secret sins – Praying Pint

48.t. Wilderness – 12.z. “Sin is crouching at the door

Num 32:23  But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out.

Genesis 4:7   If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”

Genesis 44:16   And Judah said, “What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we and he also in whose hand the cup has been found.”

Psalms 90:8    You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.

Psalms 139:11   If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,”

Proverbs 13:21    Disaster pursues sinners, but the righteous are rewarded with good.

Isaiah 3:11    Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.

Isaiah 59:1-2    Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;  but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

Romans 2:9    There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek

1 Corinthians 4:5    Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.

But if ye will not do so,…. As they promised they would, and Moses insisted on it that they should: behold, ye have sinned against the Lord making such a request, and not fulfilling the conditions on which it was granted: and be sure your sin will find you out; fly in their faces, accuse them in their consciences, charge and load them with guilt, and bring deserved punishment upon them: sin may be put, as it often is, for the punishment of sin, which sooner or later will find out and come upon the impenitent and unpardoned sinner. (Gill)

“The language is striking: it is not just that their sin will be discovered but that their sin will be an active agent in discovering them.” (Allen)

“Sin is like the boomerang…it comes back on the hand that has launched it forth. The brethren accused Joseph of being a spy, and cast him into the pit; and on the same charge they were cast into prison. King David committed adultery and murder; so Absalom requited him.” (Meyer)

“The guilt will haunt you at heels, as a bloodhound, and the punishment will overtake you” (Trapp)

Spurgeon suggested several ways in which our sin might find us out:

· We become ill at ease.

· We feel ourselves to be low and despicable.

· We become weakened by our own inaction.

· We have little joy in the progress and prosperity of the church.

· We lose our appetite for the gatherings of God’s people. (Spurgeon)

How much hidden sin do we entertain in our hearts and minds? Lust, greed, pride, grumbling, anger, fear, and complacency, to mention a few of those hidden sins that have the opportunity to ensnare us. They are ever present in our sinful nature and can be stumbling blocks in our witness and testimony of Jesus Christ. What or how is it that there are hidden sins of the heart and mind that seem to allow us to have a heart and mind void of knowing that we are harboring these sins? Knowing the answer does not take much reading or understanding of Scripture. Peter said it like this: 1 Peter 1:5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities and continue to grow in them, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But whoever lacks these traits is nearsighted to the point of blindness, having forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

Growth – There is no growth when there is no nourishment. Do you hunger for God’s Word or do you just snack at it?

Work – God’s Word is to be put into practice in our thoughts, words, and actions. How can it be put into practice when it is neglected?

Purpose – Our purpose on this side of eternity is to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all of our thoughts, words, and actions. How can this purpose be fulfilled if His Word is neglected and our ability to do it is blind and deaf to it?

Obedience – How are we to know and obey the things of God when His Word is not hungered and thirsted for?

Reliance – How are we to rely on God when there is no communion with Him, or there is no heart-deep desire to honor and glorify Jesus

Oh that we were made aware of the sinfulness of our Sin in the light of the Holiness of God!

Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

36.r. “I will punish the men who are complacent”

Genesis 18:16 Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. The LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” Then the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”

Job 34:22   There is no gloom or deep darkness where evildoers may hide themselves.

Psalms 90:8   You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.

Jeremiah 17:10   “I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

Zephaniah 1:12    At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will not do good, nor will he do ill.’

Hebrews 4:13    And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

In our culture we continually see the falling away and total disregard for things of God and honoring and glorifying Him. It seems as though there is no limit to these godless acts, thoughts, and words. There is no reverence or fear for or of Him. What is it that keeps judgment from falling upon our nation? What is it that keeps this judgment at bay? It is the Grace, love, and mercy of God, wishing no person should perish but all would believe in and on Jesus Christ and be saved from coming judgment. This is certainly true. The delay in God’s judgment on mankind is out of His grace, mercy, and love. Let no one think there is a single moment of time remaining before God executes judgment. Let no one think there is more time or that they can wait until tomorrow. God’s judgment is coming and this is as sure as the sun rising. When it comes there will be no chance to repent for like in the days of Noah, when the people had 120 years to repent, they chose to delay and were overcome by the flood.

May we pray like Abraham for our nation, leaders, friends, family, and neighborhoods.

Jehovah explained to Abraham the cause of their destruction in the clearest manner possible, that he might not only be convinced of the justice of the divine government but might learn that when the measure of iniquity was full, no intercession could avert the judgment-a lesson and a warning to his descendants also.

I will go down now and see: Because the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous (Psalm 19:9, Revelation 16:7), God would only judge Sodom and Gomorrah on direct, accurate knowledge. We are not told this because God did not know, but to demonstrate to us the thorough character of God’s knowledge and integrity.

How much more surely will real communion with Jesus lead us to look on all men, and especially on the vicious and outcast, with His eyes who saw the multitudes as sheep without a shepherd, torn, panting, scattered, and lying exhausted and defenseless! Indifference to the miseries and impending dangers of Christless men is impossible for any whom He calls ‘not servants, but friends.’

The unselfish desires for others, that exhale from human hearts under the influence of the love which Christ plants in us, do come down in blessings on others, as the moisture is drawn up by the sun may descend in fructifying rain on far-off pastures of the wilderness. We help one another when we pray for one another. The desires which go up to God, like the vapors exhaled to heaven, fall in refreshing rain on spots far away from that whence they rose. These days we need to keep fast hold of our belief in the efficacy of prayer for others and for ourselves.

143. You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.

1 Kings 11:9 And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the Lord commanded.

Deuteronomy 3:26 But the LORD was angry with me because of you and would not listen to me. And the LORD said to me, ‘Enough from you; do not speak to me of this matter again.

Deuteronomy 9:8 Even at Horeb you provoked the LORD to wrath, and the LORD was so angry with you that he was ready to destroy you.

2 Samuel 6:7 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God.

Psalms 78:58-60 For they provoked him to anger with their high places; they moved him to jealousy with their idols. When God heard, he was full of wrath, and he utterly rejected Israel.

Psalms 90:7-8 For we are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed. You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.

Proverbs 4:23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men, therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.”

2 Timothy 4:10 For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me

Ben Dunson; “As the Israelites were on the verge of entering the Promised Land, Moses preached to them about what God would require of his people so that they would not be exiled from the land once they had taken possession of it. Deuteronomy, in fact, is largely comprised of Moses’ sermons expressing God’s commitment to Israel, and Israel’s necessary response of faithfulness to God. Among the many things that Israel needs to know are the qualifications for its future kings, which are laid out for us in Deut 17:14-20. The king must be an Israelite (v. 15); he “must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses” (v. 16); he must “not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away” to idolatry (v. 17); he must not “acquire for himself excessive silver and gold” (v. 17); and finally, he must diligently and humbly keep God’s law (v. 18). In sum, Israel’s king must avoid trusting in earthly power (symbolized by horses), idolatry, resting in wealth, and neglecting God’s commands.

“Solomon had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen” (see Deut 17:16). These large numbers are not necessarily sinful, but as Deuteronomy warns, such a large accumulation of horses will tempt Israel’s kings to trust in their own military might, rather than in the power of God to save his people.

Solomon’s love of these women violates God’s warning to his people that they should “not enter into marriage with them, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods”

Solomon, as a king, is very different from us, but as a sinner with divided loyalties and a propensity to turn away from God, he is all too like us today. In fact, we can see in his life many of the most pressing temptations that all believers face in every age, namely, the temptations that come along with money, power, and love, as well as the idolatry that so easily takes root in our hearts. If our hearts are not fixed on our Lord, love for other stuff, trusting in our own wealth and power will become all-consuming, and as with Solomon, will easily lead our hearts away from God so that we too become “not wholly true to the Lord [our] God”.

We must allow the word of God to correct us in the same way we allow it to encourage us. Stay in God’s word and learn from it. Listen to it speak to your heart. Cling to it, believe it, rely on it, and obey it with all your heart, soul and mind. There is nothing more precious to the soul than to be in His word and then to be led by God to repent and turn away from that which is not pleasing and honoring to Him.

Prayer of Moses

Psalms 90:1 A Prayer of Moses, the man of God. Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. You return man to dust and say, “Return, O children of man!” For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night. You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers. For we are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed. You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh. The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you? So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants! Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil. Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!

This prayer from Moses sums up much of life. granted many of us do not see this because of the luxury we live in. This is not true for most of the world. We live with freedom and complain. We live with education and complain. We live with running water, heat, electricity and complain. We have transportation, technology, medical care and a place to call home and we complain. We have more than enough food and we complain. There might be a slight chance we don’t complain but we certainly are not truly thankful. We don’t express our thanks to God for the many blessings He has given us. Sometimes I wonder if they are blessings because they seem to trap so many into thinking there is no need for God. How sad is it when we get to a place in our thoughts that we think we are entitled to these blessings, forgetting they are gifts from God who is to be praised and thanked for them. If you strip it all away and leave us with just our body, mind, and soul is God still real and worthy to be praised? YES YES YES, He is. He is God. And for this alone He is worthy of praise. However, He has added to this many blessings to show of His steadfast love, mercy, and grace for the purpose of drawing a people to Himself. Scripture says “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” and also says: “The LORD is a jealous God,filled with vengeance and rage.He takes revenge on all who oppose himand continues to rage against his enemies!The LORD is slow to get angry, but his power is great,and he never lets the guilty go unpunished.” For those who hear His voice and come to Him, He is a loving Father. To those who reject His voice and is full of rage. Submit to Him, cling to Him, rely on Him, and trust in Him. Our life is short and finds fulfilling purpose when humbling serving, honoring, following and obeying God.