Psalm 130

Good morning. If y'all will, go ahead and turn with me to Psalm 130.

!

We've particularly been trying to hide this information, but we haven't been like a complete open book either.

So before you freak out, yes is the answer to that, that we probably are moving, but you've likely got us for another year.

So I'm from Paulding County. All my family lives there. There's like a water's hole section of land.

And many of y'all know my sister Chelsea, my brother-in-law Sam, who were CFC people a few years back.

They just built a house down there. Of course, y'all know the Stricklands, and they're moving to Paulding as well.

And most of Margaret's family is also down there. They all live in Cobb County, which is neighboring to Paulding.

And I say all that to say, ever since Everett was born, I've realized how much I valued time with my grandparents.

I was always a 75-yard walk up a hill to them, and my grandparents are currently still living and want to give us some land if we would want it that we could build on.

And with a lot of our family being really like-minded with us and all of the practical helps that being so close to family would bring.

And honestly, Margaret and I just really wanting Everett to grow up around cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents and even great-grandparents right now.

We'd toy around with the idea of moving for a really, really long time, but it seems like we are heading that way.

So I know a lot of you guys knew that, but I wanted to clue y'all into that.

Y'all, I don't know, I think I've processed a lot of the emotions behind it because we've been thinking about it for so long.

But we go like one direction to the other of being super happy and excited to really sad, to really happy back to really sad.

So I wanted to let everyone know about that.

And I promise for right now not to try to recruit all of the other CFC people with Paulding County roots.

But for right now.

Anyway, I say all that to say, yeah, we'll be missing a few Sundays coming up to check out some churches down there.

And we're okay, but we likely are heading that direction.

So, okay, I'm going to try to not get all emotional.

So let's get into Psalm 130.

I'm sure y'all will hear lots more about the potential of us moving and coming up.

But Psalm 130.

Some of y'all may remember a while back, I think it was just over a month ago,

I did the little homily right before the Lord's Supper on this psalm.

And I really enjoyed doing the little bit of studying for that that I did then.

And I think this is a psalm that we could really think through well as a church.

And so let's get into it.

So I'll read it, and then we'll get into just a little bit of background on it,

and then we'll get into the main part of our study.

So Psalm 130.

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.

O Lord, hear my voice.

Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy.

If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?

But with you there is forgiveness that you may be feared.

I wait for the Lord.

My soul waits.

And in his word I hope.

My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning.

More than watchmen for the morning.

O Israel, hope in the Lord.

For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.

And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

So this is our psalm this morning.

Psalms are often broken down into different categories just based on their themes or based on the context.

This one's often called a penitential psalm.

And that group of psalms focuses a lot on sorrow over sin,

seeing a need for the Lord's forgiveness,

a desire to turn away from sin,

and to look to the Lord for help.

You could call them psalms of repentance,

as we would likely say more often.

Probably the most well-known psalm of this type is Psalm 51.

And we know that David there was repenting of his sin with Bathsheba.

And some of that familiar wording from that psalm is probably coming to our minds already.

Think about verses 1 through 4 of that psalm where it says,

Have mercy on me, O God.

According to your steadfast love, according to your abundant mercy,

blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight,

so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.

You might think of verses 10 through 13 of that psalm.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.

Another common one is Psalm 32, where David says,

I acknowledge my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity.

I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,

and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.

Those two are probably the most common psalms when we think of psalms that are showing repentance.

But then we get to this one, probably the most common, and the next most common.

And with it, I want to structure it in a couple of ways.

But there's that phrase that's so striking at the beginning,

the out of the depths.

And that's kind of how this whole psalm flows from that.

Spurgeon once summarized this psalm by saying,

Out of the depths we cry, wait, watch, and hope.

And I'd like to borrow a bit of that, and use that for part of our structure this morning.

So we're going to look at three different parts of it.

Firstly, out of the depths we cry.

Secondly, out of the depths we watch and wait.

And then thirdly, out of the depths we hope.

So that's how we're going to structure it this morning.

And be aware that point number one will be the longest.

So when I've gone 20 minutes on that one, don't be too worried.

So let's start with, Out of the depths we cry.

We're going to look at the first four verses with this one.

So our psalm begins with, Out of the depths we cry.

When we hear that word depths, we might be thinking of at least a couple of different things.

We might think of just being in a really hard situation, a circumstance that's really pressing on us.

Or we might think instead of really battling sin struggles in ourself.

In this psalm, though, I think the phrase is made pretty clear, even with just looking at our English translation,

of what type of depths are being talked about here.

Why I say that is look in verse three.

We begin seeing talks of iniquities and forgiveness.

As we see our psalmist begin to state that if the Lord truly marked all our iniquities and counted those against us,

that no one could stand.

Given that context, I think that's a pretty clear indicator that in verse one,

the psalmist is not just talking about a hard, non-moral situation,

but instead the psalmist is talking about really struggling against sin, battling against sin.

And in this battle of sin, I want us to notice something about the urgency of how the psalmist is speaking.

We have the wording, out of the depths, but getting a little bit past that,

you might see something even more intense, maybe.

So we have the depths, the deep pit of sorrow, shame, guilt, maybe even a little bit of just self-hatred.

But then notice, out of the depths we cry.

Not an out of the depths I come to you, or out of the depths I reach out to you, Lord,

or out of the depths I call to you.

Now, while the psalmist is currently certainly doing those things,

coming to the Lord, reaching out to the Lord, calling on his name,

those are not the word that he chose to use to describe what he's doing.

Instead, he uses the word cry.

He's not in an emotional state where he's thinking,

Oh, Lord, I'm just struggling with sin again.

He's instead really hit with the weight of his sin,

and therefore he cries out to the Lord.

And look at verse 2, where it says,

Oh, Lord, hear my voice.

Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy.

We see the psalmist calling the name of the Lord again.

And note what he says.

He doesn't say, Lord, answer my prayer, or give me what I want.

Give me exactly what I ask.

But instead, he asks the Lord to hear him.

Ask the Lord to hear his voice, to be attentive to his pleas for mercy.

Let's make me think a little bit about kids

and how kids can often struggle with thinking that they know better than their parents

what would be best for them.

We even already see this with Everett when he's just about to turn one.

He always wants to eat bread, and that's not a good situation.

We might think of a kid that is wanting to hold something or touch something

that their parent knows is dangerous,

or a kid wanting to stay up past their bedtime

when their parent knows that that would totally wreck them for the next day.

And I bring that up to say the psalmist is not like this at all.

Well, he's recognizing that our Lord knows what he needs much more than he himself.

When we're seeing him not asking the Lord to answer his prayer,

but just to hear him,

that yes, he will argue his case before the Lord,

pour out his heart before the Lord,

but ultimately what he's asking here is he wants the Lord to hear him.

And then he will entrust his soul to the Lord, our faithful creator,

for what the Lord decides to do in the situation.

When we're in repentance, do we have that same level of humility?

Do we have that same level of just pouring out our hearts to God,

trusting him to do what would be best for us?

Or, I think something I can often struggle with,

when we're coming in repentance,

do we already seem to know all of the answers?

Do we put ourselves in the place of God and know,

this is exactly what I should do to fix this?

Do we seem to have the solutions to all our problems,

all worked out with our solution, right?

Do we even ask the Lord at times to give us exactly what we want in prayer,

which turns our prayers into,

let our will be done, not yours, Lord.

Spurgeon once made the following statement when reflecting about this verse.

If the Lord will hear us,

we will leave it to his superior wisdom

to decide whether he will answer us or not.

It is better for our prayer to be heard than answered.

If the Lord were to make an absolute promise

to answer all our requests,

it might be rather a curse than a blessing,

for it would be casting the responsibility upon ourselves,

and we should be placed in a very anxious position.

But now the Lord hears our desires,

and that is enough.

We only wish him to grant them

in his infinite wisdom.

He sees that it would be good for our good and for his glory.

So we call to the Lord,

and let's really be thankful

that he doesn't grant everything that we ask,

because his wisdom is so much higher than ours.

Our growth, our salvation, our sanctification,

even whether our prayers are answered,

are ultimately orchestrated by the Lord,

who in his infinite wisdom

always has his glory and our good in mind.

So the psalmist is called to the Lord,

pleading that the Lord would hear his cry,

would be attentive to his pleas for mercy.

Now let's get down into verse 3,

and I think verse 3 is the verse

that brings so many people to the psalm.

And I think many of us really like to use it

to talk about the heart of the gospel.

And so let's reread it again now.

Verse 3,

If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,

O Lord, who could stand?

I think this verse is so framing

in the way we should think through this whole psalm.

The psalmist initially is in such deep sorrow over sin.

He's seeing the depths of himself.

He sees his sin very clearly,

and he sees a holy God,

and he realizes the depth of his need.

And notice also how often he's addressing the Lord.

You might just look through the psalm

and so quickly see how often he's just calling the Lord,

the reverence that he's showing

in his position compared to that of the Lord.

And then in verse 3,

I think it drives that idea home

that if the Lord should mark iniquities,

who could stand?

In other words,

if our sin was truly counted against us,

would there be anyone left?

Would anyone pass the test?

He's not only feeling the need to cry out in brokenness,

but in this verse,

he's truly confessing

that he could not stand before God.

In fact, that no one could.

I think we would all give the obvious answer

to this rhetorical question.

No one,

no one could stand before the Lord.

Other scripture that's probably already popping into your mind

makes this so clear.

Think about Romans 3

that's actually quoting a couple different psalms.

None is righteous,

no, not one.

No one understands,

no one seeks for God.

All have turned aside.

Together they have become worthless.

No one does good,

not even one.

None of us could stand

if our sin were truly counted against us.

I would wager to say

that none of us could stand

if we just looked at our lives

over this past morning.

From the people that get up crazy early around 4

to the people that are rolling out of bed around 9.45.

I bet all of us,

no matter if we've had just a couple hours of being awake

or if we've had six hours of being awake,

I would wager to say

that all of us could pinpoint

some sort of sin

that we've struggled with today.

Whether it be an action

or whether it just be something in our minds,

something in our hearts,

none of us could stand.

But then we see verse 4.

And I think the sweetness of verse 4

really drives the rest of the psalm.

Let's read 3 and 4 again together

so we can remember that flow.

If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,

O Lord, who could stand?

But with you there is forgiveness

that you may be feared.

A while back when I did this psalm

at the beginning of the Lord's Supper,

I compared this to the other but-gods in Scripture

of us maybe even thinking Ephesians 2,

right, of but God being rich in mercy

because of the great love of which he loved us, right?

That kind of thing of Paul explaining the gospel

after explaining our sin.

And the psalmist is doing

a very, very similar thing.

He's cried out to the Lord

with a deep pit of sorrow over sin.

He's pleading his cry for mercy.

He has acknowledged that no one can stand

in light of a holy God based on our sin.

But then he makes this such wonderful,

freeing statement

about the character of our Lord.

But with you there is forgiveness

that you may be feared.

Elsewhere in another psalm,

Psalm 86, verse 5,

Psalms 86:5

we read,

For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,

abounding in steadfast love

to all who call upon you.

We know the psalmist had a really clear picture

that the Lord was a very forgiving God

to a very undeserving people.

This might make us think back to Old Testament text

where the Lord proclaims his character.

Think about after Moses had broken the tablets

and the Lord was asking him to make new ones.

Exodus 34, verses 6 and 7 say,

Exodus 34:6

The Lord passed before him and proclaimed,

The Lord, the Lord,

a God merciful and gracious,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love

and faithfulness,

keeping steadfast love for thousands,

forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,

but who will by no means clear the guilty,

visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children

and the children's children

to the third and the fourth generation.

And I bring all that up

to say that there was some strong knowledge

and awareness,

even at this time,

of the great mercy of our God.

While the how, the why of Christ

was not yet fully understood,

fully realized to these people in this day,

there was some good understanding

that the Lord was a very forgiving God,

merciful, gracious, slow to anger,

abounding in steadfast love,

but also a God who will by no means clear the guilty.

And so with that reality,

the psalmist is pleading,

knowing that with the Lord,

he has been given such mercy

and how thankful he is,

how humble he is

as acknowledging that

he's not deserving of this mercy at all,

that truly no one deserves it,

but we in the psalmist here

has been graciously given it by the Lord.

Spurgeon, again,

I'm going to quote Spurgeon a lot,

once said of this verse,

free, full, sovereign pardon

is in the hand of the great king.

It is his prerogative to forgive

and he delights to exercise it.

Because his nature is mercy

and because he has provided a sacrifice for sin,

therefore forgiveness is with him

and for all that come to him

confessing their sins.

All those who come to the Lord in faith

may have this forgiveness.

We as modern day Christians

may have an even greater understanding

that while we can look back

to the person and work of Christ,

the psalmist in this day looked forward

and trusted in the forgiving character

of the Lord.

Now let's consider that blessing

of that clarity

of that hope we have.

That not based on any goodness of ourselves,

we have been given such grace

from the Lord.

The clarity of it,

think of what we have in the New Testament

explaining it now.

Think of Romans 5,

Romans 5:6–11

verses 6 through 11.

Y'all turn with me there.

Romans 5.

Romans 5,

Romans 5:6–11

verses 6 through 11,

I think makes this

so clear

and so precious to us.

Picking up in verse 6,

it says,

For while we were still weak,

at the right time,

Christ died for the ungodly.

For one will scarcely die

for a righteous person,

though perhaps for a good person,

one would dare even to die.

But God chose his love for us

in that while we were still sinners,

Christ died for us.

Since therefore we have now been justified

by his blood,

much more shall we be saved by him

from the wrath of God.

For while we were enemies,

we were reconciled to God

by the death of his son.

Much more now that we are reconciled,

shall we be saved by his life.

More than that,

we also rejoice in God

through our Lord Jesus Christ,

through whom we have now

received reconciliation.

And our hope is not just there.

Think of Galatians 2.20.

I have been crucified with Christ.

It is no longer I who live,

but Christ who lives in me.

And the life I now live,

I live in the flesh,

or excuse me,

the life I now live in the flesh,

I live by faith in the Son of God

who loved me

and gave himself for me.

Or think about probably

the most well-known verse.

For God so loved the world

that he gave his only Son,

that whoever believes in him

should not perish,

but have eternal life.

Let's always remember

that hope that we have

through the forgiveness

we have in the Lord.

Okay.

Y'all might have noticed

we've been talking about

verse 4 for a while,

but we haven't talked about

the back end of it.

Reading verse 4 one more time.

But with you there is forgiveness

that you may be feared.

It might seem interesting to us

the phrasing of it.

To our mind,

we might think it would be

more likely to say

something different.

Like,

with you there is forgiveness

that you might be loved.

Or with you there is forgiveness

that your grace might be shown.

Or maybe even,

with you there is forgiveness

that you may be glorified.

Or,

even someone treating salvation

flippantly.

With you there is forgiveness

so there is no longer

a need to put away sin.

We know Paul shot that down

in Romans.

But,

instead,

we have something different.

We have,

with you there is forgiveness

that you may be feared.

This fear,

of course,

does denote a reverence

and awe,

a why me

kind of idea

that we should be amazed

that the Lord has shown us

such great mercy

when he couldn't have

just totally wiped us out.

Right?

That would be the

just thing to do.

And that way we fear him.

I think of a hymn that,

maybe we should start back

doing some more here

that is,

How Sweet and Awful.

How sweet and awful

is the place

with Christ

within the doors

while everlasting love

displays the choicest

of our stores.

While all our hearts

and all our songs

join to admire the feast,

each of us cry

with thankful tongues,

Lord,

why was I

a guest?

Why was I made

to hear thy voice

and enter

while there's room

while thousands

make a wretched choice

and rather starve

than come?

It was the same love

that spread the feast

that sweetly drew us in,

else we had still

refused to taste

and perished in our sin.

Pity the nations,

O our God,

constrain the earth to come,

send thy victorious word

abroad,

and bring the strangers home.

We long to see

thy churches full,

that all the chosen race

may with one voice

and heart and soul

sing thy redeeming grace.

So we've been giving

such great forgiveness

in Christ

while we did not

deserve it one bit.

Such undeserved forgiveness.

Why were we chosen?

While others choose

to reject that same invitation.

While we are just as

undeserving as they.

And so the psalmist

very much understands

that reality.

out of the depths

crying out,

acknowledging his sin,

and that he's so undeserving

of forgiveness.

Okay.

So I've probably been

about 20 minutes

on that point.

But I promise

the others will be

much, much shorter.

So let's get down

past verse 4

into second point.

Out of the depths

we watch

and wait.

Out of the depths

we watch

and wait.

Let's read verses 5 and 6

again.

And you'll see

the waiting,

watching,

and hoping

all of those words

all throughout here.

I wait for the Lord.

My soul waits.

And in his word

I hope.

My soul waits

for the Lord

more than watchmen

for the morning.

More than watchmen

for the morning.

So this waiting

we might ask

what is this waiting

really for?

This waiting here

seems to be

twofold.

And I think

you all will see

why I believe that.

Firstly

at the beginning

of the psalm

we noted

just the state

of being

down in the depths.

My family

growing up

often said

I'm just feeling

down in the dump.

You could use

that similar

phrasing.

Having a really,

really strong

sorrow

over sin.

This waiting

on the Lord

seems to be tied

to redemption

both now

and full

and final

redemption

in the future.

And the reason

I'm saying

this is

verses 7

and 8.

So let's get

into those

a little bit

because I think

they help us

understand

verses 5

and 6.

So let's read

those.

Oh Israel

hope in the

Lord for

with the

Lord there

is steadfast

love and

with him

is plentiful

redemption and

he will

redeem Israel

from all

his iniquities.

So in

verse 7

we see a

call to

Israel,

a call to

the people

of God

to hope

in the

Lord.

Why hope

in the

Lord?

Because with

him there

is steadfast

love.

We can have

confidence that

his love

is constantly

on us

and plentiful

redemption.

And then in

verse 8

he will

not he may

but he will

redeem Israel

from all

his iniquities.

Now I'm

bringing up

these verses

because I

think they

show exactly

what the

psalmist is

waiting on.

Both a

mindset of

having hope

in the

Lord.

He wants

his heart

to catch

up with

the reality

of what

his mind

understands

of there's

plentiful

redemption

in the

Lord.

He wants

to feel

that but

also

notice that

more full

and final

redemption

at the

end.

He will

redeem

Israel.

Many of

you guys

I know

have picked

up one

of those

many copies

of Gentle

!

and Lowly

that are

in the

hallway.

And in

that book

he makes

some

really

wonderful

observations

about the

love that

the Lord

has for

us.

And in

talking about

what our

response should

be when

we're struggling

with sin

whether that's

a like

battling

our sin

in a

worldly

way of

just getting

so down

and just

fighting

ourselves

or running

to the

Lord with

godly grief

over our

sin instead

of that

wallowing

in it.

Dane

Ortlund

says,

speaking of

our Lord,

he does

not get

flustered

and frustrated

when we

come to

him for

fresh

forgiveness,

for renewed

pardon

with distress

and need

and emptiness.

That's the

whole point.

It's what

he came

to heal.

He went

down into

the horror

of death

and plunged

out through

the other

side in

order to

provide a

limitless

supply of

mercy and

grace to

his people.

This seems

to be so

similar to

what the

psalmist is

exhorting

here.

Go to

the Lord,

right?

Know your

redemption.

Know the

steadfast love

that the

Lord has

for you.

Go to

the Lord

to know

your

forgiveness

when struggling

with sin.

I think

that's part

of what

is being

weighted on

in verse

five.

That sense

of redemption,

that sense

of steadfast

love.

But that

twofold part

again,

that and

he will

redeem

Israel

from all

his

iniquities,

that sure

complete and

final sound

of that

verse,

redeeming

Israel,

redeeming

God's

people from

all their

iniquities,

that's a

different kind

of longing

for the

day when

we will

be fully

set free

from sin

and fully

sanctified.

That's a

hope for

eternity.

I believe

so many of

us can get

frustrated with

ourselves about

our sin,

feeling like

we keep doing

the same

thing over

and over

again and

long for

eternity.

We long for

that day when

we'll be

finally and

fully freed

from sin

when all

things will

be made

new.

And that

longing for

eternity I

think is

exactly what

verse 8 is

talking about.

So we'll get

into verse 7

and 8 a bit

more in a

sec, but

think about

these waiting

and watching

words.

It's not a

sit around and

do nothing

kind of

waiting.

It's not a

standing in

line at

Walmart getting

bored kind

of waiting.

It's a much

more intense

kind of waiting.

Notice the

wording.

I wait for

the Lord

and even

more emphasis

my soul

waits.

In fact my

soul waits for

the Lord more

than watchmen

for the morning

more than

watchmen for

the morning.

We get the

picture of

guards around

the city

watching for

attackers and

wearying

themselves by

staying up

waiting for

the morning.

Or you might

think of

Matthew

Carnegie

guarding his

campers from

a bear.

Mostly kidding.

But you

might think of

something so

much more

serious as

well.

Of someone

staying awake

through the

night caring

for a sick

loved one.

Making sure

they are okay

or even

waiting at a

time when you

believe someone

will pass.

Thinking about

just being

outside overnight

and maybe

you're hunting

but whatever

it is you

get that

glimpse of

sun in the

morning.

You know that

you've got to

just make it

through a

little bit

more cold

and there

will be

these rays

hitting you

and it's

wonderful.

Do we

wait?

Do we

watch in

this way?

Do we

long to

know the

assurance of

our salvation

or long

for eternity,

long for the

day of our

Lord in this

way?

Do we

want to

know full

freedom from

sin this

much?

Do we

want to

meet the

one who

saved us

and who

kept us

by his

grace this

much?

What do

we

long for?

Where

are our

minds at

when we

daydream?

Do we

long to

be free

from sin?

Do we

long for

eternity?

Do we

wait for

the Lord

more than

watchmen for

the morning?

Okay, let's

get to our

last point.

Number three,

out of the

depths we

hope.

Out of the

depths we

hope.

We've spoken

about our

hope all

throughout the

sermon because

I believe it

was necessary

to do so in

order to

properly

understand some

of the other

verses.

In fact,

all of our

crying,

waiting,

watching,

and hoping

are all

tied so

closely

together.

Isaac

Ambrose once

said this on

your bulletin,

that hope is a

faculty of the

soul that

looks out for

mercy and

waits for the

same.

Let's notice a

couple things

about that

hope.

Firstly, in the

middle of our

waiting and

watching verses,

we see our

hope in the

waiting and

watching stages.

It's the

Lord's word.

I wait for

the Lord,

my soul

waits,

and in

his word

I hope.

Think about

the hope

that the

psalmist

had that

we see in

7 and 8

that is

coming from

the Lord's

word,

not fully

knowing the

redemption of

the Lord,

but knowing

the Lord

had a plan

for his

people to

show them

such great

mercy,

that they

would be

his people

and he

would be

their God.

And now

we having

a full

revelation

have so much

reason to

hope.

even more

understanding

that they

had.

That while

we see the

great weight

of our

sin,

when we're

in the

depths,

calling to

the Lord,

we can be

confident,

think about

Philippians 1

Philippians 1:6

verse 6,

that I am

sure of

this,

that he

who began

a good

work in

you will

bring it

to

completion

at the

day of

Jesus

Christ.

We can

be so

confident

that the

Lord who

began the

work in

us will

finish

the work

in us.

And then

think about,

this will be

another place

for y'all to

turn.

Y'all go

ahead and

turn with

me to

John 6.

John 6.

This is

another

passage that

is talked

about really

well in

Gentle and

Lowly.

Let's look

at a few

verses here,

verse 35

through 40.

Jesus said

to them,

I am the

bread of

life.

Whoever

comes to

me shall

not hunger,

and whoever

believes in

me shall

never thirst.

But I

said to

you,

excuse me,

but I

said to

you that

you have

seen me,

and yet

you do

not believe.

All that

the Father

gives me

will come

to me,

and whoever

comes to

me I

will never

cast out.

For I

have come

down from

heaven not

to do

my own

will,

but the

will of

him who

sent

me.

All this

is the

will of

him who

sent

me,

that I

should

lose

nothing of

all that

he has

given

me,

but raise

it up

on the

last

day.

For

this is

the

will of

my

Father,

that

everyone

who

looks on

the

Son

and

believes

in

him

should

have

eternal

life,

and I

will

raise

him

up

on

the

last

day.

Sometimes

passages

like this

seem too

good to

be true.

I

think we

as

believers

often slip

into a

workspace

mindset

again,

that we

treat our

salvation

as coming

from

grace,

but we

treat our

sanctification

as if

it's

all a

work

of

us.

Maybe

we

believe

that

the

Lord

has

forgiven

all

of

our

past

sins

before

we

became

a

believer,

but we

struggle

to

believe

that

the

Lord

is

also

forgiving

our

current

sin

struggles.

We

believe

that

he

must

get

so

frustrated

with

us

when

we

still

sin

after

that.

Now,

while

we

should

endeavor

to

always

live

lives

worthy

of the

calling

to which

we've

been

called,

we

must

constantly

remember

that

the

whole

point

of

the

gospel

is

that

we

are

not

worthy

that

the

Lord

shows

his

great

love

for

us

and

that

while

we

were

yet

sinners

he

died

for

us.

And

according

to

this

passage

we

just

read,

our

Lord

will

not

cast

out

any

that

the

Father

gives

him

and

all

that

the

Father

gives

him

will

come

to

him.

What

great

assurance

we

can

have

that

the

Lord

will

continue

the

work

that

he

started

in

us.

He

will

bring

it

to

completion

at

his

day.

But

in

verse

8

we

also

have

that

and

back

in

Psalm

Psalms 130:8

130

verse

8

we

also

have

that

such

great

hope

for

eternity

that

one

great

day

in

the

future

all

suffering

is

gone

all

sin

is

gone

and

we

will

live

with

Christ

forever.

Think

about

the

first

few

verses

of

Revelation

21

then

I

saw

a

new

heaven

and

a

new

earth

for

the

first

heaven

and

the

first

earth

had

passed

away

and

the

sea

was

no

more

and

I

saw

the

holy

city

new

Jerusalem

coming

down

out

of

heaven

from

God

prepared

as

a

bride

adorned

for

her

husband

and

I

heard

a

loud

voice

from

the

throne

saying

behold

the

dwelling

place

of

God

is

with

man

he

will

dwell

with

them

and

they

will

be

his

people

and

God

himself

will

be

with

them

as

their

God

he

will

wipe

away

every

tear

from

their

eyes

and

death

shall

be

no

more

neither

shall

there

be

mourning

nor

crying

nor

pain

anymore

for

the

former

things

have

passed

away

and

we

could

keep

going

but

for

now

I'll

stop

there

and

just

think

about

the

great

hope

we

have

the

dwelling

place

of

our

God

is

with

!

He

will

!

!

!

We

will

be

his

people

and

we'll

be

together

no

more

suffering

no

more

sin

he

will

redeem

Israel

from

all

his

iniquities

and

so

out

of

the

depths

we

hope

when

we're

stuck

in

the

sorrow

of

our

sin

the

depths

of

our

sin

we

should

know

that

we

don't

have

to

stay

there

Augustine

once

said

about

verse

one

but

when

he

crieth

from

the

deep

he

riseth

from

the

deep

and

his

very

cry

suffereth

him

not

to

be

long

at

the

bottom

even

in

the

depths

of

our

sorrow

over

our

sin

we

should

have

such

great

hope

knowing

that

we

are

fully

accepted

in

Christ

knowing

that

the

Lord

will

one

day

fully

sanctify

us

make

us

fully

free

from

sin

we

can

say

with

Paul

wretched

man

that I

am

who

will

deliver

me

from

this

body

of

death

thanks

be

to

God

through

Christ

Jesus

our

Lord

and

one

day

we

will

live

together

forever

with

him

so

when

we're

in

the

depths

when

we

feel

the

weight

of

our

sin

let's

cry

to

the

Lord

let's

watch

and

wait

for

him

and

let's

take

great

hope

knowing

that

on

our

own

if

our

sin

was

counted

against

us

none

of

us

could

stand

but

with

the

Lord

there

is

such

great

forgiveness

quoting

Dane

Ortlund

again

look

to

Christ

he

deals

gently

with

you

it's

the

only

way

he

knows

how

to

be

he

is

the

high

priest

to

end

all

high

priests

as

long

as

you

fix

your

attention

on

your

sin

you

will