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Homer A. Kent, Th.D. Allison Arrowood (children) Lesson m aterial is based upon outlines of the International Sunday School lessons copyrighted by the Division of Christian Education of the N ational Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of Am erica. •
Dec. 5, 1954 A Prayer for Forgiveness Psa. 130:1-6; 86:3-5, 11-13 Pointers on the Lesson
Then w e can do more than petition Him for forgiveness. This does not advocate sinless perfection, but it does suggest that we ought to live apart from sin more than w e do.
Helps for the Children When a King Did Wrong Psalm 86
Psalm 130 expresses a prayer for help by one who has sunk into the depths of despair because of sin. The prayer of Psalm 8 6 calls upon God who is ready to forgive and cleanse. The destructive nature of sin, the forgiving attitude of God and man’s need for forgiveness ought to be stressed in this lesson. The Need for Forgiveness Psa. 130:1-6 The psalmist here cries out of the depths of his soul. He realizes what a great sinner he is, how much he needs the forgiveness of the Lord. W hen a person really gets down deep into his own soul he doesn’t talk much about his own righteousness. He sees what is real ly there and how far short he is from the unsullied whiteness of God’s purity. “ Out of the depths,” the psalmist cried. He had had an inward look. N ow he feels the need of an upward look. He realizes that Jehovah is anxious to for give if only he w ill wait upon H im , that is, come before H im in simple trust, not depending upon his own human merit. The Welshman’s exposition of verse 4 is interesting and satisfying, “ There is for giveness with Thee— enough to frighten us!” Therefore in view of all this we should wait upon the Lord expecting Him to fulfill His word as to forgiveness (cp. 1 John 1:9 ). W e should wait upon Him with the same joy and anticipation as do they who wait for the sunrise. The Basis for Forgiveness Psa. 46:3-5 This Psalm in its entirety has been called an ideal prayer. The first portion selected for today’s study suggests a rea son for real encouragement in the matter of forgiveness. God is ready to forgive. The word for Lord used here is Adonahy which indicates absolute lordship and pow er. Not on ly is H e ready to forgive, He is also able to forgive. Adding to the blessing of this fact is the expressed idea that the Lord is “ plenteous in m ercy” (v. 5). Provision Against the Need If w e walk in the way of the Lord as it is revealed in His Book, and abide by the truth, and if our beings are united upon the single purpose of doing. His w ill, He w ill preserve us from besetting sins. for Forgiveness Psa. 46:11-13
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MEMORY VERSE: "For thou. Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plen teous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee" Psa. 86:5. David, the great king of Israel, had sinned! Perhaps you may think that such a great person would not be punished for his wrongdoing. God is no respecter of persons; His W ord says that sin must be punished. A fter David suffered for his sin, he realized how w rong he had been. Psalm 8 6 is the prayer from David’s heart and lips for God’s forgiveness and for His help in living a godly life. How grateful David was that he could say, “ For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive, and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee!” David thanked God for hearing his prayer and for for giving his sin. God’s W ord tells us that “ A ll have sinned, and come short o f the glory of God” and that “ the wages of sin is death.” Regardless of race, wealth, fame, intelli gence, etc., all have sinned! The Lord Jesus died upon the cross to pay the penalty for our sin. W hen we receive H im as our personal Saviour, every sin is forgiven and we are as though we had never sinned in God’s sight. This does not mean that we shall never again sin. A s long as w e are upon the earth we shall say and do and think those things which w ill displease the Lord Jesus. John tells us that “ If w e confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteous ness.” Each day we need to pray for cleansing and forgiveness for our sins. W e need to ask only once, for God has promised to answer this prayer. He not only w ill forgive us, but He w ill give us the strength to overcome sin and re fuse to listen to Satan as he tempts us to disobey God. Dec. 12, 1954 Yearning for the Living God Psa. 42:1-8; 84:4-5; 102:25-27 Pointers on the Lesson The great Augustine said, “ Thou hast CONTINUED ►
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