Ornan said to David, Take it to you, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes: behold, I give [you] the oxen for burnt offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meal-offering; I give it all.
David’s response to Gad’s instructions indicated his true repentance. He left the decision about punishment entirely in God’s hands and did not seek to control it.