Today's scripture reading is taken from the book of Psalms, Psalms 109 verses one through 31. It's a very passionate prayer from David. He's being persecuted by his enemies on all sides, and he's praying to God to take care of his enemies for him.

Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise. For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me. They have spoken against me with a lying tongue. They compass me about also with words of hatred and fought against me without a cause. For my love they are my adversaries, but I give myself unto prayer. And they have rewarded me evil for good and hatred for my love.

Set thou a wicked man over him and let Satan stand at his right hand. When he shall be judged, let him be condemned, and let his prayer become sin. Let his days be few, and let another take his office. Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow. Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg. Let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places. Let the extortioner catch all that he hath, and let the strangers spoil his labor. Let there be none to extend mercy unto him, Neither let there be any to favor his fatherless children. Let his posterity be cut off, and in the generation following, let their name be blotted out. Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the Lord, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out. Let them be before the Lord continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth, because that he remembered not to show mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart.

As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him. And he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him. As he clothed himself with cursing, like as with his garment, so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones. Let it be unto him as the garment which covereth him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually. Let this be the reward of the mine adversaries from the Lord, and of them that speak evil against my soul.

But do thou for me, O God the Lord, for thy namesake, because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me. For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me. I am gone like a shadow. When it declineth, I am tossed up and down as the locust. My knees are weak through fasting, and my flesh faileth of fatness. I become also a reproach unto them, When they looked upon me, they shaked their heads.

Help me, O Lord my God, and save me according to thy mercy, that they may know that this is thy hand, that thou, Lord, hast done it. Let them curse, but bless thou. When they arise, let them be ashamed, and let thy servant rejoice. Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame, and let them cover themselves with their own confusion as with a mantle. I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth. Yea, I will praise him among the multitude, for he shall stand at the right hand of the poor to save him from those that condemn his soul.

May the Holy Spirit have blessing to us. Wow. I didn't read that before services today. That goes right along with the message that I'd like to bring before you this morning. Open your Bibles, if you would, to the fourth chapter of Romans. Put a little marker in there. We're going to leave Romans chapter 4 for a little bit, but we'll come back in the end. What grace to be blessed of God. I've heard our brother Mike Loveless say many times, with his lips, with his heart, and with his pen, in writing the wonderful, the wonders of God's grace to him. I've heard those words from you folks, maybe not quite in the the poetical way that Mike Lovelace writes, but from your hearts. The graciousness that when you speak about God's grace, when you speak about the love of God for His people, the graciousness in sending His Son to be our substitute, the love that God expresses through sending His Son to be our substitute, our death. to be put to death for our cause. What grace it is to be blessed of God.

In Ephesians chapter 1 we're told all spiritual blessings come by the way of Christ our Lord. In verse 3 we're also told that there are those who are chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world in verse 4, and in verse 5 we are told we are predestinated unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ unto Himself. Because we are predestinated unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ unto Himself because of the Son of the Living God. Christ the Lord. Because of Him we have been redeemed as it says in verse 7 by the shedding of His blood. What a wonderful blessing to learn of our state before a thrice holy God. We have to be taught that we're sinners. We have to hear through the preaching of God's Word that we are unworthy of anything of God other than through, now I want to stress that, Christ Jesus the Lord. That's what it's talking about in Ephesians chapter 1 verse 3. All heavenly blessings come through Him, because of Him, by Him. So if God has any mercy, any grace, any compassion to you and I, it's because of His Son, the Lord Jesus, as we read there in Ephesians chapter 1.

What a wonderful blessing it is to learn of our state. He who came to us when we were yet dead in trespasses and sin. We who were laying in our own blood and filth. The Lord walked by. He walked by because He was predetermined Why? It was planned that he would come through rescue and save his people, just as it was planned, just as he must go through Samaria to see a woman by the well. Why? Because he had made a covenant. God the Father made a covenant with a guarantee, a pact. Here's my agreement, says God the Father, get to spend an eternity praising our Lord. Not like we do in these dreadful bodies, this body of death is what Paul calls it. Oh, wretched man, who will deliver me from this body of death? But that wonderful re... I don't even know how to call it. That wonderful new body that the Lord will give us when we cross through from this life into the next.

He came to us when we were dead, trespassers in sin, and He said, live. He quickened us as it is said in verse 1 of chapter 2. We walked according to the prince of this world, just as it says in verse 2, living as others, fulfilling the desires of our flesh. We were by nature as others, children of wrath. Do you remember the first time you heard that? I can remember, not real clearly, but pretty close. Pastor Gene was up here saying that and I remember something kind of went, something a little bit like this. That's all I got to do is I got to point over there. That's where I was sitting, over there. And he just pointed at John. So did several other people in the audience in the congregation that day as well. They knew he was pointing at them. That's the Holy Spirit speaking to the people of God through the preaching of His Word. I knew, I knew that that was me, one who was fulfilling the desires of my flesh, the desire came into this world with, Johnny's okay! He's not such a bad guy. Oh, he tells little lies. Folks, there's only one penalty for lying. Death. I don't care if it's a little one, a big one, what it is, it's still death.

Goes on to tell us next, in the next few verses there, of Ephesians chapter 2, it says, But God, who is rich in mercy, has a great love for His people, so much so that He sent His Son to be our substitute. He provided Himself a sacrifice, as Abraham told to his son when his son asked, Father, where is the sacrifice? He said, God will provide Himself our scapegoat, our redeemer. This is the one who said, I will be their God and they will be my people. And he says it to each and every one of us through the preaching of his word. He says, I will be their king. He says, I will be their priest.

Look with me, if you would, at verses 7 and 8 of Romans chapter 4. Romans chapter 4 beginning at verse 7 say, where do all blessings come from? The Lord Jesus Christ. Where do they all come through? The Lord Jesus Christ. Look here it says, blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven. Isn't that wonderful? Isn't that good news? God blesses some folks. He passes by some. The angel of death passes by some because their death has already been presented in His Son, the Lord Jesus. The death I earned. The death I owe. The death that you have earned. The death that you owe. If you belong to the Lord, as it says in Ephesians chapter 1, if you've been predestinated to belong to Him from before the world was, your death was put upon Him. He never did anything to deserve death. Is He not God Almighty? Does He not do all things perfectly? Folks, if Christ doesn't do all things perfectly, we're wasting our time. We're just playing church.

Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. I want to talk to you this morning about iniquities forgiven. I guess my brother Lee is probably the best one to mention this to. He's known me since I was little teeny thing, being my older brother. He could verify this. That word iniquity, iniquities are forgiven. That word iniquity, what a big word. That was not part of John's vocabulary. John's vocabulary was, well, I don't want to say those words anymore. But it was a lot of those words and a lot of dudes, a lot of dudettes. I never learned how to remember names, which kind of amazed me that the Lord would use me to preach his word, not being able to remember people's names. But he did.

It's a rather large word. And it was a lot bigger than I knew anything about. So when I see this word, my iniquities are forgiven, something reaches out talking about here. What is this good news? That my iniquities are forgiven. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord will not impute sin. That word iniquities, the Webster Dictionary describes it this way, immoral. Or grossly unfair behavior. Here's some of the synonyms that describe this big word. Wickedness. Sinfulness. immorality, atrociousness, evil, sinful, vileness, criminal, offensive, violation, wrongdoing, all of those things. I remember when I first began to hear God's Word preached here at Rescue and things were going through my mind, Kathy would say things like, why are you going to church? I don't know, I just gotta go. I remember one time standing out in my front yard and I was thinking about I don't even remember what it was now, but it was somebody, a friend of mine that had just, I didn't even want to be around him anymore. He'd been a friend a long time, and I just didn't want to be around him anymore. And I remember sitting there thinking to myself, I've done things five times worse.

Here's a man telling me that iniquities can be forgiven. Does it affect you like that? When you hear about God's love for you, does it affect you in the way that it does me, just grabs a hold of my heart, seeing how undeserving I am? Despite John, he still loves me? Oh, it doesn't get any better to me, folks. When I read my iniquities are forgiven, my sins are covered, oh, there's a whole book of stuff that's gone. It's just, it's written off. Forty years and several more after that.

Folks, I haven't quit sinning. I'm not saying that with pride. I'm just telling you, I can't help myself. There's still thoughts that come into this mind. There's still anger that can raise up in this old heart. There's still doubts that cause me to be sinful. Everything from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet. Everything. It's like that. A puddle of blood. If there's anything good in me, it's the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of God doing His work in me.

Those words I gave you in descriptions of what iniquity means, It's just a sample to give us an idea of what God's Word is trying to tell us here. It said, blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven. Have you ever thought about that word forgiven? I have to remind myself all the time, what does it mean to be forgiven? It means to be put away. It means to be remembered no more. That kind of blows our mind a little bit, doesn't it? Here's the one who knows everything, before it ever even happens, who's purposed all things for his glory, yet he remembers no more what John is. I can't even wrap my mind around that. That's so deep.

People say, I'll flap around on top of the pond, I don't go deep enough into His Word. That's deep, that God would remember my sins no more. That my sins would be completely put out of His mind. Turn over to Numbers, chapter 15. Go over to Numbers, one of the first four books of the Bible. The God of all creation is so perfect, so holy, that He cannot look upon sin. When His Son, when the Lord Jesus, who knew no sin, who never sinned, there was never any thing that our Lord did that was sinful, that was against the will of God the Father. But when he was made sin, God the Father turned his back. He could not look upon his son. He turned his back. He left the Son of God in the hands of the Holy Spirit. To keep him when he was going through that door marked death in our place. To hold him up. to strengthen Him when He was being tempted by the devil in every which way that we could be tempted. He's so perfect in every way that He could not look upon sin.

Look here at verse 30 and 31 of Numbers chapter 15. But the soul that doeth Presumptuously, whether he be born in the land or the stranger, the same reproaches the Lord, that soul shall be cut off from among his people, because he hath despised the word of the Lord, and hath broken his commandment. The soul that shall utterly be cut off his iniquity shall be upon him. This is talking about natural man. This is talking about every man, woman, and child who's ever come into this world, deserve to be cut off, have earned their iniquity to be upon them.

Look at verse 32, and while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the Sabbath day. I want to stop there for just a moment, because all he was doing was gathering sticks to make a fire. Think about this, folks. When Paul says in his word, even the good that I do, I find evil, He's talking about this very thing, this flesh that is so full of sin, even the gathering of sticks on a Sabbath day is evil. It's against God's word.

Let's go on. And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, verse 33. And Aaron, and unto all the congregation, they put him in a ward. because it was not declared what it should be done unto him. And the Lord said unto Moses, the man shall be surely put to death, for all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. And the congregation brought him without the camp and stoned him with stones, and he died as the Lord commanded Moses."

What a picture. What a picture of the cost of sin. Don't overlook it, though, what this man said was. He was doing the work. Doing a work on the Sabbath. The Sabbath was to be a day of rest. It was to point the people of God, Israel at the time, that here is a picture. It's to point us to Christ. Rest in Him. Put your works down. Salvation is not of the hands of men. It's of one, your Sabbath, who is the Lord Jesus. He is our rest, because of His works there's nothing for us to add to nor take away from what He's done.

He was preparing His meal, and in doing so He proclaimed to be an act of sin, an act of disobedience. The people of God, and that's what Israel were, they were a picture of God's chosen people. One of the laws given to Moses was to rest upon the seventh day, and all you might need for that day was to be prepared the day before, so on that day there would be no works by the hands of men. And as I mentioned a moment ago, it was a picture It was a picture of not mixing the works of men with the grace and the deliverance of God.

God declares His grace and works cannot mix in the book of Romans. Listen to Romans 11 verse 5. Even so then, at this present time, also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then it is no more of works. Otherwise, grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace. Otherwise, work is no more work.

Folks, our works are iniquity. They are nothing but iniquity in the sight of God. We are full of sin from the top of our heads to the bottom of our feet. And I ask you this morning, do you need a Savior? Are you relying on something that you're doing? Your good works, the new person that you are now before God. I plead with you to look to your Savior, the Lord Jesus, for all that is.

As I had said earlier, God has loved the people from before the world was. He chose them unto salvation through the wonderful works of His Son, the Lord Jesus, who is the Lord of the Sabbath, the fulfillment of the Sabbath. He is our Sabbath, our day of rest. We rest in His works.

Turn over to Psalms 51. David's got the psalmist, the great psalmist has an excellent psalm for us here in Psalm 51. The people of God are brought to an understanding that we have nothing to offer God for our iniquities. We are broke, completely depraved of any righteousness in ourselves. Our righteousness is as filthy rags according to the Word of God. And one must be perfectly righteous to stand with God. One must be as holy as He is in the presence of the Most High.

David, a man after God's own heart, knew this. And when sin had risen up in his flesh, listen to what he cried here in verse 1. Have mercy upon me. Poor beggar, who was over on the side of the temple. He couldn't even lift up his head. All he could do was pound on his chest. This is what David is doing right here, right now, pounding on his chest.

When Nathan the prophet came unto him after he had gone unto Bathsheba, he says, Have mercy upon me, O God. And here's why. Not because of anything I have done, not because of the new man I am now, but because of your loving, only according to that. According unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Remember my sins no more.

Look at verse 2. Wash me thoroughly acknowledge my transgressions and my sin as ever before me. I thought I brought this out not too long ago. Think about Israel for just a moment. The Lord gave them the oracles of God. He gave them the mercy seat. He told them about how to build the temple. The great veil between the congregation and the holiest of holies. Who could go into the holiest of holies? Another picture of Christ Himself.

And we see where God has given them everything in perfection. He's given unto his people what they need to look to the Lord Jesus, yet over time, little bits of leaven leaked into their worship, and eventually they came to the point where they hung the Lord Jesus on the cross. Thousands of years later, hundreds of years later, they came to the point where they no longer worship the things that those things pointed to, but the things themselves.

That's how weak we are in the flesh. That's the very reason God tells us not to let the left hand and the right hand know what they're doing, because we will fall to that. I'm thankful that they've never found Noah's Ark. Oh, I know they say they haven't. I don't believe it. I'm thankful that they don't know where the Lord Jesus was buried. I know they say they think they have, but I don't believe that either.

because people would just make a shrine out of it. How do you know, John? Because people make a shrine out of a stupid piece of toast that looks like it has Jesus' face on it. It's not even Jesus. It's a painting that some Catholic made way back in the medieval days. Long hair, hippie-type looking guy. That's not what Jesus looked like.

Let me tell you what Jesus looks like. Majestic. Think about how he looked when he was on that Mount, the Mount Transfiguration. He glows with perfection. He glows with the almighty goodness of God our Creator. That's what Christ looks like.

Oh. Oh Lord, don't let us. Don't let us. fall to our own transgressions. We acknowledge them, as it says, David says here in verse 3, it's ever before us. Against thee, verse 4, O Lord, against thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight, that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, to be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity and in my sin, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts, and the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop." I love that word. That's such a good word. That's another one of those big words you'd have never heard John speaking of. Yet when I heard the very first time in Hebrews chapter 1, he purged us with the offering of his Son. are forgiven. See how that's a good word? See how that's a great phrase to a sinner? See how that's a blessing?

I get up in the middle of the morning or whenever and look in the mirror and I see that sinful man who stands before the mirror. I think to myself, because of Christ, my iniquities are forgiven! Ha ha ha! Oh, that doesn't mean I'm going to go out, folks, and just do whatever I willy-nilly want to. But the only way I can, in this flesh, until the Lord takes me out of this world, is in my Savior, the Lord Jesus.

He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. Isn't that what God's Word tells us? Have mercy upon me, O Lord. Blessed is the man whose iniquities are forgiven. How are our iniquities forgiven? Turn over to Isaiah 53. And while you're turning here, allow me to read from Ephesians 2 verse 4. It says,

But God, how are our iniquities forgiven? But God, how are our iniquities forgiven? But God, who is rich in mercy, For His great love, wherewith He loved us even when we were dead in sin, hath quickened us together with Christ, by grace ye are saved. And hath raised us up together, made us sit together in heavenly places, that in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come, He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness towards us through Christ Jesus, by grace ye are saved, through faith. and that not of yourselves it is a gift of God, not of works this man should boast.

" Look at chapter 53, if you would, of Isaiah. Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? Who are those that hear God's Word with a heart, a new heart? Who is it that believes and has these revealed? Our Lord says in Jeremiah chapter 31 verse 3, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore, because of that love for us, in loving kindness I have drawn thee.

Verse 2, For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, as a root out of drying ground. He hath no form, no comeliness. Here's the picture of Christ. You want a true picture of the Lord Jesus Christ? Throw those old, long-haired hippie things out the door, out the window, and here, look here, right here, for He grew up as a tender plant and as a root out of dry ground. He hath no form nor comeliness, and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.

He is despised. Do you remember a time when He was despised by you? Do you remember a time before you heard the truth of God's Word with a new heart, a God-given heart, where the Lord God Almighty was despised of you? Rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we hid, as it were, our faces from Him. He was despised and we esteemed him not.

Surely he hath borne our griefs." The question was, how are our iniquities forgiven? Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. but he was wounded for our transgressions, our iniquities. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed.

Blessed is the man whose iniquities are forgiven. Blessed is the man whom the Lord will not impute sin. That's what our text is saying back in Romans chapter 4. As I mentioned a moment ago in Ephesians 2 verse 8, it says, For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God. Abraham believed God, and righteousness was imputed to him, not of words, lest any man should boast.

God the Father gave God the Son of people. And God the Son suffered their just reward. And God the Spirit is going about in the day of His power, giving life to those who were loved with an everlasting love, as I mentioned from Jeremiah 31. Love from the foundation of all creation. Who can resist the will of God? Who can turn the hand of God? Oh, to be blessed of God! What mercy! What grace!

This is what's left for man if God is not for us. Listen to Luke chapter 13 verse 24. If your iniquities have not been forgiven, if your sin is still before you and unpaid in the Lord Jesus Christ, it says, strive to enter into the straight gate in Luke 13 verse 24. For many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in and shall not be able.

when once the master of the house has risen up and has shut the door. And before I go on, I remind you of Noah. When God closed the door behind Noah and seven other souls in that big ship, everything else died. When the master has shut the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us. And he shall answer and say unto you, I knew you not. I know you not, whence you are. Then shall you begin to say, when we have eaten and drank in the presence, and thou hast taught us in our streets, but he shall say, I tell you, I know you not, whence you are. Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity.

Is your trust in anything that you have done? Is your trust in anything that you are doing this very moment? Or does the event at Calvary, the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, cover your iniquities? Look over, if you would, Romans chapter 5. beginning at verse 1. Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. by whom also we have access by faith into this grace, wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God, and not only so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die. Yet preadventured for a good man, some would even dare to die. But God, who commandeth his love towards us, in that while we were yet centered, Christ died for us. Much more than being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath through Him.

Remember where all blessings come from? Remember what we spoke about in Ephesians chapter 1? All blessings flow through the Lord Jesus. Ephesians 1 verse 3. Much more than being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more being reconciled we shall be saved by his life.

Listen to these verses again that we open the message with today. Romans chapter 4, verse 7 and 8. Blessed statement, what a wonderful statement to a man who is a sinner, deserves nothing but God's wrath. Verse 7, saying, blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whom the Lord will not impute sin.

Stand with me if you would. Everything in the gospel does one thing, gives glory to God.