DN Confessing Your Sins 3/8/2008

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DRAWING NEAR

March 8

Confessing Your Sins

"I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed" (Dan. 9:4).

Confession brings forgiveness and guards God's character.

Confessing your sins means you agree with God that you have offended
His holy character, are worthy of punishment, and in need of
forgiveness. That's exactly what we see Daniel doing in verses 5-16.
Verse 20 summarizes his prayer: "I was speaking and praying, and
confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my
supplication before the Lord my God."

Unlike some who suffer God's chastening, Daniel didn't shift the
blame for Israel's calamity. Instead he admitted that his people had
willfully disobeyed God's Word and ignored His prophets, thereby
bringing judgment upon themselves. Once they were a nation blessed by
God; now they were aliens and captives in a foreign land. God had
kept His promise to curse them if they disobeyed Him (Deut. 28:15).

In verses 12-15 Daniel analyzes the consequences of Israel's sin,
which included her captivity and the guilt she bore for her arrogance
and reluctance to repent.

Verse 14 reflects perhaps the most important aspect of confession:
Daniel's affirmation that "the Lord our God is righteous with respect
to all His deeds which He has done." The Gentile nations knew that
the Israelites were God's chosen people. Surely the fall of Jerusalem
raised questions about God's character: What kind of God would stand
idly by while His people are ravaged and His Temple plundered? What
is the benefit of having a God like that? This, in effect, is
Daniel's response: "God is righteous in everything He does. We
deserve this punishment, so don't accuse Him of acting unjustly."

Confession therefore serves a dual purpose: it brings forgiveness and
frees God to chasten us without bringing accusations of inequity or
injustice upon Himself.

Daniel's prayer came at a special time in Israel's history, but
undoubtedly confession was a regular part of his life. That should be
your pattern as well. Don't wait until disaster strikes before you
confess your sin. Make it a daily practice.

Suggestions for Prayer:

If you have not developed a systematic approach to prayer, the "ACTS"
format is a good way to start.

Adoration--praising God
Confession--confessing sin
Thanksgiving--thanking God
Supplication--praying for others

For Further Study:

Read about David's sin in 2 Samuel 11:1-12:25 and his confession in
Psalm 51. What are the similarities and differences between David's
confession and Daniel's?

Drawing Near, Copyright c 1993 John F. MacArthur, Jr.

All rights reserved. Used by permission.
http://www.gty.org

~~~


Daniel 9:1-19 (NKJV)
1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage
of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;
2 in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books
the number of the years specified by the word of the LORD through
Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the
desolations of Jerusalem.
3 Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer
and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
4 And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, "O
Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with
those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments,
5 "we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and
rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments.
6 "Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in
Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the
people of the land.
7 "O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as
it is this day; to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem
and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to
which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they
have committed against You.
8 "O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes,
and our fathers, because we have sinned against You.
9 "To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have
rebelled against Him.
10 "We have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His
laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets.
11 "Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so
as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written
in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us,
because we have sinned against Him.
12 "And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and
against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great
disaster; for under the whole heaven such has never been done as what
has been done to Jerusalem.
13 "As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come
upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the LORD our God,
that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth.
14 "Therefore the LORD has kept the disaster in mind, and brought it
upon us; for the LORD our God is righteous in all the works which He
does, though we have not obeyed His voice.
15 "And now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land
of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made Yourself a name, as it is this
day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly!
16 "O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your
anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your
holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our
fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all those around
us.
17 "Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his
supplications, and for the Lord's sake cause Your face to shine on
Your sanctuary, which is desolate.
18 "O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our
desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not
present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds,
but because of Your great mercies.
19 "O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not
delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are
called by Your name."

Deuteronomy 28:15
But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD
your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes
which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you
and overtake you.

2 Samuel 11:1-12:25
1 It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go
out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and
all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged
Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
2 Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and
walked on the roof of the king's house. And from the roof he saw a
woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold.
3 So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, "Is
this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the
Hittite?"
4 Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and
he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she
returned to her house.
5 And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, "I
am with child."
6 Then David sent to Joab, saying, "Send me Uriah the Hittite." And
Joab sent Uriah to David.
7 When Uriah had come to him, David asked how Joab was doing, and
how the people were doing, and how the war prospered.
8 And David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and wash your
feet." So Uriah departed from the king's house, and a gift of food
from the king followed him.
9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the
servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house.
10 So when they told David, saying, "Uriah did not go down to his
house," David said to Uriah, "Did you not come from a journey? Why
did you not go down to your house?"
11 And Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are
dwelling in tents, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are
encamped in the open fields. Shall I then go to my house to eat and
drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives,
I will not do this thing."
12 Then David said to Uriah, "Wait here today also, and tomorrow I
will let you depart." So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the
next.
13 Now when David called him, he ate and drank before him; and he
made him drunk. And at evening he went out to lie on his bed with the
servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.
14 In the morning it happened that David wrote a letter to Joab and
sent it by the hand of Uriah.
15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, "Set Uriah in the forefront
of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck
down and die."
16 So it was, while Joab besieged the city, that he assigned Uriah
to a place where he knew there were valiant men.
17 Then the men of the city came out and fought with Joab. And some
of the people of the servants of David fell; and Uriah the Hittite
died also.
18 Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war,
19 and charged the messenger, saying, "When you have finished
telling the matters of the war to the king,
20 if it happens that the king's wrath rises, and he says to you:
'Why did you approach so near to the city when you fought? Did you
not know that they would shoot from the wall?
21 'Who struck Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Was it not a woman
who cast a piece of a millstone on him from the wall, so that he died
in Thebez? Why did you go near the wall?'; then you shall say, 'Your
servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.'"
22 So the messenger went, and came and told David all that Joab had
sent by him.
23 And the messenger said to David, "Surely the men prevailed
against us and came out to us in the field; then we drove them back
as far as the entrance of the gate.
24 "The archers shot from the wall at your servants; and some of the
king's servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead
also."
25 Then David said to the messenger, "Thus you shall say to Joab:
'Do not let this thing displease you, for the sword devours one as
well as another. Strengthen your attack against the city, and
overthrow it.' So encourage him."
26 When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she
mourned for her husband.
27 And when her mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his
house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that
David had done displeased the LORD.
12:1 Then the LORD sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and
said to him: "There were two men in one city, one rich and the other
poor.
2 "The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds.
3 "But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he
had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with
his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and
lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him.
4 "And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his
own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man
who had come to him; but he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it
for the man who had come to him."
5 So David's anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said
to Nathan, "As the LORD lives, the man who has done this shall surely
die!
6 "And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this
thing and because he had no pity."
7 Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the LORD
God of Israel: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you
from the hand of Saul.
8 'I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your
keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had
been too little, I also would have given you much more!
9 'Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in
His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have
taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of
the people of Ammon.
10 'Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house,
because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the
Hittite to be your wife.'
11 "Thus says the LORD: 'Behold, I will raise up adversity against
you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes
and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in
the sight of this sun.
12 'For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all
Israel, before the sun.'"
13 So David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." And
Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall
not die.
14 "However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to
the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to
you shall surely die."
15 Then Nathan departed to his house. And the LORD struck the child
that Uriah's wife bore to David, and it became ill.
16 David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted
and went in and lay all night on the ground.
17 So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up
from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them.
18 Then on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died. And
the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was
dead. For they said, "Indeed, while the child was alive, we spoke to
him, and he would not heed our voice. How can we tell him that the
child is dead? He may do some harm!"
19 When David saw that his servants were whispering, David perceived
that the child was dead. Therefore David said to his servants, "Is
the child dead?" And they said, "He is dead."
20 So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and
changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the LORD and
worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they
set food before him, and he ate.
21 Then his servants said to him, "What is this that you have done?
You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the
child died, you arose and ate food."
22 And he said, "While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I
said, 'Who can tell whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the
child may live?'
23 "But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back
again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me."
24 Then David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her and
lay with her. So she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. Now
the LORD loved him,
25 and He sent word by the hand of Nathan the prophet: So he called
his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD.

Psalm 51
1 Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my
transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before
me.
4 Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your
sight; That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when
You judge.
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother
conceived me.
6 Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden
part You will make me to know wisdom.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall
be whiter than snow.
8 Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may
rejoice.
9 Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit
within me.
11 Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy
Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your
generous Spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be
converted to You.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, The God of my
salvation, And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
16 For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do
not delight in burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a
contrite heart; These, O God, You will not despise.
18 Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; Build the walls of
Jerusalem.
19 Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness,
With burnt offering and whole burnt offering; Then they shall offer
bulls on Your altar.

These devotions are posted with permission from John MacArthur's
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In Christ,



Peter

Peter G. Chase :: Columbus, Ohio, USA
pchase@xxxxxxxxxx

STOP! Who do you think Jesus is?
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