Morning Moments

“For goodness sake”

The expression comes from the Bible and is found in Psalm 25:7 which reads, “Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: According to Thy mercy remember Thou me for Thy goodness sake, O LORD.”

This is an amazing psalm of David and is the first confession of sin in the Psalms. It is the second of the acrostic psalms of which there are seven of a total of eleven in the Old Testament. It joins pain with penitence and indicates that one follows the other, and that pardon follows them both which are preceded by pressure. The key verse of the Psalm is verse eleven which reads, “For Thy name’s sake, O Lord, Pardon mine iniquity; for it is great.”

Think about it this way: When we sin, God applies pressure. That pressure may come from Father (spiritually), family (domestically), friend (fraternally) or foe (socially), but TO BE SURE it comes. Then the pressure of the squeeze brings pain (discomfort, discontentment, dissatisfaction, and disturbance). That is Father’s way of leading us to forgiveness. That forgiveness or pardon only comes after penitence (genuine remorse for sin and transgression). The process may be short or long depending upon the attitude of the heart. If one is stubborn, God stretches it out, but if one is quickly responsive, God brings quick relief. True regret leads to reconciliation.

BUT it is all “for goodness sake”. I remember when I did something dumb as a kid my mom would sake, “for goodness sake, son”. Now that’s what I am talking about. The point though is that genuine repentance for sin and reconciliation with Father is for HIS NAME’S SAKE. Mom didn’t go into detail, but what she was saying whether she realized it or not was, “Son, that is not characteristic of the ones who brought you into this world.”

Sin and transgression are never characteristic of the ONE who brought us into this wonderful relationship of redemption, so genuine repentance and the forgiveness that follows it indeed benefit us, but they are for HIS SAKE!

PRAYER: For Jesus sake I pray, O Lord!