David had been seeking the heart of God for many years. The relationship he had with the Lord God was significant to him. He had practically expressed his faith in God many times in his life. Then he broke the covenant with God in several ways. He tried to cover up his sins. But the Lord God sent the prophet Nathan to expose David’s sins publicly. Night and day David thought about his sin. Guilt burned his conscience showing true the statement, “God is true and every human a liar.” (Romans 3:4)
Conscience is a reality that cannot be accounted for in science without God. Conscience is the awareness of a moral and ethical aspect of my conduct. I take my action and compare it to a standard known in my heart. All souls created bear the elements of right and wrong, truth and lie, righteousness and sin. David’s conscience witnessed to him, even before Nathan publically exposed that David had sinned against God.
Apostle John wrote, “This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.” (1 John 3:19-20) When sensitive and active in judging past acts, the conscience is said to be “good”. The author of Hebrews asks for believers to pray for him so that he may keep a “clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way.” (Hebrew 13:18) For by continuing in rebellion to God through sin we can burn the consciousness till nothing is left but ashes. The Lord God through prayer, meditation, forgiveness, and living in fear of God through practical application of the word restores life to a dead conscience that I may life righteously.
