Let us commence our service this
evening by singing together hymn number 528. The tune is Coventry,
119. The gospel is good news indeed to
sinners deep in debt. The man who has no works to plead
will thankful be for it. Hymn 528, tune Coventry, O say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the
brave? O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? To love her even so, her pain
is eternal. ? In the early morning light ?
? And said, it's all over now ? The years can be cold and burning
? To the hopeless with sin ? ?
To the broken with tears ? ? And faithless with
hope ? ? God be praised ? ? We have lost
him ? ? And sin has changed ? ? And we put our trust ? And I'm close as we can have
it And I will soon have it because of his love. Each of us can pass his time. His love may come and pass away. the faith in God himself. And when he heals me still now, God's gifts that have not been,
will find them. Oh, say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave Let us read together from the
holy word of God in the psalm 25. The book of Psalms number
25. Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift
up my soul. O my God, I trust in thee. Let
me not be ashamed. Let not mine enemies triumph
over me. Yea, let none that wait on thee
be ashamed. Let them be ashamed which transgress
without cause. Show me thy ways, O Lord. Teach me thy path. Lead me in
thy truth, and teach me, for thou art the God of my salvation. On thee do I wait all the day. Remember, O Lord, thy tender
mercies and thy loving-kindnesses, for they have been ever of old.
Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions. According
to thy mercy remember thou me, For thy goodness sake, O Lord. Good and upright is the Lord,
therefore will he teach sinners in the way. The meek will he
guide in judgment, and the meek will he teach his way. All the
paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, and to such as keep his
covenant and his testimonies. For thy name's sake, O Lord,
pardon my iniquity, for it is great. What man is he that feareth
the Lord? Him shall he teach in the way
that he shall choose. His soul shall dwell at ease,
and his seed shall inherit the earth. The secret of the Lord
is with them that fear him, and he will show them his covenant. Mine eyes are ever toward the
Lord, for he shall pluck my feet out of the net. Turn thee unto
me and have mercy upon me, for I am desolate and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are
enlarged, O bring thou me out of my distresses. Look upon mine
affliction and my pain and forgive all my sins. Consider mine enemies,
for they are many, and they hate me with cruel hatred. O keep
my soul and deliver me. Let me not be ashamed, for I
put my trust in thee. Let integrity and uprightness
preserve me, for I wait on thee. Redeem Israel, O God, out of
all his troubles. May the Lord bless the reading
of his own precious word and grant to us a spirit of real
prayer. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
which is and art and art to come, we bow before thy glorious majesty,
Father, Son and Holy Ghost. We desire, O Lord, to worship
We solemnly realise we cannot come in our own name, for all
our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, and we are all as an unclean
thing, but we do thank thee that we can come to thee in the name
of Jesus Christ. We come, Lord, for his name's
sake, and we pray that thou wouldst accept us in the beloved and
that we may be complete in him. We pray this evening hour as
we gather round thy word, we may touch the hem of thy garment
and draw from that sacred fullness that is in him today, to hear
the voice of Jesus, to see his countenance, to worship in his
holy hill of Zion in the beauties of holiness. from the womb of
the morning. May the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ and the love of God our Father and the sacred fellowship
of the Holy Spirit rest and abide upon us as we gather together
around thy word. We do pray that we may be led
of the Spirit of God For as many as are led by the Spirit of God,
they are the sons of God. Lord, do grant us thy divine
leading tonight. And we read in thy word, and
he led them forth by the right way unto a city of habitation. And Lord, we do pray that we
may have revealed to us here tonight Jesus, the way, the truth
and the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. May we behold his glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. And may we be favoured with those
beautiful things set before us in God's Word, for God has sent
forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father,
my God, my Father, blissful name. Oh, may I call thee mine. May
we have that sacred, precious sense of the love of our Heavenly
Father in our hearts this night. We thank thee for the gift of
thine only begotten Son, We thank thee for what thou hast said
in thy word, whatsoever ye ask in my name, I will do it. O most gracious Lord, we pray
to be made more spiritually minded, that our heart and our affections
may be set upon things above and not on things of the earth.
And we pray, most gracious Lord, that the word of truth may be
open to our heart, to our understanding, We thank Thee for Jesus Christ.
We thank Thee for that profound mystery of God manifest in the
flesh. We thank Thee for that holy life
He lived and that holy law He fulfilled and thereby bringing
in everlasting righteousness for Thy people. We thank Thee
for that sacred and most precious sacrifice without money, without price.
The sacrifice of Christ, wounded for our transgressions, bruised
for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and
with his stripes we are healed. O Lord, we do thank thee that
he suffered and bled and died for our sins. We thank thee that
the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin. We thank that he died to rise
again, to swallow up death in victory. O most gracious Lord,
to bring to naught the counsels of Satan and open that new and
living way. We thank thee that he has bodily
ascended into heaven. We have a great high priest who
has passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. O Lord,
we do thank thee for these divine realities, for these precious
wonders. A man, there is a real man with
wounds still gaping wide, from which rich streams of blood once
ran in hands and feet and side. And Lord, it's no metaphor. It's
the glorious person of the Son of God, manifest in the flesh,
who has the power of an endless life. We come to Thee in His
name. We plead His precious blood and
righteousness. We pray that we may be favoured
to follow Him and to serve Him in our day and in our generation. We pray for grace to lay aside
every weight and the sin that does so easily beset us, that
we might run with patience the race that is set before us, looking
unto Jesus. And Lord, we meet this evening
as a church and congregation under a cloud. We pray for our dear beloved
brother in hospital. Pray that those things that have
been done today, that they may be blessed of thee to his recovery,
to health and strength, that he may be restored unto us and
unto his dear wife we humbly pray thee for a season be with
her and bless her and be with him and make all his bed in this
affliction. We pray for our brother Deacon
also that thou would be with him and help him and be with
us at this time. Help us to love each other, serve
each other, bear each other's burdens, thereby fulfilling the
law of Christ. We thank Thee, O Lord, that Thou
art Jesus Christ the same, yesterday, and today, and forever. We thank Thee for Thy unchanging
faithfulness and love. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that Thou wouldst bless us as a church and as a congregation,
and work mightily, powerfully, and effectually among us, and
that the word of the Lord may have free course, and thy name
be honoured and glorified. Bless the little ones, the children.
Bless them with the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning
of wisdom. Bless the young friends. Guide
and direct and undertake for them in all matters. and graciously
bring them into union and communion with Jesus Christ. And oh Lord,
we do pray that thou wouldst in thy precious mercy remember
the young friends in all their concerns. We think also of each
one that is not able to gather here tonight, pray that thou
wouldst be with them where they are. We also pray for those that
could be here but have no desire to be here. We also pray for
this village, that the glory, light and power of the gospel
may shine into it. Many, many precious souls may
be gathered from the surrounding area, and those wonderful gospel
promises may be fulfilled. I will bring thy sons from far,
and thy daughters from the ends of the earth, and they shall
come from the north and from the south, and from the East
and from the West. O Lord of hosts, O God of Israel,
O Thou that dwellest between the cherubim, shine forth. We
do humbly beseech Thee, and graciously revive us, renew us, replenish
us, add unto our numbers, pull down the strongholds of Satan,
set up the kingdom of the Lord Jesus in the hearts of sinners,
But we live, Lord, in truly wicked days. Evil abounds on every hand. Our leaders seem to be bereft
of wisdom. Lord, give them wisdom. Give
them guidance. Give them direction. We humbly
beseech of them. We thank Thee that Thou art God
over all and blessed evermore. Thou settest up one and puttest
down another. O Lord, we do pray. that thou
wouldst be gracious, and that thou wouldst have mercy upon
us as a nation. Look upon the nations of the
earth, O Lord, we pray. And O Lord, we do pray, O we
earnestly petition thee for those prodigals that have wandered
away, that thou wouldst stretch out thy almighty arm, that thou
wouldst cause them to be in want, and cause them to return. And
we pray, most gracious Lord, that thou would remember all
in any trouble, or trial, or perplexity, or sorrow, or sadness,
or bereavement. And that we do pray for our dear
sister expecting surgery, that thou would graciously prepare
her and be with her. And, O Lord, we do pray that
thou, in thy precious mercy, wouldst graciously remember all
in the midst of the journey of life. And in some cases, O Lord,
we pray that thou hast put thy hand a second time. We read of
thy servant Jonah, and the word of the Lord came a second time
unto Jonah the son of Amittai. Gracious God, let us see thy
work and thy power and thy glory. We do humbly beseech of thee,
there are none beyond thy power. Remember those of us in the evening
time of life. And the longest, Lord, can't
be long before we must soar through tracks unknown and see thee on
thy judgment throne. Oh, do be gracious unto us and
prepare us for that great God. Great God, do now prepare my
soul for that great day wash me in thy precious blood, take
all my sins away. We do pray for all thy servants
as they labour in word and doctrine upon the walls of Zion, that
thou would set them free and at liberty. We pray for all the
assemblies of thy saints in the length and breadth of this nation
and pray that thou would return to Jerusalem with mercy. Come, Lord, and touch one's lips
with a live coal from off the heavenly altar. Come and breathe
thy word into our hearts. We ask, with the forgiveness
of all sin, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 212. The tune is Strasbourg, 244. Why does your face, ye humble
souls, those mournful colours wear? What doubts are these that
try your faith and nourish your despair? Hymn 212, tune Strasbourg,
244. ? The bounds of this world are
open ? ? And the path is always slow ? ? Oh, say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave ? ? The sun will not shine ? ? The
wind will not blow ? ? The morn will not come ? The Lord my King is there, on
high in the sky. I don't think that I've ever
been so glad. She is my angel, The sacred office of the Holy
Spirit. The light inside of those who
lack it Has my hand to hold on Now it reaches to my heart's
pit ? Rich man, where will you go? ? ? All the nations of the world
? ? Are waiting for you ? and the land of the free and
the home of the brave. Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I direct your attention to the psalm that we
read, Psalm 25, and we'll read verse 11 for our text. Psalm 25, verse 11. For thy name's sake, O Lord,
pardon mine iniquity. For it is great. The Lord Jesus Christ said, Whatsoever
ye ask in my name, I will do it. Whatsoever ye ask in my name,
I will do it. For thy names I remember a little family that
I used to visit and when they said grace the parents had taught
them to say for what we are about to receive oh lord do make us
truly thankful amen and I went there several times and then
I spoke to the children and the parents of course were there
I said, there's some little things you're missing out in your grace.
And they said, what's that? Whenever you pray to God, you
must always say, for Jesus Christ's sake. I was very thankful that
every time I've been there since, whenever they say grace, they
always add that, for Jesus Christ's sake. You know, friends, We are
poor, polluted, filthy sons and daughters of Adam and we cannot
approach to God in our own person. We cannot expect anything when
we ask in our own name. All our righteousnesses are as
filthy rags. We are all as an unclean thing.
It's what they call the five points of Calvinism. and one of them the total depravity
of man. That's a fundamental doctrine.
How many there are and how the devil seeks to slip in in this
way or another way and you get told that you can believe and
you know friends the way that some people put the gospel over
you think it's all within the power of the creature to take
Christ and to believe in Christ and to lay hold of Christ. But
of course it's not. There is something that precedes
faith. You say, what is it? Regeneration. There must be regeneration. Christ said, ye that have followed
me in the regeneration. And you may say to me now, what
does regeneration mean? To be given life. Your soul is
regenerated. The Holy Spirit has entered your
heart. And by that very act of the God
of heaven entering your heart, that gives you life. You know the Apostle Paul when
he writes his epistle to the Ephesians in that first verse
of chapter two, you hath he quickened. You could easily replace that
word with regeneration. You hath he quickened. It means
to give life. You hath he quickened who were
dead in trespasses and in sins. And you know, my beloved friends,
that's true of every single one of us by nature. We are born
dead in trespasses and in sins. The Bible declares The dead know
not anything. And a spiritually dead person
knows not anything. They do not understand their
need of salvation, of redemption. And so here, in this here, for
thy name's sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity. the Lord Jesus Christ, he speaks
so clearly in that beautiful discourse of John 14, 15 and
16 of the divine work of the spirit in the heart and in chapter
16 he says, when he the spirit of truth is come he will reprove
the world of sin. The margin says convince the
world of sin, of righteousness and if just I've often said it
to you, and it may seem a strange thing to say, but I firmly believe
it. I would not give you a penny
for your religion if it does not have sin in it. And you may
say, well, but we hate sin. Sin's really wrong. It is. But
the fact of the matter is it lives in us. And when the spirit
of truth enters the heart, he will convince that soul that
they're a sinner. And until then, you may be brought
up to believe that you're a sinner, etc. But until the spirit enters
the heart, you don't know that you're a sinner. It's when the
spirit enters the heart, you know that you're a sinner, that
you've broken God's holy commands, that there is an unfathomable
distance between you and God, You're brought to feel it. The other mark of regeneration. Behold he prayeth. That is another mark of the regenerating
work of the Holy Ghost. Behold he prayeth. You know as sure as night follows
day. can be assured that that person
that is truly regenerated. The Lord Jesus of course uses
another word. He must be born again. Except a man be born of water
and of the Spirit. I hope these words sink deep
into your hearts. He cannot enter the Kingdom of
Heaven. It's an utter impossibility.
unless this regenerating work of the Spirit of God takes place
in your heart. When He, the Spirit of Truth,
is come, He will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness
and of judgment. You see, He will reprove or,
as I say, I believe the better rendition is convinced sin. That word convince is a very
strong word. It's a very strong word and you know there are greatly
varying experiences of the Lord's children. In this sense some
are led very gently and not deeply others are led
far more deeply far more clearly I've observed
this that those in particular that are brought up under the
sound of the truth from when they were children often they actually can't point
to a place where the Lord began with them but they can say with the blind
man in John 9 This one thing I know, that whereas I was blind,
but now I see. I was blind, but now I see. And
it may be a great point of trial with you, because you can't see
clearly where the Lord began with you. But you know there
was change. And at the time it was almost
imperceptible, it was very gentle. It was very gentle. Others, like
the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus, in a moment, cut
down. And some people have that experience. My own personal conversion was
very clear. I could take to the very place
where I began to realise and know that there was a Holy God.
I could take you to the very place where Christ was revealed
to me as the way, the truth and the life. Never shall I forget
those places. But others is a point that causes
much concern. We've sung of it in our hymn. We notice here the sweet Psalmist
of Israel. Beautiful prayer. Often through
the years of my marriage, my late wife, and I would sometimes
say to her, where would you like me to read? Many, many times
she would say Psalm 25. She felt it was the language
of her heart. She could go with it. Unto thee,
O Lord, do I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in thee. Let
me not be ashamed. Let not mine enemies triumph
over me. Yet let none that wait on thee be ashamed. Let them
be ashamed which transgress without cause. And this longing desire
of the living soul, show me thy ways, O Lord. Teach me thy paths, lead me in
thy truth, and teach me. For thou art the God of my salvation. On thee do I wait all the day. On thee do I wait all the day.
David in Psalm 119, I think it's verse 105. Let thy word be a lamp unto my
feet and a light unto my path. One thing that always vividly
stands out with me after Christ was first revealed to me and
made precious to me, it is the appetite that I had
for the Word of God. You can't keep me away from it.
Every day I was searching the scriptures. In that first year
after Christ was revealed, I read the Psalms and Proverbs many
times. I found them exceedingly instructive. and precious spiritually unto
me. The prayers of the Psalms were
made very special to me. They really were. And it was
the means the Lord used to guide me by his Spirit. Remember, O Lord, thy tender
mercies. Now this comes, these tender
mercies, after Christ. has been made precious. I purposely
use that language. You may not be able to say I've
had a revelation of Christ. You may not be able to say I've
had my sins forgiven. If you were to put it this way,
I should never forget hearing Mr Wood and he was speaking I just can't, it's gone from
me at the moment, a beautiful text that he used to, that was
it, unto you that believe therefore, he is precious in Peter. And he said this, what God has
joined together, let not man put asunder, believing and precious. And he put it this way, if I
was to ask you if you was a believer, perhaps you wouldn't be able
to say affirmatively yes. But he said if I was to say,
is Christ precious? You would say yes. Is Christ
precious? Now he said the Lord, the Spirit
has joined those things together. If you're a believer, Christ
is precious. If Christ is precious, you're
a believer. I thought that was a very beautiful
way to put the truth. Remember, O Lord, thy tender
mercies and thy loving kindnesses, for they have been ever of old. Now, there's something here in
verse seven, and I believe many of the Lord's people understand
this language. Remember not the sins of my youth,
nor my transgressions. You look back, Daniel says, doesn't he, when
he looked back at the terrible sins of Israel and his own sins
and why they were in the land of captivity. And then he said, shame and confusion
of faith, belonging to us, even at this time, for we have sinned,
for we have sinned. Comes back to that very point,
my beloved friends, what we've made, I couldn't give you anything
for your religion if it has no sin in it. The Apostle Paul,
he brings that out very clearly, very emphatically in Romans 7. He says I find, and this is speaking
to a Christian believer and the Apostle speaking as a Christian
believer, when I would do good, when evil
is present that which I would I do not, that which I would
not I do. I find a law within my members
that when I would do good, then evil is present with me. We've touched then on that point.
Maybe even a point with you today, when the Lord has brought back,
I often have days like that, when the Lord brings back those
sins And we have to say with David,
remember not the sins of my youth nor my transgressions according
to thy mercy. Now that precious mercy, where
does it come from? From Jesus Christ, the only begotten
Son of God that was manifest in the flesh for thy name's sake. Jesus name, the name of Jesus,
for thy name's sake. Not by works of righteousness
that I have done, but according to his abundant mercy. What we're
brought to see, and let us not run away with that strange idea
that conviction of sin only comes at the beginning of Christian
experience. After that it's all light and glory. That's not consistent
with the word of God nor the experience of the living family
of God. There's a constant reminder to
us by the Holy Ghost. You just think of that the Holy
Ghost is called a witness and in your soul he witnesses.
Every time you sin he'll witness. If the Holy Spirit truly dwells
in your and my heart he'll be a witness, so that when you sin,
he will witness that you have sinned. And that is one of the sacred
offices he bears. He will convince the world of
sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He convinces the sinner
personally, by his own indwelling, that they are a sinner. And the
believer, as they go forth in life's journey, he'll convince
them of their sins. Sins of omission, sins of commission. Sins when we do not do the things
that we should do. And sins when we do those things
that we should not do. Contrary to God's holy word of
truth. And the spirit will witness with
our spirit equally that that same blessed spirit that witnesses
that we're sinners, he also witnesses, as Christ speaks of him, he said,
he will testify of men. He will take of the things of
Jesus and reveal them unto you. The Holy Spirit will. When you
feel so cast down because of your sin and because of your
wanderings and because of your backslidings and because of your
unclean heart and you get so cast down, One of the reasons that the spirit
continually convinces us of sin is so that we don't get beyond
ourselves and think that we no longer need mercy. He will constantly
convince of sin. And then he'll give repentance
and godly sorrow for sin. This is a wonderful work of God
the Holy Ghost in the heart. For thy name's sake, O Lord,
pardon mine iniquity, for it is great, it is great. You know, it was in the belly
of that great fish, the whale's belly, that Jonah was brought
to that place. Yet, will I look again, to thy
holy temple. What was the holy temple? What
did it represent? Christ. Christ the way, the truth
and the life, the precious blood of sprinkling, the sacrifices,
the offerings, the way to God. Jonah knew those things and he
was in a state of rebellion and as he said when the Lord
dealt with him. If you look at Jonah, the Lord
brought him to total isolation. No human arm could reach him.
Out of the belly of hell cried out unto thee, all thy waves
and thy billows are gone over me. And yet there in the depths
of despair, a light shone And what did it produce that light?
Yet will I look again to thy holy temple. And the Lord caused
the fish to vomit him up onto dry land. Nobody else could have done that.
And the Lord sometimes he brings his children into spots and places
that are totally isolated. Maybe somebody here listening
tonight and you feel like that, you're totally isolated. For thy name's sake, oh Lord,
pardon my iniquity. Forgiveness, pardon. How is that felt in Jesus Christ? in Jesus Christ, in God's only
begotten Son. In reading this morning my mind
was much taken to the third chapter of Paul's epistle to the Romans
and there he speaks so beautifully. He first speaks very solemnly of
our lost condition and He quotes from the book of Psalms, there
is none that doeth good no not one then in verse 19 he says
now we know that what things whoever the law saith it said
to them who are under the law that every mouth may be stopped
and all the world may become guilty before God therefore by
the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his
sight for by the law is the knowledge of sin and then in verse 21 He
speaks to us of free grace, of the everlasting love of God,
but now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested. Being witnessed by the law and
the prophets, even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of
Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe, for there
is no difference. For all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. being justified freely by His
grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom
God has set forth to be a propitiation, that's a precious sinatonic sacrifice,
a wrath-ending sacrifice, that's what the word propitiation means,
through faith in His blood. Oh, think of those beautiful
words, in the first chapter, the first epistle of John, the
blood of Jesus Christ, God's son. That's the operative word
there, God's son. That precious blood is the blood
of Jesus, the son of God. It's of infinite worth, it's
holy, it's holy. He was holy, his blood was holy,
therefore his sacrifice was holy. therefore his sacrifice satisfied
all the demands of divine justice. What a wonderful thing is the
blood of Jesus Christ, it cleanses from all sin. Whom God has set
forth to be appropriation through faith in his blood to declare
his righteousness for the remission of sins that have passed through
the forbearance of God. What a glorious gospel. It is
the gospel of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Again, in my meditations
this morning, my mind was much drawn to Acts chapter 13, And in Acts chapter 13 and verse
38 we read, Be it known unto you therefore men and brethren,
that through this man, what man? The man in Christ Jesus, the
glorious holy God man, that through this man is preached unto you
the forgiveness of sins. and by him all that believe are
justified from all things from which he could not be justified
by the law of Moses. Precious truth isn't it? Be it
known unto you therefore men and brethren that through this
man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. Now the other word that I seem
to be drawn to was in the seventh chapter of the prophecy of Micah
and in Micah chapter 7 how beautifully he speaks of the gospel of the
grace of God in Jesus Christ we read Micah chapter 7 verse
18 who is a God like unto thee this is our triune God father
son and Holy Ghost, who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth
iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant
of his heritage, he retaineth not his anger for ever. And this
is a wonderful truth, because he delighteth in mercy, he delights
in mercy. We read in Psalm 103 that the
mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting, upon them that
fear him. He retaineth not his anger for
ever, because he delighteth in mercy. And that delight of God
in the mercy, you read of our Heavenly Father, God so loved
the world, he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
in him should be saved. and it says here in Micah 7,
He will turn again. It's an encouragement for you
to continue to seek and look and watch and wait. He will turn
again. He will have compassion upon
us. He will subdue our iniquities
and they will cast all their sins into the deaths of the sea. What a wonderful, precious thing
the Gospel is, my beloved friends. For thy name's sake, for Jesus
Christ's sake, whatsoever ye ask in my name, I will do it
for thy name's sake. Oh, you know, friends, this is
such an important doctrine. not by works of righteousness
that I have done, but according to His abundant mercy. That wonderful free grace in
Jesus Christ. It's free. How everyone that
thirsted, come ye to the waters. Come by without money, without
price. What does that mean? Bankrupt.
Without money, without price. Is that how you feel to be bankrupt?
Nothing to pay? Then this is the gospel for you.
The precious gospel of Jesus Christ. The fullness resides
in Jesus our Heaven and ever abides to answer our need for
thy name's sake. O Lord, O Jehovah, pardon mine
iniquity. I remember years ago reading
the Puritan Stephen Charnock and he was a very learned man
and he was looking at the different words in the scriptures for sin
and this particular passage I read was very instructive he was looking
at the word iniquity And he said, fundamentally, the
word iniquity refers to our original sin. When the Bible says that
we are born in sin and shaped in iniquity. And the word iniquity
particularly refers to our original sin. We're born in sin. We are shaped in iniquity. And David here, for thy name's
sake, O Lord, pardon my nickery. That sin, and you know this,
to the living child of God, sin is a burden. Sin is a burden. A great burden,
it says here in our text, for it is great. There's something
so distressing to the child of God when the Holy Spirit truly
convinces us of that inward sin and iniquity. I could take you to the very
spot in Jarvis Brook where the Lord showed me so clearly of that original sin
within my nature. That word for months I'd walked
in much darkness and bondage spiritually. And that word for
months walked up and down in my soul. From Ezekiel, turn again,
O son of man, for thou shalt see greater abominations than
these. And every time the Holy Spirit turned mine eyes within,
I saw another sin. And I remember this so clearly
because I was about my work one day. Such a sight given. I saw so clearly that all the sin and iniquity
in this world, the immorality, the uncleanness, all of those
sins were in my heart. You know, friends, it's an exceedingly
crucifying sight when the Lord shows you just what a fallen,
wretched, helpless, hopeless sinner you are. And it was a
line of a hymn that came so clearly, I believe brought there by the
Holy Spirit, showed me so clearly, nor can I, Promise future good
to bring you know in a moment the Holy Spirit showed me That
is how my heart would always be It was born in sin. It was shaping in iniquity. It
would never be any different not the old man It's a crucifying
sign And so clear and what the Lord showed me at that time what
was that I was continually trying to make myself better And he
showed me I can't do it. It's not that we shouldn't try
to make ourselves better, we should. But he showed me I should
never do it. Because the root of iniquity
was in my heart. It wasn't very long after that
that the Lord brought me into gospel liberty. And what a wonderful
freedom and liberty I then knew. Delivered from the bondage of
sin and corruption. brought into the glorious liberty
of the people of God. You know, on the second day after
I was so wonderfully brought into gospel liberty, the devil
so tempted me. He said, this can't be real,
this can't be right, because you've never had the pardon of
your sins. You've never had the forgiveness
of your sins. And he said, you've never known
the blood of Christ. replied to your soul, he said,
none of this can be right. And you know, I so prayed unto
the Lord. And again it was the words of
a hymn that were so sweetly brought to my mind. Every blessing, every
favour freely flows through Jesus' precious blood. Do you know friends,
I saw so clearly so beautifully, how that those wonderful blessings
that I was then experiencing was only because of the blood
of Christ. It was. They're precious things,
you know, friends. For thy name's sake, O Lord,
pardon mine iniquity, for it is great. David, he knew on personal
experience, didn't he? He says in Psalm 130, Out of
the depths have I cried unto thee, O God. Lord, hear my prayer. But what does he go on to say
in that lovely Psalm? But there is forgiveness with
thee, that thou mayest be feared. That forgiveness, that pardon
through the precious blood of Christ. For thy name's sake,
O Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is great. It is great, isn't
it? And it's a great burden, a great
trial. But oh, when Christ is revealed,
we just read it in Micah, their sins and their iniquities will
I remember no more. I've cast thy sins into the depths
of the sea. The children of Israel, when
they came out of Egypt, They had to slay the pastoral lamb.
They had to put the blood on the lintel and side posts of
the doors. They had to then take the lamb
indoors and roast it with fire. Shut the door and roast it with
fire. But when the destroying angel came through the land of
Egypt that night, the Lord said, when I see the blood, I will
pass over you. of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanse
it thus from all sin, for thy name's sake, for Jesus Christ's
sake, for thy name's sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity, for it
is grave. And when the Lord does that,
you'll be lost in wonder, love, and praise. Lost in wonder, love, Never shall I forget driving
from Horham, about my work, through to the dicker. My wife was in
hospital. I'd only just recovered from
a serious illness. And the Lord drew near to me
in that great trial. No words. Oh, the love of Christ
shed abroad in my heart. And it was the hymn that expressed
the feelings of my soul. I'm blessed, I'm blessed, forever
blessed. My rags are gone and I am dressed
in garments white as snow. I looked for my sins, they were
gone. Swallowed up in the everlasting
love of God in Christ, pardoned. I knew something at that time
of that hymn, love and grief, my heart divided, with my tears
his feet are bathed. Oh, the love of Christ, the power
of his love and the forgiveness, the acceptation that is found
in the precious person of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ,
for thy name's sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity, for it
is great. May the Lord add his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 755. The tune is Luton 363. Forgiveness is a joyful
sound to malefactors doomed to die. Lord may this bliss in me be
found, may I redeem in grace and joy. Hymn 755, tune Luton
363. O say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave O'er the land of the free May I be free in peace and joy. It's already in the morning, Desire of every mind, Unmounted
child, victorious shine, ? And when you leave ? ? I'll take
you home ? ? Oh, say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave ? ? And like a cloud of grains ? ? Full of
that sight ? ? As it comes of preparation ? Yes, Jesus, the Lord, praises
the Lord. O'er this steep and vast o'er-the-cliff,
What grave of coldness shall we show? When our treasure is forgiven,
they are redeemed. Now may the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, the sacred fellowship
of the Holy Spirit, rest and abide with us each both now and
forevermore. Amen.