The Reality of God's View of Our Heart

Going through the book of Psalms we find many challenging heart statements by the psalmists. These Psalms were written in the heart of the Bible and give the careful reader a picture of the Christian life. Many times, the psalmist is pouring out his praises and thanksgivings before God. In some of the Psalms we are given reports of God’s goodness and providence. In other places you can sense the frustration of the sojourner as he deals with the enemies that have beset him round about. 

One helpful tool to the Christian today is to take use of the very words of Scripture in our prayers to our wonderful God. We certainly can identify with the heart cries found throughout these hymns of the Hebrews. 

One such verse that struck my heart is found in Psalm 69 verse 5. 

“O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee.”


What a tremendous statement concerning our daily sinfulness. Our sin is not a popular conversation to be taken up before God. We would like to think of our goodness rather than our transgressions. But it is certainly true that daily we need to have our “feet” cleansed from walking in this sin-cursed world (John 13:10). Notice that the first two words in this verse:

Show Perspective

The psalmist begins by declaring “O God…” These two simple words both declare an anguish of heart and also an admission to the supremacy of Almighty God. This perspective sets up the following declaration of humility before God. Notice that the next few words:

Show Humility

“thou knowest my foolishness…”  The psalmist declares as he sees God through the eyes of faith that indeed his sinfulness is foolish and known by God. It recognizes the holiness of God and our struggle with our own flesh and declares God’s goodness in contrast with our failures.  Next the psalmist agrees with what God has already revealed and we find that the last few words:

Show Submission

The psalmist in this landmark statement says, “my sins are not hid from thee.” Oftentimes we point out our neighbors’ sin while disregarding our own. Here the psalmist takes responsibility and agrees with God that “my sins” are not hid from my Lord and Saviour. The truth is we should spend some time in prayer everyday asking God to cleanse us from our unrighteousness. It is not a matter of whether or not we will sin, it is a matter of whether we submit ourselves to God with our sin. 

As a child of God our sin in totality is paid for by Jesus Christ the moment we place our trust in Him. But we must seek God’s face for a clear fellowship daily (I John 1:6,7,9) declaring as the psalmist did:

“O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee.”

Pastor James Grandinetti, Community Outreach Pastor, Sharon Baptist Church