“O Lord, to us belongs shame of face ... because we have sinned against You” (Daniel 9:8)  

When saints have a revelation of the depravity of their sin, its evil nature, and the punishment it deserves, it should make them lie prostrate before the throne of God. Moses lay before God forty days and nights for the sin of Israel (Deuteronomy 9:25). Can you spend one hour? Who among us can look back and say we’ve done the best we could with the graces we’ve been given? Our days before we were regenerated, are forgiven and forgotten; but since then, though we’ve stopped sinning as before, we’ve taken for granted our inheritance in Christ and sinned against light and against love – the light that illuminated our minds, and the love which was poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). 

 Oh, the ungrateful sin of a pardoned soul! The sin of someone that doesn’t know any better, doesn’t rise to the level of the sin of a saint that’s communed with Christ and leaned his head on His bosom. Look at how David repents: “My sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight ... Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation ... You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart - These, O God, You will not despise” (Psalms 51:3-17). 

 When Peter denied his Master, he wept bitterly (Luke 22:62). Do you have a sin you should weep over? The sin is yours, before and after conversion. If it weren’t for the Savior (praise God!), you’d spend eternity in Hell. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9). 

 “My soul, bow down under a sense of thy natural sinfulness, and worship thy God. Admire the grace which saves thee - the mercy which spares thee - the love which pardons thee!”