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In Isaiah chapter 1 verse 18 we find God saying,
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"Come now, and let us reason together," says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool." (Isaiah 1:18),
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and in Isaiah chapter 44 verse 22, God speaks of the work He has accomplished, saying,
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"I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, and like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you" (Isaiah 44:22).
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If there is anyone who is still burdened by his sin and continues to be troubled by the pangs of his conscience, even though God has spoken to us like this with all earnestness, I would urge that person to turn immediately to Isaiah chapter 38 verse 17 and read what it says.
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"Indeed it was for my own peace That I had great bitterness; But You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption, For You have cast all my sins behind Your back." (Isaiah 38:17)
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What tremendous blessings these words contain! If the sin of each one of us had not been forgiven in this way, how could we ever have been forgiven?
I am reminded of the words of a hymn that I learned when I was only a young child:
Weeping will not save me!
Tho' my face were bathed in tears,
That could not allay my fears,
Could not wash the sins of years!
Weeping will not save me.
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Working will not save me!
Purest deeds that I can do,
Holiest thoughts and feelings too,
Cannot form my soul a new!
Working will not save me.
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Waiting will not save me!
Helpless, guilty, lost, I lie;
In my ear is mercy's cry;
If I wait I can but die:
Waiting will not save me.
But then it says,
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Faith in Christ will save me!
Let me trust Thy weeping Son,
Trust the work that He has done;
To His arms, Lord help me run:
Faith in Christ will save me." 1
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To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1:6)
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In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. (Ephesians 1:7)
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"Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." (Romans 3:24)
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Not only did Jesus take my sins upon Himself, but He also died in my place.
If, therefore, we have this personal assurance that through His death we, as individuals, also died, and through His resurrection we also live with Him, we really cannot help but praise God.
1 Robert Lowry (1826-1899),
Weeping Will Not Save Me, 1867
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