Chapter 6 is a whole litany of petitions that Solomon lifted up to God on behalf of the people. They were prayers of petition. The ceremony of course began with praise and worship, but then migrated into prayers of petition. The key petition in the prayers was for forgiveness. Solomon acknowledged the tendency for God’s people to stray and their constant need for God’s forgiveness when they turn back to him. In Chapter 7, verse 1 and following, God affirms Solomon’s prayer by accepting all the sacrifices offered on the altar.
The closing lines of Verse 3 tells us that when the people saw God’s positive response, “they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “For he is good, ?for his steadfast love endures forever.” God promises to forgive his people. We have the same promise in the New Testament in 1 John 1:9. It says, “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
But confession comes first! You will remember in the Psalms where David, after his great sin with Bathsheba, wrote “God will not despise a broken and a contrite heart.” He is always soft for us in our contrition. We’ve all been weak people! We’ve all sinned against God and others. Admit it! Swindoll writes, “Admit your weakness, or your unresolved conflicts, and then let yourself be broken about it by God. …it may be an unforgiving spirit, even alcoholism, incest, pornography—maybe gluttony, or plagiarism, or a critical spirit. It could be the sin of pride, or those sins that Jesus hated most, those of hypocrisy. Release it to God.” He has promised to forgive and cleanse us.
Chuck
“You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart.” 1 Peter 1:22