"And the children of Israel said unto the Lord, we have sinned:do Thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto Thee; deliver us only, we pray Thee, this day. And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the Lord:and His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel."

What touching words! What tenderness! What deep compassion! How such a statement lets us into the profound depths of the heart of God! The misery of His people moved the loving heart of Jehovah.

The very faintest and earliest symptoms of brokenness and contrition, on the part of Israel, met with a ready and gracious response, on the part of Israel’s God. It mattered not how far they had wandered, how deeply they had sunk, or how grievously they had sinned; God was ever ready to welcome the feeblest breathing of a broken heart.

The springs of divine mercy and compassion are absolutely inexhaustible. The ocean of His love is boundless and unfathomable; and hence, the very moment His people take the place of confession, He enters the place of forgiveness.

He delights to pardon, according to the largeness of His heart, and according to the glory of His own Name. He finds peculiar joy in blotting out transgressions, in healing, in restoring, and blessing, in a manner worthy of Himself.

This glorious truth shines in the history of Israel; it shines in the history of the church; and it shines in the history of every individual believer.

(From "Gideon and His Companions".)