God has been gracious to reveal Himself to us, not only through the skies, but through the Scriptures. It is only in the pages of the Bible that we find who He is, who we are, and what He has done to reconcile us to Himself. When we rightly respond to this revelation, His glory is revealed in us!

God has not left Himself without a witness. The heavens declare His glory in a general sense, and His Word is His special revelation that tells us not only who He is, but who we are, and what He has done to redeem a people for Himself. As a reflection of who He is, God's Word is His powerful and sufficient means both to save and to sanctify His own.

Life is oftentimes hard, and sometimes it seems almost unbearable. It is at these times we are prone to spiral downward into despondency and doubt. How do we reconcile the fact that God is good with the overwhelming circumstances we face?

The biblical concept of repentance includes an acknowledgment of sin and the need to turn away from it and to turn to Christ for forgiveness and cleansing. When repentance is genuine, it brings about a resolve in the soul to no longer live for oneself, but for the Lord, understanding that God is not interested in outward change that does not flow first from a heart that has been transformed by the gospel.

Psalm 51 provides five basic aspects of genuine repentance. As King David pours out his heart to the Lord, he takes us by the hand, as it were, and walks us through what repentance looks like in shoe leather.

The 1689 Baptist Confession states that, "although there is no sin so small but it deserves damnation, yet there is no sin so great that it shall bring damnation to them that repent, which makes the constant preaching of repentance necessary." Psalm 51 is a divine primer for penitents; a guidebook to help those who have come to understand their helplessness in applying themselves to genuine repentance.