"Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance."
Psalm 90:8
Part 3
Yesterday: God is Always Watching Me
Human beings are born rebels from God. What does He say about it?
Today: God’s Permanent Solution for all My Crimes!
“Thou hast set our iniquities before thee.”
God not only did this with Israel’s iniquities, but he did it for our sins also. He sees us every time we sin!
“For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings” (Job 34:21).
“The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3).
“Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13).
It is a great truth, He knows what is in our hearts even before we do the sin.
“…for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts…” (1 Chronicles 28:9).
“…and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men)” (2 Chronicles 6:30).
“Our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.”
Nothing can remain hidden in the dazzling brilliance of God’s face! Those sins that we have tried so diligently to cover over, all those buried secrets have never been hidden from Him. No actions, words, or thoughts are ever concealed from God!
“Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart” (Psalm 44:21).
“For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:14).
And the sad truth is that every one of our sins must be paid for! The big ones and little ones, the ugly ones, and the pretty ones, we are guilty of each one. For our sin, He promises that there will be judgment. We must pay!
“…for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins” (Psalm 7:10).
“The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. From the place of his habitation, he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth. He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works” (Psalm 33:13-15).
“I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings” (Jeremiah 17:10).
We have no way to pay for our sins! The only thing that comes close, is spending eternity in Hell. What a horrible thought! The only good news in this ugly picture of our sin and guilt is that God sent His Son Jesus to pay for our sin. He had no sin of His own. Jesus was the perfect substitute for our sin. He died in our place and paid the debt that we sinners might go free.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
There are no perfect crimes, but our crimes have been paid for perfectly! Jesus did it on His cross for us!
Quote:
“Was it for crimes that I had done,
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! Grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!”[1]
[1] This is the second verse of “Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed,” by Isaac Watts, published 1707. The refrain used today was added by Ralph Hudson in 1885. The “Campmeeting Refrain” was published in 1868, harmony by Robert G. McCutchan, 1835.