"O LORD, I Beseech YOU, Pardon My Iniquity, For It Is Great."

My unstable soul

(John Fawcett, "Christ Precious")

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"O LORD, pardon my iniquity--

for it is great." Psalm 25:11

If men have no inward grief on account 

of their ingratitude to a dying SAVIOR--

it indicates a lack of love to HIM, and 

that they have not a just sense 

of the evil and malignity of their sin.

To think of the love of JESUS 

to my poor soul--

manifested in . . .
  HIS sorrows,
  HIS sufferings,
  HIS agonies, and
  the shedding of HIS precious blood--

pierces my heart, and makes me 

loathe myself in my own sight. 

While I look to HIM upon the cross 

whom I have pierced by my sins--

surely I ought to mourn and be 

in bitterness, as one who mourns 

for the death of his first-born. 

Shall not I shed tears of grief for 

those sins, for which my REDEEMER

shed HIS precious blood.

"Blessed JESUS, how cold, how 

feeble, how languid is my love to YOU--

the altogether lovely ONE.

 Alas, how readily are my fluctuating 

passions captivated by worldly things. 

O, let me not live so estranged 

from YOU. Warm my cold 

and frozen heart--

and kindle in my bosom, 

a flame of holy fervor 

towards YOU."

At some seasons, the believer's 

mind is so oppressed with 

a sense of his own vileness--

that he is ready to sink into 

despondency. In his retired 

moments, he pours out his 

complaints in such language as this: 

"The clogs of guilt, and the clouds 

of darkness hang heavy on my soul. 

What language can express the depth 

of my distress on account of my sin? 

A sense of the vilest ingratitude 

to the best of Beings--

stings my heart, and deprives 

me of comfort. What returns 

have I made for the abundant 

divine favors which I have received? 

I cannot bear the sight of my 

own vileness! 

I abhor myself, and repent as 

in dust and ashes. My life has been 

marked with repeated instances 

of ingratitude to Him who is 

the giver of every good and 

perfect gift, whom I desire 

to love and to obey with my 

whole heart. 

My unstable soul has been 

perpetually departing from GOD, 

inclining to folly, and verging 

towards that which is evil. This, 

this is wretchedness indeed. 

For this I condemn myself 

almost without ceasing. 

My spirits droop, my heart 

desponds, my soul is disquieted 

within me. O LORD, be merciful 

to me, pardon my iniquity--

for it is great.

"LORD, I abhor myself on account 

of the defilement which cleaves 

unto me. Behold I am vile! 

I will lay my hand upon my mouth 

and put my face in the dust. 

I have experienced a thousand 

proofs of YOUR goodness--

the remembrance of which fills 

me with shame, because 

of my ingratitude. The height 

of my folly lies in having so often 

sinned against YOUR infinite 

goodness and love. 

I have abused YOUR kindness, 

and affronted YOUR mercy. O LORD, 

I beseech YOU, pardon my iniquity--

for it is great."

Such exercises of mind as these, 

strongly indicate the sincerity 

of our love for the divine SAVIOR.

   

~  ~  ~  ~

Gardiner Spring, "The Distinguishing Traits of Christian Character"
Chapter 1. VISIBLE MORALITY