Isaiah 43:25

Though this type of argument seems without resort and bereft of human force in court trials here on earth, before God it is invested with invincible protection. Only confession of faith can acquit the person whom no arguments defend. Such a course is permitted to …

"Forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors." Whoever then desires to obtain forgiveness of his sins, should study to fit himself for it by these means. Let not the stubbornness of an obdurate heart turn away any from the saving remedy and the fount of so much goodness, because even if we have done all these things, they will not be able to expiate our offences, unless they are blotted out by the goodness and mercy of the Lord, who when He sees the service of pious efforts offered by us with a humble heart, supports our small and puny efforts with the utmost bounty, and says: "I even I am He that blotteth out thine iniquities for Mine own sake, and I will remember thy sins no more."

We must always have these sins before our eyes, so we may be purified from them. And though God, by clemency, forgives you every sin, yet you, for the safety of your soul, must always have the sin before your eyes. For the memory of past sins hinders future ones; and one who is bitten by his past sins demonstrates the will to be steadfast about the next ones. For David says, "And my sin is ever before me," in order to have the past ones before his eyes and not to fall into future ones. That God demands this firm stance from us, listen to him say, "I am the one who blots out your sins, and I will not remember them; you, however, remember them, and we shall settle accounts, says the Lord. First state your sin so you may be justified." … Time does not excuse; rather, the manner of the repentant individual erases the sin.

Groan bitterly, sacrifice confession, (for, saith he, "Declare thou first thy transgressions that thou mayest be justified,") sacrifice contrition of heart. These victims turn not to ashes nor dissolve into smoke nor melt into air; neither need they wood and fire, but only a deep-pricked heart. This is wood, this is fire to burn, yet not consume them. For he that prayeth with warmth is burnt, yet not consumed; but like gold that is tried by fire becometh brighter.

God does not wait for time to elapse after repentance. You stated your sin, you are justified. You repented, you have been shown mercy. Time does not excuse; rather, the manner of the repentant individual erases the sin. One individual may wait a long time and not gain salvation, and another, who confesses genuinely, is stripped of the sin inside a short time.

(Verse 25, 26 and following) I am, I am myself, who blots out your iniquities for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. Bring me to remembrance, let us argue together; set forth your case, that you may be proved right. Your first ancestor sinned, and your interpreters transgressed against me. And I profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and delivered Jacob to destruction and Israel to reviling. LXX: I am, I am he who blots out your iniquities, and I will not remember. But remember, and let us argue together.

Third, he shows that the benefit is given freely: I am: for your name's sake, O Lord, you will pardon my sin (Ps 25:11); it is not for your sake that I will do this (Ezek 36:22).

God's goodness takes occasion from man's badness to appear so much the more illustrious. Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound ( Rom. v. 20 ), and mercy rejoices against judgment, as having prevailed and carried the day, Jam. ii.

): I even I, am he who notwithstanding all this blotteth out thy transgressions. This gracious declaration of God's readiness to pardon sin comes in very strangely.

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I, even I am he, that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake,....

You see these texts are all alike in their declaration that the Lord will not remember His people's sins. I have taken four of them to make the basis of my sermon firm as adamant. It is written, "In the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established." Here then, you have Isaiah and Jeremiah, two Old Testament saints, affirming the same thing—is this not enough? Added to these, you have the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, who, in all probability, was Paul, and these three agree in one.

(Isa 44:22). for mine own sake-- (Isa 48:9, 11). How abominable a thing sin is, since it is against such a God of grace! "Blotted out" is an image from an account-book, in which, when a debt is paid, the charge is cancelled or blotted out. not remember . . . sins-- (Jer 31:34).

THERE ARE SOME passages of sacred writ which have been more abundantly blessed to the conversion of souls than others. They may be called salvation texts. We may not be able to discover how it is, or why it is, but certainly it is the fact, that some chosen verses have been more used of God to bring men to the cross of Christ than any others in his Word.

THIS extraordinary passage is rendered the more remarkable from its connection, for it follows a description of the sins of God's people, a description which mentions their sins of omission in that they had neglected the service of the Most High—and their sins of commission in that they had gone so far in breaking God's Law that they had even wearied Him with their iniquities. There is the charge—a thousand facts prove it—and nothing can be urged by way of extenuation. We might expect that the next utterance would be the sentence.

THERE ARE SOME passages of sacred writ which have been more abundantly blessed to the conversion of souls than others. They may be called salvation texts. We may not be able to discover how it is, or why it is, but certainly it is the fact, that some chosen verses have been more used of God to bring men to the cross of Christ than any others in his Word. Certainly they are not more inspired, but I suppose they are more noticeable from their position, from their peculiar phraseology more adapted to catch the eye of the reader, and more suitable to a prevailing spiritual condition. All the stars in the heavens shine very brightly, but only a few attract the eye of the mariner, and direct his course; the reason is this, that those few stars from their peculiar grouping are more readily distinguished, and the eye easily fixes upon them. So I suppose it is with those passages of God’s Word which especially attract attention, and direct the sinner to the cross of Christ. It so happens that this text is one of the chief of them. I have found it, in my experience, to be a most useful one; for out of the hundreds of persons who have come to me to narrate their conversion and experience, I have found a very large proportion who have traced the divine change which has been wrought in their hearts to the hearing of this precious declaration of sovereign mercy read, and the application of it with power to their souls: “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.” Hence I feel this morning somewhat pleased to have such a text, because I anticipate that my Master will give me souls; and I feel likewise somewhat afraid lest I should spoil the passage by my own imperfect handling thereof.

THIS extraordinary passage is rendered the more remarkable from its connection, for it follows a description of the sins of God's people, a description which mentions their sins of omission in that they had neglected the service of the Most High—and their sins of commission in that they had gone so far in breaking God's Law that they had even wearied Him with their iniquities. There is the charge—a thousand facts prove it—and nothing can be urged by way of extenuation. We might expect that the next utterance would be the sentence. And the next motion of the Divine hand would be the execution, but, instead of that, O wonder of wonders! (Who is a pardoning God like unto You, O Jehovah?)—there comes a full remission, a complete absolution—"I, even I, am He that blots out your transgressions." The verse is succeeded, moreover, by other sentences which go on, still further, to convict the people of great sins. The Lord asks them to come and plead with Him, if they can. If they have anything to say in extenuation of their faults, He gives them an opportunity of speaking for themselves. And then He tells them that they had sinned as a nation from their very beginning and had continued, still, to sin. Though the Lord knew that He would add those words of expostulation, He made a break and a pause in the very middle of His righteous accusation, and before He had concluded His charge against them, He had already forgiven them, and said, "I, even I, am He that blots out your transgressions for My own sake." The remarkable point is not merely that the absolution contained in the text is preceded and succeeded by verses of accusation, but that it breaks in upon the connection and cleaves the sense right in the middle. The King's messenger of mercy rides through the ranks of the men-at-arms in hot haste, sounding his silver bugle as he clears his way.

You see these texts are all alike in their declaration that the Lord will not remember His people's sins. I have taken four of them to make the basis of my sermon firm as adamant. It is written, "In the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established." Here then, you have Isaiah and Jeremiah, two Old Testament saints, affirming the same thing—is this not enough? Added to these, you have the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, who, in all probability, was Paul, and these three agree in one. Their united testimony is that Jehovah, the Lord God, will forgive the sins of His people, and do it in so complete a way that He will remember their iniquities no more. Now, if I did not preach at all, but merely gave you these four texts to consider, I think the service ought to be full of comfort to all who know their guiltiness and are anxious to obtain mercy. That article in the creed is too little thought of—"I believe in the forgiveness of sin." Men flippantly declare that they believe it when they are not conscious of any great sin of their own. But when his transgression is made apparent to a man, and his iniquity comes home to him, it is quite another matter. Does any unregenerate person believe in the forgiveness of sin? I think not. No man, in sincerity, believes it until God, the Holy Spirit, has taught him its truth, and has written it upon his heart. No revealed Truth of God is more generally doubted and disbelieved than this, the plainest of all revelations, that the Lord is gracious and full of compassion and ready to pass by the iniquities of His people! Men disbelieve for themselves and doubt it as to others when the matter is fairly tested. When a man's sins are set before him in the light of God's Countenance, his first instinct is to fear that they are altogether unpardonable.

I, even I, am he - The original is extremely abrupt: אנכי אנכי הוא anochi anochi hu, “I, I, He.” Is there any mystery in this form? Does it refer to a plurality of persons in the Godhead? For mine own sake - In the pardon of sin God can draw no reason but from his own infinite goodness.