So, Out of the Depths. It's a
song of degrees. It's one of those songs of ascents.
It was a song that was on the lips of those, including the
Lord Jesus Christ, as they went up to Jerusalem. And we know, all of us, as Adam's
children, know something of the depths of what it is to be fallen
and live in a fallen world. But these depths that are spoken
of here are the depths that a child of God experiences, and they're
depths that cause him to cry out to the Lord. We are a prosperous people and
live in a prosperous land and the Lord Jesus Christ said that
wealth is deceptive and only things that deceive us deceive
us because we don't know we're deceived by them and if we are
in prosperity then some of our prayers can be as shallow and
as empty as the things that we hold on to in this world. And
the Lord brings his people to a place. He casts his people
down that prayer may come from our hearts. Don't you love what
happened to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus? And I love
that story because it, according to 1 Timothy 1, is a pattern
of what happened to other believers. But what was the testimony of
God regarding Saul when he was He had prayed thousands of prayers,
and no doubt he'd prayed really wonderfully theologically correct
prayers, and he'd prayed them on the street corners to be seen,
and he'd prayed them in meetings where all the religious people
were gathered, and the Lord said he hadn't prayed a single word
to me. Behold, he prayeth. It is, it is something that is,
common throughout the scriptures, isn't it? That the Lord's people
cry out of the depths, out of the horrible pit in Psalm 40. Jeremiah was in a dungeon. Jonah
called out from the belly of hell in Jonah chapter two. God's people cry out. when a poor broken hearted sinner
from the depths of sin cries to the depths of divine mercy. It seems like a distressing place
to be and I'm speaking to people who know something on that because
all of the Lord's children have experienced these things. something
that our Lord Jesus Christ experienced as well. He knows what it is
to be in those depths. He was in those depths in a way
that was far more poignant than any of us can possibly contemplate
the depths of what it was for him to be made sin, the depths
of him being forsaken by his father, the depths of him going
and bearing all eternal and infinite hell for
all of his people. He knows about depths, and he
knows how to take his people into the depths, and he knows
how he puts a cry on the hearts of his people. Deep calleth unto
deep. It's a cry from the depths for
mercy, and it's a good place to be, a good place for us to
be, even though in so many ways it is a distressing place for
us to be. The afflictions that the Lord's
people suffer are, in Psalm 18, they're considered deep waters,
and the Lord, O save me, O God, for the waters are come into
my soul. And I want us to notice also
that it speaks of depths, it means plural. So there's the
depths of fear, there's the depths of sin, there's the depths of
despair, and depths speak of darkness, where there seems to
be no light or so little light that everything seems to be overwhelming
and all is too much for us. The Lord saves from the uttermost,
and no matter how deeply we have fallen, we have never fallen
beyond the uttermost, and it's the uttermost from which he saves.
The depths in this cry declares a need, and it's a need that
can only be filled by the Lord himself. There's a quote that
I love, true prayer is an inventory a catalogue of necessity, a revelation
of hidden Faith that never wept is a faith
that never lived. I want us to be mindful of the
fact that there is a depth which is particular to the children
of God. It's a depth of feeling the absence
of his presence and the absence of his smile upon us. God creates a thirst in the hearts
of his people to cry out to him. Out of the depths I've cried.
Out of the depths. And this verse tells us so much
about what true prayer really is. True prayer is lowly, out
of the depths. True prayer is fervent. I've cried, I've called. True prayer is directed to God
himself. He says, unto thee. True prayer
has a reverence for God, our Lord. True prayer is awed by
the Lord, the solemn title of our great God used again and
again in this prayer. And true prayer is personal. Lord, hear my voice. Lord, hear
what I am saying. Let thine eyes be attentive to
the voice of my supplications, my pleadings for you. Lord, hear my voice. Lord, hear
my voice. God has promised. We love reading
Jeremiah 31, and we ought to know it and study it well, because
Jeremiah 31 is quoted twice in the New Testament. And Jeremiah
31 speaks of the Lord appearing of old, appearing eternally,
saying, yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore
with loving kindness have I drawn thee. And Jeremiah 31, 31 speaks
of the eternal covenant of grace and the Lord coming to his people
and revealing himself to his people. They shall teach no more
every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying,
Know the Lord, for they shall all know me from the least of
them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord. How do we know
him? For I will forgive their iniquity. We know him in the forgiveness
of iniquity. And I will remember their sin
no more. But listen to what verse nine says about how he leads
his people. Behold, I will bring them. I will bring them, in verse 9,
they shall come, listen to it, they shall come with weeping
and with supplications will I lead them. I will cause them to walk
by the rivers and waters in a straight way wherein they shall not stumble
for I am a father to Israel and Ephraim is my firstborn. Lord, out of the depths I cry. Lord, hear my voice. I'm crying to you. Hear my voice. Let thine ears
be attentive to the voice of my supplication. out to you. Out of the depths,
I'm crying out to you. I've got no one else to cry to
because there is no help anywhere else. Verse three and four are
just glorious, aren't they? Lord, if thou, Lord, What's iniquity? The word literally
means that which is not equal. That's what it means. Whatever
breaks a command of God is not equal. Lord, if you should inquire
and scrutinize and restrain and impute You would find iniquity
in all of Adam's children. Who shall stand? Who shall stand? If you should mark them as a
watchman, there's no one going to stand. No one. If you keep account of and treat
us according to our sins, If you shall keep in mind to
lay up and to have as a store and a stock and as a memorial,
none shall stand. There we have the depths of man
in his fallenness. One brings us to repentance. and the other one shows us the
mercy of the Lord. Don't you love the word but in
the scriptures? We were dead in transgressions
and sins but because of his great love for us God sent his dear
and precious son to us. But there is forgiveness How often do we have to call
upon our brothers and sisters and other people that we know
in this world to say, please forgive me, please forgive me. But this is a greater cry, isn't
it? David says, against thee and
thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight. Our sins
are always sins against God Almighty. But there is a glorious but. "'but there is forgiveness with
thee "'that thou mayest be feared.'" Isn't that an extraordinary declaration
from our God, that he's forgiven us, he's forgiven us of all of
those iniquities with which we couldn't stand, he's forgiven
us of all of those iniquities that cause us to cry out, to
cause him to plead with him, let me hear, this is the voice
of my pleading, my supplication, Please don't mark my iniquities,
that thou mayest be feared. The fear of the Lord is a treasure. The fear of the Lord is a strong
tower. The fear of the Lord is the gift
of God and the promise of God. I love the, if you were in Jeremiah
31, if you turn over to Jeremiah chapter 32, He says in verse 39, he speaks
of these people being his people. He speaks in 37 of gathering
them to himself. In verse 38 he says, they shall
be my people and I will be their God. And then he says in verse
39, and I will give them one heart and one way that they may
fear me forever for the good. It was interesting, here I was
with Owen who was 96 and he's lived a lot of life and seen
a lot of Christian activity of all sorts for a long, long time.
And the one thing that he and I, and he instigated it was,
he said one of his great fears, one of his great fears is that
there's very little fear of God. Isn't that interesting? The interesting
testament is someone who's about to part this world. But they
may fear me forever for the good of them and of their children
after them, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them
that I will not turn away from them to do them good, but I will
put my feet on the cross. What's your fear? Do you fear departing from the Lord?
Do you fear losing your love for him? They're the depths, aren't they,
the psalmist and all of God's people? Do you fear being taken
captive by lies masquerading The most dangerous lies are the
ones that contain the most truth, because the most dangerous error
is the error of a little bit of yeast, and the promise of
God is it works through the whole batch of dough. There's a fear. The being carried away from the
heaven of his presence by the power and the influence and the
flood of this world. There's a fear of slumber. There's
a fear of error. There's a fear of not being in
his presence. There's a cry out of the depths
that comes to the Lord's people. It is good for the Lord's people
to be made by him, to fear him. There is forgiveness. Don't you
love that word? There is forgiveness with thee
that thou mayest be feared. I wait for the Lord. My soul doth wait. and in his
word do I hope." Don't you love that we have the word of God?
Don't you love that the gospel opens up the word of God to us? I wait. I wait for the Lord. I wait on the Lord. I wait and I'm watching for him. See, waiting is awaiting in faith,
isn't it? It's acknowledging that there
is a promise made that is not fulfilled in our presence. We,
by the Spirit, I love how the Lord declares it in Galatians
chapter four, what, chapter five. For we, through the Spirit, The
hope of righteousness, wait by faith. For we through the Spirit
wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. Waiting is an act of
faith, isn't it? Waiting gives us time to contemplate
the reception of the gift. I want to hear, I want my prayers
to be answered. I want God to hear. I want God
to hear my voice. I want him to be attentive to
my pleas. For myself, I want him to be
attentive to my pleas for each and every one of you and your
families and all who are associated with us. to respond in such a way that
causes us, who wait in faith, to be thankful for his grace
because he and that prayer in our hearts. And doesn't it make
the blessing sweeter when finally, having waited, it arrives? But
also, it's an acknowledgement, isn't it, that God is absolutely
sovereign, and he will give in response to the prayer that he
puts in the hearts of his people, in response to his word, in his
word, do I hope. And he will do exactly as he
has promised in his word. My soul waiteth for the Lord
more than they that watch for the morning, I say. that watch
for the morning. To watch for the morning was
to be on the watchtowers of Jerusalem and you're looking out over those
hills to the east and you're waiting for the first glimmer
of light again. And we are waiting aren't we? One day we are watching and waiting
and one day our Lord Jesus Christ will appear and this glorious day, as they were looking
for the sun to arise. We are watching for the sun of
righteousness to arise in the hearts of these people. When
the darkness is taken away and there is that first glimmer of
light in the morning, we're watching for the bridegroom to come. We
are watching and waiting for that voice, that familiar voice
of the shepherd calling us to himself. We are watching and
waiting. more than they that watch for
the morning. Verse seven, let Israel hope
in the Lord. in is plenteous redemption. Don't you love that verse? Isn't
that glorious? Let Israel, let all the spiritual Israel of God
hope in the Lord. We're hoping in his word in verse
five, aren't we? We're hoping that he will fulfill
the promises as he's always done. There's not a single promises.
They're all yay and amen in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are the
living testimony of his promises. For with the Lord there is mercy. His tender mercies are over all
of his works, over his people. There is mercy. It's a mercy
that we are made to cry. It's a mercy that we are made
to call out to him, hear the voice of my supplications. It's
a mercy for us to say, please hear what I'm praying. It's a
mercy that there is forgiveness with him that he might be feared.
There's a mercy in waiting for him. There's a mercy that he
receives sinners. A mercy that he restores the
backsliders. It's a mercy that he takes those
who are in darkness and crying out to him. and he shines the
light of the glory of his very presence upon them through his
word and through his gospel and through the fellowship of his
people. And he restores us again. It's
a mercy that keeps us. We're kept by the power of God
through faith. It's a mercy that pardons sin.
It's a mercy that brings us, brings all of his people, all
of Israel, into all of the privileges of the gospel. He's determined to exalt mercy
and to glorify mercy. There is a mercy with the Lord. What an encouragement to come.
If you're in the depths and if you're crying and if you're pleading
with him, what a great encouragement to keep coming, keep coming.
There's a throne of grace. It's not a throne of works, Hebrews
4. We come boldly to the throne
of grace in our time of need. When are we not in need? When
are we not in need? We should be encouraged. That's
what the psalmist is saying here, isn't it? Let Israel hope in
the Lord, with the Lord there is mercy, and with him there
is plenteous redemption. Don't you love that? There's
an abundance of redemption in him. An abundance of redemption
in him. He brought us back. Not only
does He take us out of the dungeon, but He takes us into a palace.
Not only does He take us out of the depths, but He takes us
to the very throne of God where all of His people are seated
in the Lamb. What precious blood, blood redemption. The Lord Jesus Christ buying
His bride back to Himself. And listen to how the psalmist
finishes, and he shall redeem Israel from some of his iniquities. Listen to what he says. He shall
redeem Israel from all his iniquities. Don't you love the fact that
when the Lord Jesus Christ declared it is finished from the cross,
payment was paid in full for all of the sins and nothing else God demands. That's redemption, isn't it?
It's not just to be brought back, but to be brought back into his
presence and be brought back with him. There is mercy. There is mercy and plenteous
redemption. I want to close by reading a
story from a long time ago. This is a story of Spurgeon.
He was away preaching with a fellow on, rather, Orford, and he was
conducting prayer meetings, and Pastor Orford told one evening
a tale and Spurgeon was so moved by this tale that afterwards,
after every evening meeting, he asked him to repeat this story
again. And this is the story. There was a poor man living on
Dartmoor. Dartmoor is up on the moors where
there are no trees. it's only habitable in the summertime,
who had been employed during the summer looking after horses
and cows and so on which were turned out on the moor. He was
a perfect heathen. He was a true sinner and never
went to a place of worship, perhaps since he was a child. For him
there was no Sabbath. After a time, he grew very ill. He was over 60 years of age and
having nothing to live on, he went into the workhouse. While
he was there, it pleased the mysterious spirit to make him
uneasy as to his soul. He felt that he must die enough light to let him see that
if he did die all was wrong with regard to his future state. He had a little grandchild who
lived in a neighboring town, and he asked leave for his grandchild
every day to see him. As he was very ill and near death,
that was allowed. She came in and he said to her,
read the Bible to me, dear. She complied, and the more she
read, the more wretched the old man grew. Read again, he said,
and the more she read, the more dark his mind seemed to be with
a sense of guilt. At last, one day, she came to
that passage in the first epistle of John. You know it. The blood
of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. Is that there? he asked. Yes, grandfather, replied
the little girl, that is there. Is that there? Oh yes, grandfather,
it is there. Then read it again, read it again. She again read, the blood of
Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses us from all sin. My dear, are
you sure it is just like that? Yes, grandfather. Then read it
again, dear. The blood of Jesus Christ, his
son, cleanses us from all sin. Then he said, Take my finger
and put it on that verse. Is it on that text, child? Is
my finger on that blessed text? Yes, grandfather. Then he said,
alluding to his friends nearby, tell them that I die in the faith
of that. He closed his eyes and doubtless
entered into eternal rest. by the grace of God of that verse,
and I trust so will you. Brothers and sisters, die with
your finger on that text. The blood of Jesus Christ, his
son, cleanses us from all sin. Let Israel hope in the Lord,
for with the Lord Let's pray. Heavenly Father,
we thank you for the revelation of your mercy and we thank you
and praise you, Heavenly Father, that it is so sweetly and wonderfully
linked to all of your other attributes that remind us that you are I pray, Heavenly Father, you'd
cause us to come. Even as we cry out of the depths
and we come with pleadings, Heavenly Father, we pray that we see that
as part and the wonder of your mercy and your grace to us, that
we are taken to a place where we are in desperate need of the
mercy and the forgiveness and the redemption that is in your
dear and precious Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, our Father, I pray that you
would make him precious to us and that we would just wait and
hope in your word of promise and be caused by you, Heavenly
Father, to cry and to come and to plead again and again and
again for ourselves and for those we love. We pray to you, Heavenly Father,
in the name of your dear and precious Son, we commit ourselves
into your hands. Lead us and guide us as we go
into this world and through this week, and bring us back again
and again to your throne of grace in our time of need. We pray
these things for the glory of