◄ Psalm 90:8 ►














Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
Secret Sin
Psalm 90:8
R. Tuck
The word used is a singular one, and may be rendered "our secret" (character). "God needs no other light to discern our sins by but the light of his own race. It pierceth through the darkest places; the brightness thereof enlighteneth all things, discovers all things. So that the sins that are committed in deepest darkness are all one to him as if they were done in the face of the sun. For they are done in his face, that shines more, and from which proceeds more light than from the face of the sun. So that this ought to make us the more fearful to offend; he sees us when we see not him, and the light of his countenance shines about us when we think ourselves hidden in darkness." "These words have a singular force if written by Moses, who saw the splendour of God, and carried away upon his person its manifest tokens."

I. SECRET SIN REGARDED AS THAT WHICH WE WOULD GLADLY CONCEAL FROM OTHERS. Secrecy is always suspicious. "He that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." Secrecy may be duty; in public spheres it may be wise policy; but when a man, in private life, does not wish any one to know what he is doing, he is generally found to be doing something wrong. The burglar, the coiner, the sensualist, want secrecy. They work in the dark; they go under feigned names; they hide themselves in the great cities; they devise all sorts of excuses to account for their time. If they succeed in deceiving their fellows, surely their ways and works are "naked and open" to God, whose "eyes are in every place, beholding the evil and the good."

II. SECRET SIN REGARDED AS THAT WHICH WE TRY TO CONCEAL FROM OURSELVES. This point requires more searching treatment.

1. Natural disposition, and errors in education, prevent men from recognizing the sinfulness of their own sins.

2. Conscience may be blunted so that it is no longer keen to witness against sin.

3. Strong will to continue in sin sets men upon persuading themselves that their sin is not sin. Illustrate from the sins of drinking, slandering, envying, etc. A man may deceive himself, but God quickly tears away his "refuges of lies." God knows the man who does not know himself. He puts the secrets into the "light of his countenance."

III. SECRET SIN REGARDED AS THAT WHICH WE TRY TO CONCEAL FROM GOD. As did Adam, by hiding among the trees. Men say, "The Lord shall not see;" but no man ever yet succeeded in closing the eye of Heaven. Men's most desperate effort is to assert and prove that there is no God, and so no observer of their sin. They never really succeed. Infidelity is the hopeless attempt to get rid of a God who sees, and will be sure to judge. - R.T.

Biblical Illustrator
Thou hast set our iniquities before Thee, our secret sins in the light of Thy countenance.
Psalm 90:8
Sin estimated by the light of heaven
E. Payson, D.D.
God and men view objects through a very different medium, and are placed with respect to them in very different situations. God is present with every object; He views it as near, and therefore sees its real magnitude. But many objects, especially those of a religious nature, are seen by us at a distance, and of course appear to us smaller than they really are. God sees all objects just as they are; but we see them through a deceitful medium, which ignorance, prejudice and self-love place between them and us. If you are willing to see your sins in their true colours; if you would rightly estimate their number, magnitude and criminality, bring them into the hallowed place, where nothing is seen but the whiteness of unsullied purity, and the splendours of uncreated glory; where the sun itself would appear only as a dark spot, and there, in the midst of this circle of seraphic intelligences, with the infinite God pouring all the light of His countenance round you, review your lives, contemplate your offences, and see how they appear.

I. Bring forward our INIQUITIES, that is, our more gross and open sins, and see how they appear in the light of God's countenance. Have any of you been guilty of impious, profane, passionate, or indecent, corrupting language? How does such language sound in heaven? in the ears of angels, in the ears of that God, who gave us our tongues for noble purposes? Have any of you been guilty of uttering what is untrue? If so, bring forward all the falsehoods, all the deceitful expressions, which you have ever uttered, and see how they appear in the presence of the God of truth. Have any of you been guilty, either at home, or in foreign countries, of perjury, or false swearing? If so, you may here see the awful Being whom you mocked, by calling Him to witness the truth of a known deliberate lie. And how, think you, such conduct appears in His eyes? Have any of you been guilty of fraud, injustice, or dishonesty? If so, bring forward your dishonest gains; hold out the hands which are polluted by them, and see how they look in heaven, in the presence of that God, who has said, Let no man overreach or defraud his brother in any matter; for the Lord is the avenger of all such.

II. Bring OUR HEARTS into heaven, and there, laying them open to view, see how they will appear in that world of unclouded light, and unsullied purity. Surely, if all the evil thoughts and wrong feelings which have passed in countless numbers through either of our hearts, were poured out in heaven, angels would stand aghast at the sight, and all their benevolence would scarcely prevent them from exclaiming in holy indignation, Away with him to the abode of his kindred spirits in the abyss! To the omniscient God alone would the sight not be surprising.

III. Take a similar view of OUR SINS OF OMISSION. Our whole lives present one unbroken series of duties neglected, of favours not acknowledged. And, oh, how do they appear, when we review them in the light of God's countenance! But the duties which we owe to God are not the only duties which we are required, and which we have neglected to perform. His law also requires us to love our neighbour as ourselves. And this general command virtually includes a great number of subordinate precepts; precepts which prescribe the duties of the various relations that subsist between us and our fellow-creatures. And how far have we obeyed these precepts? Oh, how much more might we have done than we actually have done, to promote the temporal and eternal happiness of all with whom we are connected! Nor do our sins of omission end here. There is another Being whom we are under infinite obligations to love, and praise, and serve with supreme affection. This Being is the Lord Jesus Christ, considered as our Redeemer and Saviour. who has bought us with His own blood. We are required to feel that we are not our own, but His; to prefer Him to every earthly object. Every moment, then, in which we neglected to obey these commands, we were guilty of a new sin of omission.

(E. Payson, D.D.)

All sin committed under the eye of God
W. Unsworth.
I. SIN IS INWARD AND OUTWARD LAWLESSNESS. It is disloyalty in heart and life. A black and bitter thing leading to black and bitter consequences.

II. MEN COMMONLY ATTEMPT TO CONCEAL THEIR SIN.

1. From themselves — and will hardly admit that some evil deeds are sins under their peculiar circumstances.

2. From society generally.

3. From God Himself, who sees and knows their sins in all their enormity and aggravated character.

III. IN ATTEMPTING TO CONCEAL THEIR SINS MEN ARE DOOMED TO COMPLETE FAILURE. They are already "before Thee" — even "our secret sins in the light of Thy countenance."

1. It is so with all our personal sins.

2. With family sins.

3. With Church sins.

4. With national sins.

IV. TO ATTEMPT TO HIDE SIN IS TO COMMIT FURTHER AND DEEPER SIN.

1. Against ourselves — deeply injuring our moral nature.

2. Against our fellows — lowering the moral tone of society.

3. Against God — who is increasingly wronged and outraged.

V. MEN OUGHT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR SIN. Private sin. Public sin. All sin of every kind and character should be penitently confessed to God. "Thou hast," etc.

VI. GOD HAS A COMPLETE KNOWLEDGE OF ALL SIN COMMITTED AGAINST HIM. It is in the very light of His countenance.

1. We have only a partial knowledge of sin, — in ourselves, in our friends, in society generally.

2. We have dim and imperfect conceptions of sin at best; for human lights are always changing, but God sees sin in itself and in the light of His own countenance, which never disguises evil.

3. We cannot prevent God seeing and knowing our sin. He Himself places it before His own eyes in all its nakedness and reality. What, therefore, must be the ultimate shame and misery of those who persist in sin? Therefore repent and believe the Gospel.

(W. Unsworth.)

Secret things brought to light
J. H. Jowett, M.A.
If you were to take this church, as it is in ordinary daylight, and seek to inspect the secret impurities with which its atmosphere abounds, your sight would be unable to detect them. It would be the same if in broad daylight you were to examine the cleanest drawing-room in the cleanest house in this city; the sight would detect no uncleanliness in its atmosphere, it would appear perfectly pure. But now let a bright ray of sunlight stream through the church or through the drawing-room. Look into the beam! What do you see? Why, a new world: a multitude of motes, innumerable particles of dust, vast quantities of impure matter all floating about in the atmosphere which seemed so clean! In the broad, common light they lay concealed, but in the bright, sunny beam the secret things are discovered, and live and move before our gaze. Are there any secret things in our worship which need to be revealed? Do we worship in the light of God's countenance, or in the light of mere tradition and custom? What more sweet and beautiful than the bringing of a gift to place upon God's altar! It seems so spiritually pure and sound. We often regard it as a sign of moral and spiritual health. But worship is not so superficial a thing that it can be so superficially judged. Worship which may pass muster in a worldly light reveals its impurities in a more searching spiritual light. Every worshipper who passes into the light of God's countenance is met by this bold challenge, "Has thy brother aught against thee?" and that is a challenge which searches us through and through. "First, be reconciled to thy brother." Our secret relationships are held up in vivid clearness before us, and their rectification is an essential condition in all acceptable worship. Now let us pass from our worship to our social fellowship. Look at the dim, thick light in which social life is lived. The darkness is sufficiently tempered to enable us to detect prominent crimes, presumptuous sins — outrage, murder, and obtrusive forms of lust. But in this dim, thick light how much can be concealed, how many deformities, how many crooked dispositions, how many perverse purposes, how many malicious designs, how many revengeful spirits! Social life is poor because social light is dim. If we water a stronger social life we must have an intenser light, in which secret uncleanness will rise up to be judged. Here is a ray from God's countenance (Matthew 5:39). Flash that through social life, let that light play on our relationships; would any horrible crookedness be revealed? It is not a business motto. It is not a social maxim. Here is rather the maxim of the world, "Pay a man back in his own coin." A man can do that and not violate the current standard of social morality. He may do it and yet live up to social light. But if such action will satisfy society, it does not satisfy God. "Pay a man back in his own coin!" That is not how the great God pays us! (Psalm 103:10). That was not the way of Christ (1 Peter 2:23). That was not Paul's way (1 Corinthians 4:12). The Lord purposes for us a clean, sweet, wholesome, social life, free from all secret foulnesses, and we can only obtain it by permitting the light of His countenance to fall upon us, and bringing our life into conformity with its great requirements. There is a bright side to all this, and I want to close with a gentle and encouraging word. The light which thus brings into prominence the secret sins also brings into prominence the secret virtue. The good Lord takes the candle and sweeps the house, not just to find the dust, but find the piece of silver! No bit of silver is lost. Every bit of secret goodness is seen in the light of His countenance.

(J. H. Jowett, M.A.)

People
Psalmist
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Countenance, Doings, Evil, Face, Hast, Hidden, Iniquities, Placed, Presence, Secret, Sins
Outline
1. Moses, setting forth God's providence
3. Complains of human fragility
7. Divine chastisement
10. and brevity of life
12. He prays for the knowledge and sensible experience of God's good providence.

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 90:8

     4835   light, spiritual
     5941   secrecy
     6163   faults

Psalm 90:1-10

     5067   suicide

Psalm 90:3-10

     6142   decay

Psalm 90:7-8

     5483   punishment

Psalm 90:8-9

     8735   evil, origins of

Library
The Cry of the Mortal to the Undying
'Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish Thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish Thou it.--PSALM xc. 17. If any reliance is to be placed upon the superscription of this psalm, it is one of the oldest, as it certainly is of the grandest, pieces of religious poetry in the world. It is said to be 'A prayer of Moses, the man of God,' and whether that be historically true or no, the tone of the psalm naturally suggests the great lawgiver, whose special …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Present Life as Related to the Future.
LUKE xvi. 25.--"And Abraham said, Son remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented." The parable of Dives and Lazarus is one of the most solemn passages in the whole Revelation of God. In it, our Lord gives very definite statements concerning the condition of those who have departed this life. It makes no practical difference, whether we assume that this was a real occurrence, or only an imaginary …
William G.T. Shedd—Sermons to the Natural Man

The Glorious Habitation
This first verse will derive peculiar interest if you remember the place where Moses was when he thus prayed. He was in the wilderness; not in some of the halls of Pharaoh, nor yet in a habitation in the land of Goshen; but in a wilderness. And perhaps from the summit of the hill, looking upon the tribes of Israel as they were taking up their tents and marching along, he thought, "Ah! poor travelers. They seldom rest anywhere; they have not any settled habitation where they can dwell. Here they have …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 1: 1855

Moses, the Mighty Intercessor
Intercessory Prayer is a powerful means of grace to the praying man. Martyn observes that at times of inward dryness and depression, he had often found a delightful revival in the act of praying for others for their conversion, or sanctification, or prosperity in the work of the Lord. His dealings with God for them about these gifts and blessings were for himself the divinely natural channel of a renewed insight into his own part and lot in Christ, into Christ as his own rest and power, into the …
Edward M. Bounds—Prayer and Praying Men

Life a Tale
We spend our years as a tale that is told. Psalm xc.9. We bring our years to an end like a thought, is the proper rendering of these words, according, to an eminent translator. But as the essential idea of the Psalmist is preserved in the common version, I employ it as peculiarly illustrative and forcible. It will be my object, in the present discourse, to show the fitness of the comparison in the text;--to suggest the points of resemblance between human life and a passing narrative. I observe, …
E. H. Chapin—The Crown of Thorns

The Eternity of God
The next attribute is, God is eternal.' Psa 90:0. From everlasting to everlasting thou art God.' The schoolmen distinguish between aevun et aeternum, to explain the notion of eternity. There is a threefold being. I. Such as had a beginning; and shall have an end; as all sensitive creatures, the beasts, fowls, fishes, which at death are destroyed and return to dust; their being ends with their life. 2. Such as had a beginning, but shall have no end, as angels and the souls of men, which are eternal …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

The Opinions
Of the Hebrew Doctors on the great Day of Judgment, and of the Reign of the Messiah then to come. Carpentarius, in his Commentary on the Alcinous of Plato, p. 322, asserts, that "the seventh millenary was called, by the whole school of the Cabalists, the great day of judgment, because then they think that God will judge the souls of all." He means, by the name of Cabalists, (if I am not mistaken,) the Talmudic doctors, according to whom, in more than one author, that tradition is found to be recorded. …
Joseph Mede—A Key to the Apocalypse

The Inner Chamber
Gerhard Ter Steegen Ps. xc. I My Beloved, from earth's many voices Welcome me to Thy seclusion sweet-- Let me still, and restful, and adoring, Sit with Mary at Thy blessed Feet-- In Thy secret place, alone with Thee, None beside to hear, and none to see. Led by wnadering gleams o'er fen and moorland, What are we, outwearied at our best? For the heart amidst the world's allurings Craveth evermore for God and rest-- God and rest--all else the weary load Of a toiler on an endless road. Blessed he, …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others

The Circumcision of Christ: a Hymn for New Year's Day. So Teach us to Number Our Days, that we May Apply Our Hearts unto Wisdom.
So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. O Ewigkeit, o Ewigkeit [56]Wülffer. 1648. trans. by Catherine Winkworth, 1855 Eternity! Eternity! How long art thou, Eternity! And yet to thee Time hastes away, Like as the warhorse to the fray, Or swift as couriers homeward go, Or ship to port, or shaft from bow. Ponder, O Man, Eternity! Eternity! Eternity! How long art thou, Eternity! For ever as on a perfect sphere End nor beginning can appear, Even so, Eternity, …
Catherine Winkworth—Lyra Germanica: The Christian Year

And for Your Fearlessness against them Hold this Sure Sign -- Whenever There Is...
43. And for your fearlessness against them hold this sure sign--whenever there is any apparition, be not prostrate with fear, but whatsoever it be, first boldly ask, Who art thou? And from whence comest thou? And if it should be a vision of holy ones they will assure you, and change your fear into joy. But if the vision should be from the devil, immediately it becomes feeble, beholding your firm purpose of mind. For merely to ask, Who art thou [1083] ? and whence comest thou? is a proof of coolness. …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

Table of the Books of Holy Scripture According to Date.
HISTORICAL BOOKS. PROPHETIC AND POETICAL BOOKS. B.C. 4004 1689 Genesis 1529 Job Psalm lxxxviii. by Heman, the Ezrahite, (See 1 Chron. ii. 6) 1491 Exodus 1491 Leviticus 1451 Numbers Psalm xc. and (perhaps) xci 1450 Deuteronomy 1451 1427 Joshua 1312 Ruth 1120 Judges 1171 1056 1 Samuel Psalms, certainly vii, xi, xvi, xvii, xxii, xxxi, xxxiv, lvi, liv, lii, cix, xxxv, lvii, lviii, cxliii, cxl, cxli, and many more 1056 1 Chronicles Psalms, certainly ii, vi, ix, xx, 1023 Psalms …
Charlotte Mary Yonge—The Chosen People

Old and New Year 445. O God, Our Help in Ages Past
[1699]St. Anne: William Croft, 1708 Psalm 90 Isaac Watts, 1719 O God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, Our shelter from the stormy blast, And our eternal home: Under the shadow of thy throne Thy saints have dwelt secure; Sufficient is thine arm alone, And our defense is sure. Before the hills in order stood, Or earth received her frame, From everlasting thou art God, To endless years the same. A thousand ages in thy sight Are like an evening gone; Short as the watch that ends …
Various—The Hymnal of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the USA

Wesley's Reasons for his Long Life
Saturday, June 28.--I this day enter on my eighty-fifth year; and what cause have I to praise God, as for a thousand spiritual blessings, so for bodily blessings also[ How little have I suffered yet by "the rush of numerous years!" It is true, I am not so agile as I was in times past. I do not run or walk so fast as I did; my sight is a little decayed; my left eye is grown dim and hardly serves me to read. I have daily some pain in the ball of my right eye, as also in my right temple (occasioned …
John Wesley—The Journal of John Wesley

Letter cxl. To Cyprian the Presbyter.
Cyprian had visited Jerome at Bethlehem and had asked him to write an exposition of Psalm XC. in simple language such as might be readily understood. With this request Jerome now complies, giving a very full account of the psalm, verse by verse, and bringing the treasures of his learning and especially his knowledge of Hebrew to bear upon it. He asserts its Mosaic authorship but is careful to add that "the man of God" may have spoken not for himself but in the name of the Jewish people. He speaks …
St. Jerome—The Principal Works of St. Jerome

Covenanting Provided for in the Everlasting Covenant.
The duty of Covenanting is founded on the law of nature; but it also stands among the arrangements of Divine mercy made from everlasting. The promulgation of the law, enjoining it on man in innocence as a duty, was due to God's necessary dominion over the creatures of his power. The revelation of it as a service obligatory on men in a state of sin, arose from his unmerited grace. In the one display, we contemplate the authority of the righteous moral Governor of the universe; in the other, we see …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

Jesus Discussed in Jerusalem.
"And after these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for He would not walk in Judaea, because the Jews sought to kill Him. Now the feast of the Jews, the feast of tabernacles, was at hand. His brethren therefore said unto Him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that Thy disciples also may behold Thy works which Thou doest. For no man doeth anything in secret, and himself seeketh to be known openly. If Thou doest these things, manifest Thyself to the world. For even His brethren did not believe on Him. …
Marcus Dods—The Expositor's Bible: The Gospel of St. John, Vol. I

A Startling Statement
TEXT: "The wicked shall not be unpunished."--Prov. 11:21. There are very many passages of Scripture which ought to be read in connection with this text; as for example, "Fools make a mock at sin" (Proverbs 14:9), for only a fool would. Better trifle with the pestilence and expose one's self to the plague than to discount the blighting effects of sin. And, again, "The soul that sinneth it shall die" (Ezekiel 18:4). From this clear statement of the word of God there is no escape. Or, again, "Our …
J. Wilbur Chapman—And Judas Iscariot

Aron, Brother of Moses, 486, 487.
Abba, same as Father, [3]381; St. Paul uses both words, [4]532. Abel, [5]31, [6]252, [7]268, [8]450. Abimelech, [9]72, [10]197. Abraham, seed of, faithful Christians also, [11]148, [12]149, [13]627; servant's hand under his thigh, [14]149, [15]334; poor in midst of riches, [16]410. Absalom, David's son, [17]4, [18]5; type of Judas the traitor, [19]4, [20]20. Absolution granted by the Church, [21]500. Abyss, or deep, of God's judgments, [22]88; of man's heart, [23]136. Accuser, the devil the great, …
St. Augustine—Exposition on the Book of Psalms

Works by the Same Author.
Crown 8vo, cloth, price 7s. 6d. each. THE PSALMS. VOL. I.--PSALMS I.-XXXVIII. " II.--PSALMS XXXIX.-LXXXIX. " III.--PSALMS XC-CL. IN THE "EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE." "The work of a brilliant and effective teacher. He writes with real power and insight."--Saturday Review. "Dr. Maclaren has evidently mastered his subject with the aid of the best authorities, and has put the results of his studies before his readers in a most attractive form, and if we add that this commentary really helps to the better …
Alexander Maclaren—The Life of David

Boniface, Apostle of the Germans.
BONIFACE, or Winfried, as they called him in Anglo-Saxon, born at Crediton in Devonshire, in 680, deserves to be honoured as the father of the German Church, although he was by no means the first who brought the seeds of the Gospel to Germany. Many had already laboured before him; but the efforts which had been made here and there did not suffice to secure the endurance of Christianity amongst the many perils to which it was exposed. Christianity needs to be linked with firm ecclesiastical institutions, …
Augustus Neander—Light in the Dark Places

The Christian's God
Scripture References: Genesis 1:1; 17:1; Exodus 34:6,7; 20:3-7; Deuteronomy 32:4; 33:27; Isaiah 40:28; 45:21; Psalm 90:2; 145:17; 139:1-12; John 1:1-5; 1:18; 4:23,24; 14:6-11; Matthew 28:19,20; Revelation 4:11; 22:13. WHO IS GOD? How Shall We Think of God?--"Upon the conception that is entertained of God will depend the nature and quality of the religion of any soul or race; and in accordance with the view that is held of God, His nature, His character and His relation to other beings, the spirit …
Henry T. Sell—Studies in the Life of the Christian

The Wrath of God
What does every sin deserve? God's wrath and curse, both in this life, and in that which is to come. Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire.' Matt 25: 41. Man having sinned, is like a favourite turned out of the king's favour, and deserves the wrath and curse of God. He deserves God's curse. Gal 3: 10. As when Christ cursed the fig-tree, it withered; so, when God curses any, he withers in his soul. Matt 21: 19. God's curse blasts wherever it comes. He deserves also God's wrath, which is …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

The Poetical Books (Including Also Ecclesiastes and Canticles).
1. The Hebrews reckon but three books as poetical, namely: Job, Psalms, and Proverbs, which are distinguished from the rest by a stricter rhythm--the rhythm not of feet, but of clauses (see below, No. 3)--and a peculiar system of accentuation. It is obvious to every reader that the poetry of the Old Testament, in the usual sense of the word, is not restricted to these three books. But they are called poetical in a special and technical sense. In any natural classification of the books of the …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

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