you you Let us commence our services
today. Sorry, friends, I haven't read
the notices. The notices for the coming week are, God willing,
as follows. Pastors will preach here next
Lord's Day, also on Thursday evening at 7 o'clock. There will be a prayer meeting
here on Tuesday evening at 7 o'clock. After the prayer this morning,
we will keep a minute's silence in remembrance of those that
have fallen in the last world wars and also more recently. Let us commence by singing together
hymn 385, the tune is Confidence 317. Hear gracious God a sinner's
cry, for I have nowhere else to fly. My hope, my only hopes
in thee, O God, be merciful to me. Hymn 385. The sinner's cry For I have nowhere
else to fly I and I alone ye have a part
in thee, O God be merciful to me. To Thee I bow the sinner bow,
and wait for the sea at my door. In thee I'm bound where'er thou'st
to flee, O God, be merciful to me. To Thee I come, the sinner weep,
And scarce know how to pray or speak. Come here and make this city free. O God, be merciful to me. To Thee, I come, my sinner, I
Upon Thee, Lord, have saved, to smile Mercy, mercy to God, I make my
plea. O God, be merciful to me. To Thee I come, the sinner made,
And well Thou knowest all my state. Yet thou, O Heaven's peace within,
O God, be merciful to me. To thee I come, the sinner lost,
Nor heaven nor earth to trust. ? That where my heart, Lord, I
would be ? ? Thou, God, be merciful to me. ? To glory bring Thee, Lord at last, And heaven o'er my children
fast, With all thy saints of energy
God has been merciful to thee Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God from two portions. The first is Psalm 51, and then
Psalm 130. Psalm 51. Have mercy upon me, O God, according
to thy lovingkindness. according unto the multitude
of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions, wash me throughly
from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge
my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me against thee. Thee only have I sinned, and
done this evil in thy sight. that thou mightest be justified
when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I
was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts, and in the
hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with
hyssop, and I shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter
than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness,
that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy
face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in
me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy Holy Spirit
from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy
salvation, and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I
teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners shall be converted
unto thee. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness,
O God, thou God of my salvation. and my tongue shall sing aloud
of thy righteousness. O Lord, open thou my lips, and
my mouth shall show forth thy praise. For thou desire is not
sacrifice, else would I give in. Thou delight is not in burnt
offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken
spirit, a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Do good in thy good pleasure
unto Zion. Build thou the walls of Jerusalem. Then shalt thou be pleased with
the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole
burnt offering. Then shall they offer bullocks
upon thine altar. Now let us read together Psalm
130. Out of the depths have I cried
unto thee, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice. Let thine
ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If thou,
Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But
there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. I
wait for the Lord. My soul doth wait, and in his
word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord
more than they that watch for the morning. I say more than
they that watch for the morning. Let Israel hope in the Lord. For with the Lord there is mercy,
and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from
all his iniquities. May the Lord bless that portion
of his own precious word. Grant unto us a spirit of real
prayer. Holy, Holy, holy Lord God Almighty,
which is, and art, and art to come. We come, O Lord, before
thy great and eternal majesty as poor sinners, ruined sinners,
helpless sinners. We come and we desire to confess
our sins and our sinfulness. We prove, O Lord, that we have
a heart which is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. O most gracious Lord, we come
and seek and hope to find a portion for my soul, and we pray that
it may be so today. Holy, divine, and blessed Spirit
of truth, Oh, we do pray that thou wouldst convince us of our
sin and lead to Jesus' blood and to our wandering eyes reveal
the secret love of God. Oh, we do pray, most blessed
Spirit, that thou wouldst take of the things of Jesus and reveal
them unto us, that we may behold wondrous things in thy precious
Word and 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 and abide upon us as we gather around thy word. Oh, we think of those precious
words, to this man will I look, to him that is poor and of a
contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my word. May there be such
a one here in the sanctuary today, poor and needy, sinful and helpless,
unclean and unrighteous. Oh, Lord Jesus, we think of those
wonderful words of grace. The whole need not a physician,
but them that are sick. Oh, that there might be some
truly sinsick souls here today, that have come to hear the gospel
of Jesus Christ, that have come, most gracious Lord, confessing
their sins and their badness and their unholiness and their
unrighteousness. May they come like that dear
woman of old. She pressed through the crowd,
saying, if I might but touch the hem of his garment, I should
be made whole. And Lord, she was. Oh, may there
be such an one here today that may touch the hem of Jesus' garment
and that precious virtue may come forth from him, the virtue
of his precious blood that cleanses from all sin, the virtue of his
glorious righteousness which covers our nakedness. Oh, that
we may lay hold of these wonderful truths of our most holy faith
May we know the divine leading and inward teaching of the Holy
Spirit as we gather in the sanctuary. But may we know the divine drawing
and power and grace of our eternal Father, drawing us unto his best
beloved and all-glorious Son. None come except the Father draw. Oh, that there might be that
sweet drawing influence even this day as we gather around
thy Word. and that our hearts may be knit
together in love, we do humbly beseech them, that we may be
united together in prayer, that we may wrestle with thee, O Lord
God, that thy work may appear, that thy power may be known,
that thy grace may be made manifest here in the sanctuary again,
that we may see Zion's offspring come, that they would send out
thy light and thy truth and return in thy power and in thy glory
as thou usest to be in the sanctuary. Let thy hand be upon the man
of thy right hand, the Son of Man, whom thou madest strong
for thyself. O Lord of hosts, O God of Israel,
O thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth, we
do humbly beseech thee, for thy great namesake, and have mercy
upon us, O Lord God of hosts, and return to Jerusalem with
mercies, and pull down the strongholds of Satan, and deliver us from
an evil heart of unbelief, and from the power and the dominion
of sins, and grant precious faith in Jesus Christ, and repentance
toward God. We do humbly beseech thee. This
is thy word. and we pray that thou would let
thy work appear unto thy servants and thy glory unto their children. We do humbly beseech thee, we
think of that precious promise, instead of thy fathers shall
be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth.
Hear us, Lord. We do humbly beseech thee and
graciously bless us. Teach us thy ways. Lead us in
thy path. Our brethren, the deacons, I
know it's their needs, their concerns, and their responsibilities,
not only here, Lord, but among the churches of God. And we pray
that they will supply all their needs according to thy riches
in glory by Christ Jesus. That we pray that they will remember
each one of our brethren and sisters in church fellowship.
Help us to truly love each other, serve each other, bear each other's
burdens, we do humbly beseech thee. Oh, that it may be with
us today as it was with thy dear servant John, I was in the Spirit
on the Lord's day. Oh, that it may be so, Lord,
that we may each be in the Spirit, and that the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ may fill our affections, and that our affections may be
set upon things above, and that we may hear the word of the Lord,
and that our souls may be fed with living bread that cometh
down from heaven, and that we may eat of the drink of the water
of life, we do humbly beseech thee for thy great namesake,
and that the Lord Jesus Christ may be exalted among us as a
prince and as a saviour for to give faith and repentance and
remission of sins. O Lord of hosts, O God of Israel,
O Thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth, we
do humbly beseech Thee. We pray, O Lord, that Thou wouldst
graciously bless the whole of our congregation, and any that
are not present with us, we pray for each one, O Lord God, and
pray that Thou wouldst bless them where they are, and that
Thou wouldst still work among us. We think of the little ones,
as they're brought into the sanctuary. We're thankful for them and we
love to hear them in the sanctuary. That we pray that thou would
bless them indeed. Put the fear of the Lord, which
is the beginning of wisdom, into their hearts. We do humbly beseech
of thee for thy great name's sake. And we pray, most gracious
God, that thou would remember the dear young friends as they,
upon the threshold of life's journey, O that thou wouldst
be gracious unto each one, bring them to living, vital, saving
faith in Jesus Christ, that they may become true followers of
thee, and of those who through faith and patience inherit the
promises. O gracious God, do hear us, we
pray thee. Be with them, O Lord, in all
the steps of life's journey, whether it's in their education,
give them wisdom, find them suitable employment, and graciously remember
them concerning a partner in life journey. Thou art that wonderful
God, and thou hast left in record in thy word that thou didst bring
a Ruth unto Boaz, and thou didst bring a Rebekah unto Isaac. And
we're thankful, Lord, that we worship the same God who's able
to do the same. Thus we lovingly commend to thee
our young friends, and that we pray, most gracious Lord, that
a seed may be raised up that shall follow on to know the Lord.
We pray, most gracious Lord, that thou would remember parents,
give them wisdom, guidance, and direction in all their responsibilities
and their concerns. May the family altar be raised. May the word of God be read.
and prayer made, for all things are sanctified by the Word of
God and prayer. And may that sanctifying influence
be in our homes. O Lord, we do beseech of Thee,
remember us for good, make us more spiritually minded, deliver
us from the temptations of Satan, deliver us from the power and
the dominion of sin, Deliver us from the allurements of this
vain world that has to death ten thousands hurled. Lord, only
Thou art able to deliver us. Only Thou art able to preserve
us. Only Thou art able to keep us.
Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, be honour,
glory and praise, both now and evermore. Lord, we thank Thee. that they are able to save to
the uttermost all that come unto God by thee. Those that feel,
O Lord, much their helplessness and their insufficiency, we pray
that they may be strengthened this day in the spirit of the
inner man. Those that know much of the temptations
of Satan, Lord, deliver them. Remember thy promise, when the
enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift
up a standard against him. We pray, most gracious Lord,
for those of us in the evening time of life's journey. We pray
that thou wilt be with us and guide us safely unto thy heavenly
kingdom, and at the appointed time grant an abundant entrance
into thy eternal kingdom. We pray for any in trial loss
and bereavement, that thou would support, sustain and strengthen
and help, that thou would heal the afflicted. O Lord, we do
beseech of thee. Remember the prodigals, O we
earnestly petition thee, that thou wouldst work, that thou
wouldst cause them to return. There is nothing too hard for
thee, O Lord. And we proved it, and we know
that thou art able to do abundantly more than we could even ask of
thee. So we longingly watch for those that have wandered from
the ways of truth and righteousness, and pray that the appointed time
may roll on apace, not to propose but call by grace. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou wouldst remember this village and the surrounding villages
and hamlets, and graciously send out thy light and thy truth and
work powerfully and effectually to the honour, glory and praise
of thy great and holy name. Hear us, Lord, we do humbly beseech
thee. Remember, O Lord, we do pray
thee, our nation, our churches, we pray for those in authority
over us, that thou wouldst hear prayer for them and give wisdom
and guidance and direction in all matters. And we pray for
our king and the royal household that thy rich blessing may rest
upon them there. Are we not exhorted in thy word
to pray for all in authority over us? Help us to do so lovingly
and earnestly. We do humbly beseech thee. Remember
the war-torn country of Ukraine and how many tens of thousands
are being launched from time into eternity. deliver them from
the power of the enemy, overturn the desire of their enemies.
O Lord, we do beseech of Thee. There are many of Thy people,
O Lord, in that country, and we would lovingly commend them
to Thee and to the word of Thy grace. Pray that Thou would surround
them and defend them and deliver them. We do humbly beseech of
Thee. Remember those that labour in
word and doctrine among the nations of the earth. We think of those
that go out from us. But we remember the Savannah
Education Trust and that great work that they are doing in Ghana.
We remember the Mombasa mission and that great work that they
are doing in Kenya. But we remember thy servant Ian
Sadler as he labors in so many different countries in India
and Burma and Africa. Lord help him. supply all his
many returning needs, and grant good success to his labours.
O Lord, we do beseech thee. We thank thee, O Lord, for thy
day. This is the day that the Lord hath made. We will be glad
and rejoice in it. We thank thee for every mercy
of thy kind providence. It's new every morning. Great
is thy faithfulness. We thank thee for our house of
prayer. We thank Thee for the spirit of love and union and
communion that Thou hast granted unto us. We thank Thee for the
sacred and profound glory of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. O most gracious Lord, we do thank
Thee for the incarnation of the Son of God. We do thank Thee
for the holy, sinless life He lived as a man under the law,
that he might redeem them that are under the law. O gracious
God, we thank thee for Calvary, where the Lamb was slain, where
sin was put away, where divine justice is satisfied, where God
and sinners are reconciled. We thank thee that peace is made
betwixt God and man, peace by his cross, as Jesus made. We
thank Thee that He died for our sins and rose again for our justification,
and as bodily ascended into heaven, has said, because I live, ye
shall live also. O Lord, do hear us. Do have mercy
upon us. Do be with us as we turn to Thy
holy word. Do grant that thou wouldst come
and touch one's lips with a live coal from off the heavenly altar. As we ask all for Jesus Christ's
sake, Amen. Let us now observe a minute's
silence in memory of those that fell in the wars and sins. Let us continue our worship by
singing together hymn number 1006. The tune is Old Chapel
383. buried in shadows of the night.
We lie till Christ restores the light. Wisdom descends to heal
the blind and chase the darkness of the mind. Hymn 1006. In the shadows of the night,
we lie still, bright with stars alight. Wisdom descends to heal the poor,
and it's for the best of them all. The guilty souls are crammed
in pits, Till it's a turning that appears. ? Then we awake from deepest rest
? ? And speak the glory of God's righteousness ? The very way is mixed with sin. His spirit makes a conscious
plea. ? Such majesties shall praise the
Lord ? ? At the spiritual morning of His birth ? Jesus beholds her saints and
maids, Binding his fate in heavenly chains. He sheds her precious
blood, May I embrace. May I embrace.
May I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May
I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace.
May I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace.
May I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May
I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May
I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May
I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May
I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May I embrace. May
I ? O'er the westward leading ? ?
Grace, wisdom, power, and righteousness ? ? God Almighty ? Rightly, I feel interneed the Lord's gracious help, I would direct
your attention to Psalm 51, and we'll read the first two verses
for our text. Psalm 51, verses 1 and 2. Have mercy upon me, O God, according
to thy lovingkindness. according unto the multitude
of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions, wash me throughly
from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. This is one of the seven penitential
psalms. probably one of the most beautiful
of them, Psalm 130 that we read together is another one. And
it describes the feeling of a soul under the Lord's teaching, under
a sense of their sin, of their uncleanness. You will notice here in the top
of the Psalm, the headings on the Psalms are as much inspired
as what the Psalms themselves are, to the chief musician, a
Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him after he
had gone in to Bathsheba. Bathsheba was the wife of Uriah
the Hittite. And he was faithfully serving
David, in his army and David one night as the armies had gone
to battle he went out obviously on the roof of his house in those
eastern countries they have a flat roof and often go on to the roof
of the house and he saw a woman bathed in herself and it says
in the in Samuel and she was very beautiful and In a moment,
David, the man after God's own heart, his heart was taken. He was the king. It was easy
within his power to take her. And he did. He fell
into sin. In America, there are various
people that have written articles on this. and I totally disagree
with them and they absolutely blame Bathsheba. They say it
wasn't David's fault, it was her fault. My dear beloved friends,
you read here, David knew it was his fault, he confesses his
sin. It wasn't her fault at all, she
was innocently bathing. It was his fault. The lust of
his heart got the better of him. And he fell into sin. And he
committed adultery with another man's wife. And that was most displeasing
to the Lord. But you know, in that narrative
of David going into Bathsheba and committing adultery with
her, and then she was with child, and he tried to cover it up. He called
her husband Uriah back from the battle. And what this shows us,
my beloved friends, is this. Is that one sin leads to another
sin. It is a downward spiral. What
is called backsliding. And one step leads to another
and another step leads to another. So, David called him home and
he had him to his house and he said to him, go down to thy wife.
But he didn't. He stayed with the soldiers that
were around David's place. When David said to him, why did
you not go down to your wife? He said, can I go down to my
wife while my Lord's servants are in battle? How can I do this? So the next night, David got
him drunk with the hope that he would go down to his wife.
Because if he went down and lay with his wife, it would be easily
said that it was his child. not David's that's what David
was trying to do and then as we say it's a slippery slope
it's a slippery slope he then gives him a letter to give unto
Joab the captain of the king's forces and he said put Uriah
into the hottest place of the battle that he might be killed
so he adds murder to adultery. One thing leads to another. He was trying to cover his original
sin and it led to worse sin. That's what he means here in
verse 14 that he sent Uriah to the forefront of the battle and
he had him killed. Deliver me from blood guiltiness,
O God, thou God of my salvation. He was guilty of the blood of
Uriah. But you know, David, after Uriah
was killed, he took Bathsheba to be his wife, which there was
nothing sinful in that, but everything behind it was sinful. And we read this, and the thing
displeased the Lord and David he all the time tried
to cover it up to cover what he'd done but the
Lord sent Nathan the prophet and he spoke a parable to him
of a rich man that had great flocks and herds and somebody
came to his house there was a poor man that lived near him and he
took his single lamb that is all he had and he took it he
dressed it for the person that had come to visit him and David
in indignation he said to Nathan who is this man we must deal
with him and Nathan said thou art the man thou art the man
Uriah was just a poor man And he'd taken his wife. Thou art the man. And under the
Spirit's power and teaching, he was convinced of his sin. And this is the fruit of that
convincing him of his sin, is this son, when he's brought in
true repentance, godly sorrow, And that's what you and I need,
real repentance. Godly sorrow. You might say,
what is repentance? It's when a sinner turns from
his wicked way unto the Lord. And the things that stand out
in this psalm, it is David's confession of his sin. No excuses. That's what we're prone to do.
That's what Adam and Eve did in the garden when they sinned. And Adam said,
well the woman which thou gavest me, she gave it to me. And the
woman said, well Satan, he tempted me. She's all the time passing
the buck and saying, well it wasn't me, it was his fault.
And that's exactly what we're like, left to ourselves. We make
excuses. My mind was very much drawn to
the beautiful proverbs of Solomon and in particular it's in verse
in chapter 28 and verse 13 Proverbs 28 verse 13 he that covereth
his sins shall not prosper but whosoever confesseth and forsaketh
them You see, my beloved friends, to forsake them is to repent
of them. You forsake them. And this is the Holy Spirit here
teaching us. He that covereth his sins shall
not prosper, but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have
mercy. Shall have mercy. The way to
mercy, the way to find mercy, is in Jesus Christ. David here,
as he confesses. How does he come to God? Does
he come with anything of his own? Does he bring anything of
his own? No, friends, he had nothing. Do you? He had nothing. He had no excuses. He fully confesses. Have mercy upon me. That's how
he came to God. That's the only ground that a
poor sinner can come to God. have mercy upon me, O God, according
to thy lovingkindness, according unto the multitude of thy tender
mercies, plot out my transgressions. You know, I've often explained
to you the meaning of the word transgression. The idea behind
the word is a boundary. like you put a hedge around a
field, and so you keep the livestock in. But if those livestock break
through that boundary, then they transgress the boundary. God,
the eternal God, has put a boundary around man, every one of us. And that boundary is a holy righteous
law. And if we break that boundary,
we transgress God's holy, righteous law. You think of what it says
in the first epistle of John concerning the law, the holy,
righteous law, what sin is. It says in John 1, sin is any
transgression of the law of God. We all have sinned. We are born in sin. Just look here, David, when he
confesses these things and he says in verse five, behold, I
was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me. I was reading many years ago
now, and I've never forgotten it, Stephen Charnock, the Puritan,
and speaking on the word iniquity. He said it principally means
original sin, that which dwells in our hearts. Each one of us
is stained and died in original sin. We sin because we're sinners. We're not sinners because we
sin, we sin because we're sinners. We're born in sin. Behold, I
was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Not that it was sinful what his
mother did, but it's true of every child born into this world.
We get from our parents a fallen nature, as in Adam or die. And we're born by natural generation. And we get from our parents a
sinful nature. And that is what he means here.
Behold I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive
me. He's not making any excuse. But
he's brought to realise that he has a sinful heart, he has
a corrupt nature. He's unclean. You know, we read
in the Word of God, in the teachings 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. You know, the principal meaning
of that word is when he comes to a sinner's heart. That sinner, when he comes to
their heart, is dead, spiritually dead, in trespasses and in sin.
But when the Holy Spirit comes and enters into the heart, he
gives spiritual life. You hath he quickened who were
dead in trespasses and in sins. That word quickened means to
give life. You hath he given life who were dead. Now, when the Holy Ghost does
that, he reproves of sin. what I consider to be the better,
it gives you an alternative rendering in the margin. He will convince
the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. He will show us our sin. He will open to us our sin. And
that word convince is a very strong word, but you're absolutely
convinced. You don't need anyone to tell
you you're a sinner, you know it, you feel it. Joseph Hart,
in one of his hymns, it's very good what he says. To see sin,
smarts but slightly. To own with lip confession is
easier still. But oh to feel, cuts deep beyond
expression. To feel that you're a sinner,
to know that you're a sinner. to know that you've offended
Almighty God, to be brought in guilty before God. A guilty sinner in confession
of sin. And where there is the divine
work of the Spirit in the heart, this is always the case. There
is a sense of sin. There is a sense of corruption. There is a sense given that you're
in darkness. There is a sense given that you're
in bondage. And also, along with that, I
love what one of the hymn writers, he says, concerning an aching
void in the heart where the Holy Spirit's working. An aching void
that the world can never fill. Have you come to chapel this
morning with an aching void? That you can't fill it. You can't
satisfy it. There's something deep within
you. You need something. You're looking for something.
You're waiting for something. You're praying for something. You have that aching void. And
there may be times, and I look back to when the Lord began with
me, There may be times when you want to get rid of all these
thoughts. You can't. There may be times when you make
a resolution, you say I'm not going to have anything more to
do with this. But you can't stop praying. Because
you have a need. Because you have a need. Blessed
are the poor in spirit. They're the words of Jesus Christ. Poor, they shall be filled. They
shall be filled. Have mercy upon me. This is what
he needed, the Lord's mercy. Nothing else could satisfy him,
and nothing else could satisfy you, but God's mercy in Jesus
Christ. Have mercy upon me, O God. according
to thy loving kindness. That's what he pleads, the loving
kindness of the Lord. Flow him from his eternal love
to his people. God so loved the world, he sent
his only begotten son, he gave him. That's the eternal love of God.
And that love in Christ is free, absolutely free. Bring no money,
price or all. Ho, everyone that thirsteth,
come ye to the waters. He that hath no money. What does
that mean? He that is bankrupt. He's completely
bankrupt. Is that where you are today?
Completely bankrupt? You've got nothing to pay. You're deep in debt. But the desire, the longing according
unto the multitude of thy tenderness Blot out my transgressions. Blot out my transgressions. You see, it's a very personal
thing, isn't it? In both these verses he says,
my and me. And indeed, right the way through
the psalm he does. Wash me throughly from my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin. It's personal. It's my sin. It's my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions
and my sin is ever before they. Have you been brought to acknowledge
your transgressions, to confess your sins? There's a very beautiful
word in the first epistle of John, chapter one it speaks on
confession and it says in verse seven first
epistle of john chapter one verse seven 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. There's the secret of peace,
of salvation, of redemption. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth
us from all sin. From all sin. That's the remedy
to the malady. The malady is the disease that
is within you. a wicked, sinful, corrupt heart.
Now, the cure for it is in the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses
from all sin. It says, Jesus Christ, his son,
all the dignity, all the worth, all the preciousness, all the
fullness of that precious blood of Christ that he shed at Calvary,
he is the son of God. It's of infinite fullness. His blood cleanses from all sin. I've always admired, as I look
at that word, it doesn't just say from sin, it would have been
good in English, it cleanses from sin. No, but there's an
emphasis here. It cleanses from all sin. From all sin. There's none too
vile. There's none too wretched. There's
none too unclean, there's none too defiled, but that can come
to Jesus Christ. The whole need not a physician,
but them that are sick. And these precious souls are
welcome to Jesus Christ. His blood cleanses from all sin. It may be you've come to chapel
today and it may be in the past months and weeks you've been
struggling so much within yourself with that great battle in your
soul and you've been struggling against, just as it says of Saul
of Tarsus when he was on the road to Damascus and the Lord
said to him, it's hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And
are you kicking against the pricks? Are you rebelling against the
work of the Lord and the way of the Lord? I think of the hymn
that we sung on Thursday evening, rebellious thou hast been, and
art rebellious still, but since in love I took thee in, my promise
I'll fulfil. And the blood of Jesus Christ,
his Son, cleanseth us from all sin. But what does he go on to
say? It's teachings here about sin.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the
truth is not in us. I've often said to you, and I
sincerely mean it, if your religion has not got sin in it, I wouldn't
give you a penny for it. It's worthless. Real religion,
wrought in the heart by the Holy Ghost, there is a convincing
of sin. And it always is. And you feel
your lost sinful condition. And if we say that we have no
sin, we deceive ourselves. And the truth is not in us. But
then we have this lovely word. 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. These clearly defined
portions of Holy Scripture teach us the truth, the truth as it
is in Jesus. He carries on in the second chapter,
my little children, these things write unto you that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an
advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. There's
a word in the book of Job and he speaks of a daysman. Remember
Job is for antiquity one of the oldest books in the Bible. It
is believed that Job lived somewhere just after the flood, before
Moses and the giving of the law, probably contemporary with Abraham. And he speaks there of a daisman.
What does a daisman mean? The reason I'm saying this is
because this word advocate. We have an advocate with the
Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Now, if there were two people
that were in a dispute together and they couldn't reconcile themselves
a daisman was called and he would put his hand on the shoulder
of the one and his hand on the shoulder of the other and he
would mediate between the two. A daisman. What a beautiful picture
of Jesus Christ. The eternal son of the eternal
father manifest in the flesh. What a suitable and glorious
daisman he is. As God, he puts his hand on the
shoulder of God. As man, he puts his hand on the
shoulder of man, and he mediates between the two. It's very similar
to this word, advocate. We have an advocate with the
Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous, and he is the propitiation for
our sins. That word, propitiation, it actually
I think in the original Greek it would mean the wrath-ending
sacrifice of Jesus Christ. In other words, the atonement
on the cross of Calvary, where God and sinners are reconciled.
You can't be reconciled to God in any other place, but only
at Calvary, where the Lamb was slain, where sin was put away,
where divine justice was satisfied, where God and sinners are reconciled.
That's the only way. That's the only way you and I
can ever be reconciled unto God. I often quote to you those beautiful
words out of 1 Timothy, chapter 4 I think it is, there is one
God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus
who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time. There is none of the name given
under heaven whereby ye must be saved, but the name of Jesus
Christ, the Son of God. And he is the propitiation for
our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the
whole world. What does he mean by saying that,
for the sins of the whole world? What he's saying is, and we know
from the whole of Scripture, that the whole world is not going
to be saved. So what is meant by that, the
sins of the whole world, is that, as it's made clear in Scripture,
the Lord has his people, among every people, language, or tongue
as it says, throughout all the world. that there is only one
saviour. It doesn't matter where you live,
it doesn't matter who you belong to, it doesn't matter what religion
you follow, whether it's Buddha or whether it's a Muslim religion
or whatever it is, there's only one way of salvation and it's
absolutely unique. There is none other name given
under heaven whereby you must be saved. It doesn't matter where
you live and who you are, This is the only way of salvation,
and he is the propitiation, that's the sin atoning sacrifice for
our sins. The cross of Christ is the only
place of salvation, and not for ours only, but also for the sins
of the whole world. I am the way, the truth, and
the life. No man cometh unto the Father,
but by me. but by me. Oh my dear beloved
friends, how vital, how essential it is that we should know this
Saviour, this Redeemer. Now I want to just look for a
moment at what we read together, Psalm 130. And the language,
if we are indeed under the inward teaching of the Spirit and we
feel our sinfulness and our helplessness, you'll begin to understand a
little of the language here. Out of the depths have I cried
unto thee, O Lord, O Jehovah. Out of the depths. I want you just to think for
a moment of Jonah. We're all familiar with the story
of Jonah. how that the Lord commanded him
to go to Nineveh to preach the truth unto the Ninevites in repentance
and Jonah instead went the opposite direction. Maybe that's what
you've been doing, going in the opposite direction. But eventually the Lord, he paid
a ship to go to Tarshish, not to Nineveh, it's the opposite
direction. And a great storm came. And the men tried desperately
to stop the ship sinking. They cast the goods overboard,
etc. They found Jonah sleeping in
the sides of the ship. And they said to Jonah who he
was, etc. And he said unto them, this has
come because of me. Their life was in jeopardy because
Jonah was running away from the Lord. Running away from the will
of God. Are you? Are you trying to run
away from the Lord? You'll not succeed. And Jonah
had to go a step further. Those men had to cast him into
the depths of the sea. And when they did that, there
was a calm. But listen. The Lord had prepared
a great fish, a whale, as it says in the New Testament, to
swallow up Jonah. You know, there's been lots of
speculation that it's not possible for a man to live in the belly
of a great fish for three days and three nights. Absolutely
right. Naturally speaking, according to the laws of science, you couldn't
do that. There's no oxygen there. There's
nothing to keep you alive there. But listen to what the Word of
God says. and God had prepared a great
fish so that Jonah's life would be preserved. And what do we read of Jonah
when he was in the belly of that great fish? Out of the belly
of hell cried I unto them. You know that's a very solemn
place, isn't it? Out of the belly of All thy waves and thy billows
are gone over me. He felt that he was utterly finished. It was the Lord that brought
him there. He felt there was no hope whatsoever for him. And
the Lord brought him there. Why? Because of his rebellion.
Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom
he receiveth. And that is why Jonah had to
go into the belly of that great fish. Now, look at it naturally.
There was no human arm that could reach Jonah there. Nobody could
reach him. He says, I went down to the foundations
of the mountains, all their waves and their billows have gone over
me. He felt overwhelmed. But where did it bring him under
the Spirit's teaching? Yet, will I look again? toward thy holy temple at Jerusalem. That's where it brought him.
That was the purpose of God in bringing him into that desperate
place. Yet, when I look again, what
was in the holy temple at Jerusalem? The sacrifices, the blood, the
offerings, typifying Christ and I believe that is what Jonah
saw. He was brought utterly Completely to the end of himself a poor
broken-hearted sinner This you see what we have here in Psalm
130 out of the depths have I cried unto thee O Lord Lord hear my
voice let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my Supplications
if thou Lord shouldest mark iniquities O Lord who shall stand? None
will none can stand If the Lord marks iniquity Then we have this beautiful word,
but there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. And I believe that is what Jonah
was brought to see in the belly of that great fish. But there
is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. The great
Dr. Owen, one of the greatest and
most learned of all the Puritans, he's written a whole volume Psalm
130 and it's recorded in there a young man straight out of college
and Dr. Owen was examining him to see
if he had the root of the matter to see if he was sound in his
faith and he spoke to me asked him a question of what how would
you come to God he said by the mediator But he said, have you? He said, I was preaching for
years. And I was brought utterly to feel my wretched sinfulness
after he'd been preaching for years. And it was this verse
that delivered him. But there is forgiveness with
thee, that thou mayest be feared. And that is why he wrote that
treatise on Psalm 130, because that is what the Lord used to
bring him to living faith in Jesus Christ. and the forgiveness
of his sins, to be reconciled unto God. But he goes on, doesn't
he? He says, I wait for the Lord. Is that where you are? You desire
to know the Lord Jesus. You long to know the Lord Jesus.
You desire the precious blood of the Lamb. You desire to be
cleansed by it. You desire the righteousness
of Christ to cover you and to cover your nakedness and your
sinfulness. And so this language, you'll
understand it. I wait for the Lord. My soul
doth wait in his word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord
more than they that watch for the morning. I say more than
they that watch for the morning. Let Israel hope in the Lord.
For with the Lord there is mercy. And with him is plenteous redemption. Have mercy upon me, O God. according
to thy lovingkindness. That's the ground he comes to
God by. The lovingkindness of God in
Jesus Christ. The lovingkindness of God in
that precious Saviour, in that precious blood of the Lamb. That's
God's lovingkindness. That's your only hope. According
unto the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgression. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin. You notice here also, it seems
to stand out to me as we were reading it this morning, verse
17. The sacrifices of God are a broken
spirit, a broken and a contrite heart. Oh God, thou will not
despise a broken heart. under the Spirit's inward teaching,
when he's convincing of sin, it will break your heart. But
also, a broken and a contrite heart. The word contrite means
to be submissive. Submissive. A broken heart, but
also a contrite heart. Just like David here, as I said
to you he doesn't make any excuses look at verse four against thee
the only have i sinned and done this evil in thy sight that thou
mightest be justified when thou speakest and be clear when thou
judgest behold i was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother
conceive me behold thou desire is truth in the inward parts
and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom and this
what he feels so purge me with his and I shall be clean. Wash
me and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and
gladness that the bones which thou hast broken." What does
he mean by the bones which thou hast broken? This broken heart. He was a man that was broken
and finished. See how he felt the defilement,
creating me a clean heart, O God, and renewed. a right spirit within
me. Cast me not away from thy presence
and take not thy Holy Spirit from me out of interest. This psalm is the first time
in the Psalms that the Holy Spirit is mentioned. Take not thy Holy
Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy
salvation and withhold and uphold me with thy free spirit. You think of those lovely words
in Isaiah chapter 66. To this man will I look, to him
that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at
my word. To close, just think of the wonderful
words of Jesus Christ. Come unto me, all ye that labour
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. May the Lord add his blessing. Let us now Sing together hymn
number 180. The tune is Ealing, 637. Lamb
of God, we fall before thee. Humbly trusted in thy cross, That alone be all our glory,
all things else are dung and dross. Thee we own a perfect
Saviour, only source of all that's good. Every grace and every favour
comes to us through Jesus' blood. Hymn 180. ? Holy, holy ? ? God be praised
? ? Sing it, my brothers ? ? Let earth adore thee ? ? Lord of
glory ? ? God be praised ? Every praise from every shaper. Monster of Circassia's blood
? Jesus gives us ? ? Pure repentance
? ? By His Spirit sent from heaven ? ? Jesus Christmas ? ? This
straight sentence ? Shall my sins at all forbear? Faith He gives us to believe
it, Faithful of his martyr pride, God, we wish thou, famous Spirit,
Hearing is and seeing eyes. Jesus gives us pure affections,
wills to do what he requires, makes us follow his directions,
and what he commands inspires. All have rested, all have praises,
Lightly offered in He that dictates them is Jesus,
he that answers is the same. When we live on Jesus' merit,
Then we will ship God aright. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
then praise faithfully unite. Hear the whole conclusion of
it, Pray to Him, and there will come a downing of praise to the
Prophet Jesus Christ his own. 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. Amen.