Oct. 13
IF, AND A TRIPLE PROMISE
"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble
themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked
ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and
will heal their land" II Chron. 7:14
Called by the name of the Lord, we are nevertheless erring men and
women. What a mercy it is that our God is ready to forgive! Whenever
we sin let us hasten to the mercy-seat of our God, seeking pardon.
We are to humble ourselves. Should we not be humbled by the fact
that after receiving so much love we yet transgress? O Lord, we bow
before thee in the dust, and own our grievous ingratitude. Oh, the
infamy of sin! Oh, the sevenfold infamy of it in persons so favored as
we have been!
Next, we are to pray for mercy, for cleansing, for deliverance from
the power of sin. O Lord, hear us even now, and shut not out our cry.
In this prayer we are to seek the Lord's face. He has left us
because of our faults, and we must entreat Him to return. O Lord, look
on us in thy Son Jesus, and smile upon thy servants.
With this must go our own turning from evil, God cannot turn to us
unless we turn from sin.
Then comes the triple promise of hearing, pardon, and healing. Our
Father, grant us these at once for our Lord Jesus Christ's sake.