“Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression,” verses 12-13.

We are near to the end of this psalm. The verses before us contain one question, two requests and one assertion.

1. THERE IS NONE WHO KNOWS HOW SINFUL THEY ARE.

* None of us can rightly see all our ‘errors’. This word means ‘our going astray’. We are ‘prone to wander’’ as Robert Robinson wrote in his hymn. “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”.

* It is for this reason that men protest when being told that they are sinful and will never get to heaven unless converted.

* We fail to recognise those deeds which are truly sinful, considering them ‘harmless’.

2. WE MUST PRAY FOR THE CLEANSING OF SECRET SINS.

Our sins are ‘hidden’ from our view and understanding! The word ‘secret’ first appears in Genesis 4:14 as ‘hid’. Cain complains of being cast away by the Lord and being hidden from the face of God, unable to find Him.  

* We need the Lord’s help to see our sinfulness. Remember David: “And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man,” 2 Sam 12:7. David was blind to his dreadful sins!

3. WE NEED THE LORD TO KEEP US BACK FROM SIN!

“Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me.”

* In our pride we tend to presumptuously call sin good and see no wrong in committing such. We arrogantly excuse wrong-doing!

* We must be ‘kept back’ from such sins. We must be made aware by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit just what sin is! Otherwise we would go on sinning most foolishly. They would have “dominion over” us. That is ‘rule and reign’ over us. We would be the slaves of sin.

4. ONLY THEN CAN WE LIVE A HOLY LIFE.

“Then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.” That is what we all should seek to enjoy. “O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD,” Isa 2:5.