Beautiful Forgiveness

I was reading in Psalms tonight (Psalm 103 to be exact) and it just struck me how incredible David's life is. He starts out right, then there is the whole Bathsheba thing. He messed up... bad. On top of that, the prophet Nathan comes and tells David this story about a rich man and poor man and their sheep and how the rich man took the only sheep the other guy had to feed his guests even though he had plenty of his own to choose from. After this, David says the rich guy deserves to die... well, that person happens to be him. So not only has David screwed up terribly (and he already knows this) but now he sees himself as someone who deserves to die. He must have felt like complete crap. I think, so often, we look at the life of David and forget about his feelings. I also think this is one of the biggest mistakes we can make. What his emotions are going through is one of the most important parts of the story. God's forgiveness is huge, of course. But what impact would forgiveness have if David had not been so terribly sorry for what he'd done? So here we see David at the lowest he can possibly be, not feeling worthy to be alive... the worst feeling a human can feel. But the amazing part is what happens next. God forgives David. But there is more. David understands and accepts God's forgiveness. Read that a few times and let it sink in. I think this is one great example of how David can be called "a man after God's own heart." He understands forgiveness and, because of God's amazing capacity to forgive, he can forgive himself. This is so huge! He gets forgiveness so well that after this terrible fall he can still praise God and speak of his sins being removed "as far as the East is from the West." That is the power of God's forgiveness if we will just accept it.

Bless the LORD, O my soul,

and all that is within me,

bless his holy name!

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits,

who forgives all your iniquity,

who heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the pit,

who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

who satisfies you with good

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

The LORD works righteousness

and justice for all who are oppressed.

He made known his ways to Moses,

his acts to the people of Israel.

The LORD is merciful and gracious,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

He will not always chide,

nor will he keep his anger forever.

He does not deal with us according to our sins,

nor repay us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

as far as the east is from the west,

so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

As a father shows compassion to his children,

so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.

For he knows our frame,

he remembers that we are dust.