There Is Forgiveness

Q: What does the Bible say about forgiveness?

The Bible teaches that there is forgiveness with God, as highlighted in Psalm 130. Psalm 130 clearly expresses that forgiveness is a central theme in God's character. The psalmist acknowledges the depths of sin and the reality of iniquities but declares, 'But there is forgiveness with thee.' This reflects a profound truth in the Scriptures: God’s willingness to forgive those who sincerely seek Him. Forgiveness is not merely a legal transaction; it is a manifestation of God’s mercy and grace. The richness of this forgiveness is illustrated throughout both the Old and New Testaments, culminating in the work of Jesus Christ, through whom God reconciles sinners to Himself.

Q: How do we know God's forgiveness is genuine?

God's forgiveness is affirmed in His unwavering promise and character, as seen in Psalm 130 and Ephesians 2. The assurance of God's genuine forgiveness lies in His unchanging nature and the promises found in Scripture. In Psalm 130, the psalmist states that God's forgiveness leads to reverence and awe, indicating that it is rooted in His holiness and love. Furthermore, Ephesians 2 clarifies that God, who is rich in mercy, has demonstrated His forgiveness through Christ, who accomplished our redemption. Thus, the truth of forgiveness is not contingent upon our feelings but grounded in God’s eternal word and His faithful character, assuring us that when He forgives, it is complete and transformative.

Q: Why is repentance important for Christians?

Repentance is essential for Christians as it leads to faith and receiving God's forgiveness. Repentance is foundational in the Christian faith because it signifies a deep acknowledgment of sin and a turning away from it towards God. In Psalm 130, the psalmist illustrates the necessity of recognizing one’s iniquities before seeking forgiveness. Without genuine repentance, faith becomes superficial, as it is through acknowledging our sinfulness that we appreciate the grace offered in Christ. Thus, repentance is not merely a one-time act but an ongoing aspect of the believer’s life that cultivates a deeper relationship with God and a fuller understanding of His redemptive work.

Q: What is the significance of waiting on the Lord?

Waiting on the Lord signifies trust and hope in His timing and promises. In Psalm 130, waiting on the Lord reflects a posture of faith and expectation. The psalmist expresses a longing for God, emphasizing that true hope is found not in temporal circumstances but in the character of God Himself. Waiting is an active, patient trust that God's timing is perfect and His promises are sure. It acknowledges that while we may cry out in our distress, we also rest assured that He will respond according to His divine plan. This theme of waiting is deeply rooted in the biblical narrative, where God often calls His people to trust in His provision, reassessing their focus away from immediate relief to the enduring faithfulness of His word.

Let's open our Bibles now to
Psalm 130. Psalm 130. I'm speaking this morning on
the subject, there is forgiveness. There is forgiveness. Let's read this short Psalm,
just eight verses. Psalm 130. Out of the depths have I cried
unto thee, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice. Let thine
ear be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If thou,
Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But
there is forgiveness. There is forgiveness with thee. that thou mayest be feared. I
wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. My soul waited for the Lord more
than they that watch for the morning. I say more than they
that watch for the morning. Let Israel hope in the Lord,
for with the Lord there is mercy. and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from
all his iniquities. Thomas Guthrie visited a town
once to preach, and he was sent to the local inn to find lodging
And when he got to the inn, he found that there was a great
deal of commotion, for a man was dying. And the priest had been called
in to administer the last rites to the man. Guthrie said he witnessed
the episode, and after the priest had departed and most of the
people had scattered from the man's side, he walked over to
him and he asked him this question. My friend, do you now feel that
you have peace with God?" And the man replied, No, sir. I have
no peace with God. I have no hope. And Guthrie said,
I talked to him. I talked to him about the mercy
and forgiveness of God. And I read to him Psalm 130.
And as I talked to him about the free grace of God in Christ
Jesus, the man's face lightened. And his heart rejoiced, and like
the eunuch of old, I believe he received the gospel and came
to rest in Christ Jesus and God's mercy in the Savior. And Guthrie
went to his room and wrote a letter to his wife, and this is what
he said. My dear, I witnessed a miracle
this day. I found a man, a son of Adam,
in the state of nature, dead and dying. I saw him in a state
of grace, rejoicing in Christ, and I left him in a state of
glory. Oh, how great is the mercy of
our God! It is true, with the Lord there
is mercy. And with him is plenteous redemption. My dear, pray for me, pray for me, that our Lord will
let me be the bearer of good news to the guilty, of mercy
for the miserable, of salvation for the chief of sinners. I have
no other desire but to win Christ. and be found in him, and to be
his ambassador, to tell others what I found and where I found
it. Concerning Psalm 130, Martin
Luther said this. Someone asked him to identify
what he considered to be the greatest of the Psalms. He was
a great preacher on the writings of David and Moses in the Psalms.
And they asked him, they said, what's the greatest Psalm? He
said, well, it would be difficult to say. But if pressed, I would
say three Psalms. Psalm 32, Psalm 51, and Psalm
130. And when he was at Coburg, going
through some of his deepest affliction and deepest persecution for the
gospel and the preaching of justification by faith, he said to the friends
around about him, come, let us sing. Let us sing Psalm 130 and
then let us wait and hope in the Lord. Another writer concerning Psalm
130 by the name of James Bond, who is often quoted by Charles
Spurgeon, called this Psalm 130 the progress of the soul. He said just as a barometer marks
the progress of the weather, so this Psalm, sentence by sentence,
records the progress of the soul. And you may test yourself by
asking yourself these questions as you read each line. Have I
been there? Out of the depths. Have I felt and experienced this? If thou shouldest mark iniquities.
Do I know this to be true? There's forgiveness with thee.
Is this my rock and refuge? I wait for the Lord. Do I truly
now wait for and hope in the Lord as those that wait for the
morning and watch for the morning? And one of the most enlightening things that I read
on this psalm was by John Owen. One day he was talking to a young
man by the name of Richard Davis, who later became an outstanding
pastor and preacher. And he asked Richard Davis this
question. He said, Young man, in what manner
do you hope to go to God? In what manner do you hope to
go to God? And Davis quickly replied, Why,
through the Mediator, Jesus Christ. And the story goes the good doctor
looked at him and said, that's easy to say. But I assure you,
young man, it's another thing to go to God through the Mediator
than most people who use that expression are aware of. It's another thing to go to God
through the mediator than most people who use that expression
are aware of. Now listen, I myself, this is
John Owen, respected, revered, published, read, quoted, I myself
preached Christ several years when I had very little, if any, experimental acquaintance with
what it really meant to go to God through Christ the Mediator. But God in His grace was pleased
to visit me with great affliction. I was literally brought to the
mouth of the grave. My soul was oppressed with horror
and darkness. But God graciously relieved my
spirit by a powerful application of Psalm 130. Psalm 130. From which I received
such special instruction, peace, and comfort in drawing nigh to
God through the mediator, that immediately after my recovery,
I preach to my people Psalm 130. What is there about this psalm
that has been used of God to move the hearts of so many of
his special people? These servants of God, have we
looked at it like they've looked at it? Or is it just another psalm?
I surely hope this morning that I have whetted your appetite
for a good look at Psalm 130. Have I? Well, let's look at it. Psalm 130. Start at the first.
First of all, we meet with a deep conviction of sin. Now, like
John Owen said, that's easy to say. That's easy to say. But in these words, there's a
whole lot more than most people who use them so carelessly are
aware of. In Psalm 130, verse 1, the psalmist
said, Out of the depths, out of the depths, out of the depths
have I cried unto thee, O Lord, out of the depths. Here's a conviction
of sin, deep, heartfelt, conviction of sin, like Owen said, the horror
and darkness of trouble and sorrow. David described it in Psalm 40,
verse 12, when he said, innumerable evils have compassed me about. My iniquities, my iniquities
have taken hold of me so that I'm not able to what? Look up,
out of the depths. My iniquities have so taken hold
of me, I'm not able to look up like the publican who would not
lift his eyes to heaven, but smote upon his breast. I'm not
able to look up. They're more than the hairs of
my head. Therefore my heart faileth me. Be pleased, O Lord, out of
the depths, he cried, to deliver me. O Lord, make haste, help
me. Have you been there? Have I been
there? Oh, the depths of pride. Oh,
the depths of self. Oh, the depths of our evil thoughts
and our imaginations. Oh, the depths of our covetousness,
our unrest, unbelief. Oh, the depths of our doubts
and our fears. Oh, I don't doubt God. I doubt
myself. You doubt God too. Let's face
it. Oh, the depths of affliction
and pain and infirmities of mental depression and loneliness, depths,
deep places begat deep feelings, deep emotions. Someone said the
rarest pearls are found in the deep places. And God doesn't hear a man because
he cries, but he does hear a man who cries out of the depths.
God doesn't hear a man because he cries, but he'll hear a man
who cries out of the depths. Jonah was there. Do you know
where he was? I lift up mine eyes one more
time, he said, toward thy temple, salvations of the Lord. He was
in the depths. Prodigal son was there, on the side of a pig pen, deserted
by everybody. Embarrassed, humiliated, broke,
bankrupt, homesick. Brian Bartimaeus was there. Utter
absolute hopelessness. Out of the depths he cried, Jesus,
thou son of David, out of my darkness, have mercy on me. The harlot was there who bathed
his feet with tears. A woman just doesn't do that
unless she's in the depths. As she wept and kissed his feet
and wiped the dust off of them with the hair of her head. The
publican was there. In Psalm 107, that's where the
people always were, the redeemed of the Lord. Having no city in
which to dwell, hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then
they cried out of the depths. And the Lord heard them and had
mercy. Conviction. Conviction. If we miss conviction, we'll
miss repentance. If we miss repentance, we'll
miss faith. If we miss faith, we'll miss Christ. And then secondly,
in verse 2, there's a sincere prayer. A sincere prayer. Oh, what mercy is reserved for
those who can, in sincerity and truth, out of the depths, call
upon the Lord. I tell you, I promise you, what
mercy is reserved for those who can, who can, out of the depths,
call upon the Lord. It says, whosoever shall call
on the name of the Lord shall be saved. But I'll tell you this
about this prayer. Listen, verse 2. Lord, hear my
voice. Let thine ear be attentive to
the voice of my supplications. Hear me. If God ever inclines
his ear toward me, I'm hurt. I believe there are five things
given in this prayer that make up a real prayer. First of all, it's humble. He
said out of the depths. He admitted what he is and where
he was. The depths of sin, the depths
of dependence, the depths of helplessness is like Peter sinking
beneath the waves. Lord save me. You talk about hopelessness and
helplessness. He's going down. The wind's blowing.
The waves are rolling about him. Hopeless. You men who've been
at sea in a storm know what I'm talking about. Hopeless. Lord
save me. It's a humble prayer. Secondly,
it's a fervent prayer. Out of the depths, verse 1, have
I cried? Have I cried? Ceremonial prayer is useless.
The form of prayer is useless. The duty and ritualistic prayer
is useless. Here's a fervent, James said,
a fervent prayer. A fervent prayer. Oh, I cried. I cried. I hope God will deliver us from
the duty of prayer and teach us the joy of prayer. I hope God will deliver us from
worries and give us some cries. Cries will be heard. I think
you mothers can attest to that fact. You hear your little boy
or girl, I told a mother the Friday night in the In a service
down at Dingus, I was bragging on her beautiful little two-year-old
daughter, and I said, what a wonderful age. She said, I don't know about
that. It wasn't too wonderful to her. But you hear them jabbering all
day, and sometimes you pay no attention to them. Let them jabber,
but when you hear one cry, you come a running. Isn't that right?
Hear one cry. You can hear them jabbering,
and I think most of our prayers are jabbering. But God Almighty
hears his people when they cry. Isn't that right? Perfect prayers. Thirdly, it's a prayer directed
to God. Listen. He said, Out of the depths
have I cried unto thee, O Lord, unto thee, unto thee, not to
be seen of men, as our lesson this morning warned us. Not to
be praised of men, unto thee, unto thee. In 1 Kings 18, when Elijah prayed
on Mount Carmel, no question about who he's talking to is,
Lord, let it be known this day that thou art God, and that I
am thy servant, and I have spoken these words in your name. Grant, O Lord, that these people
may be turned to Thee. Reveal Thy might and Thy majesty,
O God, and the fire fell. Directed to God. Not to Mary,
not to the saints, not to the ears of men, but to God. And
then this prayer, fourthly, is a reverent prayer, a reverent
prayer. Out of the depths have I cried
unto Thee, O Lord, O Lord. Verse 2, Lord, hear my voice. Barnard said, I know who your
Savior is. Who's your Lord? That makes a lot of difference.
The leper said, Lord. He said, you call me Lord. You
say, well, so I am. If you will, you can make me
clean. Lord. And then fifthly, this prayer
is so personal. Listen to it. Out of the depths
have I cried to thee. I cried. I'm not ashamed to cry. I'm ashamed when I don't. I'm
ashamed when I don't. I'm not ashamed to confess my
sin. I'm ashamed when I don't. I'm
not ashamed to admit my helplessness. I'm ashamed when I don't. I cried
unto thee. Lord, listen, verse 2, hear my
voice. Hear my voice. And then let thine
ears be attentive to my supplications. My supplications. There's a sincere
prayer there. And then verse 3, listen. Thirdly,
there's a personal judgment. Now, this is so important. Personal
judgment. Personal judgment. If thou, Lord,
shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? If God Almighty, I tell you my
friends, we're so busy too often justifying ourselves in the eyes
of men. If God should mark iniquities,
if God should hold accountable, right now, this moment, the last
hour, if God should hold us accountable and make us stand and give account
and mark every idle word, that's fallen from our lips in the last
hour I'm talking about. Every evil thought that has fluttered
through this mind, every wicked imagination, every carnal act,
every selfish motive, God Almighty, who would stand? We'd be toppled
over like little saplings in a windstorm. Who shall stand? Job couldn't. Have you considered
my servant, Job, a righteous man who avoideth and hateth evil?"
But after a while, even Job toppled, didn't he? Isaiah couldn't stand
before the holiness of God. He said, I'm a man of unclean
lips. I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. Peter
couldn't stand. He thought he could. He said,
Lord, these other fellows might desert you and deny you, but
not me. He's the first one. Even the
beloved John couldn't stand when he heard the voice of the Lord,
and turning, looked into his face. He said, I fell at his
feet as a dead man. This is self-judgment. This is
examining ourselves and finding what's there and admitting it.
If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, if you should mark
iniquities and hold accountable, hold us accountable for all that
we are and think and say and imagine and do, even our motives,
God, who would stand? I tell you this, nobody's coming
to a throne of grace till he's first of all faced a throne of
judgment. No man will come to Calvary till
he at least in a measure has been to Sinai. No man can take hold of the cross
by faith till he has faced and been judged by the holiness of
God. My friends, if we'll judge ourselves,
we'll not be judged. I want you to turn with me to
Psalm 51. Hold Psalm 130 there and turn
to Psalm 51. If we judge ourselves, I wish
that I could get this point across right here, self-judgment. And
I'm not talking about just in our sin, our nature, what I am,
and how easy it is to sin. Not only in our deeds. and thoughts
and words. But in ourselves, in our righteousness,
in our goodness, judge, as Whitfield once said, we haven't repented
until we've repented of what we are, what we've done, and
even what we've done in God's name. Our righteousness is a
filthy rag. And acknowledge and weep over
that. That's what I'm saying. Judge
ourselves. Judge ourselves right now. and
justify God. In Psalm 51, verse 4, David said,
ìAgainst thee, thee only, have I sinned, and Iíve done this
evil.î And donít single out one thing, any evil, all evil. ìIíve done this evil in your
sight, that thou mightest be justified.î Youíre just, God,
when you speak. When you speak and say, ìThe
soul that sinneth must die,î youíre just. When you speak and
say, depart from me, you workers of iniquity, you're just. When you say, how can you hear
them without a garment? Bind him hand and foot and cast
him into outer darkness, you're just. His judgments are just,
regardless of who's the object of those judgments may be. You
see that? You're just when you speak, and listen, and clear
when you judge. If God sends me to hell, he'll
be just. He won't be unfair. He won't
be unrighteous. He'll be just. Turn to Luke 7. This is so important that we
quit excusing ourselves and justifying ourselves and alibying for ourselves
and blaming it on somebody else and just stand before God and
say, Oh God, if you marked iniquity, who would stand? You're just.
Look at Luke 7. verse 29, and all the people
that heard him and the publicans justified God. What does that
mean? It means they did what David
did. When you speak, you're just. When you judge, you're just.
When you damn us, you're just. They justified God. Being baptized
with the baptism of John, they said, we deserve to die. The
baptism of repentance. We deserve to die. We deserve
to be buried. But by his grace we're raised.
And by his grace alone. But listen to the next verse.
But the Pharisees, the religious folks, and the lawyers, they
rejected the counsel of God against themselves. The charges of God
against them. They rejected it. They wouldn't
be baptized. They wouldn't come to the baptism
of repentance at all. They said, we're good men. We're
not sinners. Preacher, you're talking to somebody
else. You're not talking to me. I'm just not that bad. I'm just
not that wicked. I'm just not that sinful. I'm
just not that evil. I tell you this. There's no man
so blind as that man who will not see. And there's no darkness
so great as that darkness which comes from an unwilling heart
to listen to God's Word. The darkness of deception. Oh God, verse 3, if thou shouldst
mark iniquities, who would stand? Who would stand? Would you? Right
now. If God tried your faith, would
you stand? No. My faith is imperfect. If God
tried my righteousness, as Rutherford said, my tears need to be washed
in the blood of Christ, my repentance needs to be repented of. If God
checked my motive for preaching this morning, could I stand? If He measured, if He laid the
measure of His holiness down upon anything that I've said,
done, or thought this morning, even my best prayer, could I
stand? Could you stand? No. That's right. Is that cutting it too thin?
That's right though. That's right. If thou, Lord,
shouldst mark iniquity, who would stand? Nobody. What's it? Oh,
I'd love the next verse. But, but, oh my goodness alive,
but there's forgiveness with thee. That's where it is, it's
with thee. That's where it comes from, thee.
That's who purposed it, thee. That's who purchased it, thee.
That's who applies it, thee. There's forgiveness with thee,
with thee. There's forgiveness. Someone
said this about these two verses, verse 3 and 4. These two verses
contain the whole Bible. These two verses contain the
whole Scripture. Verse 3, sin, universal sin, fatal sin, against
God, sin. Verse 4, salvation. Sovereign,
free, salvation, full, salvation, eternal. The Old Testament with
its sacrifices, its lambs, its tabernacles, declares there's
forgiveness with thee. There's forgiveness with thee.
The New Testament sets forth Christ, His blood, His righteousness,
His obedience, His exaltation, His mediatorial work. All of
these declare there's forgiveness with thee. Gacy sang about it. Ephesians
chapter 2. Turn over there. Ephesians chapter
2. Listen to this. But, Lord, if
you should mark iniquity, who shall stand? If you should measure
our evil and make us stand accountable for it, who could stand? But.
Oh, thank God for that but. Verse 2 of Ephesians 2, Wherein
in times past ye walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prints of the piety of the spirit that now
worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom we all had our behavior,
our citizenship, our conversation in times past, what? In the lust
of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of our flesh. the desires
of our minds, we were by nature, by birth, by choice and practice
children of wrath, even as others. Who shall stand but God? But God. It's not but I, but
we, but God, who is rich in mercy, who is rich, plenteous in redemption. But there is forgiveness with
thee, but God who is rich in mercy for his great, great indescribable,
great infinite, great everlasting, great immutable love for us,
even when we were rotten and dead in sin, hath quickened us
together with Christ. Say what you will about the sinfulness
of this old flesh and this old sinner, Charge me with whatever
you will. But I say there's forgiveness
with God. Huh? There's forgiveness with
God. Thank God there's forgiveness
with God. And it's full forgiveness. And
it's free forgiveness. And it's unchanging forgiveness. And it's infinite forgiveness.
And it has no limit. It's the forgiveness of God. Like the grace of God and the
love of God, it's characteristic of God. It became Him. Look at
the next line, that thou mayest be feared. What is this fear? Preacher, you preach love for
God, faith in God, rest in God, then you come along and talk
about fear. It's a good fear. It's a beautiful fear. It's a
fear I don't want to be without. It's a fear and reverence I know
of His holiness. and his glory. But I'll tell
you something else about it. There's forgiveness with me that
thou mayst be feared. I carry in me all the time this
fear. And I say it's a beautiful fear.
I fear to miss Christ and his mercy. Do you? I don't want to
miss Christ. Paul said, oh, that I may win
Christ and be found in Secondly, I fear to presume upon his mercy
in Christ. I fear to presume. Like David
said, who am I? All the promises of God to him
about his throne, about his seed, about his son, about the Messiah,
about the eternality of his kingdom, and yet David said, but who am
I? But who am I? And I fear to add one iota to
his person and worth. Do you? I literally fear to add one thing
to his Christ, Christ, Christ. Plus nothing, minus nothing.
Prior to my faith and following my faith, it's Christ. I fear.
And I fear to depart from his presence and his mercies. The songwriter wrote, Jesus,
thy blood and righteousness, my beauty are, my glorious dress. Mid flaming worlds in these arrayed,
with joy I lift up my head. When from the dust of death I
rise to take my dwelling in the skies, even then, even then,
shall this be all my plea, Jesus Christ lived and died for me. But there's forgiveness with
thee. And then verse 5, there's a good hope. Listen, I wait for
the Lord. I wait for the Lord. I wait for
the Lord. I cry, but I wait. That's what you were saying this
morning, Bill. It's not an idle faith, it's
a faith that worketh by love. I wait. I cry, David said out
of the depths, I cry, and yet he said I wait. I seek him, to
whom coming, but I wait. I confess my sins, I cry for
mercy, but I wait. I receive his son, I believe
on him, but I wait. I'm not going to explain that,
because I can't. But the child of God's relationship
with God is a walk. It's a walk, and yet it's a rest. It's a pursuit of God, and yet
it's a rest. That's right. Salvations of the
Lord, grace, mercy, and peace is from the Lord. We don't claim
anything. We don't work for anything. We
receive it. We obtain mercy. But we wait
for the hope of righteousness. through faith. I wait. I wait. My soul doth wait, verse
5. And in his word do I hope. Where do I hope? In his word. Over there somewhere in the epistle
of Peter. The scripture says, he hath said,
he hath said, I'll never leave you, I'll never forsake you.
so that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper. How can I
say the Lord is my helper? He said it first. How do I know
there is forgiveness with God? He said it first. How do I know
He that believeth on the Son hath life? He said it. How do
I know that He came to save the chief of sinners? He said He
did. How do I know that He'll never forsake us? He said He
would. That's what he's saying here,
I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word. Our
God regards his word higher than his name. That's right. His word. His word declares his willingness
to save. I will be merciful. His Word
declares His power to save. He's able to save to the uttermost
them that come to Him by Christ. And His Word is faithful. He
said, I'll never change. I'm the Lord, I change not. The
gifts and calling of God are without change. And to show mercy,
He says, is His glory. I know there's a glory in His
justice, but not like the glory of His mercy. I know there's
a glory in his power to create worlds, but not like the glory
in his power to recreate fallen sons. I know there's glory in
God's power to wrest kingdoms from the hands of evil men like
Pharaoh, but not like his glory, not like the glory in his power
to wrest children of wrath out of the hands of a broken law. and an offended justice. That's
his glory. Where's the glory of the prodigal's
father in giving out inheritance to his sons? Is that his glory?
Oh, that's a glory because he worked hard to build that powerful
kingdom. Where is the glory of the father?
I'll tell you where it is when he stands in the window and watches
for a wayward son. And when he sees him in the distance,
he runs out and embraces him and kisses him. That's his glory. Isn't that right? Where's the
glory of the shepherd? Is it when he has all the sheep
there in the foal and watches over them and leads them in green
pastures and feeds them and leads them by still waters? That's
glory. Yes, that's glory. But I tell you, his greatest
glory is when he leaves the ninety and nine, goes out yonder, into
the suffering and torment, heartache
and desertion by the Father and finds that lost sheep, puts it
on his shoulder and brings it home and comes in with scars
in his hands and feet. He says, Rejoice with me. My
sheep was lost and I found them. That's his glory. So you can
hope. You can have a good hope as long
as that hope is in his Word. And then listen to this. Here
is perseverance. My soul will wait and will keep
waiting. God's people are preserved. I
know that. He is going to finish what he
began. But God's people persevere. They persevere through faith.
They persevere. I know we rest in Christ, but
we press for the mark of the prize of the high calling of
Christ our Lord. Listen, I wait more than they
that watch for the morning. I say more than they that watch
for the morning. Who is this that watches for
the morning? I tell you, I've been on watch at night. Some
of you soldiers have, haven't you been on watch? You stood
watch? Stand watch, four hours at a time. The hardest watch
was four to eight in the morning. Stand watch. Out there by yourself. Scared, cold, weary, dreary. You're waiting for one thing. And that sun comes up over there. Ah, it's good to see the sun.
Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning.
Here's a mother. I don't know why, but it just
seemed like fevers higher at night. Sickness is worse at night. Is that right? It seems that
way to me. It just seems like that, you know, when I'm concerned
about something, as long as it's daylight, I get along fine. But
lying there in the bed, rolling and tossing and concerned about
something, the night seems so long. Does it to you? And here's a mother sitting by
the bedside and bathing the fiery brow of a little child, three
or four years old, and she's waiting and watching for the
morning. The doctor says the fever will break in the morning.
When the sun comes up, and the dark shadows flee away, and the
gloom and the murkiness of the night is gone, and the sun rays
come through the window, and she's waiting for the morn. And
my soul's waiting for him more than they that watch for
the morn. Waiting for his son from heaven.
And then here's assurance. Listen. Let Israel hope in the
Lord. That's spiritual Israel, that's
us, believers, hope in the Lord. Now notice, it didn't say, let
Israel hope for mercy. It says, let Israel hope in the
Lord. But with the Lord, mercy! Huh? You say there's a difference?
A whole heap of difference. You don't hope for mercy, you
hope in the Lord. The mercy is from him. You should
look for the tree. If you find the tree, you'll
find the fruit. Sure wish I had some apples. Find an apple tree. Isn't that right? You don't look
for the gift, you look for the giver. If you have the giver,
you got the gift. You don't look for cure, you
look for the physician. Find him. That woman said, if
I can just get to him. She tried all kinds. Him, I know
I'll be healed. You don't look for the promise,
you look for the promiser. You see what I'm saying? And
this is what I'm trying to preach and have tried for years to preach.
Salvation is in Christ. Redemption is in Christ. It's
not down here, it's not in there, it's not in the table, it's not
in doctrine, it's not in a profession of faith, it's not in good work,
it's in Christ. It's not only in Christ, it is
Christ. It is Christ. Christ in you,
that's the hope of glory. When Christ, who is my life,
shall appear, then shall I appear with him in glory. come to Christ, embrace Christ,
receive Christ, believe Christ, love Christ. For with the Lord,
Jehovah, there is mercy.

There Is Forgiveness

What does the Bible say about forgiveness?

How do we know God's forgiveness is genuine?

Why is repentance important for Christians?

What is the significance of waiting on the Lord?

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There Is Forgiveness

What does the Bible say about forgiveness?

How do we know God's forgiveness is genuine?

Why is repentance important for Christians?

What is the significance of waiting on the Lord?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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