You have collected all my tears in your bottle. (NLT) ~ Psalm 56:8The very first word that Jesus used when He began His preaching ministry was, "Repent," and no man can repent unless he is sorry for his sins. This comes about when we realize our own inadequacy and our own sinfulness.
As John Stott points out, "There is not enough sorrow for sin amoung us. We should experience more godly grief of Christian penitence like that sensitive and Christlike eighteenth century missionary to the American Indians, David Brainerd*."He wrote in his journal on 18 October 1740, 'In my mourning devotions my soul was exceedingly melted, and bitterly mourned over my exceeding sinfulness and vileness.'"
This is from the New Every Morning Pocket Devotions by Nico Bougas, 2006.
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* Missionary to the American Indians in New York, New Jersey, and eastern Pennsylvania. Born in Connecticut in 1718, he died of tuberculosis at the age of twenty-nine in 1747. Jonathan Edwards preached the funeral sermon and published the diary which David had kept.
David Brainerd: Missionary by Fred Barlow
David Brainerd: Aflame for God by Eugene Myers Harrison
