There are so many individual
verses in this Psalm that are such a blessing. I have preached
from Psalm 25 many times on a single verse. Look at verse one. It says, Unto thee, O Lord, do
I lift up my soul. Can we not hear that as the words
of Christ from the cross? Luke 23 says, our Lord cried
with a loud voice, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. And having said thus, he gave
up the ghost. Because he cried that, in saving
us, We can cry that in the access that he's given us to him. We can cry that in his keeping
of us and his securing of us and his comforting us. Unto thee,
O Lord, do I lift up my soul. Peter said, cast all your care
upon him. Aren't you so thankful for that
verse of scripture? Cast all your care upon Him. Why? He careth
for you. How can I know that He actually
cares for me? I know that He cares for His
people. I know He cares for His elect,
but how can I know that He actually cares for me? He has caused you to cast all
your care upon Him. That's how you can know. Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift
up my soul. Our Lord will bring us lower
and lower and lower and then after that he'll bring us lower
and lower and we'll get lower and lower and lower until there's
nothing left. And all we can say is unto thee
do I lift up my soul. That's a blessing. That's a wonderful
verse. And so is verse 6 and verse 7. Look at verse 6. It
says, 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. That's what the thief on the
cross cried. Lord, would you remember me? Would you remember me? Would
you remember not my sin and my transgressions? Because I can't seem to forget
about them. Would you remember not my sin
and my transgressions, but would you remember your tender mercy
and your loving kindness in remembering me? Look at verse 20. Oh, keep my soul. Keep my soul, and deliver me. Let me not be ashamed, for I
put my trust in thee. I've preached from that verse,
that's the outline. Oh, keep my soul, and deliver
me. Let me not be ashamed, for I
put my trust in thee. There are so many individual
verses in this Psalm that are such a blessing, and tonight,
This one is too. I have loved this verse of scripture
for many, many years. When I tell you, every time I
think about this verse, I start laughing. There have been people
throughout the years that they get so happy about the gospel,
they just kind of break out laughing. I have so many scriptures in
so many places that I say are my favorites. And when I tell
you this is equal to all of them, I can't put one above another,
but if you've never seen this, you're going to understand why.
You'll immediately understand why I say that. Look at, look
at verse 11. It says, for thy name's sake, O Lord, pardon mine
iniquity for It is great. For thy name's sake, oh Lord,
pardon my iniquity. Four, because. It is great. The last time that I preached
from this verse, which I thought wasn't that long ago, I looked
it up on Sermon Audio, it was nine years ago. So we're due,
we're due for this verse again. But I titled that message the
grounds for my plea. The grounds for my plea. That's what this is. The reason
or the worthiness. David is saying this is the qualification
that makes me worthy to ask this of you. Here's the reason why
I'm asking this of you. Asking what? What are you asking
for? Pardon. Pardon. Pardon my iniquity. Forgive me and let me be excused. Pardon me and just let me go. That's what I'm asking for. Just
let me go. Why? What are your grounds for
being forgiven and excused? You know what David said? He
said, pardon my iniquity for because it's so great. It's so great. There is so much
of it. Pardon my iniquity because there's
so much of it. Can you imagine a convicted prisoner
going before a judge saying, your honor, The reason I'm asking you to
release me, the reason I'm asking you to
pardon me, release me, just completely set me free, is because I'm the
greatest criminal I've ever known in my life. That's the reason
why. I'm the greatest criminal I've
ever known in my life. I'm the greatest transgressor
of the law this world has ever seen. My crimes are so many. You can't imagine all the things
I've done. You could not possibly imagine
the laws I've broken. I've committed transgression
after transgression after transgression and I acknowledge and I take
ownership and responsibility for every single one of them. I'm more guilty than any soul
in this room could possibly imagine. For that reason, would you release me and set
me free? For that reason, David said,
pardon mine iniquity for here's the reason. Here's the ground
for my play. Pardon mine iniquity because
it is so great. There's just so much of it, so
much of it. Do you know that's what every
child of God says? That sounds strange, doesn't
it? That is totally contrary, that's totally opposite to the
natural way of the flesh. That's totally opposite. The
sinful flesh of man would naturally say, pardon me because I'm not
guilty. I didn't do it. I'm asking you
to release me, let me go, set me free because I didn't do it,
I was wrongly accused. That's not what God's people
say. That's not what those who God has sent his spirit to say. When God's spirit comes to a
sinner, God's spirit convinces that sinner of his or her sin. Look at Psalm 51. If your Bible has a little heading
under the title of Psalm 51, mine says, to the chief musician,
a psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him after
he had gone in to Bathsheba. Nathan came and said, thou art
the man. David took a man's wife in adultery And then he murdered the man. And you and I ought to be so
thankful that our sins are not written in God's word for all
to read. You and I ought to be so thankful for that. David's
sins were. And so many other men and women
in the scripture, their sins were recorded. And as God's people read the
sins of these brethren, we have to acknowledge that we are no
better than they are. I'm so glad that my sins are
not written in this book right here because my sins are no better
than theirs. Our sins are just as great as
theirs. And even though our sins are
not recorded like theirs are, we have no choice but to cry
the same thing they cried right alongside of them. The same thing,
verse one right here, David cried, have mercy upon me, oh God. Can you not hear yourself crying
this as we listen to David cry this? Have mercy upon me, oh
God, according to thy loving kindness, 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. I acknowledge my transgression
and my sin, not my innocence, my sin. Not my righteousness,
my sin. Not my goodness, not my holiness,
not my sanctification, my sin. My sin is ever. That means always before me. Always before me. My transgressions
are many. My sin is great. Therefore, have
mercy upon me. Forgive me. Blot it all out.
Blot it all out. Just keep smudging blood on all
of it until it's gone. You can't even see it anymore. That's what David cried. That's
what David cried. Turn over to Luke chapter five. Luke five. Verse 8 says, When Simon Peter saw it, he fell
down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful
man, O Lord. I'm a sinner, I'm a sinner, I'm
a sinner. I'm a sinner, that's what Peter
cried. Look at Luke 18. Luke 18, verse 10. Two men went up into the temple
to pray. The one a Pharisee, that means
a big wig church goer. That means a deacon in the church. And the other a publican, that
means a mafia member, a man of the mafia. The Pharisee stood
and prayed thus with himself, God I thank thee that I'm not
as other men are. Extortioners, that's what they
do in the mafia. unjust, I'm not unjust, that's
what goes on in the mafia. Adulterers, mafia members do
that. Or even as this publican, I fast
twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the
publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as
his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God,
be merciful to me. I'm a sinner. I am a sinner. God, be merciful. Be good. Be kind. Be loving. Forgive me. Why? Because I'm a sinner. Now, every soul on this earth
who is a sinner ought to find great comfort in this. Great
comfort. Every soul on this earth that
adamantly knows in his or her heart that he or she is a vile,
wretched sinner ought to find great comfort in this. Look back
a few pages at Luke 15. Verse one says, Then drew near
unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes
murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners. And he eats, he has
dinner with them. Listen to this. This man receives
sinners. I don't want to be a sinner and
I don't want you all to be sinners, but you are and I am. And the only good news I have
for us tonight is this man receives sinners. That's who he receives. He said, I came not to call the
righteous. He does not receive the righteous,
but he receives sinners. Look at Luke 7. Luke 7 verse 34 says, The Son of Man is come eating
and drinking, and you say, behold, a gluttonous man and a wine-bigger. He's a friend of publicans and
sinners. That's what he is. This man is
the friend of sinners. Does that make you want to cry
in your heart, Lord, I'm a sinner? I'm a sinner. Turn with me to
1 Timothy chapter 1. 1 Timothy 1 verse 15. This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners of whom I am chief. The last two letters that
Paul wrote in his life late in his life was first and second
Timothy. Wasn't the beginning of his ministry,
this was the end of his ministry. Wasn't a young man, he was an
old man and he didn't say, oh, I used to be a sinner. Y'all
can't imagine what I used to be. He said, I am right now,
chief. I'm the chief. This is the absolute
truth. Christ came into this world for
one reason only, to save sinners. Why would he do that? Why would he do that? Here's
the answer. His name's sake. That's his name. Why would he
do that? That's his name. Call his name Savior. That's his name. Jeremiah 23 says, His name shall
be called the Lord our righteousness. Not just the Lord is righteousness,
the Lord our righteousness. That's why he would do that for
us sinners. It's because he is our righteousness. He came to provide righteousness
for those who had none. None in their own flesh. For
those who say, Some many will be out there saying the Lord
wouldn't save me. I'm just too great of a center.
I just don't even see how the Lord could save me. I'm just
I'm like there are centers and then there's me. I'm just too
great of a center. Listen, you're exactly who he
came for. Your condition puts you at the
top of the list. The greater the sin. The greater
the grounds for pardon. I've given you that illustration
before. We buy gold. In all these companies,
we buy gold. It's like saying, well, I don't
want to take my gold to sell it to them. It's too pure. You're
exactly the customer they're looking for. You're the one they're guaranteed
to take. If it's not pure, they're not going to take your gold.
It's not gold. The greater the sin, the greater
the grounds for pardon. Christ came to save sinners and
for his name's sake, for Christ's sake, they shall be saved. Not for their own sake, but for
his sake. Not for their own namesake, but
for his namesake. In Ezekiel 36, the Lord told
his people all these wonderful things that he was going to do
for them. I'm going to do this and I'm going to do this, all
these wonderful things. But he said, I'm not doing this
for your sake. I'm doing this for my own sake. I'm not doing this because of
your worthiness for me to do this for you, I'm doing this
because of my worthiness. Listen to this article, I'm almost
done here. Listen to this article written
by a man named Jack Shanks. You say you are unworthy of the
least of God's mercies? Aren't you glad Christ is worthy? And that the redemption he accomplished
was for the unworthy? You say you have no goodness
or merits to claim? Aren't you thankful God accepts
sinners based on the goodness and merits of his son? You say
the law affords you no hope? Right you are. But the gospel
declares that the mercy and grace of God is freely given to sinners
because of the doing and the dying of his dear son. This is
the only salvation worth having. And the only one worthy to be
proclaimed, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Came to save sinners. For thy
name's sake, oh Lord, because that's who you are. And that's
what you do. You save sinners. You pardon
sinners. So I'm coming to you on the grounds
of my sin. I'm coming to you on the grounds
of who you said you would accept. And I'm coming by the faith that
you've put in my heart, believing that I will in no wise be cast
out. I come fearfully because I'm
a sinner. But I come believing that I will
in no wise be rejected. I will in no wise be turned away.
Every sinner who comes to Christ on the grounds of his or her
sin, not the grounds of his or her righteousness, not the grounds
of his or her goodness. I'm coming because I'm good.
Don't you see I'm good? Not that way. That way will never
be accepted. But every sinner who comes to
Christ on the grounds of his or her sin will be pardoned for
Christ's sake. for his blood's sake, for his
righteousness' sake. Martin Luther said, every time
you insist that I am a sinner, you call me to remember the benefit
of Christ my Redeemer, upon whose shoulders and not mine, lie all
my sins. So when you say I am a sinner,
you do not terrify me, but comfort me immensely. In closing, go over to Psalm
103. Psalm 103 verse 1 says, bless
the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his
holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and
forget not all his benefits, who forgiveth all thine iniquities,
who healeth all thy diseases, who redeemeth thy life from destruction,
who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies.
who satisfy thy mouth with good, so that thy youth is renewed
like the eagles. The Lord executeth righteousness
and judgment for all that are oppressed. He made known his
ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel. The Lord
is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide, neither
will he keep his anger forever. He hath not dealt with us after
our sins." And I can't read that without saying that's because he dealt with
Christ after our sins. I literally thought when I was
going over this today, I thought, okay, I'm not going to say that
this time. They know that. I can't do it. Verse 10, he hath
not dealt with us after our sins. One reason only, he dealt with
Christ after our sins. He didn't sweep them under the
rug. He has not rewarded us according to our iniquities, because he
rewarded Christ according to our iniquities. For as the heaven
is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that
fear him. As far as the east is from the
west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like
as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that
fear him. For he knoweth our frame, he
remembereth that we are dust, As for man, his days are as grass,
as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind
passeth over it, and it is gone, and the place thereof shall know
it no more. But the mercy of the Lord is
from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and
his righteousness unto children's children, to such as keep his
covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom
ruleth over all. Bless the Lord, ye his angels
that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening
unto the voice of his word. Bless ye the Lord, all ye his
hosts, you ministers of his that do his pleasure. Bless the Lord,
all his works in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord. Oh, my soul. That's what every
soul will say who finds pardon in the blood of Jesus Christ.
Pardon from sin for his name's sake. Every one of them will
say, bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless
his holy name. For thy name's sake, O Lord,
pardon mine iniquity, for it is great. It's great. Last word. Isaiah 55 says, seek
ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is
near. Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord.
And he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly
pardon. He will abundantly pardon. Just look to Christ, and you'll
find it. You'll find pardon.