[0:00] Now let us turn to one of the passages of scripture which we read in the book of Psalms.
[0:10] The book of Psalms, Psalm 130. I'm going to go up and help us with like a concentrate on verses 3 and 4.
[0:25] Psalm 130 verses 3 and 4. If you, Lord, should mark in equities, O Lord, who could stand?
[0:44] But there is forgiveness with you that you may be feared. If you, Lord, should mark in equities, O Lord, who could stand?
[0:58] But there is forgiveness with you that you may be feared. It is said that on his deathbed, the famous Martin Luther said, Will you sing me one of Paul's sands?
[1:23] And they said to him, What do you mean, Paul's sands? And the parent, apparently, he met Psalm 32, which is there, and Psalm 130, which we were looking at.
[1:41] There were other ones, I can't remember right now what there were, but he meant, when he said Paul's sands, the sands which teach justification by faith and O Lord.
[1:55] So, here we have Psalm 130. Notice how it starts, and notice how it ends.
[2:08] How does someone go from the depths? He starts off, Out of the depths, I have cried to you, O Lord. In the end, he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
[2:31] He shall. Hundreds of them go, as it were, from the depths of despair to absolute certainty and hope and trust and confidence in God.
[2:44] What comes between the first verse and the last verse to make such a change in a person? And it's the gospel, he said.
[2:57] It's the gospel. Now, when you explain the gospel to people who are genuinely interested, you tell them that?
[3:08] Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved. You say, it can't be that simple. It's more complex than that.
[3:19] Surely it can't be that simple. And yet, you see, the realization that it is simple faith in Christ liberates a soul.
[3:30] It changes a person's life. It transforms their whole character. The realization of that truth that captivated Martin Luther, who's 517 celebrating this month.
[3:49] Justification by faith alone. Now, when the psalmist composed the psalm, how did he do it?
[4:04] What? How did the psalmist compose the psalm? Was it the case that the psalmist said, Well, I've got a quiet afternoon.
[4:16] I got a psalm. Is that how he did it? No. Not how he did it. Was it the case that the psalmist said, Well, look, I've got 50 psalms to compose by the end of the year.
[4:31] I better reserve every Tuesday morning to compose these psalms. Is that how he wrote them? No. No. What's the context?
[4:41] How did they write the psalms? Out of what kind of ethos, what kind of spirit did they write the psalms? That is why we sang Psalm 45 at the beginning.
[4:58] My heart is in doubt in a good matter. Now, the word inditing means bubbling up or overflowing. In the New King James here, in the normal psalms we have, My heart is overflowing with a good theme.
[5:20] I recite my composition concerning the king. My tongue is a pen of a ready writer. What he's saying there is this.
[5:30] My heart is bubbling up. My heart is bubbling over with some great aspect of God's mercy. And I can't stop picking up my pen and putting it in writing.
[5:45] Actually, the New Sing Psalms, I've got it, I've put it very well. A noble theme inspires my heart with verses for the king.
[5:56] In Psalm 45, he was overwhelmed with the greatness and the beauty of the king, Christ Jesus, that was to come. And he couldn't prevent himself picking up his pen and writing it down.
[6:10] His heart was overflowing, bubbling up with this fantastic theme of God's mercy in Christ. That's how they composed the signs.
[6:24] So, what is the noble theme of this psalm? Psalm 130. What's the noble theme?
[6:35] Well, I would say my summary of it would be, well, I think these two verses, in fact, these two verses don't just to be sum up the Sabbath.
[6:51] But these two verses, basically, are a summary of the whole Bible. Couldn't we contract it and say, despite the theme, the title, the meaning of the psalm, is, despite the seriousness of our sin, there is forgiveness with God.
[7:16] There is still forgiveness with God, despite how serious our sin is. And when you think of it, when you think of it, is that not the theme of the whole Bible?
[7:31] From Genesis to Revelation? Summarise it in one sentence, could it not be that? If you should mark it, who could stand Lord?
[7:43] But, but, all these blessed buts, someone, they said, well, it reminds me of Jones, who said, the most important word in the Bible is, but, but, yet, but, there is forgiveness with you, despite the seriousness of our sin.
[8:05] So let's look at these two things, the seriousness of sin, and then the reality, the truth, that there is forgiveness with God. What's the problem?
[8:19] What's the problem with sin? Why is sin so serious for you and me? The answer is, our problem before God is not what the psychologists say, or guilt feelings.
[8:38] Our problem before God is we're guilty. Our problem is guilt, not guilt feelings.
[8:49] Far more serious than guilt feelings, we are guilty before God. So he asked, what is guilt?
[9:01] Guilt, guilt, guilt, is liability to punish it. Because of your behavior, you're liable to be punished.
[9:14] That's guilt. And that's right, it's not guilt feelings you have, we are guilty. Is that not right? We have sinned. We are guilty before God.
[9:28] Whether we feel guilty or not, we are guilty before God. Because of our sin, we are liable to punishment from God.
[9:44] That's a starting, that's a starting price. Paul writes to the Roman church about the element and basic fundamentals of the gospel.
[10:04] Where do you start when you try to explain to somebody the gospel? Where do you start? Lots of people say, oh, you start with God as love. Is that where Paul started?
[10:17] Listen to him. Where did he start? Romans 1.18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.
[10:30] That's a starting point. You go along to somebody and say, oh God loves you. You say, well what's the problem? And by the way, explain to me why I get cancer if God loves me. Why did my child die if God loves me?
[10:42] It is true God is love. But it's also true God is holy and he has sworn the soul that sins must die.
[10:56] That's a starting point. That's where Paul starts in and that's where we must start. So God is sin. Someone has said it's saying no to God.
[11:13] You know what God wants. but you don't want to do it. You're not happy about it. That's sin.
[11:25] Saying no to God. Sinners disagreeing with God. Disagreeing with God.
[11:38] You see, I can be keeping all the commandments. I can be keeping them all not breaking one of them. And then God gives me cancer.
[11:52] I'm not a hearty body. I'm disagreeing with God. I say, God, why do you do that? I don't want cancer.
[12:03] I disagree. I'm not breaking the commandments. I'm disagreeing with God. You see, we have just, some people say, what's the difference between obedience and submission?
[12:15] As I understand it, we obey commands. We submit to God's will. We submit to God's will.
[12:30] We submit, or we should submit, to God's providence. we don't like it, we don't open with it, but that's sin. That's sin.
[12:41] If anybody got out to say in the morning, Christ always agreed with his father. Think about it. Think about it in your own life.
[12:52] Sin is really God's murder. If we don't get rid of God. I remember when I young boy said, I wish it wasn't religion.
[13:07] It would be great. I could do what I want. I want it rid of God. God's murder. That's sin.
[13:17] Be rid of God. God's murder. Well, here is the sauce. He's in the depths. He knows he's serious.
[13:31] He knows he's guilty. He's aghast of himself. He's traumatized with his condition. And he says, who can stand if God should mark the neck of him?
[13:46] That word mark, in the original, it means intense scrutiny. God doesn't just examine the surface.
[13:58] You do something wrong. If we're interviewing somebody for a job or a post, we look at what he does, don't we? And then we work in the way and say, now, why did he do that?
[14:13] If we're examining somebody, we start with outward behaviour, and then we go into the motives and the purpose and the reason he does things. It's the opposite of God. God starts with the heart.
[14:25] God starts from the inside. And then he works out. And so often, with us all, we never definitely need to reach the actions.
[14:36] The heart has been wrong. We're disagreeing with God. And the other thing about marking is the recording.
[14:48] The recording from this deed. When God marks iniquity, he calls it. This, there's a verse in Galatians 3, verse 10 or 13, Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things that are written in the book of the law.
[15:12] The demands of God's law are great. You see, our God is an absolute being. And that's why he cannot simply accept the best he can offer.
[15:28] We argue, don't we, well, look, I can't do any more. I can't do any better. It's the best I can do. Surely that's acceptable. Think about it.
[15:39] not with an absolute being. God's an absolute being. Therefore, he requires, demands from his creatures, absolute perfection.
[15:59] Our standards he requires has to be the height of heaven. Reach heaven's standards, not the best that earth can produce, but what heaven requires.
[16:10] That's the standard. The depths, as we've said already, in our inward hearts. He required his truth in the inward parts.
[16:23] The bread, every action, every person, no exceptions. God's law is unrelaxable, unchangeable, unchangeable, and inalienable, because God is God, because God is absolute.
[16:53] He can't relax it for any reason. He cannot change it for any reason, and it's inalienable.
[17:06] No. What do the theologians mean by that? Well, if I've understood the correctly, it means this. You can't get out of it. You can't opt out and say, oh, I'm not going to be a Christian.
[17:19] It won't apply to me. Oh, yes. The question is not, are you a Christian when it comes to God's law? When it comes to God's law, the question is, are you a human being?
[17:32] And if you are a human being, God's law applies to you. You can't opt out. How long have you to keep this up for? Cursed is everyone who continues not.
[17:48] It's forever. Forever. Because God is absolute. He's unchangeable. well, I'm really liable to punishment.
[18:06] Well, I go to the subject. It's not pleasant. I don't enjoy it. But isn't it true?
[18:18] We have to face the truth. We have to face reality. if you Lord should mark iniquities, oh, who could stand here?
[18:33] But, but, but, there is forgiveness with you. There is the reality of forgiveness.
[18:44] Wonderful. You know, we sinful people are people of extremes. How long it takes to convict the person of his sin?
[18:56] The moment you convict them, he goes to the other extreme, oh, there's no hope for me, you don't know how bad I am. We've got the two extremes. But here's the truth.
[19:09] Our sin is far more serious than we realize. But yet, there is forgiveness with God. There is.
[19:23] Now, I love verse 4. I see the gospel. But there is forgiveness with you that you may be feared.
[19:38] that the word that could be fully translated, but there is forgiveness with you in order that you may be feared.
[19:53] Do not the preach comes first. You see, I used to think, maybe you here tonight, you might think the same.
[20:04] I used to think, well, God is not going to forgive me until I sought myself out. God is not going to forgive me until I learn to fear him properly, until I learn to worship properly.
[20:18] He's not going to forgive me. Is that the author of the gospel? Is that what we have in verses 3 and 4? Verse 4, is it? There is forgiveness with you, O Lord, in order that you may then fear aright.
[20:35] respect God properly. You'll never respect God properly until you first receive forgiveness. Psalm 9, verse 10, I think it is, it says, those who know you will put their trust in you.
[21:04] Those who know you and you will put their trust in you. Do you know why we don't know God?
[21:15] Do you know why we don't follow Christ? because you don't know Christ. You'll never follow Christ until you first receive his forgiveness for living on.
[21:30] Now that's the order of this verse here. Forgiveness first, then living properly, then feeling God aright.
[21:43] You can't talk about living properly, worshipping properly, until you first receive forgiveness. That's the order of it. It's not just simply in the New Testament, it's in the Old Testament.
[22:02] And that's why, well, in, you see, he says, in his, in verse, the next verse, in his word, I make sort of all my souls, and in his word, in the word, I do hope.
[22:17] what has God promised? Upon what does prayer and faith for mercy depend? In his word, I do hope.
[22:30] And here's his word, there is forgiveness in order that you may be properly washed out. We have it the other way around, because we don't understand God's ways are not ours.
[22:47] And that's why the gospel, why Christ comes in the gospel to every one of us and says, come to me and we'll sort out your life together.
[22:59] But until you surrender to me, you'll never sort out your life. We tend to think, I have to sort myself out first.
[23:11] You can't sort yourself out. Only Christ can sort you out. So we have to come to him first. And let him work salvation up to us.
[23:25] Let him, his Holy Spirit, within us to turn our lives and transform us. Now, what is clearly before us, his, his, worried, I do hope.
[23:44] But what has his worried said? You see, we sometimes make up our minds, oh, God's going to do this, God's going to do that. Has God promised you to do this?
[23:58] I remember God was so merciful to me. I remember being exercised the fact that God had never said to me when I had cancer, oh, you'll be cured, you'll be cured.
[24:18] I couldn't find a promise in the Bible where he said that. I found a promise that God said, I will be with you in trouble. Oh, God has not promised us a straightforward life, but he has promised to be with us, and with us he is, and with us he will be if we trust in him.
[24:44] So, we ask now, what has God promised? You need a promise to plead. Has God said he do this? Has God said he do that? He has said he will be with us, but the details, the specifics, that's another story.
[25:00] So, I want to look right now at this forgiveness. What does God promise? He who comes is seen will not prosper, but, it's these buts, the wonderful but, but, whoever, whoever confesses and forsakes him will have mercy.
[25:24] whoever, whoever, that word, whoever, is a great word. I love it. In the authorized versions, it's whosoever, but you know how it could be translated?
[25:42] It could be translated without exception. Without an exception, shame. Whoever call, whoever, it confesses and forsakes his sin.
[25:58] Without rushing. We read there in Romans 10. For the scripture says, whoever, whoever believes on him will not be put to shame.
[26:20] Whoever believes. Was it Robbie Duncan? Was it Robbie Duncan? I can't remember who it was. It said, I am so glad that my name is not in the Bible.
[26:33] Because if the Bible said, if Robbie Duncan believes in the name of the Lord, he will be saved. I will be terrified to be another Robbie Duncan somewhere.
[26:46] But when it says, whoever, I'm in there. I'm in there. It doesn't matter who you are.
[26:57] All that matters is you trust Christ, you believe in the gospel. That's what matters. Whoever. And also in the Romans name, whoever calls on the name of the Lord, shall be saved.
[27:19] Is that hard? Is that difficult? Is that impossible? Is God asking too much?
[27:32] And he says, just call on me. You've got yourself in a mess. just call on me.
[27:44] Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved. Isn't the gospel glorious? No one, no one perishes who trusts in him.
[28:03] Don't we often sing the fact Psalm 34, the last verse. None perish that him trust.
[28:16] How's that for the gospel? How's that for the gospel in the Old Testament? The utter impossibility of anyone perishing who trusts in Christ.
[28:32] That's a reality. Isn't that glorious? Isn't that wonderful? And you know, he used to put the word kind. He used to put that up.
[28:44] Verse 7. More blessings in verse 7. With the Lord there is mercy and with him is abundant redemption.
[28:57] Abundant redemption. Plenty redemption. Plenty available. With the Lord there is mercy.
[29:07] That word mercy couldn't be translated with the Lord there is steadfast love. And plentiful redemption.
[29:19] Now what it is saying there is plenty mercy available in Christ with God. But what it's emphasising here is once you taste of that plentiful redemption that plentiful mercy once you taste it after that God's love is steadfast.
[29:45] grace. That is very important. That's very helpful. It means God will still continue to love you irrespective of your many failures.
[30:03] He will continue to love you. The gifts and the calling of God are without change of heart, change of mind.
[30:13] change. You can't change. I remember long before I was converted I used to be terrified of that verse in Malachi 3 6.
[30:28] Yes. For I am the Lord. I do not change. Therefore you are not consumed.
[30:40] You sons of Jacob. I am the Lord. I don't change. It used to terrify me. But you know the devil kept me from reading the verse properly. What does it say?
[30:50] You sons of Jacob. I don't change. Therefore you are not consumed. you are not you deserve to be consumed.
[31:10] The way you behave even after I say to him. But because I do not change you are not consumed. You deserve to be my word.
[31:24] My word. My oath. I have sworn your word. Trust in me and forever my steadfast love won't be around you.
[31:38] You will wander. You will fail. But my steadfast enough is upon you who trusts me. The point is we will require God's mercy again.
[31:53] We're not going to look perfect lives. We're going to let him down. But his love is constant steadfast love.
[32:05] What a glorious salvation there is in Christ. What wonderful. What's the conclusion of the whole life?
[32:16] What is between his despair and joy? What's his noble theme? What's indicting his heart? What's making him bubble up and bubble over?
[32:28] A plea for mercy based on a word of truth. God speaks. God speaks. There is forgiveness with God.
[32:41] Christ comes in the gospel and says, just come to me. Leave all your responsibilities with me.
[32:53] I will be responsible for you on the day of judgment. just come to me. Just come to me. Just trust me. Just leave your soul and all its sins with it.
[33:08] Hand me your sins. If you don't want your mark in equities, oh Lord, who could stand but, but there is forgiveness with you that you may be filled.
[33:28] May God, the Holy Spirit, make his work be faithful to all us. Let's pray. Our Father be pleased to take the things of Christ, burn them upon our hearts.
[33:49] Unite us in a living, saving faith to your Son this night. bind us up with the bundle of life of Christ. Wash us in the fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins, for sinners plunged beneath that blood lose all their guilty stains.
[34:13] Hear us in mercy, answer us in peace as we pray only and all in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.
[34:25] Amen.