130th Psalm, if you would turn
there with me, Psalm 130. This Psalm is thought and believed
to be written by David. I trust that God has given me
a word that will be encouraging and comforting to you who know
Christ, and also a warning to you who do not. And here in Psalm
chapter 130 verse 3, we have an urgent question that David
asked God. And I'm so glad that it's recorded
so that we can all consider it together. By God's divine and
sovereign providence, I'm thankful that you're here this morning.
And it is by God's divine and sovereign providence that you
are. There are no accidents, no mistakes
with God. You're here because God intended
for you to be here. And I only pray that at this
time, God will give you ears to hear the words that are so
needful for the lost soul and for the saved one. Verse three,
David asked this question, if thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities,
Oh Lord, who shall stand? My, that is a very serious question. A question being asked to a holy
God by a depraved sinner. David asked God, what will the
result be if a holy God marks the iniquity, the sin of a sinner
against them? That word mark means to look,
it means to observe with strict diligence. Did you know that
God was strict? God's law is strict. God's justice
is strict. God is absolute. God is severe. God is uncompromising. The God of this Bible is. And
when it comes to sin against Him and His law, God is going
to be justified when He speaks against us. God is going to be
right in what He says about us. That's what that means. God's
going to be clear when He judges us. That's what David said in
Psalm 51 verse 4. He said, "...against thee, and
thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight, that
thou mightest be justified." Right. when you speak and be
clear when you judge. God's going to mark sin. Now
listen. God is going to mark sin with
strict, thorough, meticulous diligence. And when he pronounces
a sinner guilty, his words are justified. They're right. And
when he speaks judgment against a sinner, he's going to be clear.
He's going to be clear of any injustice, of any wrongdoing. God is always right. Why? God is a perfectionist. God's going to look. God is going
to observe. God with strict diligence is
going to mark, look, and observe the iniquities of a sinner. Now I shudder at that. I shudder
at that. I know what He's going to say
when He looks upon my sin. David's question here is actually
a confession when you think about it, considering the perfection
of God, considering His holiness and His righteousness, considering
the wretchedness and the depravity of the sinner. In verse 5, David
pretty much says that. He says, Behold, I was shapen
in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Why, he came
forth from the womb, he said, speaking lies. And that's true
of all of us. Shapen in iniquity, conceived
in sin. Come forth from the womb, speaking
lies. David knew what he was. David
knew what he deserved. Considering his God and considering
himself, he confesses who shall stand. Who's gonna stand? What sinner would be able to
stand and boast of their personal righteousness? Why do sinners do that? I hear
men talk a whole lot today about what they're doing for God. But
if God strictly marks, looks, and observes my sin, your sin,
all sin, who dares stand and declare a work of righteousness
that they've done in order to be reconciled to God? Only a
fool. would dare stand on the day of
judgment and say to God, Lord, Lord, haven't we prophesied,
preached in your name, and in thy name cast out devils, and
in thy name done many wonderful works? And yet Christ said, many
will say unto me in that day. But David sings a different tune. He sings a different tune. He
says, who shall stand? Who's gonna stand and brag about
what they've done for God? By asking that question, he confessed
to what he was. Do you see that? He was a sinner. He was shaped in iniquity. He
was conceived in sin. And the word stand in this verse
means to abide. It means to dwell. It means to
continue. Who's going to abide? If God
should mark iniquity against the sinner, what sinner is gonna
abide? What sinner is gonna dwell? What
sinner is gonna continue, endure? When God observes the sin of
a sinner, what sinner can stand, abide, dwell, or continue in
his presence? Not one, not one. If their iniquities
are to be marked and meticulously looked upon, God is going to
mark iniquities. You can count on it. He must
do so. We saw that very clearly last
time. He can by no means clear the
guilty. His law won't allow it. His justice
won't allow it. His justice won't permit it.
His righteousness is at stake. The soul that sinneth, it shall
die. And David knew this to be so.
You see, God had revealed it to him. Has God revealed that
to you? He reveals it to those who have
real soul trouble. Do you have soul trouble? Look
at verse one. He says, out of the depths have
I cried unto thee, O Lord. And I've been thinking a lot
about how the message of grace in our day has become such a
common thing. Everybody talks about the grace
of God. Everybody sings amazing grace,
how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. But it seems
that none of those who talk and sing are crying out of the depths
of despair over their sin. Only a few seem to be crying
for that grace out of the depths, that grace that helps in time
of need. Are people needy? Oh my, do you
see that you're needy? You know, grace to most people
seems to be in a cooperative effort between the sinner and
the Savior. God makes salvation possible,
you've heard it. God makes salvation possible
and then the sinner applies their free will decision and abracadabra,
the sinner's saved and they call it grace. But that's not grace. No, no, no. That's one of the
greatest lies that's ever been told. Men and women have made
grace too common. They say they need grace. They
say they want grace. And then they attempt to make
some work of self-righteousness that they do with God's grace.
And when they do, it ceases to be grace. That's what Paul said. He said, if it is by grace, then
it's no more works. 11, six, and if it works, it
can't be grace. The two don't go together. David
cried out of the depths. This is what I want you to see.
Out of the depths of his sin, out of the depths of despair,
God showed him what he was. God showed him what he needed. God showed him who he needed. And David cried. Who'd he cry
to? He cried to the Lord, the only
one that could help. Another key word found here in
verse one is that word cried. Cried out of the depths, David
cried. Any more grace is something that
sinners don't cry for, they expect it. Grace has become something
that men and women and sinners alike expect from God. They believe grace to always
be readily available. In our day, folks have made grace
like unto bread. Today, bread is a common thing.
Bread is readily available. Bread is not considered to be
of much value. It's a common thing. It's something
that you receive with a meal. Will you bring me some bread,
please? Well, sure. No problem. No big
deal. Just bread. Do you want rolls
or cornbread? It's just bread. It doesn't matter. If you eat your bread or if you
don't, no big deal. What's left is gathered and discarded. Bread has become a common thing. But do you know who bread is
precious to? To a starving man. It's precious
to a starving man. You find a man that is starving
and bread will be precious to him. is the bread of life precious
to you. Freedom? Freedom has become an
everyday enjoyment to most. It's sad to say, but I really
don't give my freedom a lot of thought. I should. And sometimes I do, but I don't
really give my freedom, my liberty a lot of thought. Why? Because
it's common. It's an ordinary thing with me.
It's something that I take for granted. But I'll tell you who freedom
will mean something to. It'll mean something to a man
that's in prison. Freedom is precious to an incarcerated
man. It's not something that he takes
for granted. And then again, as we consider
verse three, we read, if thou Lord, notice that's capital L-O-R-D. If thou Lord shouldest mark iniquities,
O Lord, not capitalized. who shall stand." Now here's
something I want you to notice. It's worth mentioning, it's worth
considering. The name Lord here is used in
two different ways in this verse. The first time Lord is used here,
as I said, it's capitalized. It's interpreted YAH. It's spelt
J-A-H, but it's pronounced YAH. And it's where we get the name
for God, Yahweh. It denotes the omnipotence and
the power and the sovereignty of God. It's the same as when
God says, I am that I am. It's the sacred name of God.
It reveals God in his supreme holiness. It reveals God in his
supreme justice. It reveals the God with whom
we have to do. The Lord, capital L-O-R-D. And then the second time, the
title Lord is used here without taking away at all from whom
God is. It reveals God more as a father. It's interpreted Adonai. It's
used in a more personal way. It means Lord, but it means he's
my Lord. It means Father, but it means
He's my Father. It means Master, but it suggests
that He's my Master. He's my Master, my Owner. I belong
to Him, and I like it that way. I wouldn't have it any differently.
God deals as a loving Father with those whom He gave to Christ. God deals with chosen sinners
as sons and daughters if Christ died for them. God loves those
who love his son, and he becomes their Lord, their father, their
master, their owner, having chosen them in Christ for his own. Now,
with these two thoughts of the Lord in mind, in verse one, let's
go back to that, David cries unto the Lord, Yahweh. It's we
must find pardon with God, the great I am. It's against Yahweh,
the sovereign God of creation that we've sinned against. Then
in verse two, David petitions the Lord, Adonai, to hear his
voice. Lord, hear my voice as a father
hears a child. You see how David is approaching
him here. Father, let your ears be attentive
to my voice. Well, you're my father. And I'm
telling you, you can be in a room full of crying babies. And just
hearing a mother can know if their baby is one that's crying
or not. How so? She's attentive. She's attentive
to that baby's cry. She knows that cry when she hears
it. You see, a loving father is attentive
to his child. He hearkens his attention to
his children. He attends to the things that
they ask him. He deals with their questions and their requests.
That's what a loving father does. And David here is saying, Lord,
Father, Daddy, be attentive to me. Show concern and care for
my request. I'm telling you, the believer's
request is one of need. One of need. I know that because
of where it's cried from. It's cried out of the depths.
It's a cry for mercy. It's a cry for pardon. That's
what our need is. We cry for forgiveness, pardon
from our iniquities. Abba, Father, Daddy, Daddy, be
attentive to my troubles. Show some concern for my needs. Then in verse three, we have
Lord used both ways. For he uses it as Yahweh, the
Holy God, with whom we have to do. He says, if you, the Holy
God, should mark iniquities, if you, the perfect one, deal
with my sin. And then David just changes gears
completely, and he pleads to the Lord Adonai as a loving father,
asking, who shall stand? Who shall stand? David is crying
for mercy here. He's crying out of the depths
for forgiveness. When he asks who can stand, he's
acknowledging that he can't stand. When David asks who can stand,
it's as though he's asking, would you consider mercy to one such
as I who cannot stand? Would you show grace to one such
as I who cannot do anything to merit your love and affection? I know one thing, this question,
this statement is not some common thing that David expected from
God. He's troubled over this matter.
Are you troubled over your sin? Will you be able to stand in
your own personal righteousness before a thrice holy God? Remember, this is Yahweh that
we must Appease. Remember that we have nothing
to appease Him with. What are we going to do? God
is going to mark our sin against us. Well, I don't find any good news
in that. Here's the good news. We have
verse 4. But, haven't you grown to learn
that word? How significant is that word?
Now if you heard the holy justice of God shouting from glory, let
that sinner die. If you heard Satan pleading to
God, throw that lying sinner in the lake of fire where he
deserves to be. If God's holy law thundered from
heaven, this soul has sinned and it must die. If you heard
the great physician say, I'm sorry, there's no cure for this
sinner's terminal disease. If you knew that you were about
to be destroyed and swallowed up by the jaws of divine wrath,
judgment, and justice, I ask you, dear sinner, how wonderful
would it be to hear that little three-letter word, but. But. It might be the most glorious
word you ever heard at that point in time. You're about to die. The verdict has been read. The
sentence has been determined. You're told that the hour of
execution has come. But, do you see what hope is found
in that little word? But, but what? But there is forgiveness
within. Now that word forgiveness is
a scriptural word. The word forgiveness here means
to be pardoned. It means to be acquitted. It
means to have amnesty. It means to be exonerated of
a crime. It means to be reprieved or granted
a stay of execution. Forgiveness does not simply mean
that sin is discarded. We've talked about that a lot
lately. We talk about God forgiving sin so flippantly, like God just
discards sin, that God ignores it. Forgiveness, scripturally,
does not mean that sin is ignored. It doesn't mean that sin is just
covered up. It doesn't mean that sin is swept
under a rug. It means to have a full pardon
as though you had never sinned. Fully acquitted, completely exonerated
of any crime. Do you know why when you stand
before God, He will not hold any sin against you? Because
you don't have any, if you're in Christ. That's what it means. Fully pardoned, acquitted. Completely
exonerated. Oh, I'm telling you, if we were
fully convinced, that eternal death was the certain punishment
for sin. Could there be any better news,
gospel news, good news for the sinner? There is forgiveness
with God. There's complete pardon to be
had. There's total exoneration for
our iniquity. And I'm telling you friends,
pardon and forgiveness is something that comes solely out of the
goodness, the compassion, and the mercy and the grace of God. It's not a common thing. It's
not. God's Son died to provide it. Forgiveness is not something
that a sinner deserves. It's something that God graciously
gives. freely, without a cause. It's
not something, forgiveness is not something that the sinner
earned or purchased. It's a free gift of grace through
faith. You're saved by grace through
faith. That's not of yourself, it's a gift of God. God gives
both the grace and the faith to believe and trust in the grace
that He provides. Father forgive us our sins. I was reading that in Luke chapter
11 a few weeks back. And Christ teaching his disciples
how to pray. He said pray in this manner or
pray in this way. Father forgive us our sins for
we also forgive everyone that is indebted to us. And I got
to thinking about that. Would Christ teach us to ask
for forgiveness and pardon if forgiveness and pardon was an
impossibility? Would God teach beggars to beg
if He intended to refuse them their request? He's not a God
like that. Would God bring sinners to their
knees to mourn over their state and condition, and then laugh
at them in their despair? God forbid. The God who commands
sinners to repent, He stands ready to be gracious and merciful. He stands ready to forgive and
pardon your sin, and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness.
He says, come, let us reason together. Though your sins be
like scarlet, they shall be white as wool." They're all taken away. All of them. God doesn't ask
His elect to seek Him in vain. He says, I, the Lord, speak righteousness. I declare things that are right.
Isaiah 45, 19. And hear me, oh, hear me on this.
Christ died so that God might not charge your sin against you. Christ was made to be sin for
His people so that they might be made what? The righteousness
of God in Him. You see, the righteousness of
God is the very righteousness that Christ worked out. For 33
and a half years, He lived a holy and perfect life. And in doing
so, He rendered perfect obedience to the divine law of God and
to the justice of God. Perfect obedience. Christ's obedience
made the law honorable. God himself in the person of
Christ took the sin, the iniquities, the guilt of a multitude that
no man can number and he satisfied the law of God in their room
and in their stead. Those for whom Christ died must
be pardoned. God's justice requires it. Just
as God's justice requires that the soul that sinneth die, God's
justice requires those who are perfect and innocent before God
be let go, be made free, be forever with Him in glory. Do you see
how the holy justice of God works to the favor of those who are
found in Christ? Oh, what a beautiful revelation
that is. Here in verse four, we have the
gospel. Here we have the good news. There is forgiveness. There is forgiveness. There is
pardon. Forgiveness is for certain, but there is forgiveness. There is pardon. Not there was
forgiveness and it's gone. Not there will be forgiveness,
but not now. There is forgiveness. There is
pardon right now. Paul said, there is therefore
now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus who walk
not after the flesh but after the Spirit. There is right now
no condemnation. In Christ there is now no condemnation. There is forgiveness. There is,
is, is forgiveness with Thee, O God." You know, God, the Holy
Spirit, inspired John to write, if we confess our sins, He's
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness. When does God pardon our sins?
Well, that's not a trick question. In light of that verse, He pardons
our sins as soon as we confess them. Then in another sense of
the word, He pardoned our iniquities before the foundation of the
world because Christ was the Lamb slain before the foundation
of the world. God's faithful and just to pardon
our sin. There is forgiveness. Secondly,
notice those two words, with thee. Oh, that's real important. There is forgiveness and pardon
with the only one who matters. There is forgiveness and pardon
with the one whom we have offended. There is forgiveness and pardon
with God. And in this matter of eternal
life, pardon with God is all that matters because all sin
is against Him. There is forgiveness with God. There is pardon in Christ. That's the only place that it's
found. What is man that he should be clean? What is he that is
born of woman that he should be righteous? Behold, he, God,
putteth no trust in his saints. Yea, the heavens are not clean
in his sight. In and of ourselves, we cannot
appease God. God doesn't put any trust in
anything that you and I do. God puts no trust in us, and
we put no trust in ourselves, do we? When it comes to pardon,
God puts all His trust in Christ. And we put all our trust in Him.
That's why Paul wrote, we were alienated and enemies by our
wicked works, yet now God hath reconciled in the body of His
flesh to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable
in His sight. Christ works in his people which
is well pleasing in God's sight. Hebrews 13, 21. Oh my, there
is forgiveness and pardon with God. You don't need absolution
from a priest. You don't need an invitation
down an aisle from a preacher. You need Jesus Christ, nothing
less, nothing more, and nothing else. No limit to the forgiveness
of God. No restriction to how many can
come to Him. No restriction of time. It's
eternal forgiveness. No restriction of how horrific
the offense. The only sin that God won't forget
is the one of unbelief. You'll go to hell not believing. In Christ, there's complete pardon.
It's everlasting forgiveness. Forgiveness is one of those gifts
of God that is without repentance, without change. Well, let me
give you one last quick thing. Again, verse four. But there
is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. How does forgiveness cause men
and women to fear God. Some seem to think that God grants
forgiveness so that they can keep on sinning. Shall we continue
in sin, Paul asked, that grace may abound, God forbid. He wouldn't
have written that if there wasn't those that thought that for some
reason that they could, because there's forgiveness with God,
that they could keep on sinning. Some seem to think that God grants
pardon so that they can have it whenever they please. Live
like hell all the time, and then when they get to feeling a little
guilty or whatever, then they can call upon God, and He's always
there to give them grace whenever they need it, give them forgiveness.
Obviously, they don't see that they constantly need it. The
child of God sees that. He constantly needs forgiveness. Do some sinners really believe
that since God is merciful, that they can continue to live in
disobedience to Christ as long as they want and still find mercy
at last? Folks better open their Bible
and read it. If there is no pardon, it is
quite certain that nobody would fear God. Now you think about
that. If there is no pardon, if God
did not pardon sinners, I am convinced that nobody would fear
God. Mr. Spurgeon once said that repentance
is the twin brother to faith. I thought about that and I said,
that's so. You see, the beloved John did
not say if any man has done good works, he has an advocate with
the Father. John said, if any man sin, he
has an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Martin
Luther once said, Jesus Christ never died for our good works.
They're not worth dying for. And that's true. Christ gave
himself for our sin. Christ said, I did not come to
call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. And you let a
man be certain that he cannot be pardoned, and you can be certain
that he'll not repent. He'll say, why should I repent?
If there's no forgiveness, no pardon with God, why should I?
Because sin is wrong, that's why. Because sin is against God,
that's why you should repent of it. Sin is an unjust action
against the Creator. That's why you should repent. Our nature is so corrupt and
loves our iniquity so much that it's impossible to repent, to
change, until our hearts have first been made to believe that
there's forgiveness with God. Does that make any sense to you?
I hope so. In other words, God has to change
us and give us repentance before we'll ever fear God. God gives us life. God gives
us light. God gives us sight to see Him.
God gives us ears to hear His Word. Not until then will we
ever fear and reverence God. That's what the word fear means.
It means reverence. It means to love. It means to
revere. It means to show reverence and respect to the One who loved
us and gave Himself for us. Until you see who you are and
who God is, you'll never have any fear and reverence for Him.
Do you fear God? If He's pardoned you, you will. Who shall stand? Because of Christ and what He's
done for me, I'm going to stand. I'm going to stand one day before
God to give an account of my sin. But what will matter is who it
is that stands with me. It'll be Christ, my advocate,
my mediator. And He'll be pleading my cause. Isn't that what an advocate does?
He pleads the cause of the one he represents. I want you to
listen to this verse in closing. This is what Micah the prophet
said. It so applies to each and every
one of us who trust in Christ. He said, I will bear the indignation
of the Lord because I've sinned against Him. That's the conclusion
that every saved sinner comes to. I'm gonna bear the indignation
of the Lord because all my sins have been against Him. But Micah
didn't stop there. He said, I will bear the indignation
of the Lord because I have sinned against Him until He plead my
cause. You can read it for yourself.
I didn't even write down the scripture. I think it's Micah
7 verse 9, but I'm not sure about that. I will bear the indignation
of the Lord because I have sinned against Him until He plead my
cause and execute judgment for me. And He'll bring me forth to the
light and I shall behold His righteousness." Friends, I'm
telling you, this is the God with whom we have to do. the
God whom this book declares. And if He should mark your sin,
who shall stand? Will you stand if He should mark
your sin? No. No. Yet in Christ we will stand. Because he'll be standing there
with us pleading our cause. May God enable you to trust in
him and him alone.