4 But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.

Psalm 130:4

Explanation

There is no one exempt from the guiltiness of sin. We have all sinned and fallen short of the perfection, or glory of God.  The psalmist is crying out to God from his guiltiness and the chaos that it has created.  When we come to verse 4, we hear a quiet confidence and hope in God. What is that hope?

Forgiveness.

There is forgiveness with the God of the universe. He is a God who forgives. The reason He forgives is found in the text. He forgives “that thou mayest be feared”. This word for fear is synonymous with honored. 

All of our sin is ultimately against God. Sure, we can sin against other people, but even when we do we are ultimately sinning against God. This means that when we sin, we can only receive full and final forgiveness from God.

Application

Certainly, He deserves to be honored and worshipped because He created us. Yes, He deserves to be confessed to because we have sinned against Him. He is also worthy of our worship and attention because He is the only One who can righteously and finally forgive us. He deserves our fear, our honor, and all of our worship.

Do you need to be forgiven? Is there some sin that needs to be confessed?

The first forgiveness that should be sought is ultimate forgiveness that has been offered through the person and work of Jesus Christ. All that sin deserve God’s wrath, but God put His Son to death so that He can give us His Son’s righteousness. Jesus Christ’s death on the cross paid for your sin. When we put our trust in Christ God forgives us of our sin, and gives us forgiveness. We become the sons and daughters of God through faith in Christ.

For those who know Christ, we confess our sins to God like a child maintains their relationship with their father. We want our fellowship with Christ to be sweet and right, and when we sin we put at risk our fellowship with God. He is a forgiving Father, who wants us to be right with him. Our sin has been paid for, but through confession we maintain our intimacy with God through Jesus Christ.

Response

God, when I sin I show a lack of fear in you. I am not honoring you the way you deserve. Thank you for sending your Son to die for me, to pay for my sin, and to offer me forgiveness. Help me to see my sin as you see it, and live a life of intimacy with You through prayer that includes confession. I love you, Lord. Amen