"But With You There Is Forgiveness" Psalm 130

Let us take a moment and ask for God's blessing.

Father in heaven, we pray that you would give us hearts of flesh this morning.

! We pray that you would give us hearts of flesh this morning.

So that we may perceive here and perceive and to take into our hearts and to act upon your word.

Lord, we don't want to be people that hear your word and do nothing.

Instead, Lord, we want to hear your word and by your strength act upon it, Lord.

Lord, your word leads us to you.

And in you there is freedom.

There is the forgiveness of sins.

There is liberation from bondage of guilt and shame.

And Lord, we pray that you would do just that to us today.

Give us soft hearts, we pray.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

Some of you...

Well, first, it's great to be back. It really is.

We've been away for a few weeks for a summer vacation.

It is a privilege and honor to be back.

It's great to see everybody here this morning.

Some of you, a few weeks ago, would have heard or even watched the video of Astronomer CEO Andy Byron

and Kristen Cabot, the head of HR of Astronomer,

getting outed in an adulterous relationship during a Coldplay concert.

The camera was panning on various people in the audience

and Chris Martin, the lead singer, would sing an impromptu song about them.

It was funny and it was clever.

And then it panned to this couple

and immediately the man turned around,

or no, he ducked down out of the camera

and the woman turned around

and they were clearly mortified.

And it turned out

that

these two people were not married to each other.

They were in a relationship

that they should not have been in.

They were caught in the act.

And the internet went crazy.

They were mocked.

Their identities were posted everywhere.

Memes about them abounded.

On a more serious note,

their jobs were lost.

Their relationships were destroyed.

They found themselves in a pit

that they dug themselves.

And it's remarkable,

this situation.

It's remarkable because

despite all the talk in the West,

in Canada, in the US, in Europe,

about expressive individualism,

about individualism,

about sexual liberation,

the idea that we are free

to express ourselves

in any way we desire

with anyone we desire,

consequences be damned,

sin and guilt and shame

seem to be alive and well in our day.

It seems to just,

it's so obvious

that these people were mortified,

they were guilty,

they were ashamed

because they knew

what they did was wrong,

because there truly is,

counter to the prevailing sentiment,

there is an objective

right and wrong

and we are all keenly aware of it.

Whether such sinful behavior

is caught on a stadium big screen,

at a Coldplay concert,

or is done in secret at home,

or anywhere in between,

we may try many different kinds

of remedies to deal

with a fallout of such sin,

to deal with our guilt

and our shame.

We are experts,

experts,

like professional level experts,

at ignoring our sin,

minimizing our sin,

normalizing it,

relativizing it,

blaming it on circumstances,

on this person,

on that person,

on my parents,

on my children.

We are experts

at finding ways

to deal with our guilt

and our shame.

But we all know

that these are false remedies

for a real sickness

and these remedies

are not just ineffective,

but they actually perpetuate

the sin and guilt

and the shame

that we feel

that we find ourselves in.

So what should be done?

If sin, shame, and guilt

are persistent features

of even our society,

no matter how hard

we've tried to escape them,

how can we truly address

sin and the shame and guilt

that comes from them?

We're in Psalm 130.

We continue on

in our summer series

on the Psalms of Ascent.

And Psalm 130

offers us a blueprint

of how to deal

with our sin,

how to deal with our shame,

how to deal with our guilt.

It is one of the seven

penitential psalms

in the Psalter,

the only penitential psalm

that's within

the Psalms of Ascent.

Doctors of the church,

theologians, reformers,

have found such profound comfort

and joy in this psalm

precisely because it provides

a guide out of shame

and guilt caused by our sin.

So we'll jump right into it.

We'll look at verse 1 to 3

at the desperate cry.

Verses 1 to 3.

If you could follow along with me,

that'd be fantastic.

I think we have some more Bibles

at the back table.

Feel free to get up

at any point to grab one

and follow along.

Verses 1 to 3.

Before we read,

just a couple of bits here.

The psalmist here

has done wrong.

He's finding himself

in a pit of his own digging.

He has disobeyed

the lovely,

just,

and gracious law of God.

And I think it's important

first that we state this

because throughout the Psalter

and throughout the Bible,

there are instances

where God's people

find themselves

in the depths.

And sometimes

they're in the depths

and sometimes

we are in the depths

because injustice

has been done to us.

We have suffered

some kind of loss.

We are finding ourselves

in a very low,

depressive state.

Maybe a series

of unfortunate events

has befallen us

and we find ourselves

in the depths.

In this case,

by the way,

all those situations,

oftentimes,

if not all the time,

are not because

of our own doing.

This is not the case here.

The one,

the psalmist here

who is in the depths,

who is in this pit,

he is in there

because he has disobeyed

the lovely,

just,

and gracious law of God.

It's his fault.

Regardless of what he has done,

and it is not

expressly

communicated to us

what he has done,

but whatever it is

he has done,

he has sinned

first and foremost

against the Almighty,

against God himself.

And this is an important thing

for us to remember.

All sin is primarily

against the Lord,

for it is he

who has created

a good and ordered world

and everything in it,

including us,

made in his image.

This is a very essential point

for us to remember

this morning

because it helps us

to understand

that no sin is harmless,

even if it's done in secret,

even if it doesn't

necessarily affect us.

Why?

Because it is

first and foremost

against God.

And therefore,

no sin

is morally neutral.

It's never victimless.

It is a sin,

if it is sin,

then it is an offense

to the good

and gracious

triune God,

Father, Son,

and Holy Spirit,

who has created

all things

from nothing

out of love.

God has created us

for himself

out of love

so that we may

enjoy his love

and serve him

and by doing so

enjoy perfect freedom.

A beautiful line

in our prayer book,

service to you

is perfect freedom

and it is true.

Sin, then,

is to mar

and to neglect

and to manipulate

God's good

and perfect design

and thus treat him

as if he were

an afterthought

to belittle him,

to say that he is not

king on the throne,

the king of kings

and the lord of lords,

but something else.

And we don't do it

just once or twice.

It's a daily

feature of our lives.

The guilt and shame

we experience from sin

then are not simply

social reactions

to a set of

socially agreed upon

morals.

Again,

this is where we are

excellent at relativizing

our sin.

rather,

they stem from

violating the very

essence of our creation.

They go all the way

deep,

all the way to

our very bones.

Really,

what sin does

is it inverts reality.

It causes us

not to rise

to the divine

but to descend

into the depths

thinking that

in our sin

we are rising

to the top.

It inverts everything.

It makes everything

upside down.

Instead of giving glory

to God,

we spit on his name.

Our only hope

for the ongoing

law-breaking

and distortion

of this reality

that God has created

and has called it good,

that God has made it

out of nothing

is to understand

that we have dug

the very pit we're in

and our only hope

is to appeal

to God himself

for mercy.

Crying out to him

for mercy

is both the most

difficult thing

we can do

in escaping

this pit of despair

and the only way

to truly get out.

And this,

and then we'll come

to scripture here,

verses 1 and 2.

This is what we read

about in verses 1 and 2.

It says this,

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.

The psalmist here,

he is in a low spot.

The depths

throughout the Bible

are referred to

as the place

of nothingness,

the place of sheol,

the grave.

There is no life

in the depths.

And what the psalmist

here is doing

is crying,

a continuous cry.

He is pleading.

He is not

kind of

gritting his teeth

and he's somewhat

at the end of his rope

and fine,

I'll cry out to the Lord.

He is continually

crying out.

He is realizing

that his position

in life

is completely

untenable

and that he has

no hope

except if God

would intervene.

Therefore,

this cry is a humble one.

There is no escaping

the pit,

this voice

admits.

we can all

keep digging

as much as we

will,

believing somehow

we'll hit a tunnel

and tunnel our way out

but all of that

is for naught.

So what we see here

in verses 1 and 2

is a proper posture

of the heart

but it's also

a very bold

and audacious request.

Why should God

listen and show mercy

when we are

constantly sinning

first and foremost

against him?

Not just once or twice.

It's not like

I messed up

once or twice.

Okay,

you know,

overlook it

but it's just

a constant feature

of who we are.

Why should he,

perfect God,

creator of all things,

who's created

everything perfect?

Okay,

perfect

out of love.

Why should he

intervene

for us

when we are

in a pit

of our own digging

essentially

spitting at him?

The psalmist

acknowledges this

verse 3.

If you,

O Lord,

should mark

iniquities,

O Lord,

who would stand?

It's quite

the statement.

It's quite

the admission.

God,

you are perfect

and just

and holy.

I am not.

I have no right

standing before you.

You are complete

and whole.

God,

you have

never

been in

anyone's debt.

There are no

self-justifying

arguments

or excuses

that I can offer

that you haven't

somehow considered.

in your judgment.

Therefore,

God knows

all and therefore

there is no

consideration

that has

escaped him.

If we are

condemned by

our sin,

by his judgment,

there really

isn't anything

left to do

or to say,

God,

you are the

ultimate moral

authority.

There is no

higher court

of appeal

above you.

This is what

he's saying

in verse 3.

But praise

be to God

that the

implication

of verse 3

is that God

certainly does

not keep

a record

of our

iniquities.

In heaven,

there is not

a library

full of

catalogs

of every

fib we

have said,

every minute

we have stolen,

every thought

of revenge

we have

entertained,

every temptation

we have given

into.

There is no

catalog of

that,

okay?

Terabytes

of memory

couldn't hold

it all.

But God,

he doesn't

count our

iniquities.

For could we

stand?

The answer

is no.

Praise be

to God.

But it is

one thing

for God

not to mark

our iniquities

and it's

another thing

for him

to show

mercy.

Does he

merely turn

a blind eye

to our sin?

In some ways,

isn't that

how we'd

prefer it?

To have

God

leave us

be so

that we

do not

suffer the

penalty

of our

sins,

yet we

can still

be our

own people,

not his

subjects,

but we

can be

independent

rulers of

our own

kingdom.

We think

this might

be freedom,

but it's

not.

It's just

another form

of bondage.

For we

are made

by God

to serve

him.

If we

do not

serve him,

we will

serve

something else.

it's just

the reality

of it.

But anything

or anyone

that we

serve over

and above

the Lord

will not

lift us

up from

the pit,

but perpetuate

our descent.

There's

one way

out,

a million

ways down.

God will

hear our

cries,

but will

he act

on our

behalf?

It's a

very

important

question.

And this

leads us to

our second

point,

the God

who

hears.

Look with

me at

verses

3.

We'll

read

verse 3

again

and

verse 4.

If you,

O Lord,

should mark

iniquities,

O Lord,

who could

stand?

But with

you there

is forgiveness

that you

may be

feared.

God can

hear your

cry for

mercy and

will grant

you forgiveness.

Let's just

pause and

not move

forward too

quickly.

Take that

in for a

moment.

That God

who could

mark every

sin that

you've ever

done, every

thought,

ill thought

that you've

ever had,

he could

mark it

all.

He knows

it all.

He doesn't.

And it's

not just

that he

doesn't

mark it,

but instead

he offers

forgiveness

instead.

A complete

forgiveness.

There's a

bit of a

play on

words in

this psalm

that's not

obvious in

English,

but in

Hebrew it

is,

and it's

this idea

that God

does not

mark sins,

he is not

watching us

intently in

order to

catalog our

sins,

like a

watchman,

we'll see

shortly,

watches for

the dawn

to come,

but instead

it's as if

he takes

our sins

and puts

them in

the pit

we were

in as

he lifts

us out.

There's

this

incredible

exchange

that is

happening

here,

where God

doesn't

overlook our

sins alone,

he takes

our sins

from us,

and they

are lost

forever,

and we

instead

ascend

with him.

Verse 4

is the

very high

point of

this psalm.

Reformers,

like I mentioned

before,

reformers,

church fathers,

doctors of

the church,

they have

recognized

this psalm,

Psalm 130,

as the

gospel in

short,

and especially

verse 4,

but with you

there is

forgiveness

that you

may be

feared.

So God

not only

hears our

cries for

salvation,

but acts

with mercy

and love

to forgive

our sins,

and it

is an

outpouring

of his

love,

his very

nature.

So just

as the

apostle John

states that

God is

love,

we can

also say

that God

is mercy.

He is

mercy.

So here's

the thing,

forgiveness

for God,

God showing

mercy,

it's not

just a

skill that

he's

developed,

okay?

It's not

he's gone

to a

trade school

to learn

mercy,

and he has

perfected it,

he is

number one

in his

field.

It is

his very

nature,

okay?

He cannot

not show

mercy.

It's not

just that

he has

perfected

the muscle

of mercy,

and he is

excellent at

it,

because he

has really

honed his

skill.

This is

who he

is.

This is

who he

is.

It's

his very

nature.

The

original

prayer book

in the

1662

prayer book

in the

communion

service

has a

bit that

says

that

God's

very

nature

is to

show

charity.

It's to

show

charity.

This is

who he

is.

It's his

very nature.

So therefore,

our only hope

is to have

our sins

forgiven,

so that

we may

know and

live under

and enjoy

the lordship

of the

triune God,

Father,

Son,

and Holy

Spirit.

And this is

precisely what

the psalmist

is referring

to when

he says

that the

purpose of

forgiveness,

this is the

second part

of verse

four,

the purpose

of forgiveness

is so that

we may

fear God.

This isn't a

servile fear,

rather it is a

deeply relational

picture of

trust and

submission and

a love that

glorifies God

and allows us

to enjoy our

liberation and

freedom in

him from the

ongoing bondage

of our sin.

It is more

than a desire

to escape

shame and

guilt,

but a longing,

a longing for

the Lord

himself.

And we see

this actually

as we continue

on in verses

five and six.

Read with me.

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.

The psalmist

longs for

the Lord.

Notice again,

he is not

longing just to

have his sins

not counted

against himself

so that he

could be free

and clear of

guilt and shame.

He wants the

Lord.

He is looking

for him.

He is desperate

for him.

He is hungry

to know God,

to be in a

right relationship

with him.

So the

psalmist,

he longs for

the Lord,

yet it seems

here that he

does not have

him.

A forgiveness

is promised,

but it has

not yet fully

materialized.

There seems

to be a

tension in

verses 5 and

6, especially

when you consider

them coming

after verse 4.

Forgiveness is

his and yet,

which would

imply that he

is in right

relationship with

God, and yet

he waits for

the Lord.

There's this

longing, there's

this sickness,

this sickness

for the Lord.

Like he cannot

wait to see

him.

So his soul

waits for the

Lord more than

watchmen for

the morning,

more than

watchmen for

the morning.

The idea is

if it's an

ancient city,

a walled city,

darkness comes

and with

darkness comes

bandits,

comes murderers,

comes marauders.

So watchmen are

set on the walls

and there's usually

three watches.

And the last

watch,

pitch blackness,

they're waiting,

looking,

scanning,

waiting just

for the dawn

to dispel the

darkness.

Soon as the

dawn comes,

the darkness

is gone.

Okay?

He is saying,

my soul longs

for the Lord

far greater

than watchmen

long for the

dawn to dispel

the darkness.

The waiting

is not merely

for God to

forgive a sin

here or there,

but for God

to fulfill his

promise that

through the

seed of the

woman,

Genesis chapter

three,

the serpent

will be

crushed.

The promise

that the

effects of

sin will

be destroyed

once and

for all.

That sin

itself would

be eradicated,

that God

would dwell

amongst his

people,

that they

would be his

people with

him as their

God.

The longing

is for God

to fulfill

his promise

that he

would be in

relationship

with us

and us

with him.

And this

really is the

cry of the

human heart.

It is a

longing for an

ultimate promise

that was only

fulfilled in

Jesus Christ.

Jesus defeated

death, how?

Through death.

He lived,

he taught,

he performed

miracles,

and then he

journeyed up,

ascended towards

Zion to

Jerusalem to

die on a

cross for our

sins, fulfilling

God's justice

while demonstrating

his mercy.

so our sins

are forgiven

so that we

may know

him, love

him, serve

him, and

belong to

him.

We get to

enjoy the

fulfilled

promises of

Christ's

victory that

this psalmist

longed for here

in the psalm

written 500

years before

Christ came.

So what we

are reading

here in

Psalm 130

is a

psalmist

knowing that

forgiveness is

on the horizon,

but he is

waiting for it.

And here we

are on the

other side of

the cross

where we

get to

enjoy the

victory of

Jesus over

Satan, over

the grave, over

sin, if we

put our faith

and hope in

him today.

And yet,

this is still

a call to

wait.

We are still

waiting.

Not for

Jesus to

come for

the first

time, but to

come for the

second time.

We are still

waiting for the

final victory to

be realized.

The call is to

continue waiting

today.

However, we

are assured

that because

he came once

fulfilling his

promises, we

can watch for

his second

coming and

trust that he

will indeed

return as

the morning

follows the

night that

when Christ

comes, he

will dawn upon

the earth and

all darkness

will be

dispelled

forever.

No more

sin, okay?

No more

guilt, no more

shame.

We feel it

even still, yet

we look and

long for Christ

to return.

This is our

call today.

His

forgiveness, in

verse 4, gives

us confidence

that his

promises are

true so that

we can wait

with hope,

verses 5 and

6.

And remember,

this is not a

passive waiting.

waiting.

You go to the

dentist or to

the doctor, you

go to the

emergency room,

you're waiting.

That is not an

active waiting,

that is a very

difficult waiting,

especially if you're

going to

chill, okay?

Seven hours,

eight hours,

ten hours,

overnight.

No, no, this

is an active

hope, an active

waiting.

And we see this in

the final two

verses, and this

is point three,

the heart set

free, verses

seven and eight.

Read with me.

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.

The heart that

is forgiven and

hopes with full

assurance that

God's promises

are true, that

his promises are

yes and amen,

will be a heart

overjoyed by

being rescued from

a pit of

despair.

This is a

heart that is

lifted up and

set free.

This is a

heart that

doesn't continue

to tunnel deeper

into the pit

that we find

ourselves in to

somehow tunnel our

way up.

It is a heart

that looks to

Christ, calls

out to him, is

forgiven by him,

is set free by

him.

This is a

heart that is

lifted up and

set free.

And this hope

is rooted in

three key

attributes of

the Lord.

We see this in

verses seven and

eight.

Steadfast love.

This is not a

flimsy or fickle

love, but it is a

love that loves the

unlovable, loves

those that are not

worthy of loving.

It is a

sacrificial and

self-giving love,

and a love, most

importantly, that is

greater than death

itself.

We also see that

in the Lord there

is plentiful

redemption.

In the King

James Version it

says plenteous

redemption.

The idea behind it

is a redemption

far greater than

our sin and the

collective sin of

the human race.

A redemption that

cannot be thwarted,

no matter how

dark the depths of

our soul and our

sin we find

ourselves in.

And finally, the

promise that all

our sins are

forever behind us.

Why?

Because Christ has

dealt with them

completely.

And verse 3, he

does not mark our

iniquities.

This is why, and

we see this in

verse 7 and 8, this

is why evangelism,

even if it may seem

intimidating to the

boldest and most

courageous amongst

us, is always an

expression of a

redeemed heart.

And this is, I'll

just say this, and

I hope this brings

you comfort, but I

hope it also brings

you a bit of a

challenge.

As your pastor, I

will never pressure

or guilt you into

sharing your faith.

If you feel convicted

to do so through

times in God's word

or during a church

service or hearing a

sermon, I'm trusting

that's the Lord's work

in your life, but what

I will not do is I

will not guilt you or

shame you into sharing

your faith.

Because that would

defeat the whole

purpose of the essence

of evangelism.

Because what is

evangelism?

It is the joy of a

heart set free, sharing

with others how to

find liberation.

Okay?

If the message of

liberation is

proclaimed by somebody

that is weighted down

with shame and guilt

in bondage to the

guilt from their

pastor, or anybody

else for that matter,

it defeats the

purpose.

But what happens?

We understand that

we don't have to live

in shame and guilt

anymore.

Not because we have

righted the wrongs,

but because Christ

himself has.

Okay?

And we lean on him

and we trust in him

and we are set free.

And yes, it is

sometimes scary and

difficult and our

flesh takes over and

we chicken out.

But ultimately, we

share our faith.

We proclaim the

goodness of God.

We tell God's

people and those

that are yet to

become God's people,

hope in the Lord

from a place where

we have experienced

that hope.

Okay?

We are free.

We once were in a

pit, but now we are

with him.

Because Christ is

seated in the

heavenly places with

God Almighty, the

Father.

We too will go

there.

Okay?

The heavenly places

beside God Almighty

is not the pit.

Okay?

This is liberation.

This is freedom.

And this is why we

share our faith.

Because it truly is

good news.

So friends, if you

are in a pit this

morning, stop

digging.

Admit that you are

a sinner and that

your sin is even

darker than you

think and that there

is no liberation or

freedom by keeping

it in but only through

confession to God

Almighty and put

yourself at his

mercy.

And remember, he

will not count your

iniquities against you

but he offers

forgiveness so that he

may be feared.

Let's pray.

Father in heaven, we

thank you for the

gospel, the good news

of Jesus Christ.

We thank you that

your son offered up

his very life to us

out of love for us

and obedience to you.

And Lord, we ask that

you would help us by

your spirit.

May your spirit just

take that in, dwell

on it, meditate upon

it, and act upon it.

Let us not be those

that hear the gospel

and then consider it

and maybe say, hey,

that sounds good and

then go on our day.

Lord, today is the day

of salvation.

Today is the day of

restoration.

And Lord, we ask that

you would help us by

your spirit take bold

steps towards you to

cry out to you and

trust that your mercy is

for us for it is your

very nature.

Father, we pray this in

Christ's mighty name.

Amen.

Amen.