March 20

Whoso confesseth and forsaketh his sins shall have mercy.—Proverbs 28:13.

HAVE I not only confessed my sins, but have I forsaken the sins I have confessed? Feeling my need of pardon and acceptance, have I come to God, through Jesus Christ, the only Redeemer, praying for mercy, pleading his promises, and asking from him strength and grace, that I may live a new life in Christ Jesus? Is my penitence for sin evidenced by my turning from sin; my newness of life, by my holiness of life?

If thy heart hath been broken for and from sin, thou mayest not only plead God's mercy, but also his justice for the pardoning of thy sin. Show him his hand and seal; he will never deny himself.—T. WATSON.

I confess I have no hope, but that which inspired the dying malefactor at the side of my Lord; and I must be saved in the same way, as freely—as fully, or not at all. Let me be found accepted in the Beloved, and I shall stand complete in him.—COUNTESS OF HUNTINGDON.

When at thy footstool, Lord, I bend, And plead with thee for mercy there, Then think thou of the sinner's Friend, And for his sake receive my prayer! Oh think not of my shame and guilt, My thousand stains of deepest dye; Think of the blood which Jesus spilt, And let that blood my pardon buy.