David does not seek these mercies out for others, but for himself only. No man can redeem another, we can only beseech the Lord on their behalf. But, we can certainly ensure that we are united to Christ

Imagine you’re going on a pleasant hike through some unnamed wood. You hear from a distance what sounds like rushing waters, babbling over rocks. Nostalgic sounds of sloshing water against the rivers edge begin to fill the air, till’ finally you reach it - the bank of the river.

Many people want to forget their past and feel the relief of forgetting the shame they have experienced, and if that is the goal then the world has a plethora of options to choose from.

Slavery to sin is a slavery unlike any other. It is a bondage that is rivaled by no other form in any other time. It is a taskmaster that is more heinous, ruthless, relentless, conniving, deceiving, and destructive than any other that has ever or will ever exist. Sin demands more, and takes more than any slave on Earth has ever given.

The work of Christ is something that, frankly, boggles the mind; if indeed, one ponders upon it with sincerity. Grasp with me for a moment the unthinkable nature of what our Savior did for his elect. The very God who set all things as they are, with perfect purpose and power, designed to save his people.

In the first chapter of John’s Gospel, he writes that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (v. 14). We stand in awe when we read this (or we ought to), because we are told that the eternal Son of God took on human flesh, and chose to live in the midst of his people.