Day 10/9 – Pleading Guilty

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Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man by Walter A Henrichsen (“Walt”)
Pleading Guilty
Day Two Hundred Eighty-two

“Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in thy sight, so that thou art justified in thy sentence and blameless in thy judgment.” Psalm 51:4

When King David committed murder and adultery, he knew that no sacrifice in the Levitical arsenal could help him. “For thou hast no delight in sacrifice; were I to give a burnt offering, thou wouldst not be pleased.”361 He understood that His only hope consisted in throwing himself on the mercy and grace of God. His confession in Psalm 51 shows us a proper response to sin.

David does not say that he sinned against Bathsheba, Uriah, or Israel; only God. Sin, in the final analysis, is opposition to God. Jesus did not die for man’s sin against man; only for man’s sin against God. God decides how we are to treat one another, and therefore when we sin against others we sin against God. David said, “in Thy sight,” knowing that God looks on. Nothing escapes His notice. One of the marks of regeneration is an awareness that God is watching.

One of the most remarkable aspects of David’s confession is his voting against himself in acknowledgment of God’s righteousness. In a criminal court, you can only plead innocent or guilty. When you plead guilty, you throw yourself on the mercy of the court. Voting against yourself in favor of God is your only hope, for you can only be forgiven if you acknowledge your guilt.

361 Psalm 51:16

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Isaiah 32-33 Colossians 1 (New King James Version)

Isaiah 32-33
A Reign of Righteousness
32
Behold, a king will reign in righteousness,
And princes will rule with justice.
2
A man will be as a hiding place from the wind,
And a [a]cover from the tempest,
As rivers of water in a dry place,
As the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
3
The eyes of those who see will not be dim,
And the ears of those who hear will listen.
4
Also the heart of the [b]rash will understand knowledge,
And the tongue of the stammerers will be ready to speak plainly.
5
The foolish person will no longer be called [c]generous,
Nor the miser said to be bountiful;
6
For the foolish person will speak foolishness,
And his heart will work iniquity:
To practice ungodliness,
To utter error against the Lord,
To keep the hungry unsatisfied,
And he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
7
Also the schemes of the schemer are evil;
He devises wicked plans
To destroy the poor with lying words,
Even when the needy speaks justice.
8
But a [d]generous man devises generous things,
And by generosity he shall stand.
Consequences of Complacency
9
Rise up, you women who are at ease,
Hear my voice;
You complacent daughters,
Give ear to my speech.
10
In a year and some days
You will be troubled, you complacent women;
For the vintage will fail,
The gathering will not come.
11
Tremble, you women who are at ease;
Be troubled, you complacent ones;
Strip yourselves, make yourselves bare,
And gird sackcloth on your waists.
12
People shall mourn upon their breasts
For the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.
13
On the land of my people will come up thorns and briers,
Yes, on all the happy homes in the joyous city;
14
Because the palaces will be forsaken,
The bustling city will be deserted.
The forts and towers will become lairs forever,
A joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks—
15
Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high,
And the wilderness becomes a fruitful field,
And the fruitful field is counted as a forest.
The Peace of God’s Reign
16
Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,
And righteousness remain in the fruitful field.
17
The work of righteousness will be peace,
And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.
18
My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation,
In secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places,
19
Though hail comes down on the forest,
And the city is brought low in humiliation.
20
Blessed are you who sow beside all waters,
Who send out freely the feet of the ox and the donkey.
A Prayer in Deep Distress
33
Woe to you who plunder, though you have not been plundered;
And you who deal treacherously, though they have not dealt treacherously with you!
When you cease plundering,
You will be plundered;
When you make an end of dealing treacherously,
They will deal treacherously with you.
2
O Lord, be gracious to us;
We have waited for You.
Be [e]their arm every morning,
Our salvation also in the time of trouble.
3
At the noise of the tumult the people shall flee;
When You lift Yourself up, the nations shall be scattered;
4
And Your plunder shall be gathered
Like the gathering of the caterpillar;
As the running to and fro of locusts,
He shall run upon them.
5
The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high;
He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
6
Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times,
And the strength of salvation;
The fear of the Lord is His treasure.
7
Surely their valiant ones shall cry outside,
The ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly.
8
The highways lie waste,
The traveling man ceases.
He has broken the covenant,
[f]He has despised the [g]cities,
He regards no man.
9
The earth mourns and languishes,
Lebanon is shamed and shriveled;
Sharon is like a wilderness,
And Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.
Impending Judgment on Zion
10
“Now I will rise,” says the Lord;
“Now I will be exalted,
Now I will lift Myself up.
11
You shall conceive chaff,
You shall bring forth stubble;
Your breath, as fire, shall devour you.
12
And the people shall be like the burnings of lime;
Like thorns cut up they shall be burned in the fire.
13
Hear, you who are afar off, what I have done;
And you who are near, acknowledge My might.”
14
The sinners in Zion are afraid;
Fearfulness has seized the hypocrites:
“Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire?
Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?”
15
He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly,
He who despises the gain of oppressions,
Who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes,
Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed,
And shuts his eyes from seeing evil:
16
He will dwell on [h]high;
His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks;
Bread will be given him,
His water will be sure.
The Land of the Majestic King
17
Your eyes will see the King in His beauty;
They will see the land that is very far off.
18
Your heart will meditate on terror:
“Where is the scribe?
Where is he who weighs?
Where is he who counts the towers?”
19
You will not see a fierce people,
A people of obscure speech, beyond perception,
Of a [i]stammering tongue that you cannot understand.
20
Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts;
Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a quiet home,
A tabernacle that will not be taken down;
Not one of its stakes will ever be removed,
Nor will any of its cords be broken.
21
But there the majestic Lord will be for us
A place of broad rivers and streams,
In which no [j]galley with oars will sail,
Nor majestic ships pass by
22
(For the Lord is our Judge,
The Lord is our Lawgiver,
The Lord is our King;
He will save us);
23
Your tackle is loosed,
They could not strengthen their mast,
They could not spread the sail.
Then the prey of great plunder is divided;
The lame take the prey.
24
And the inhabitant will not say, “I am sick”;
The people who dwell in it will be forgiven their iniquity.
Footnotes:
• Isaiah 32:2 shelter
• Isaiah 32:4 hasty
• Isaiah 32:5 noble
• Isaiah 32:8 noble
• Isaiah 33:2 LXX omits their; Syr., Tg., Vg. our
• Isaiah 33:8 Tg. They have been removed from their cities
• Isaiah 33:8 So with MT, Vg.; DSS witnesses; LXX omits cities
• Isaiah 33:16 Lit. heights
• Isaiah 33:19 Unintelligible speech
• Isaiah 33:21 ship

Colossians 1
Greeting
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father [a]and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Their Faith in Christ
3 We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; 5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth [b]fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth; 7 as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, 8 who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.
Preeminence of Christ
9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and [c]conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption [d]through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or [e]principalities or [f]powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
Reconciled in Christ
19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, 20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
Sacrificial Service for Christ
24 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the [g]stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, 26 the [h]mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. 27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: [i]which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. 29 To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.
Footnotes:
• Colossians 1:2 NU omits and the Lord Jesus Christ
• Colossians 1:6 NU, M add and growing
• Colossians 1:13 transferred
• Colossians 1:14 NU, M omit through His blood
• Colossians 1:16 rulers
• Colossians 1:16 authorities
• Colossians 1:25 dispensation or administration
• Colossians 1:26 secret or hidden truth
• Colossians 1:27 M who