The Petition of a Sane Sinner

April 20

(Psalm 38:1 NIV) “O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.

(Luke 18:9-14 NIV) “To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: {10} "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. {11} The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. {12} I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' {13} "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' {14} "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.””

(Titus 3:4-6 NIV) “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, {5} he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, {6} whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior”

Sin is an expensive monstrosity that threatens to bankrupt and devour us. Psalm 38 is not just a testimony to the high cost of sin; it also contains the petition of a sane sinner. Once we realize we have moved away from God -- once we come to our senses, the sane sinner will petition God for help. We realize the desperate situation we are in and call out to the only one who can save us. David kicks off Psalm 38 with the greatest petition a sinner can produce. He asks God for mercy. He appeals to the Lord in a prayer of desperation. This is the prayer of a sinner approaching a holy and almighty God. It’s the wisest prayer we can pray when we have offended our Father in heaven. When we are drowning in sin, “Have mercy!” is the prayer to be praying. We have a great Savior. Jesus is His name. Cry out to Him. Appeal to His mercy. It’s the first step in our journey home. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day