Good morning. First, I'll say
Abby sends her love, and sorry she can't be here with me this
morning. I don't really travel well by
myself, so I confess I probably was feeling a little bit sorry
for myself driving over this morning. And Rex, you mentioned
it. I've got family here, and I'm
Especially thankful, my niece Maggie and Tommy and Becca and
Boone and Wyatt. I'm just thankful, thankful you
all are here. Thankful we're able to gather
together as a people and worship. In Ecclesiastes 3, this won't
be our text, but in Ecclesiastes 3, we read to everything, there's
a season. and a time to every purpose under
heaven. And if we read on down through
here, there's several things mentioned. But in verse 4, we
read there's a time, a time to weep. A time to weep. And I believe for many of us
and for many believers, it seems that's especially true. Just
in recent times. A time to weep. If you would
turn over to Psalm 130. We'll take our text from this
chapter. Psalm 130. That's where David starts here
in verse 1. He said, out of the depths have
I cried unto thee, O Lord. A time of weeping, a time of
tears. And again, this seems to be so
common among God's people in recent times. Now this psalm
is believed to have been written by David. And David certainly,
certainly had experienced time in deep waters. Though we don't
know if this was a time when David was surrounded by his enemies. Maybe a time when he was fleeing
from Saul, when Saul sought to kill David. Maybe it was a time
of deep conviction and shame. After, remember that after David
had committed adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah. And then he
went on to have Uriah killed in battle. And afterwards, God
sent Nathan to David. And he told him that story about
that rich man who had everything. Had exceeding flocks and herds. And that poor man had nothing
but one little sheep. that one little lamb that he
had raised up in his home. If we read it, it said it was
like a daughter unto him. And I won't have you turn there,
but over in 2 Samuel, remember that when he came to David and
he told that story? And David said, who is, he said,
that man shall surely die. Who would do such a wicked thing? Nathan looked at David, and he
said, David, thou art the man. You know, there was no mistaking
who he was speaking to, was there? David, thou art the man. A time of conviction over his
sin. Maybe it was a time of grief
and mourning. Remember that child that was
born to him in Bathsheba. And it died. Remember the child
was sick. David spent the night praying
unto God, laying on the floor and fasting through the night.
And when he asked his servants, they said, the child is dead. Maybe it was then. Maybe it was
then that he cried unto the Lord. The time was again of grief and
suffering. Maybe it was after his son Absalom's
death. A time of heartache, trouble.
Whatever the occasion might have been, listen, it was a time of
need. A time of desperate need. David,
in the depths of his sin and ruin, he said, out of the depths have
I cried. A time of distress, heartache,
sorrow, need. A time when weeping becomes our
constant companion. Yeah, I was thinking about this
thing of crying. Particularly, it's common among
babies. You young mothers know this,
that babies cry. You know, that infant, is helpless
to do anything. But it can cry, can't it? And
they're not bashful. They're not bashful about it
either, are they? When a baby's in need, it cries. It cries. And this just fascinates
me. And again, you young mothers
and old mothers alike are very familiar with this. When these
little ones cry, this always amazed me, Abby always knew their
need. To me, a cry was just a cry. Somebody get that little one
to be quiet, right? But you mothers, you hear that
cry. I can remember Abby would say,
ah, he's hungry. He just needs a bottle. Maybe
he's scared and she'd pick him up in his arms, pick one of them
up in her arms and just hold him. Whatever that baby's need
is, it's known, isn't it? Just by that, just by that cry. And we had two young ones in
the house at the same time and Abby could distinguish which
one it was. It just always, and it still
does, it fascinates me. Back in Psalm 34, David said
this, this poor man cried. And here's the amazing thing.
And the Lord heard him and delivered him out of all of his trouble. This poor and needy man didn't
do some great thing. didn't go build a great building
or this poor man cried and the Lord heard him and delivered
him out of all his trouble. He hears the cry of his people. Isn't that something? I think
we forget that. I think we lose sight of that.
This poor man cried, and the Lord, what an amazing thing that
Almighty God hears the cry of His people. And this is seen
throughout the Scriptures. Out of the depths. Out of the
depths of sin and shame, I cried unto the Lord. Listen, this is
a cry, this is a cry from the heart. This is a prayer. I heard Brother Henry say this
one time, and I don't know if I read it in a bulletin or if
it was in a message, but he said this. He said that in times,
our cries, our cries and our prayers in times of prosperity,
in times of ease and comfort, those prayers come from the lips. They come from the mouth. But
in times of trouble, in times of sorrow and heartache, in times
of real need, that prayer comes from the heart. It comes from our heart. In Mark
chapter 10, verse 46, blind Bartimaeus, we read he sat there by the roadside
begging. And when he heard Jesus was passing
by, he began to cry out. Jesus, Thou Son of David, have
mercy upon me." And the people around him, they told him to
be quiet, to hold it down. Don't make so much racket behind
Barnard. Be quiet. He wouldn't hear that, would
he? He cried out the louder. He said, Thou Son of David, have
mercy upon me. I need mercy, and only one, only
one can grant it. And the Lord Jesus Christ, when
he heard the cry of one of his, the scriptures declare this,
that he stood still. He stood still and commanded
that this man be called to him. And they said, be of good comfort,
rise. He calleth thee. The Master calleth thee. And blind Bartimaeus, he cast
away his garments. He brought nothing. He came empty
with nothing. And the Lord said, what shall
I do with thee? And he said, Lord, that I might receive my
sight And the master speaks unto him, and he says, go thy way. Thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately, immediately,
he received his sight, and he followed the Lord Jesus Christ
in the way. What happened here? Blind Bartimaeus cried unto the
Lord. And the Lord heard him and delivered
him out of all his troubles. In Matthew 14, when Peter saw
the Lord walking on the water, and he said, Lord, if that's
you, bid me come unto thee. And the Lord said, come. He said,
come. Peter came down out of the ship
and for a moment, for a moment, he walked. He walked on the water
to go to the Lord Jesus Christ. But when he saw the wind and
the waves, boisterous, he was afraid. And he began to sink. What do we read next? He cried
unto the Lord. Listen, he said this, these three
words. I don't know what a sinner's
prayer is, but I tell you, if there ever was one, I believe
it's this right here. Lord, save me. Lord, save me. And what happened? You familiar with this? The Lord
Jesus Christ stretched forth his hand and he caught him. Oh, can you imagine the fear
that raced through Peter's heart as he began to sink? And the
comfort, and the assurance, and the hope when the Master reached
out and grabbed him. He caught him. That word means,
it means to, it means he laid hold of him. He laid hold of
him. It means this. I love this. He took possession of him. How'd he do that? He belongs
to him. He belongs to the master. He
rescued him. In Psalm 50 verse 15, call upon
me in the day of trouble and I will deliver thee. That Canaanite
woman, She cried unto him, Lord, have mercy upon me. He had mercy. Listen, I can't find anywhere
in scripture any man calling on the Lord when the Lord did
not hear that man or that woman. In Psalm 107, four times, four
times in this chapter, we read, they cried unto the Lord in their
trouble and He delivered them. He saved them. Now back here to our text, Psalm
130, David said, out of the depths have I cried
unto thee Lord Turn to turn to the book of Jonah Jonah chapter
chapter 2 Jonah chapter 2 Sometimes you
start Matthew and work your way backwards, but Jonah chapter
2 verse 1 We read that Jonah prayed unto
the Lord, his God, out of the fish's belly. And he said, I
cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord in the depths of the sea. Huh? In the depths of the sea, in
the belly of that great fish, I cried unto the Lord. Can we be too far away from God
to cry unto him? I cried by reason of my affliction
unto the Lord, and he heard me. He heard me. Out of the belly
of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. Thou hast cast me into
the deep and the midst of the seas, and the floods compassed
me about, and all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.
And then I said, I'm cast out of thy sight, yet I will look
again unto thy holy temple. Listen, each of these, each of
these accounts, and these are just a few in God's word. We read about this. They cried. They cried. But listen, don't
lose sight of this. Who did they cry to? Huh? There's a lot of people crying.
Who we crying to? They cried unto the Lord. The scriptures say this, put
not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there
is no help." They cried unto the Lord. Look at verse 2. Lord,
hear my voice. Let thine ears be attentive to
the voice of my supplications. Remember what we read earlier,
this poor man cried. In the depths of sin and shame,
in a time of trouble and distress, this man cried, and the Lord
heard him and delivered him. There is no other place of comfort. Men look a lot of places for
comfort. There's only one true place for comfort, and that's
in Christ. There's no other place for hell,
not true hell. True help can only be found in
Christ. And listen, he's sovereign. Look
unto me. He said, look unto me and be
ye saved all the ends of the earth. For I'm God and there
is none else. Look to Christ. Look to him. That's what Jonah did all the
way back there. He said, I'll turn and look to thy holy temple.
I'll look to Christ. God hears his people. in Christ. Verse 3, if thou shouldest mark
iniquity, O Lord, who shall stand? God's Word declares that our
sins have separated us from Almighty God. God's Word declares that
the wages of sin is death. And this thing of sin, it's not
going to be overlooked. You know, sometimes our children
do something and we just kind of wink at it. We just kind of
go on with that. Something not so serious. Almighty
God is absolutely holy. Sin's going to be punished. God's going to judge sin. When it is finished, bringeth
forth death. Who's this thing of sin, who's
that apply to? Again, what does God's word say?
It says all, all have sinned and come short of the glory of
God. Yet, yet we read in his word,
listen, you know he was pleased to save a harlot, He was pleased
to save a thief. He was pleased to save an adulterer. He was pleased to save a murderer. David was a murderer. Nathan
told David this, so listen. In spite of that, he said, the
Lord hath also put away thy sin. Oh, doesn't that bring relief
to the hearts of God's people. Listen, the self-righteous man,
the self-righteous man says, I'm not that. Listen, you can
talk about all those things, but I'm not that bad. I'm not
that bad. I'm not a harlot. I'm not a thief. Certainly not an adulterer or
a murderer. Let's be careful. Let's be careful
how quickly we run to defend ourselves. Remember what that
self-righteous Pharisee said? Remember when he stood there
in the temple and he prayed? He said, I thank thee that I'm not
like other men. I'm not an extortioner. I'm not
unjust. I'm not an adulterer. I'm certainly
not like this, that publican. Remember he pointed to that publican.
Turn to Matthew chapter 5. Matthew chapter 5. Look beginning with verse 21. Matthew 5, 21. He said, you've heard it was
said of them of old time, thou shalt not kill. and whosoever
shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment, I say unto you
that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall
be in danger of the judgment." Ever been angry with a brother?
Ever been angry with a brother without, for no reason? For no
reason at all. I blame my brother-in-laws for
stealing my tools all the time. You know where I usually find
them? Wherever I left them last. Huh? Whosoever shall be angry at a
brother without a cause shall be in danger of judgment. Whosoever
shall say to his brother, Raka, vain fellow, Empty-headed. It'd be like saying, you've lost
your mind. That man shall be in danger of
the council. And whosoever shall say, thou
fool. Now if we translated that into
today's word, it'd be like looking at somebody and saying, you're
stupid. We'd never do anything like that, would we? Huh? He
said, whosoever shall do that shall be in danger of hell fire. Jump down to verse 27 and 28.
He said, you've heard it said by them of old times, thou shalt
not commit adultery. But I say unto you that whosoever
looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery in
his heart already. My friends, the Lord doesn't
look at a man like we look at a man. Man looks on the outward appearance,
but God, God looks on the heart. We've all fell victim to that,
haven't we? People that dress the right way,
and especially depending on the company, they say the right things
and they do the right things. God doesn't judge a man like
we judge a man. God looks on the heart. He knows
the heart. And men say things like this.
They say, oh, he has a good heart. You've heard that said, haven't
you? Trust in your heart. Trust in your heart. Oh, his
heart's full of love. That's what men say. They say
things like this. Just let Jesus into your heart. Trust me, that's no place he
would want to be, is it? What do the scriptures say? What
do the scriptures say about this heart? It says this, that the
heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? Romans 319, whatsoever things
the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law that every
mouth may be stopped and all the world become guilty before
Almighty God. Listen, we come to Him as a sinner. We come to Him with no righteousness
of our own. Look back here in Psalm 130. Look at verse 4. See this word? But. But. Now, I'm not an English
teacher. I look this up so I get this
right. That word but, it's a conjunction,
okay? You young ones remember this.
This will pay off in English class later. And it's used to
introduce a phrase in contrast to what's just been said. What's
just been said? If thou, Lord, shouldest mark
iniquity, who shall stand? But. But there is forgiveness
with thee. Huh? Free forgiveness. Full forgiveness. Listen, sovereign
grace in the hand of Almighty God. Out of the depths have I
cried unto thee, O Lord. Out of the depths of sin and
shame. And I'm helpless to do anything. I'm helpless to do
anything but cry. If thou, Lord, shouldest mark
iniquity." Remember that woman taken in the very act of adultery? Remember that? The scribes and
the Pharisees, they took that woman to the master. And they said, this woman was
taken in adultery, in the very act of it. What saith the law? What saith the law? Our Lord, He rode on the ground
and they kept pressing Him. And He finally said this, He
said, He that is without sin, let him cast the first stone. And it didn't take them long
to figure out there was only one there who could have cast
a stone, right? Even those self-righteous scribes
and Pharisees, they knew. It wasn't them. They knew something
of their sin because they got up and they walked away. And our Lord looked at that woman
and he said, where are thine accusers? They're all gone, weren't they?
And he said, neither do I condemn thee. Go, go and sin no more. If thou should mark iniquity,
who shall stand? If God in justice and in His
holiness, God who sees all things, if He's to call a man to account
for his sin, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with
thee that thou mayest be feared. How is that? How can that be? How can that be so? Nathan told
David, when David, he said, I've sinned against the Lord. He said,
the Lord hath also put away thy sin that thou shalt not die. Who put away his sin? The Lord
did. The Lord put away. Listen to
just a few of these verses of scripture. In Acts 5, him hath
God exalted with his right hand to be a prince and a savior for
to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sin. Acts 13, 38, be it known unto
you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached
unto you the forgiveness of sin. Acts 26, to open their eyes and
turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to
God, that they may receive the forgiveness of sin. Ephesians 1, in whom we have
redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sin according
to the riches of his grace. Lord, if you should mark iniquity,
Who shall stand? Lord, you're just and righteous
to condemn me, but there is forgiveness with thee. And notice something
here. Before David says anything about
forgiveness, where do we find him? In the depths. Huh? In the depths. He said out
of the depths. I've got four or five life jackets
I bought at a rummage sale in my garage. They're brand new. They're in the package. But you know what? They are absolutely
worthless to me in that garage. I've never heard of any man drowning
in a garage, right? But listen. to a drowning man, you couldn't put a price on them,
could you? And until we know something about
our sin, until we know something about our depravity, we'll have
absolutely no need for a savior. If a man doesn't know anything
about his sin, he don't need a savior. He doesn't need forgiveness. Not true forgiveness, not complete
forgiveness. The self-righteous man, he doesn't
need forgiveness. He has his works. He's doing
great things. Right? But when it's revealed, Almighty
God's pleased to reveal something to us about our sin. Oh, we must. We must have the Savior. We must
have Christ. A sinner needs forgiveness. Listen, listen. Why do we lie? Why do we resent authority? Why do we desire that which we
know we can't have? Why do we steal? Why are we filled
with pride? Sin. Sin. In this flesh dwelleth no good
thing. It's a sin nature we received
from Adam. We can trace it all the way back. Check our family roots there.
Chase it all the way back to the garden. We got it from Adam. We're born with it. And listen,
it's not just what we do. It's who and what we are. And left in this sin, left in
our sin, We'll die and go to hell. This is a serious matter. An eternity in hell. Eternally separated from Almighty
God. But, but, aren't we thankful? Aren't we thankful for that?
But there is forgiveness within. And this forgiveness, this forgiveness,
it's found throughout God's Word. Back there in the Old Testament,
those Old Testament sacrifices spoke of forgiveness. What kind
of sacrifice? A blood sacrifice. The slaying
of a lamb, that blood being placed on the door. Without the shedding
of blood, there is no remission. The Old Testament prophets, they
spoke of it. Isaiah said this, he was wounded
for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquity. David, we just read this a little
bit ago, he said, there is forgiveness with thee, with the Lord. Our Lord in the New Testament,
remember how frustrated those Pharisees and religious leaders
were? How often did our Lord speak
this when He said, Thy sins be forgiven thee. There's only one
who could say that, and that was the Lord Jesus Christ. He
put away our sins. And where is it to be found?
Where is this forgiveness to be found? There on the cross. Huh? Thus it is written and thus
it behoove Christ to suffer and raise again from the dead the
third day. We might receive repentance and
remission. Huh? Repentance and remission. The forgiveness of sin. And that
should be, remission and repentance should be preached in his, in
his name. Where is forgiveness to be found?
It's to be found in Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ, and Christ
alone. Look at verse five of our text
here. I wait for the Lord. My soul, my soul doth wait, and
in his word do I hope. What's a sinner to do? What are
we to do? I travel occasionally and I tune
through the radio and I hear these men, they talk about what
a man is to do. And they have a whole laundry
list of things. Things that man should do. in its utter foolishness. What
can a man do for God? God who created all things. God who orders and directs all
things. So what is a sinner to do? Well,
I believe we've read it here in this passage of scripture.
Cry unto the Lord. Cry unto the Lord. David said,
out of the depths have I cried unto the Lord. What's a sinner
to do? The scriptures declare this,
to wait, to wait on the Lord, to rest in Him, in Him alone. Not this flesh, not this decaying
flesh, just wait on the Lord. After all, the scriptures declare
He's the author and finisher of our faith. I wait, David said,
I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do
I hope. The word, the living word. The living word, the Lord Jesus
Christ. That word that was made flesh
and dwelt among us. And listen, we're to wait with
confidence, just like Abraham. Abraham, Abraham, we read this,
Abraham being fully persuaded that what God had promised, he
was able to do. He was able to perform. Verse
six, my soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch
for the morning. I say more than they that watch
for the morning. You know, there's something about,
you know, when the morning comes, the darkness, it just fades away,
doesn't it? It's not there, it's not there
anymore. The darkness is gone when the
morning comes. That sun, that sun appears. Several commentators, they compared
this to a, tried to get some wisdom on this, they said it's
like a soldier that keeps watch over the city. Now they're in
the darkness and the enemy can't be seen. The enemy could attack
at any time. And then the morning comes. The
daylight comes. Anxiously, anxiously awaiting,
anxiously awaiting the light. Compared it to someone maybe
who stayed up with a sick family member. Just praying they might
make it. They might make it through the
night. It's just something about when the day comes and the night
fades away. Paul said this when he was on
that perilous voyage over there in Acts 27. He said that during
the night they feared falling upon the rocks and they cast
out anchors and what did they do? They wished for the day.
They prayed, prayed for the day, waiting, waiting for safety,
waiting for rest, waiting, hoping to make it through the night,
waiting for the light, His light. Over in Exodus 12, the night
of the Passover, God told the children of Israel, He said,
I'm going to pass through the land of Egypt this night. going to pass through the land
this night. And he said, I'm going to smite the firstborn
in every house in the land of Egypt, both man and beast, against
all the gods of Egypt. I'm going to execute judgment.
I'm the Lord. But he said this. He said, the
blood, the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses
where you live. And I love this. He said, when
I see the blood, I see the blood, I'll pass over your house. I'll
leap over your house. I'm not going to destroy it when
I smite the land of Egypt. Now there's no doubt in my mind
that those men went out and they did as they'd been commanded.
They slew that lamb. And they took that blood and
they put it on the door post and over the top of the door.
And they went in the house and they rested. I can't help but
think they could not wait for morning to come. Though they
knew God was faithful and they knew he was faithful to keep
his promise, they could not wait for morning to come to go in
the living room or the bedroom or wherever that firstborn was
sleeping. and just to see Him in the light
of day, alive, just as God had promised. Can you imagine how
they waited for the morning? Well, whatever the occasion David
was referring to here, he said, I wait for the Lord more, more
than they that wait for the morning. And he repeats that more than
they that watch for the morning. Well, quickly, let's look at
verse 7 and 8 here. In a time of weeping, in a time
when the heart is heavy, here's comfort, here's hope, here's
peace. Listen, not in a building, not
in a denomination, not in a man, Hope in the Lord. Let Israel
hope in the Lord. For with the Lord there is mercy. With us, there's sin. With the Lord, there's mercy. Mercy to receive sinners. Mercy to keep sinners. Mercy to pardon sinners. And
here's the amazing thing. This thing of mercy, the scriptures
declare that He delights to show it. It's His to give and He delights
to show it. And with Him is plenteous redemption. That word plenteous, it means
great, great redemption. How's it called plenteous? How
is it that it's plenteous redemption? How is it that it's great redemption? I take no credit for this. I found it written in my Bible. I don't know who preached it,
but I know for some reason I wrote it down. Why? How is it called Plenteous Redemption?
Five reasons. The first is this. The great
price that was paid for it. Consider the price that was paid
for it. The Scriptures declare the blood
of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin. Huh? The precious blood. of the Lord Jesus Christ. He
shed his own blood. The great price that was paid
for it. Second, what he redeemed us from. What he redeemed us from. He
redeemed us from the curse of the law. He redeemed us from
all our sin. All the sins of his people. Third, why is it plenteous redemption?
For the great mercy and grace of it. It's His. It's His. Fourth, the great love
of it. What do the scriptures declare?
For God so loved that He gave. Huh? He, listen, He died. He redeemed us from the curse
of the law being made a curse for us. And fifth, look at verse
eight. Here we read, he shall redeem
Israel from all iniquities. His people, his chosen people,
Israel, redeemed from all my iniquity. That brings, at the
fifth point, the success of it. The success of it. Listen, it's
effectual. shall. Not he's done his part
and it's up to you. Not he'll try. Not he might if
you'll let him. No, he shall. He shall. It's particular. Who's he going to save? All Israel. Every last one of his sheep. And listen, he's going to get
what he paid for. I feel like I rarely get what
I pay for. You ever feel that way? Huh?
I rarely get what I pay for. I feel like I've been shorted. But my friends, the Lord Jesus
Christ, He's not going to be shorted. Christ said this, this
is the Father's will which has sent me that of all which He
hath given me, I will lose nothing. Not one of his sheep for which
he died gonna be lost. He shall redeem Israel. Not all mankind. He shall redeem
Israel from all his iniquity. He has elected those who are
chosen of God, redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ, called to
life and faith by the Spirit of God, shall be saved. That sounds pretty certain, doesn't
it? Paul writing to the Romans, he
said this, nothing, nothing, nothing shall separate
us from the love of God which is in Jesus Christ my Lord. Job said this, he said he's gracious,
he shall deliver him from going down to the pit. I have found,
I have found a ransom. Oh, no doubt there is a time
to weep, a time of sorrow, a time to cry in the depths of shame,
in the depths of our sin. But there's reason to rejoice.
in his word, he hath redeemed Israel from all his iniquity. Well, one last scripture, and
I'll close. David said this, I believe it's
in Psalm 30, he said, and it ain't no wonder he said he was
waiting for the day. Weeping, weeping may endure for
the night, My friend's joy, joy cometh in the morning. All right. Thank God for his word. Rex.