Let us commence our service this
afternoon by singing together hymn number 528. The tune is
continually 118. 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 continually 118. The spell is confusing, dear,
to sinners deep in debt. The man who has the will to be,
rest and fall before it. Do you know that when He's known
to make His dead sorrow discharge? Will make him whom he loveth
as may, And send his soul at night. No news can be compared with this, The men
of respite still Who know not legal bondage Can labor but in
pain Freedom from sin and Satan's
chains, and legal toil as well. The cross felt swinging and broken,
and tidings stood there well. How gladly does the praiseful
hear What gospel has to tell. Tis perfect love, the cause of fear, And
I did from his cell. A man that builds his build-a-man
and knows himself complete, Let us read together from the Holy
Word of God in the Psalm 25. The 25th Psalm. 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
with our cause. 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. 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 mine 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 unto us a spirit of real
prayer. Almighty, most merciful and eternal
God of heaven, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, we desire to bow
before Thee and pray that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
and the love of God our Father and the sacred fellowship of
the Holy Spirit may rest upon us here this afternoon That thou
wouldst come and open thy word to our heart and to our understanding. That thou wouldst come and work
in our hearts. We read in thy word the eyes
of your understanding being enlightened. And we pray that it may be so
with us here this afternoon. The eyes of our understanding
enlightened. And the power of thy truth enter
into our souls. Holy, blessed, divine Spirit
of truth, we pray for thy heavenly power. Without thy heavenly power,
O Lord, no sweeps the gospel can afford, no drops of heavenly
love will fall. We pray that we may have the
dew of heaven upon our branch. We pray that the, may the power
that brings salvation be exerted in the Word. and that thou wilt
bring deliverance into our souls and into our circumstances. Guide
us, O thou great Jehovah, pilgrims in a barren land. We are weak,
but thou art mighty. Hold us by thy powerful hand.
We pray that we may be led of the Spirit of God. and that the
truth may be open to our heart and understanding, and that the
truth may set us free, and that the truth as it is in Jesus may
enter into our souls with divine power, enlightening us, convicting
us, convincing us. Oh, that there may be that power
in the truth this afternoon that will be applied into our hearts,
we do humbly beseech thee. Come, Lord, and build us up as
a church and as a congregation. Build us up in spiritual things. Build us up upon that eternal
rock of ages. And grant that we may feel our
feet firmly placed upon that eternal rock of ages. that we
may feel the strength and stability of thy gospel and of thy grace.
We do humbly beseech thee. We thank thee for those precious
words of grace. Upon this rock I build my church,
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Sometimes
we feel, Lord, as though the enemy does prevail against us.
But we pray that we may prevail in prayer, and that we may be enabled to
press on and to press forward, and to press toward the mark
to the prize of the high call of God in Christ Jesus. Gracious
God, incline thine ear, we do humbly beseech thee, and bless
us, we pray thee, for thy great name's sake. We come as poor
sinners, Lord. Nothing in my hand I bring. Simply
to thy cross I cling. How will I to the fountain fly? Wash me, Saviour, or I die? Gracious God, O how we feel to
need Thy power and Thy grace and Thy gospel to be poured into
our souls. Hungry and thirsty, their souls
fainted within them. Then they cried unto the Lord
in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
O gracious God, we pray that it may be so here this afternoon,
some poor trembling soul, young or old, may feel the burden of
their sins, the power of sin, the influence of sin within their
hearts. We pray that thou wouldst come
and deliver them from it. We think of those Precious words,
when the enemy comes in like a flood, the spirit of the Lord
will lift up a standard against him. Lord, sometimes he comes
as a rolling lion to devour us, and sometimes he comes as an
angel of light to deceive us. But thou hast promised in thy
word that when the enemy comes in like a flood, the spirit of
the Lord will lift up a standard. against him, that glorious standard
of Jesus Christ, the King of Glory, the Almighty Saviour,
the Almighty Redeemer, the one that is able to save to the uttermost
all that come unto God by him. We thank thee, O Lord, for Jesus
Christ, the eternal Rock of Ages. We thank thee for his power and
that those wonderful words of grace All power is given unto
me in heaven and in earth. Oh, we do come, Lord Jesus, unto
thee. And we pray that thou would put
forth thy power into our hearts and into our circumstances and
bring deliverance. And like thy servant Abraham,
may we wait patiently for thee. May we hope against hope. May
we continually watch unto prayer. We pray, most gracious Lord,
to be made more spiritually minded. Our heart and our mind, our affections
set upon things above and not on things of the earth because,
Lord, by nature we're earthbound. Oh, we pray that we may be heavenbound
and that our affections may indeed be upon Jesus Christ and the
wonderful glory of his person. We thank Thee for the incarnation
of the Son of God. We thank Thee for the holy law
He has fulfilled and everlasting righteousness that He has brought
in. We thank Thee, most gracious Lord, for Calvary, for sin put
away, divine justice satisfied. We thank Thee for the precious
blood of the Lamb that cleanses from all sin. We thank Thee that
He died for our sins and rose again for our justification and
has now ascended into heaven and sitteth at Thy right hand.
Oh, we do thank Thee for these precious truths. We thank Thee
for those lovely words of grace, for You are complete in Him.
We are accepted in the Beloved. Oh, that we may truly feel that
this afternoon as we gather round Thy Word. that we are complete
in him, accepted in him. O Lord, we thank thee that he
rose again for our justification and has bodily ascended into
heaven. The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand
until I make thine enemies thy footstool. Gracious God, incline
thine ear, we do pray thee and receive of our praise of our
thanksgiving, for the glories of a risen and exalted saviour
sitting at thy right hand, a great high priest, the high priest
of our profession. Oh, that we may lay hold of him,
that we may follow him and serve him. We thank thee that in him
we know the love of our eternal father, and through him we receive
the gift of the Holy Ghost. these wonderful evidences of
spiritual life in our hearts. We do thank thee for every mercy
of thy kind providence. We thank thee for our house of
prayer, for the word of God, for the glory, the wonderful
glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Lord, we pray that thou
wouldst graciously bless us here. Remember our deacons and Bless
them with that rich grace that is in Christ Jesus. Remember
each one of our brethren and sisters in church fellowship.
Bless each one. Help us to pray for each other,
serve each other, bear each other's burdens, and thereby fulfilling
the law of Christ. By this shall they know that
ye are my disciples because ye have love one to another. O Lord,
grant us that love. May the love of Christ be shed
abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. May we be rooted and grounded
in love and know the love of God which passeth knowledge.
Oh, do hear us, Lord, we humbly beseech them. Remember any and
any particular trouble, or trial, or perplexity, or sorrow, or
sadness, or bereavement, Lord, undertake for each one, any with
great mountains before them. Lord, thou hast said in thy word,
the mountains shall flow down at thy presence. Grant that it
may be so. We humbly pray thee, bless the
little ones, the children. Bless them with that rich grace
that is in Christ Jesus. Bless our young friends with
light and understanding in thy word. Bless them with faith in
Jesus Christ and make them followers of thee. and of those who through
faith and patience inherit the promises. Fulfill that promise,
Lord. Instead of thy father shall be
thy children, who in their mouths make princes in all the earth.
Be with our young friends in all the paths of providence,
in their education, give wisdom. In any future employment, unfold
thy way. as a partner in life's journey.
O Lord, they are able to do abundantly more than we can even ask or
think. Remember them for good. Those
in the midst of the journey of life, undertake for each one. We do humbly beseech you and
impress upon each one of us that, O Lord, the brevity of life,
the solemnity of death, and the tremendous reality of eternal
judgment. Lord, may that be deeply impressed
upon each one of our hearts, for we must all appear at the
judgment seat of Jesus Christ. O gracious God, may that bear
upon our hearts and upon our minds, that we may be prepared. And now, my God, prepare my soul
for that great day. and wash me in thy precious blood,
take all my sins away. O Lord, we do pray that thou
wouldst graciously undertake for those of us in the evening
time of life's journey, prepare us for that great change, go
before us at each untrodden step. For sometimes, Lord, these things
come very suddenly. May we be ready, ready for thy
appearing, O Lord, we do beseech thee. We pray, O Lord, that thou
wouldst come and open thy word to our heart and to our understanding. Pray for the churches and for
thy servants that thy blessing, thy power, and thy grace may
be seen and felt, signs following the preaching of the word. O
grant that it may be so. And we pray Thee, the great Lord
of the harvest, to send true labourers into the harvest and
to send a day of real prosperity, when there shall be a turning
unto Thee. Send out Thy light and Thy truth into this village
and the surrounding villages and hamlets. Gather in precious
souls, O Lord, we do beseech Thee for Thy great namesake. We ask all these favours. and
these blessings in that lovely name of our Lord Jesus Christ
and for his sake alone. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 761. The tune is Baker, 292. Show pity, Lord. O Lord, forgive. Let a repenting rebel live. Are
not thy mercies large and free? May not a sinner trust in thee?
Hymn 761, Tune Baker, 292. Christi dox en nobis, et serpenti
in memoriae. May God bless thee and crown
thy good, ? Christ the praise ? ? God the
sacrifice ? ? Heaven and earth ? ? Rejoice thy praise ? ? Rejoice
thy praise ? ? Christ the praise ? In God be found, Shepherd, my
God. ? Wash my soul from every sin ?
? And make my name in ancient dreams ? ? Here on my heart and
where you have gone ? And watch them as they pass by. I lift this chain, my chains
confess, Against thy law, against thy grace. ? Worship thy God ? ? Let's worship
him ? ? I have no name ? ? I have no name ? ? I have no name ? Shrouded in anguish seeks thy
rest, Thy God's promise he justly gives. And with my soul a safe haven. My righteous Lord, have mercy There's a sacred trail, it's
still and old. This land's still old, river
wide blue. Sancto Sanctus, that is His Word.
Sancto Sanctus, Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I direct your attention to Psalm 25, and we
will read verse 11 for our text. Psalm 25, verse 11. For thy name's sake, O Lord,
pardon mine iniquity for It is great. For thy name's sake, O Lord,
pardon mine iniquity, for it is great. This is the first of
the seven alphabetical psalms. These psalms, the beginning of
each verse is a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet in alphabetical
order. And you will notice there are
22 verses and there are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Of course
that doesn't come through when you translate it into English. This psalm, the sweet psalmist
of Israel feels his need of the Lord's mercy. If the Holy Spirit is truly teaching
us, we shall feel our need of the Lord's mercy. And we will
pray for mercy. It is said of Saul of Tarsus,
when the Lord stopped him on the road to Damascus, Behold,
he prayeth. That's a sure thing that will
happen if the Holy Spirit quickens our soul into life. Behold, he
or she prayeth. They pray out of a felt sense
of need. The need of salvation. The need
of redemption. The need to be delivered from
darkness. from bondage, from the power
of sin. There's a sense of sin and the
power of sin. And sin does have a power. It's
almost as if it has its own nature. The apostle in the Hebrews, he
said, well, the deceitfulness of sin. Sin, my beloved friends,
dwells in each one of our hearts. whether we know it or we don't,
whether we realize it or we don't, that is the fact. It's only as
the Holy Spirit quickens the soul and enters the heart and
gives spiritual life that then there is that felt need. Think of the words of our Lord
Jesus Christ, when he the spirit of truth is come, He will reprove
the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. Have we some poor soul here this
afternoon, you feel your sin? You feel your iniquity? I remember
years ago now reading that very learned Puritan Stephen Charnock
and speaking on the word iniquity. He said it in particular speaks
of our fallen nature. That corruption that is in our
hearts by nature. Iniquity. It's there. You were born with
it. I was born with it. We're all
born with it. There's only one man that wasn't
born with it, that's Jesus Christ. And it said of him, mark the
perfect man and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace.
But we're all born in sin. Have mercy if you feel it. You
young ones, you may feel it. That proneness to sin, to unrighteousness. He says, for thy name's sake,
Oh Lord, pardon my iniquity for it is great. You know, how different
is the Pharisee. I thank God that I'm not as other
men are. Even as this publican. I do this,
I do that, I do something else. He didn't. If you carefully look
at what he says, he didn't ask for anything because he didn't
need anything. He got everything as far as he
was concerned. He did this, he did that, he
did something else, he was so full of himself, he wasn't like
that poor wretched publican. The publican, a man greatly despised
because they were very fraudulent in their dealings, he could not so much as lift
his eyes up onto heaven. And he smote upon his breast,
saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. Who has come into this
chapel this afternoon? And that is where you are. And
that has been your prayer. God, be merciful to me. One hymn writer says, sinners
can say, and none but they, how precious is the Saviour. What
he means by that is that those that feel are sinners. To see sin smarts but slightly. To own with lip confession is
easier still. But oh, to feel cuts deep beyond
expression. See, it says in earlier verses,
and this is the desire of the living soul, verse 4, show me
thy ways, O Lord, teach me thy paths. Inquiring. They shall inquire their way
unto Zion with their faces thitherworn. There's a need. There's a desire. There's a longing in the soul. Show me thy ways, O Lord. Teach me thy paths. Lead me in
thy truth. And teach me. What a mercy if
you and I have been brought to that place. Teach me. For thou art the God of my salvation. On thee do I wait all day long. Waiting. Waiting at the throne
of grace. Waiting upon God. But they that
wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount
up on wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary.
They shall walk and not faint. Waiting upon the Lord. Perhaps
there's one here, you've been waiting for a long season. One says in one place, one eyes,
fail from looking upward. And you may have those times
when you say, I'm not going to pray anymore. Waiting. Waiting on the Lord. Wait I say, says in Psalm 37. Sorry, 27. Wait on the Lord, be of good
courage and He shall strengthen thine heart. Wait. I say on the
Lord, it says in one of the minor prophets, I think it's Habakkuk,
about watching. I will stand upon my watch, watching. It means to pray, you're watching,
you're looking, you're waiting. My eyes are up unto the Lord,
the psalmist says in one place. these expressions express the
desire of a living soul. Do you have a living soul? Do
you have living desires and longings after God, after Jesus Christ,
looking, waiting, watching the Lord Jesus Christ himself in
that beautiful psalm, beautiful beatitudes, Blessed are the poor
in spirit. Does that describe you? Blessed
are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. You
know the Lord's people know what it is to be poor in spirit. These are the grounds that the
psalmist comes to the Lord. Verse 6, Remember O Lord thy
tender mercies and thy loving kindnesses For they have been
ever of old. Tender mercies. Something that
he'd tasted, he'd handled, he'd felt. Tender mercies. They are tender mercies too.
And thy loving-kindnesses. What a beautiful... It's a very
long word, isn't it? But what a beautiful word, loving-kindnesses. The Lord's loving kindnesses.
Remember, he says, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy loving
kindnesses, for they have been ever of old. You see, he'd had
some dealings with the Lord, and he now wanted the Lord to
speak to him. There's another thing here that
rests with weight upon his mind. Verse 7, remember, not the sins
of my youth, nor my transgressions. Notice the ground on which he
pleads, according to thy mercy. He pleads the Lord's mercy. The
hymn writer says, doesn't he, thy mercy in Jesus forbids me
to think, he'll leave me at last in trouble to sing. The mercy
of God. It's in Christ. It's in that
precious blood. It's in his glorious righteousness.
That's where we see the mercy of God, the grace of God, the
goodness of God. Remember not the sins of my youth,
nor my transgressions. A broken law, the way of the
transgressor is hard, and it is. Remember not the sins of
my youth, nor my transgressions. according to thy mercy. This is where God, the Holy God,
can deal with the poor wretched sinner on the grounds of his
mercy alone. And that mercy is found in Christ. Him hath God exalted as a Prince,
as a Saviour, for to give faith, repentance, remission of sins.
It's what he's exalted to give, for to give. They are the free
gift of God. And the living soul desires the
Lord to grant that forgiveness unto him or her. You see, what the burden was
here, but notice what the plea is, for thy namesake. He had no ground to come to God
in any other way. He'd been taught it was only
for the Lord's namesake. He knew there was no goodness
in himself. He knew that he couldn't come and plead what he had done.
What we read of Cain and Abel, both the sons of Adam and Eve
first sons of Adam and Eve and they came before God must have come before him to
worship Cain brought of the fruit of
his hands of his labors Abel by grace brought a lamb a beautiful
type of Christ and Abel was accepted but Cain was rejected because
he brought of the fruit of his own labours whereas Abel by grace
brought the lamb and slew the lamb. You see my beloved friends,
Abel was accepted Cain was rejected. You see, Abel was taught by the
Spirit where salvation was. He was shown by the Spirit of
God where salvation was. You think of this for thy name's
sake. Whatsoever ye ask in my name. That's the words of Christ. Whatsoever ye ask in my name.
I will do it. I will do it. But it's for His
namesake. And we have to be taught by the
Spirit to come in that way. For His namesake. Not by works
of righteousness that I have done, but according to His abundant
mercy. You see, in John 14, the Lord Jesus himself,
he teaches us these things, he shows us these things, and he shows us the way, that
it is for his name's sake, whatsoever he asks in my name, in my name. It's in John 14 verse 13. And whatsoever ye shall ask in
my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in
the Son. If ye ask anything in my name,
I will do it. Where it says in my name, it's
in his person. How sweet the name of Jesus sounds. How sweet the person of Christ
is. That's what it means. When it
says, my name's sake, for Christ's sake. And we are exalted, aren't
we? When we pray, to pray for Jesus
Christ's sake. It's whatsoever we ask in his
name. In the name of Jesus Christ. the prayer of faith, and that
the faith is in Jesus Christ, in his glorious person. Faith in him, in what he has
done, in what he has accomplished, in what he has fulfilled. Faith
in his precious blood. Faith in his glorious person,
for thy names for thy name's sake. You know, these things
are emphasized in the, especially in those three chapters, John
14, 15 and 16. It says in verse, in John 15
verse 16, you have not chosen me but I have chosen you and
ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit and
that your fruit should remain that whatsoever ye shall ask
of the Father in My Name, He may give it to you. He may give it to you. Whatsoever
you ask in My Name. We're taught in the Holy Scriptures
that to pray, Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy
Name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be
done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread,
as we forgive them that trespass against us. You see, our Father,
that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name, He
may give it to you. These things I command you, that
you love one another. You see, it's in my name. It's in my name. the name of
Jesus Christ. One hymn writer says, I can no
denial take when I plead for Jesus' sake. And you know, my
beloved friends, that is so vital that in our prayers, in our approaches
unto God, we say for Jesus Christ's sake, for his name's sake, We know and if we are being taught
of the spirit that we cannot come in our own name. And again,
our name means our person. All our righteousnesses are as
filthy rags. We're all as an unclean thing. We cannot go to God and expect
because of our supposed righteousness or goodness or obedience No,
we cannot go like that. We're unrighteous. We're unholy. We're unclean. We have to go
in the name of another. And that name is the name of
Jesus Christ. For thy name's sake, O Lord,
pardon my iniquity, for it is great. His name. His glorious name. His eternal
name. The glorious name of Jesus Christ. The eternal name of Jesus Christ. I believe it's in the prophecy
of Isaiah we read these very similar truths that are set before
us there concerning the name of Jesus Christ, the name of
Jesus Christ. And I can't just turn to it at
the moment but it speaks in somewhere in the prophecy of Isaiah about
the Lord's name, His precious name and that fullness that there
is in that name, you see. And when we plead that precious
name for his name's sake. For his name's sake. You see,
my beloved friends, it says in Isaiah 43, I, verse 25, I, even
I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake
and will not remember thy sins. for mine own sake, not because
of anything you've done, not because of anything you can do,
not because of your supposed obedience, but for mine own sake. It says
in Deuteronomy that he loved the children of Israel not because
they were any greater or righteous, more righteous than any other
people. No, he said, but for my sake, I love thee because
I would. Not because of anything in you,
but because I would. From all eternity I loved you
with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. You're drawn. Heavenward, Godward. Because the Lord loves you, not
because of your love to Him, but because of His love to us.
John puts it well in his first epistle, doesn't he? We love
Him because He first loved us. And that's the only reason. There's
no other reason. If you and I have been brought
into union with Jesus Christ and been brought to see that
Jesus is the way to God Jesus is the way to bliss. One of the great mysteries or
paradoxes of the Christian experience is that sense of sin. Even after
Christ has been made precious, there's still that sense of sin,
of unrighteousness. It rises up in the heart. It's the Holy Spirit that convinces
us of our sin, shows us where we are and what we are as a poor
sinner, and brings us to plead for Jesus Christ's sake. For
Jesus Christ's sake. Or as David says here, for thy
name's sake. For thy name's sake. O Lord,
pardon my iniquity for it is great. This is his burden. His
iniquity was great for it is great. You know, one thing that the
Lord teaches his children is their sinfulness, is their unworthiness. It's their wretchedness, and
this is very humbling teaching, very crucifying. And when the
Spirit continually shows us our sinful thoughts and our sinful
desires, then we have to say with the dear Apostle, O wretched
man that I am, you feel it, you feel it, O wretched man that
I am, who shall deliver me? from the body of this death.
That's what the dear apostle says. That which I would, I do
not. That which I would not, I do.
You see, there's sins of omission and there's sins of commission.
There are sins that we, there are things that we forget to
do and there are things that we do which we shouldn't do.
And hence, he says, I find a law within my members. that when
I would do good, that evil is present with me. It's a very
painful thing, my beloved friends, when the Lord truly teaches us
our sinfulness, our wretchedness, our emptiness, our poverty, our
insufficiency. And the Lord, He teaches us these
things. And, you know, when Moses was
in the book of Exodus and Moses and the children of Israel had
sinned and rebelled against God and the Lord was so angry with
them and Moses stood between them. And Moses he said in Exodus 33 And Moses said unto the Lord,
See thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people, and thou hast
not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said,
I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. Now therefore I pray thee, if
I have found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way. Is that
how you've come to die? Show me now thy way, that I may
know thee. that I may find grace in thy
sight, and consider that this nation is thy people. And he
said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. And he said unto him, If thy
presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. You see, the
Lord speaking with his servant Moses. And he does, he still speaks
with his people. Moses talked with him. and communed
with him. And the Lord still speaks and
communes with his people. He humbles us, he brings us to
feel our iniquity is great, that we've sinned against him, we've
sinned against light and knowledge, we've sinned against his holy
laws, against gospel grace, and he'll bring you to feel it. That
you're a sinner, that you're unholy, You see, but look how the Lord
met with Moses. And he says, I beseech you, show
me thy glory. And he said, I will make all
my goodness, that's Christ, pass before thee in the way. And I
will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee, and will be
gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I
will show mercy. And he said, thou canst not see
my face, for there shall no man see me and live. And the Lord
said, behold, there is a place by me. What a mercy, isn't it? There's that lovely word in Isaiah,
I dwell in the high and holy place with him that is of a contrite
spirit. Him that is poor of a contrite
spirit, that's Christ. I dwell in the high and holy
place with him that is poor. and of a contrite spirit. There's a place by me. That place
is Christ. You see, and will be gracious
to whom I will be gracious. Behold, there is a place by me,
and thou shalt stand upon a rock. That rock is Christ, and it shall
come to pass while my glory passes by. that I will put thee in the
cleft of the rock. Top lady takes that up, doesn't
she? Rock of ages cleft for me. Let
me hide myself in thee and will cover thee with my hand while
I pass by. Many times in scripture Christ
is called the Lord's right hand. You see, my beloved friends,
the way to God is in Christ. I am the way, the truth, and
the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. But by me. It's the only way. No man cometh but by me. Doesn't
matter who you are, doesn't matter how great you are. No, it's only,
it's only what is in Christ. Very humbling teaching, isn't
it? literally what is in Christ, nothing in self. It's a mercy if you are and you
do feel nothing in self. For thy name's sake, O Lord,
pardon mine iniquity. As I was saying about the word
iniquity, that's indwelling sin. And it's a great trial to the
living child of God. For it is great. You feel the
burden of it. And it's often raising its ugly
head within your heart. And you often feel this conflict
within. If the Lord has laid something
in your heart to do. And then your own flesh It seems
to join in with it. But flesh has to be brought down
to absolutely nothing. And we're brought to confess.
If ye confess your sins, he is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. But you see, we have to be brought
to that place Confess our sins. It's in the first epistle of
John, chapter one. And he speaks there of confession
of sin. And you see, there's a whole
message there. This then is the message, verse
five. This then is the message which we have heard him in declaring
to you that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
If we say we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness
as in sin, we lie and do not the truth. But if we walk in
the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another.
And the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all
sin. If we say we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves. and the truth is not in us. If
we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned,
we make Him a liar and His Word is not in us. It's a very solemn
search in words, isn't it? My little children These things
write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have
an advocate with the Father. Jesus Christ the righteous, and
he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only,
but also for the sins of the whole world. You see, my beloved
friends, there is the remedy. for thy namesake. Not by anything that I have done,
or anything that I have accomplished, but for thy namesake. That's
coming to God. In all our felt sinfulness and
wretchedness. And it's pleading what Jesus
has done. For thy namesake, O Lord, pardon. That means forgive mine iniquity
for it is great. This man, this man, the man Christ
Jesus. I love that. It's so beautiful
in a gospel sense of the word. This man receiveth sinners and
eateth with them. Oh, you know, friends, he does.
This man receiveth sinners. and eateth with them. Sinners
are welcomed still to Jesus Christ. He welcomes poor sinners. We
quoted that beautiful word this morning. Come unto me all ye
that labour and are heavy laden. They're the words of Jesus. Take
my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in
heart and ye shall find rest for your souls. for my yoke is
easy and my burden is light. You know, in the prophecy of
Isaiah, there are some beautiful invitations there to poor dying
sinners to come unto Jesus Christ, to look unto Jesus Christ. My mind particularly goes to
Isaiah 55. Ho everyone that thirsteth. You
know these souls that are so burdened with their sin are thirsty. It says in Psalm 107, doesn't
it? Hungry and thirsty, their souls
fainted in them. Now he says, Ho everyone that
thirsteth, come ye to the waters. That's the waters of his grace,
the waters of his love, the waters of his mercy in Christ. Come
ye, buy and eat. They come by wine and milk without
money and without price. They're priceless, that's what
it means. Wherefore do you spend money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which satisfieth not, hearken diligently
unto me, and eat ye that which is good. Let your soul delight itself
in fatness, incline your ear, It says, God, in Christ speaking,
incline your ear and come unto me. Herein your soul shall live,
and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure
mercies of David. Behold, I've given him, that's
Christ, the sure mercies of David. I've given him for a witness
to the people, a leader and commander to the people. Incline your ear
and come unto me. You know, friends, these things
are written to encourage poor, lost sins, poor, helpless sins,
poor, hopeless sins to come to Jesus Christ. For thy name's
sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity, for it is great. You see, he
goes on later on in Psalms, And he says in verse 15, 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. Is that where you
are today? Desolate and afflicted. The troubles
of my heart are enlarged. Oh, bring thou me out of my distresses. Look upon mine affliction and
my pain and forgive all my sins. One hymn writer says, doesn't
he, Lord, with my burden I begin, O remove this load of sin, and
forgive all my sins. Or, is that what you so long
for? Wait for, look for, watch. You know there's an exhortation
in Hebrews chapter 12, Let us lay aside every weight and the
sin that does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience
the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before
him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is now set down
at the right hand of the Majesty on high. 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 351, The tune is Leicester 171. The sinner that by precious faith
has felt his sins forgiven is manifestly passed from death
and sealed, an heir of heaven. Hymn 351, tune Leicester 171.
? As can be seen from here ? ?
His heavenly face ? ? With blossoms from heaven ? ? And sinners from
hell ? A thousand shades his fate may
give, But one can hold him fast, ? O tell of angels beaming ?
? Which from their shape had come ? ? O tell of angels beaming
? The Saviour gives me His own
faithful friend, Who walks with us in effort, O say can you see,
by the dawn's early light, ? The poor Lord's temple down ?
? Where Jesus shed death from His hands and spoke the truth
? of his crown. Satan might then, full victory, O church, my holy home, With
hope within the Holy Ghost, It follows But Christ in every age has proved
His virtues proud and true. If this foundation be given,
what shall the righteous do? Earth, when by this your claim
abide, this time to do your best, Whatever haunts you at any time,
oh, never give less ground. 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.