Hans Sangtoki Bible Reading: Psalm 19
“Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults…Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.” (Psalm 19:12,14)
As the sun shines brightly in the heavens which declare the glory of God, permeating every crook and corner of the earth until nothing is hidden from its heat, God’s Word radiates to all corners of our hearts, excavating our darkest sins, renewing our hidden rebellions, planting in us an enduring and clean “fear of the LORD”.
God’s law is perfect. There is no fault in it. It revives our souls, refreshes us, gives us life. It shows us the right way of life, the ways that are pleasing to God. It stirs rejoicing and joy amongst us. Its value is more than gold and sweeter than the honeycomb. Not only does it show us the way, but it also gives us warnings. In love, it disciplines and guides — as a father would to his child.
Yet, even as the Word speaks, who are we to understand? Who can hear the Word and change on their own account? As the Psalmist puts it, “Who can discern his errors?” When we listen to God’s Word, how can we obey? Our hearts are “deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)
Our response to God’s Word should be that of humility. We cannot understand God’s Word by ourselves, nor have we the power to apply it to our lives. We can only humbly ask God to work in our hearts so that we can understand and live out His Word.
Yet, our hope for change is not based on our humility or lowliness of hearts. Even if we come with the purest hearts and lowliest souls to God, our humility is still vile and base before Him. Our hope ought to be set on our Rock and our Redeemer — Jesus Christ. In His obedience and humility, He died on the cross as a propitiation for our sins. Because of Him, we are made right with God. As the hymn puts it,
Because the sinless Saviour died
My sinful soul is counted free
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me
Because of what Christ has done, we have the confidence to approach the throne of God in prayer. Because we are in Christ, we trust that the Spirit will work in us. We trust that we will be able to work out our salvation with trembling and fear because it is God who works in us both to will and to work for His good pleasure (paraphrase Philippians 2:12-13).
He is the one who is able to search our hearts and clean them. He is the one who can keep us from presumptuous sins and keep us from the bondage of our sins. In Christ, we are blameless and innocent. He will undoubtedly continue to sanctify and work in us, guiding our meditation of His Word to be acceptable in His sight. Praise God!
Lord, thank You that You care and love sinners like us. Thank You that You wash us clean and that we are righteous in Christ. Thank You that You continue to work and to guide Your children in Your truth day by day. Teach us to humbly trust in You and not in ourselves. Teach us to listen to Your Word and live it out daily. We ask in Jesus’ name, amen.
Hans Sangtoki (18) is the coordinator of RE Generation Z. He has a passion for serving his generation and sharing hope in Christ. He also has an interest in classical music and dreams of conducting an orchestra one day.