"For your name's sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity; for it is great." (Psalm 25:11)
What a strange ground on which to base a plea for pardon! One is naturally inclined to minimize his fault, when asking for pardon; among men the smaller the offense the more easily the pardon is secured, and that is why people are so apt to try to hide their sins, or make them appear as small as possible. That plan, however, is not the right one to pursue with the Lord. "Pardon my iniquity; for it is great." (Psalm 25:11)
When we think of it, we can see that the greater the sin the greater the need of pardon; and when we look at the matter from the Lord's point of view, we can understand how it is that the surest way to obtain pardon from Him is to set forth the sin in all its enormity, without minimizing or excusing it in any way whatever. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)
Righteousness belongs to the Lord, (Daniel 9:7) and: "He abides faithful; He cannot deny himself." (2 Timothy 2:13)
The greater our sin, therefore, the greater the manifestation of God's righteousness in forgiving it. "Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief; Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me as chief Jesus Christ might show forth all His longsuffering, for an ensample of them which should hereafter believe on Him unto eternal life." (1 Timothy 1:15-16)
Just because Paul was the chief of sinners he received mercy! (1 Timothy 1:15-16) "What a wonderful Saviour!"--E. A. Hoffman, Hymn: What a Wonderful Saviour, 1891.
Let no one fear to come to the Lord for pardon, because he is so great a sinner; his sinfulness is his recommendation to the Lord. "They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. ... I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Matthew 9:12-13)
The name of the Lord is: "The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin." (Exodus 34:6-7)
Now the plea is, "For your name's sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity." (Psalm 25:11)
If He should refuse such a request, He would be denying His own name. He would be saying that He is no longer the Lord God. You see it is absolutely impossible for the Lord to refuse to pardon any sinner. As long as God lives, He must pardon the sins of every one who from the heart requests forgiveness and cleansing. "God commends His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." (Romans 5:6-10)
Belief in Christ is incompatible with doubt as to His power or willingness to forgive any sin. To doubt on these points, is to disbelieve that He is the Christ, the Son of God. "Him has God exalted with His own right hand, to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins." (Acts 5:31)
Mark, He gives repentance and forgiveness to Israel, without exception, and it was they who crucified Him. To the very ones who cried, "Crucify Him!" forgiveness was preached. Who then dare say that he has sinned so much that he cannot be forgiven?
We are reconciled to God by the death of Christ. "He died for all." (2 Corinthians 5:15) "By the grace of God, He tasted death for every man." (Hebrews 2:9)
Then are all reconciled. There is not a soul on earth whom God does not in Christ count as sinless, for: "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them." (2 Corinthians 5:19)
Whoever in the world, therefore, sincerely acknowledges himself to be a trespasser, may know that he is that very moment freely and fully forgiven. And since it is by the life of Christ that we are saved, (Romans 5:10) it is evidently just as easy for Him to save one person as another. To disbelieve this is to limit the Lord, and to make Him like one of us.
The same One who created the tiniest blade of grass also created the entire universe, and by the very same power. Nothing less than the life of Christ could create the smallest thing, and nothing more is required for the greatest. So to create a clean heart in the vilest sinner is for the infinite life of the Lord just as easy as to do so for the little child.
With what confidence then may we trust in the Lord for all that we need!
This life of trust, how glad, how sweet!
My need and thy great fullness meet,
And I have all in Thee.
--Jean Sophia Pigott, Hymn: Lord Jesus, Thou dost Keep Thy Child.
--Present Truth, December 1, 1898--Original title: Back Page--Psalm 25:11.