S. S. Times Nehemiah 1:4-11 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted… Confession of sin is essential to success in prayer. "If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me." Nehemiah feels that God has reason to be displeased with His people. They have been guilty of sins of omission (have not kept) and of commission (transgression). Their privileges have aggravated their guilt: they have sinned against light; the commandments, statutes, and judgments given by Moses bear witness against them. And Nehemiah is conscious that he shares their guilt. He has sinned himself; and he has sinned in their sins. For all of us have a part in the sins of the community. Our influence helps to mould and shape its life. It is a principle in Chinese law to hold the relatives of a criminal in some degree responsible for his crime, so that the whole family is concerned in the conduct of its individual members. That principle is founded on a true conception which applies in both directions. The community has a responsibility for its members, each of whom shares a like responsibility for the life of the community itself. So we need to say "our trespasses," "our debts," in our daily prayer. (S. S. Times.) Parallel Verses KJV: And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven, |
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