If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. (Psalm 130:3-4)
The Psalmist is crying out to God, from “out of the depths”. Those “depths” can be manifold; fear, depression, persecution, pain, and a whole host of other possible sorrows and pains that are so abundant in this fallen world.
But underneath all of them, and what makes the endurance of any of them so very insufferable, is guilt.
If you marked Iniquity…who could stand? All of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God, and we know it, (even if we don’t know it). Our conscience accuses us, and tells us that we are estranged from God. The Psalmist tells us in the first Psalm, “Sinners will not stand in the congregation of the Righteous…”
This is what makes the ultimate “depth”, ie DEATH, so unbearable. The Epistle of Hebrews tells us that all of us are subject to the fear of death, because of our sin, and mortality. We dread death, because men know by instinct that death is associated with sin, it is the penalty for sin, imposed by the Holy and Just God.
Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.( Hebrews 2:14-15)
The “Fear of Death” encompasses far more than the fear of Physical death.
Death comes in a thousand forms; rejection, betrayal, loneliness, sickness, pain, loss of love, family, the death of loved ones, I could go on and on. The Devil controls people through the fear of death, using guilt and insecurity as leverage against them. Many people participate in various sins, because they don’t want to “miss out” on this or that experience, that they think enhances their life.
Guilt makes death exceptionally terrifying. People deny it, ignore it, euphamize it, and or ridicule it, in order to seek to bring it under control. Deep down inside they know they are guilty, sinners and do not want to face God.
…But with You there is forgiveness… The Psalmist can face it, because of what He knows of God.
God does indeed “Mark Iniquities”, there is a record of all of the secrets of men’s hearts, their sins, iniquities, transgressions, secret thoughts, desires, and everything false and toxic about us. One day those books will be opened and we will all give an account before the One who sits on the throne.
But with Him there is forgiveness. God is good. God forgives sin, transgression and iniquity. How can the Holy God forgive unholy sinners? God made a righteous way for himself to forgive sinners, without denying the claims of the broken law. Jesus has come and died for us, in order to answer to the claims of Righteousness against us, and the broken law of God.
The Psalmist is saying “I know there is a record against me in heaven, but I praise you that you forgive sin… how else could I ever hope to stand before you?”
We cannot stand, without the forgiveness of sins. I do not want to live without it, for I must have God in my life, and forgiveness is indispensable to the Spiritual life. God forgives sin.
1 Blessed is the one
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
2 Blessed is the one
whose sin the Lord does not count against them
and in whose spirit is no deceit.
3 When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night
your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.[b]
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
my transgressions to the Lord.”
And you forgave me ( Psalm 32:1-5)
David was dying, of guilt, and his death was consuming him. It wasn’t yet the physical death of David, it was the moral and spiritual death that was destroying him. But it was in the simplicity of confessing his sin, to God, that David stopped dying and started coming back to Life. “You forgave me…”.
“…That You Might be feared…” God forgives us, in order to restore us and bring us into worship again. Life eternal, is knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. We were made to know and enjoy God forever, and we die to the extent that we fall short of that knowledge. The only way to be happy, is to be restored to God, and to be right with Him.
Sin and the guilt that accompanies it, clouds the vision of God, and deadens the soul to knowing God. Where there is guilt which is untreated (like an infected wound), there can be no real communion with God, no answered prayer, no real capacity to worship in Spirit and in Truth.
Oh that you , my readers would avail yourself of the offer of forgiveness of sin, and cleansing, which God offers all who come to Him.
It is in the simplicity of a humble confession of sin, that forgiveness can be known and obtained. Jesus purchased this gift with His own blood, God is love and forgives all sinners, so that they can turn and join the worshipping congregation.Listen to the Apostle John on this matter;
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. ( I John 1:9)
Pastor Bill Randles Blog 