Accepted by God

Who can understand his errors?
Cleanse me from secret faults.
Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins;
Let them not have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
And I shall be innocent of great transgression.
   
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.

-Psalm 19:12-14 (NKJV)

The heart that understands the disparity between his soul and God must be staggered by his need for acceptance by God. Deep within, he knows that his spirit cannot function without it. Our living is vain, after all, if we cannot satisfy the one who has the power to freely accept or reject us at His own will. What will we bring to Him to be found justified? Something must be offered to enable us to "ascend the hill of the Lord." (Psalm 24:3)

David recognized this need when he wrote Psalm 19. What he expresses in this passage is fundamental. He pleads for God's grace to:

• Cleanse him from secret faults,
• Preserve him from presumptuous sins, and
• Make his words and meditations pleasing to God.

It is the blood of Jesus Christ that answers this soul's plea for justification, in every way. The blood absolves our secret fault and protects us from presumptuous (intentional) sin. The blood alone, by unleashing the Holy Spirit within us, sanctifies our words and meditations. The Holy One's blood sacrifice covers the soul's sin blight for all times, absolutely meeting His own perfect standard. We are accepted in Jesus (Eph1:6), and presented to God holy, blameless, and above reproach (Col 1:21). We cannot be condemned by anyone but God, and He refuses to do it (Rom 8:32). The blood of Christ's sacrifice cries out, in reply to the soul's yearning plea, with complete cleansing and acceptance.

Justification is not borne of desire, but of genuine faith in one true Justifier, Jesus Christ. His righteousness is applied to my heart one way: when I truly believe that I have no means to justify myself before God, but that He has the perfect means to justify me before Himself. And when I believe, there is nothing that can separate me from Him (Rom 8:38-39). I find acceptance that can never be revoked. By believing, I have life through His name (John 20:31).

Lord, let me never forget.