9-13).
What David expressed to Nathan
II have sinned against the Lord
is more fully expressed in the
great psalm Of penitence which we
know as Psalm 81. DR.. Wilbur M.
Smith well says that probably these
verses have brought more comfort,
and assurance of forgiveness, and
hope for a renewed life after some
terrible transgression, to a greater
number of Gods children down
through the ages than any other sim
gle passage in the pages of the
Old Testament"
To acknowledge ones transgres-
sion before God is to open the flood
gates OF His mercy, to receive His
grace In forgiveness, cleansing, res
toration, new Joy, and (note it welD
renewed usefulness ". 49,. God
does not cast His people off because
Of their sin, nor cut of their USE
fulness when they repent.
Observe, however, that God did
not permit David's sin to 60 un-
punished. God is forgiving, but even
repentance cannot wipe out the re-
suits of sin (II Sam. 12:l4). God
chastised David to declare before
the people all of His divine hatred
Of sin. To sin against God is no
light and casual thing 1t cuts deep
ly into life, and only the grace Of
God is sufficient TO bring a man I'D
out Of that pit. But there is
III. Forgiveness Cps. $3.50.
How tender and sweet is that word
forgiveness. 1t speaks Of the re-
moval of guilt, the breaking down
of the barrier which sin has created,
and the restoration of fellowship.
Where all had been wrong and trou-
bled, all has become right and at
peace.
These things are true even in the
forgiveness of one man toward an
other who has offended, but infinite
ly greater when the heart OF God
meets the repentant sinner. He 10
80 ready TO meet such a man that
even while he is thinking of con-
Tossing, God sees the attitude of his
heart and forgives. "At this mo-
ment, without sight OF sound that
mortal ear can detect, or attitude
that the eye Of man can observe.
even before the thing is said, when
make up my mind to confess.
thou forgayest the iniquity of my
SIM Do you wonder that when this
man was going TO write q psalm
about this matter, he had to begin,
o the blessings Of transgression
forgiven, and sin covered'?" C.
! Campbell Morgan).
/
Fidelity
II is only by fidelity in little things