That brief cry, "Heavenly Father, please kindly forgive me," has already reached the throne of grace, for the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves such as be of a contrite spirit. But let me press you further, for a soul awakened to its guilt must not rest in a mere repetition of words, however sincere. There is forgiveness, oh, sweet and glorious whisper from the lips of love! "There is forgiveness" is a certainty, a broad, indefinite promise that stretches beyond the blackest sin. You have not sinned beyond the reach of divine mercy if you will now trust the Son of God.
But see that your repentance is no transient twinge, no mere terror at the consequences of sin. True repentance, that which needs not to be repented of, turns a man inside out and kills the love of sin. It makes him hate the thing because it is committed against so holy, so good a God. It weeps not merely under the lash, but at the sight of that opened side which our sin gashed in the Saviour. Sit beneath the bloody tree and see what sin has done, and yet see how sin itself has been undone by Him who died upon the Cross. The more you love your Lord, the more you will hate sin.
Yet do not imagine that your repentance or confession earns pardon. Forgiveness is "according to the riches of His grace", a divine deed, a perfect pardon blotting out every transgression at once. The Lord takes all the bonds of our sin throughout our whole lifetime and puts them into the blaze of His infinite mercy, and they disappear. He will not twice exact the penalty: Christ has paid it all. If washing will not do, He uses fire, He uses blood, but He cleanses. Your own prayer in Jesus' name shows where your hope lies. Look to Him now, not to your tears, not to your resolves, but to the propitiation set forth.
Beware of that hideous confession of despair which confesses sin and yet refuses to believe mercy, like Judas who confessed and went and hanged himself. It is a high insult against divine love when you are tempted to think yourself beyond mercy. That is not repentance but a foul sin against the infinite heart of God. You have sinned deeply, but Jesus Christ is still greater. The arm of Mercy can reach you. There is forgiveness, it does not say for this sin or that, but there is forgiveness. Where God draws no limit, do not you draw any.
Come, then, with mournful joy, and let this whisper drive away despair. You are absolutely bankrupt, unable to pay a farthing of your great debt, then may you believe that Jesus Christ is your Saviour. He has no "buts" in His forgiveness; you make a clean breast in confession and He will give you a clean breast by absolution. Trust His dear Son now, and that eternal forgiveness, given for His own sake because He delights in mercy, shall be yours this very hour.