Psalms 130:3 “If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? 4 But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.”
Since “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), if our “Lord, shouldest mark iniquities”, none could “stand”. In this context, to “mark” is to take note of and keep. It is certain that our Omniscient “God” knows everything, including every one of our sins and, if He deems it necessary, He chastens us in this present life to correct our behavior (Hebrews 12:6, Revelation 3:19). To “stand”, is to hold firm a position of righteousness and holiness before God, who is “the righteous judge” (II Timothy 4:8), and He judges according to His own Law and Righteousness. Once sin occurred, the sinner was corrupted and has no righteousness with which to redeem themselves or justify themselves before God or to even appeal for lenient mercy. And, we are sinners on two accounts; first, when Adam sinned, the guilt and penalty of sin was passed to all men and second, we all commit sin ourselves (Romans 5:12). Furthermore, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (I John 1:8). But, with respect to our Eternal Judgment, our fitness for Eternal Heaven, “we are now justified by” Jesus Christ’s “blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him” (Romans 5:9) and “by the righteousness of” Jesus Christ “shall many be made righteous” (Romans 5:19). In an Eternal sense, allegorically our Lord has “cast all” our “sins behind” His “back” (Isaiah 38:17), “cast” our “sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19), and “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalms 103:12). For, “there is forgiveness with” our merciful and gracious and ever-loving Lord. And, in this present life, as the Lord told Israel, “I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed” (Malachi 3:6); that is, He does not change from His Fatherly love and ownership of His people. “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.” (Hebrews 13:15).