All right, let's turn in our
Bibles to the book of Psalms, Psalm 130. This is a special
psalm, just extra, extra special. It says, 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 mightest be feared. I ask, 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 is mercy, and with him is plenteous
redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from
all his iniquities. That's it. Eight verses. And you may not be impressed
or attracted to this particular psalm because it's so short. But long or short, I do not know
of a psalm which better defines my experience in redemption,
my experience in coming to know the Savior. Or better defines
my experience daily in keeping on coming to the Savior for His
mercy. And as Paul said, to obtain mercy,
we come boldly before His throne. To whom? to obtain mercy, not
earn it, deserve it, obtain it, and find grace to help us in
our need. Grace is found. Noah found grace
in the eyes of the Lord. It was already there. God put
it there. Now, when I'm finished with this
message, if you're not led to say, This
is not only my experience in first coming to Christ, in the
way I came, and this is my experience in everyday experiences in life. As I continue to come to Christ,
I'll be surprised. All right, let's look at it.
Psalm 130. The first verse, you can write
in the margin, conviction. Conviction. That's what this
is, conviction. David said, out of the depths,
out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord. Conviction. There can be no forgiveness without
confession. Isn't that right? He said if
we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. There can be no forgiveness where
there's no confession. He that covereth his sins shall
not prosper, but whoso confesseth his sins and forsaketh his sins
shall find mercy. There's got to be confession
if there's any forgiveness. Well, there can be no confession
unless there's conviction. Got to be conviction. So David
said, out of the depths, out of the deep, out of the darkness,
out of the valley, out of the dungeon, out of the dark cave
and well of my sins, iniquities, I look up and I cry to Thee.
I'm calling out of need. I'm calling out of my darkness. Listen to him. Don't turn to
this. Let me read it to you. Psalm 40. He said, Oh Lord, innumerable
evils have compassed me about. Mine iniquities have taken hold
upon me. I'm not able to look up. That's sort of like the publican
who would not so much as lift his eyes to heaven, but smote
upon his breath. I'm not able to look up. My sins
are more than the hairs of my head. My heart faileth me. And then in Psalm 51, he says,
O Lord, have mercy upon me. For I acknowledge my transgression,
my sin is ever before me. Out of the depths have I cried
unto thee. That's conviction. Deep places
begat deep feelings. Deep conviction begat deep emotion. Hear me. I'm telling you what I know.
When we're strong and prosperous, our prayers usually come from
our lips. When we're empty, desperate,
troubled, hurting, poor, and needy, our prayers come from
our hearts. That's just so. That's the reason
it's good for me to be afflicted. That's right. God does not hear
men who do not cry. He said, Out of the depths have
I cried unto thee. God does not hear men who do
not cry. You have not because you ask
not. Nor does God hear men who are
not in need. I came not to call the righteous.
The well have no need. But God always hears those who
cry from the depths in need. Always. Jesus, thy son of David. have mercy on me." And Jesus
stood still. I do want you to turn back to
Psalm 107, just a moment. Remembering what I said, when
we're strong and prosperous, our prayers usually come from
our lips. But when we're empty, naked,
weary and hurting and troubled, and convicted and poor and needy.
They come from the heart. And they're heard. In Psalm 107,
just go with me to verse 5. Hungry and thirsty, their soul
fainted in them, and then they cried. When did they cry? When they
were hungry and thirsty. Then they cried unto the Lord
in their trouble, and He delivered them. Look at verse 18, Psalm
107, "...their soul abhorreth all manner of meat, lost their
appetites, they draw near to the gates of death, and then
they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saveth them."
Look at verse 27, They reel to and fro and stagger
like a drunken man that their wits end in the rope." I meant
my ropes end. Then, what did they do? They cried unto the Lord in their
trouble. And He bringeth them out of their
distresses. That's alright conviction. Psalm 130, out of the depths,
out of the depths. have I cried unto thee, O Lord."
Verse 2, put this man, this word down,
prayer. Prayer. O Lord, hear my voice. Hear my voice. Let thine ears
be attentive to the voice of my supplication. I've heard people
try to define prayer. I've done it many a time. I've
heard men argue about who could pray and who can't pray and who
God will hear and whom God won't hear. I've done that too. I've heard many sermons commanding
men to pray, exhorting men to pray, making prayer a matter
of duty. But my friends, here is prayer. This is prayer. If we can find
out what it is, we can find out something about it. Out of the
depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord.
Lord, hear my voice. Give me a hearing. Let thine
ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication. That's prayer. There are four things I see in this
verse. Number one, it's a humble prayer. Out of the depths. A helpless prayer. You know,
when Peter tried to walk on the water, and he saw the waves and
the clouds and the wind, and he began to sink, he said, Lord,
save me! I perished. That's a humble prayer. Helpless. Helpless. That's what
this prayer is. Out of the depth. Secondly, it's
a fervent prayer. Out of the depths have I cried.
I cried. You know, ceremonial prayer is
one thing and formal prayer is something else. Ritualistic prayer. Pronounce the benediction. Pronounce
the invocation. There's invocations and benedictions
and ceremonial and formal and ritualistic prayer. Real prayer
is a cry. That's a sob. Paul said, it's
groanings which cannot be uttered. It's a leper coming to the feet
of Christ in his crusty, decaying, rotting flesh, in his pain and
agony, in his helpless, hopeless state and crying, Lord, if you
will, you can make me whole. Here I am, you see me. I got
nothing to bring, nothing to offer, nothing to promise. If
you will, you make me whole." That's fervent. He cried unto the Lord out of
the depths. The third thing I see here is
that the prayer directed to the right place. He says, out of the depths have
I cried unto thee. Not to Mary. Not to a saint, not to a supreme
power. Well, we pray to a supreme being.
I don't. That's too cold for me. These
supreme beings, you know, are too cold. I pray to my Father.
Isn't that right? Our Lord, the disciple said,
teach us to pray. And he said, well, you've got
to recognize you're going to a supreme being. No, he said,
you go to my Father. My Father. These boys and girls in this
auditorium this morning would have a little difficulty going
to the justice of the Supreme Court or the Speaker of the House
or the President of the United States to make a request. But
they're not too awed to walk up to their dad and say, Dad,
would you take me over to the Y this afternoon? Not much ritualism there, is
it? My Father. My Father. It's prayer directed to the Lord.
He said, and then fourthly, it's a personal prayer. It's so personal,
He said, out of the depths, have I cried unto thee? Have I cried?
Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attended to
the voice of my supplications, my prayers. It's not the length of it, nor
the eloquence of it, or the doctrinal exactness of it, is just a cry out of a needy
heart. That's it. All right, the third
verse, write this out there, self-judgment. This is the way
we come, conviction, cry, prayer, and self-judgment. Lord, if thou,
Lord, shouldst mark iniquity, O Lord, who shall stand? No man is going to come to the
throne of grace till he's been to the throne of judgment. He's
not going to do it. No man is going to flee to the
cross of Calvary till he's been visited by the law of God, which
drives him to the cross. No man is going to cry for mercy
until his mouth has been stopped and he's become guilty before
God. Just so, self-judgment. Lord, if you should charge sin,
mark iniquities, inequities. Sin goes a lot deeper than acts. It's inequity. Things that just
aren't right. And there's a lot about us, while
we outwardly conform to certain standards and regulations, there's
a lot about us inwardly that's not equity and right. And that's what iniquity is.
Lord, if you should mark and charge iniquity, who could stand? Who could stand? I want you to
turn to this text, 1 Corinthians chapter 11. 1 Corinthians chapter
11 verse 31. This is what I'm talking about.
1 Corinthians 11 verse 31. If we judge ourselves, we'll
not be judged. Adam, where are you? He dealt with everything in the
world but where he was. Instead of saying, Lord, I've
sinned, I'm in a mess, I did what you told me not to do, he
began to say, well, I was afraid, and the woman you gave me did
this, all this. Cain, where's your brother? Why
don't you judge yourself, Cain, and just admit what you've done?
Well, I'm not my brother's keeper. If we judge ourselves, we will
not be judged. Isn't that what he said? Be your
own judge. Be your own prosecutor. Be your own witness against yourself. And myself, take my place before
the throne of God and the bar of God's judgment, asking for
mercy. Guilty! But He says, "...yea, they which
justify yourselves." Let me show you this. Turn to Luke chapter
16. This is so important. Self-judgment. In Luke 16, 15,
He said to them, "...Yea, they which justify yourselves before
men." But God knows your heart, and that which is highly esteemed
among men is abomination in the sight of God. While you're there,
turn back to Luke 7. Listen to this, Luke 7. This is so important here. This
was the Pharisees' major problem. We'd be not sinners, they said.
We'd be not born of fornication. We tithe and we give alms and
we fast and we're not like these publicans. In verse 29 of Luke
7, And all the people that heard John, this is John the Baptist,
And the publicans, they justified God being baptized with the baptism
of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers
rejected the counsel of God against themselves and would not be baptized
of John. They justified themselves and
not God. You see the difference? If we
judge ourselves, judge ourselves. Psalm 51, just a moment, turn
there just a moment. Psalm 51, David said, Psalm 51,
3, For I acknowledge my transgressions, my sin as ever before me. Psalm
51, 4, Against thee the only have I sinned, and done this
evil in thy sight, that thou mightest be justified when you
speak, and clear when you judge. I am my own witness against myself,
my own prosecutor, My own jury that's met and decided, guilty. And I stand before the bar of
judgment, I say guilty. All the world guilty. Self-judgment. And that's what he's saying here
in verse 3, Lord, you should mark iniquities. I couldn't stand.
Now put this by verse 4, forgiveness. But, there's forgiveness with
thee, that thou mayest be worshipped, and believed, and revered. Someone said, verse 3 and 4,
contains the sum and substance of the Scriptures. Isn't that
something? Some writer, this is good, some
writer said, verse 3, look at it, Lord, if you, Lord, shouldest
mark iniquities, O Lord, who would stand? But there's forgiveness
with thee. That's the sum and substance
of the gospel, of the message of the gospel. Man's fall, man's
sin, if thou shouldest mark oniquity, who's going to stand? Man's fall,
universal, all men, fatal, can't stand, damning, oh, exceeding,
sinful as of sin. Verse 4, but, but God, but there's
salvation, there's mercy, There's forgiveness with thee. Oh, the
depths, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God, the riches
of God. That's the two things. Here are
the two mountains of Scripture. Sinai, guilt. Calvary, forgiveness. There they are. Sinai, sin. Calvary, salvation. If thou should
mark iniquity, Everybody's pleased before the mountain. But there's
forgiveness. Come, for all things are ready. There's forgiveness with Thee.
Now, I want you to see something. I want you to see something here.
Verse 1, look at the way he spells LORD. Four capital letters. O LORD. Then he addresses Him,
with the small letters, verse 2, Lord, hear my prayer, hear
my voice. Verse 3, but if thou, Lord, capital
L, capital O, capital R, capital D, shouldest mark iniquities,
O Lord, who would stand? Verse 5, I wait for the Lord,
four capitals. Now listen to me a moment. If
thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, who would stand? But Lord, there's
forgiveness. The name of our God, the name
is so significant, so important. Whosoever shall call on the name,
the name. Now, the Hebrew names for God,
and it's not going to get complicated here, because I know we get complicated,
we just lose, folks, and the cross and the grace of God lost
under so many words. But the Hebrew names for God,
there's a, if you've got a piece of paper you can write this down,
there's capital E-L. El, Mighty, Mighty, Almighty. This El Shaddai, El, capital
E-L, dash, capital S-H-A-D-D-I, El Shaddai, or S-H-A-D-D-A-I,
El, Mighty, Shaddai, God who is Mighty, Almighty God. Then there's this word they use,
El Elohim, God, mightier than all, above all, Elohim, majesty,
supreme being, sovereign being, El Elohim, E-L-E-L-O-H-I-M, El,
God, mighty, El Shaddai, God Almighty, El Elohim, God mightier
than all. And Luther said, I don't want
anything to do with that God. I can't come before that God
who dwells in a life to which no man can approach. Is there
no other name? Yes, sir. Jehovah. J-E-H-O-V-A-H. This is the peculiar special
name. of God in relation to His covenant,
in relation to His grace, in relation to His mercy in Christ,
Jehovah. And the Jews pronounce that word
Adonai, A-D-O-N-A-I, Adonai, which is translated Lord, capital
L, capital O, capital R, capital D. That word Lord, right there,
have I cried unto thee, O Lord, L-O-R-D, every time you see it
in the Bible, capital L, capital O, capital R, capital S, Jehovah,
God my Savior, God in Christ. Sometimes it's shortened this
way, Jah, J-A-H. But every time you see that word,
it is, out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Jehovah.
Not L Elohim, because L Elohim can't have anything to do with
you and me. Not El Shaddai. El Shaddai can't come to you
except one way, judgment. But Jah, Jehovah, Lord, my Savior. That's what He's saying here.
Have I cried unto thee, O Lord? Verse 3, If thou, Jehovah, shouldst
mark iniquities, O Jehovah, who shall stand? But there's forgiveness
with Jehovah, that thou mayest be feared. That word is not run
from, shun, avoid, that thou mayest be worshipped, revered,
believed, trusted." See that? Elohim, God in His essence, nature,
Jehovah, God in His grace. Now, if you want to remember
just All those things I said there, just sum them up right
here, Ronnie. One, Elohim, El, Elohim, God
in His nature, essence. Jehovah, God in His grace. That same God in Christ. That's who I want to deal with
in Christ. That's who I want to deal with
me in Christ. Alright, put this word down in
verse 5 and 6. H-O-P-E. I wait for the Lord. My soul does wait. And in His
Word do I hope. My soul waited for the Lord more
than they that watch for the morning. I say more than they
that watch for the morning. Hope. What is hope? Well, it's
not just a wish. It's not just a possibility.
This man here has a hope based on expectation. Expectation. I wait for the Lord. Jehovah,
I wait for Jehovah, my Savior. See that? I wait for the Lord.
I wait for Jehovah. My soul doth wait for spiritual
blessing, not just physical. Ease and comfort, spiritual blessing. My soul waits. I wait for the
Lord, Jehovah, expectation based on His person. My soul is what
is waiting. My soul is waiting on the Lord.
My spiritual needs will be met by Him. All my spiritual needs. My soul is waiting and I hope,
look at this, in His Word, in His promise. He is able to do all that He
promised. He cannot fail. I wait on His Word. In His Word do I
wait. In His Word do I hope. In His
Word. Let me read you that about Abraham
in Romans 4. Look at this. Romans chapter
4. This was where Abraham was blessed. This is why we want the faith
of Abraham. Verse 20. Romans 4, he staggered not at
the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving
glory to God. The promises of God, hold that
right there, don't leave it now. The promises of God didn't stagger
him. The promises of God were so beyond
human thought and human effort and human works, impossible. You're going to have seed like
the stars in the sky. That's impossible. I don't even
have a son. That didn't stagger Him. The promises of God didn't
stagger Him. You mean this body's going to
die and be placed in the grave and God's going to raise it?
You're going to have a new body, incorruptible, immortal, powerful,
perfect? That doesn't stagger me because
of who promised it. You're going to be like Christ?
All your sins are put away and paid for? That doesn't stagger
me. That's impossible. It is with men, but not with
God. That doesn't stagger me. Why? Because of who promised
it. Who promised it? Now look at the next verse. And
he, being fully persuaded what God had promised, God was able
to perform. And that's what my Psalm 130
The psalmist is saying, I wait for the Lord, Jehovah. My soul
waits for Him. And in His Word, I hope. My soul waited for the Lord.
Waiting, I waited more than they that watch for the morning. Somebody
said one time, I cry to Him and I wait. I complain to Him and I wait.
I seek Him and I wait. I confess my impatience and my
sin and I wait. And I read His Word and I wait.
And I see all around me giving way, but I still wait. I wait. One verse I want you to see in
Psalm 30. You'll want to underline this.
You'll want to underline this now. Believe me. Turn to it.
You want to go back and read it again, and again, and again,
and again. Psalm 30 verse 5, For his anger
endureth but a moment, in his favor grace is life. Weeping may endure for the night,
but joy cometh in the morning. That's right. You can believe
it. You can rest in it. Weeping may
endure for the night. And we're in the night, walking
through a valley of the shadow of death. Joy is coming in the
morning. That's not a wish. That's not
a possibility. Guaranteed. That's my hope based
on His Word and His character. His ability and His blood. All
right, last and I'll quit. Write this word by verse 7 and
8. Confidence. Confidence. Let Israel hope in the Lord,
for with the Lord there's mercy. See that word again, Jehovah,
L-O-R-D. For with the Lord there's mercy,
and with Him is plenteous redemption. Now listen to me. NB, note well. It does not say, let Israel hope
for mercy. Does it? Let Israel hope for
mercy. No, sir. It says, let Israel
hope in the Lord, with the Lord as mercy. Are you picking words and trying
to be clever? No, sir. I'm saying a lot of
people hope for mercy who never receive it. But nobody ever hoped
in the Lord who didn't receive mercy. That's right. He doesn't say
that Israel hoped for redemption. A lot of people hope they're
saved who aren't. Who hope for heaven, who won't
be in heaven. He said, everybody says to me, Lord, Lord, and I
won't be in it. But nobody ever hoped in the Lord in this redemption. Rested in the Lord. You see what
I'm saying? That's very important. The order of faith is not to
seek mercy, the order of faith is not to seek salvation, the
order of faith is not to seek redemption, the order of faith
is to seek the Lord. For with the Lord is mercy, with
the Lord is righteousness, with the Lord is redemption. Is that,
Richard, you see what I'm saying? Bob, there's a difference here. Let Israel hope in the Lord,
with the Lord. I might want an apple, but if
I own an apple tree, I've got the apples. The tree is mine,
and every fruit it bears is mine. If I have Him, I have redemption,
I have mercy, I have all things. No matter how deep the valley
or how high the mountain, dark the way or light the way, if
I have Him, let Israel hope in the Lord, trust in the Lord,
believe in the Lord. With Him is mercy. That's where
mercy is. Want water? by a whale. Don't get a bucket of water,
get a whale. You got water all the time. Out of his belly shall
flow rivers of living water. And He'll redeem you. He'll redeem
you. He's plenteous in redemption.
There's redemption for all nations, all races, as many as shall call,
all ages, for as long as you need it. Conviction. prayer, self-judgment, hope, confidence in Him. All right, let's turn to a closing
hymn