Lord, Have Mercy

[0:00] The following sermon is made available by Lakeside Bible Church in Cornelius, North Carolina.

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[0:39] Well, as we study through the Psalms, you'll notice that most of them have these titles that provide instructions for worship, but also vital information relating to the authorship and context of the writing.

[0:57] These superscriptions, as they're called, are proven to be very helpful in guiding our understanding of a particular passage and also in understanding the applications that they have for worship, not just in ancient worship in Israel, but also for our worship today.

[1:15] But these titles are not merely marginal notes that have been provided by scholars. Though not given a verse number, the titles of these Psalms that we see very often, we believe to be inspired scripture, and we must consider them as profitable.

[1:37] And so as we come to the Psalms and as we study them together, it's important that we give attention to that. They're not there by chance. God has given them to us for a reason. And giving attention to the title of Psalm 51 is what actually alerts us to the fact that it's directly tied to David's sin with Bathsheba and the subsequent visit that the prophet Nathan had in confronting that sin.

[2:03] We spent the last few weeks, well, not the last two weeks, my dad and Tate was with us, but we spent the three Sundays before that jumping into 2 Samuel 11 and 12. And you'll remember, you may recall there how we trace David's sin throughout chapter 11.

[2:18] Not only was he not where he should have been on the battlefield, but he had lusted after his friend's wife. He had called for her. He had sinned with her. He had ended up murdering his friend Uriah, one of the generals of his army.

[2:34] And then we see just this great tragedy of sin that was evident in King David's life. He thought he had gotten by with it, that he had successfully covered it all up. And then when you get to chapter 12, God sends Nathan.

[2:49] It wasn't Nathan's idea. It was God. God sends Nathan to David. And Nathan confronts David in his sin. And God uses this as an opportunity to draw David to repentance so that he could pour out his mercy.

[3:06] What we learn from chapter 12 is the amazing pursuit of God's grace. God sends his word. And as the word is delivered, God does a work on the heart of the person that hears the word.

[3:17] And as God does that work, he leads us to repentance and confession. And we see that in the life of David. The writer of 2 Samuel simply states that David did indeed confess and repent of his sin.

[3:33] But he only gives us a short phrase. He says that David looked at Nathan and said, I have sinned against the Lord. And indeed, he had sinned against the Lord. What Psalm 51 tells us is the substance of what that confession actually was.

[3:48] And it's the title that lets us know that. So as we study the Bible, we understand that David did indeed sin. But what this tells us is that, or that David did indeed confess. But what this tells us is that that confession wasn't a flippant confession.

[4:02] As Nathan comes to David and he says, I have sinned against the Lord. It wasn't a, okay, get off my back, Nathan. I'm tired of hearing about this, Nathan. Okay, I've sinned against the Lord. It wasn't flippant at all.

[4:12] When we come to Psalm 51 and we realize that this was actually the confession that David made that day, we see that this was not a ritualistic routine on his part.

[4:24] This was emotional on David's part. It was sincere. And what we end up learning now as we look back is we see a great pattern for how we are to approach confession and repentance in our life.

[4:37] We learn great truths of the doctrines of sin and of salvation in this Psalm. And simply giving heed to that title helps us with that. But we're going to stick to these first five verses.

[4:49] Let me just give you a couple of perspectives to consider as we study it together today. The title here in Psalm 51 not only reveals that it is David who has authored it, and it doesn't only tell us the context of it being his adulterous affair, but it gives us a clue as to its purpose in the Bible.

[5:09] Why is this here? Why has God given us this passage to study? And there's two perspectives that are helpful for us to know. The first purpose is personal confession.

[5:20] Personal confession. Clearly, this Psalm records the passionate plea of an individual that is seeking for God's mercy. Nothing about the language in this Psalm is flippant.

[5:33] Someone who is careless about their walk with God does not write words like this, does not pray prayers like this. This is raw emotion.

[5:45] And it's somebody that has been broken over the realization of their sin against God. So we most view it in those terms. This is a real man that really prayed this prayer.

[5:57] It may not have been verbatim. It's clearly been edited for corporate worship on David's part. But the substance of his confession is contained within Psalm 51 first. So we look at it as we study and we see there is a need for me to view my sin the way David has viewed his sin.

[6:14] There is a need for me to confess my sin the way that David has confessed his sin. There is a need for me personally as an individual to seek the mercy of God the way that David sought the mercy of God.

[6:25] And so we see personal confession. This is a real confession by a real man at a real time who was really broken over his sin. And then we see the corporate instruction. There's a note at the top of the title that gives us the second perspective.

[6:42] It's the very first phrase, to the chief musician. There was an intention on David's part. Sometime after he prayed this prayer, being led by the Holy Spirit, he writes it down.

[6:55] And he organizes it in a way that it can be used in corporate worship of the nation. There's a few reasons for that. One is because of the mercy he had received, he wanted others to understand the mercy that God provides.

[7:10] He didn't care about hiding his sin anymore. David clearly was aware that the nation was going to know what he had done. But he wasn't interested in hiding sin. He was interested in sharing forth the praises of God's mercy.

[7:23] And so he writes this. And then he organizes it in a way that is easy to understand and memorize and be used in congregational singing or chanting, however they would have used this psalm in corporate worship.

[7:33] And he instructs the nation on the reality of sin, on the reality of God's grace, and of the reality of God's mercy. And so then it becomes corporate in its nature.

[7:45] It applies to the nation. It applies to the church. It should grab our attention as it reveals the seriousness of regular repentance in the life of a true worshiper of God.

[7:58] This is a regular occurrence, not only in the life of an individual believer, but in the life of the church. So let's jump in and study a little bit about David's appeal for God's mercy.

[8:10] Let's read these first five verses again. David says, It says, The passionate spirit of this prayer is initially revealed in David's opening line.

[8:59] Have mercy on me, O God. We're immediately ushered into this courtroom scene. Where God is the holy, perfect judge presiding over the case of David's sinful actions.

[9:14] And on the realization of his sin and the depth of that sin, we see David now casting himself before the judge, falling before him, begging, pleading for mercy.

[9:26] Have mercy on me, O God. He provides no defense for his action. No explanations or excuses are given that might provoke a less severe penalty on the part of the judge.

[9:42] He simply appeals to God to look on him with pity and provide him with the mercy that he already knows he does not deserve, nor can he possibly earn.

[9:53] He understands in this moment, the only thing I can do is plead for mercy. And so he opens up in this opening phrase, Have mercy on me, O God.

[10:05] The phrase itself is a fitting summary for what is true confession. It's six simple words that contain enough in them for us to understand everything that's happening here.

[10:16] Have mercy, O God. But in these first few verses, David's appeal fleshes out for us everything we need to know about true confession and the receipt of God's abundant mercy.

[10:33] And to help our understanding, I want to take a unique approach to these verses. I want to approach this exposition backwards, okay? We're going to work our way starting at verses 3 through 5 all the way back to verse 1 as we study it this morning.

[10:46] Let's first look at the basis of his appeal. The basis of his appeal in verses 3 through 5. Because the word of God had been delivered through God's messenger, Nathan, David had come face to face with the reality of his own sin.

[11:05] In fact, this is one of the purposes of the Bible. One of the purposes as we come to study the Bible is that the Bible will reveal our sin.

[11:17] Paul wrote to the Galatian church that the law is like a schoolmaster. It only reveals our sin. It cannot save us. It reveals our sinfulness in order that it might point us to a Savior, Jesus Christ.

[11:28] But when we come to the Scriptures, we understand one of its purposes is to expose us. Everything that we try so hard to hide and to veil the purpose of the Scripture is to expose in order that we might truly see our sin for what it is.

[11:43] But one of the great tragedies of the contemporary church is that it has forsaken the regular exposition of the Bible in order to avoid such confrontations with sin.

[11:54] But the gospel is useless if it does not first confront our sinful condition. And a good test for faithfulness in any given church is to ask this question.

[12:08] Does the church prioritize the regular preaching of the Bible and make room for confession? Or is repentance more often replaced by motivational self-help sessions and talks?

[12:28] The reason that David was crying out for God's mercy is because he had finally realized and recognized the true nature of his own wickedness. But that was only revealed to him because God had done a work through the Scriptures.

[12:43] God had revealed through his Word and the prophet Nathan exactly what David's condition was. And upon coming face to face with the reality of God's Word, he realizes his sin and he makes an appeal.

[12:56] And the basis of his appeal is, I have sinned against you, God. Have mercy. Look what he says in verse 3. I acknowledge my transgressions.

[13:08] My sin is ever before me, he says. Most often our issue is not with recognizing the fact that God is merciful, but we too often refuse to acknowledge our own need for that mercy.

[13:24] Instead of acknowledging our own transgressions, we typically make excuses for why the things we have done aren't really that bad or why they're not wrong.

[13:37] At the very least, we're guilty of diminishing the gravity of our sin by constantly rationalizing why it's not as bad as somebody else we know or why it's not as bad as this person in the church.

[13:49] And it seems like things are still okay with him. We're constantly rationalizing why we don't need God's mercy, even though we would be happy to recognize the fact that God is merciful. Rather than coming to terms with our innate badness, we spend our time trying to convince ourselves of an innate goodness that doesn't actually exist.

[14:12] Therefore, many of us never make true confession because we never feel there's anything for which we must confess. But true confession begins with a basic acknowledgement of sin and guilt.

[14:27] After being confronted by the Word of God, David says, I acknowledge my transgression. I have sinned against the Lord. My guilt, my wrongdoing is always before me.

[14:38] Now I can't get it off my mind. Now that I have seen it in God's Word and the Holy Spirit is at work, he could not rid himself of this guilt until he came to the Lord for the mercy that he so desperately needed.

[14:50] He says, I acknowledge my transgression. That's where true confession begins. Realizing that you actually need to make the confession to begin with. Then look what he says in verse 4. Against thee, the only, have I sinned, that you, God, may be justified in your judgment.

[15:10] He takes it a step further now. He's not actually just recognizing that he has sinned, but he's making note of why his sinful actions are indeed sinful and that he did actually merit judgment from the Lord.

[15:28] David had not merely sinned against Bathsheba, and the purpose of this verse is not to diminish what he had done to her. It's not to diminish what he had done to Uriah.

[15:38] It's not to diminish what he had done with Joab and making him complicit in everything that was taking place. It's not to diminish all the people that David wronged. It is to acknowledge that any sin that we commit is not actually a sin against others.

[15:51] It's a sin against God. That's the very definition of sin. Sin is anything that goes against God and his word. What's one of the reasons we study the Bible? So that we can see what sin truly is.

[16:03] Its very definition is what goes against the Lord. And it's the fact that his sin was against God that made his judgment not only necessary, but completely just.

[16:18] Sinning against another imperfect human is not nearly as significant as violating the perfect law of the holy God. And if I'm going to be judged by another man's standard, then there's a lesser sentence that certainly could be argued.

[16:32] But when the standard is God's perfection, when it is his holy nature against which I have sinned, there is nothing that I deserve other than his wrath and his judgment.

[16:44] The point that David is making here is that God is completely just in judging the sins of man in whatever way he sees fit to do that.

[16:55] He's perfect. He's holy. He's holy. He's holy. And true confession doesn't say, God, you gave that person mercy.

[17:06] Therefore, you should give me mercy. That's not true confession. True confession is not, look at all that I have done, Lord, to make up for it. I know that I messed up and I sinned against you, but look at everything that I've done to make up for that.

[17:20] Look at all the church attendance. Look at all the giving. Look at all the involvement with community efforts. Look at all the things that I have done, Lord, to make up for this thing that I did really bad against you. No, that's not true confession.

[17:33] True confession is when we come to the Lord, say, God, you are holy and perfect, and I have sinned against you alone. You are just in judging my sin, but if you would, please give me mercy.

[17:50] There's no merit to mercy. We appeal to the judge. David understood that. He acknowledges his sin. He says it's against the Lord. He's just in judging his sin, and then he says in verse five, I was brought forth in iniquity.

[18:06] In sin did my mother conceive me. Here, David goes another step further, and he recognizes the true depth of his sin.

[18:18] This statement was not to disparage his mother. He was not the product of an adulterous relationship. David's parents, as we understand the Bible, were chaste and righteous.

[18:29] That's not what he means. What David is acknowledging here is that his sin was not a matter of recent action. His sin was a matter of his very nature.

[18:42] In other words, his nature from conception, not even from birth, from conception, which tells us a lot about how God views life, by the way, but his very nature from conception was bent towards sin, and that even then, he deserved the judgment of God.

[19:02] That's not a doctrine that is very easily accepted today. You are not a sinner today because you sin.

[19:16] You sin today because you are by nature a sinner. It is who you are. It is who I am.

[19:28] David recognized that, and a part of this confession and recognizing his own sinfulness was not, he wasn't coming to the Lord and saying, Lord, give me mercy for what I did to Bathsheba. He's now coming to the Lord, and he's saying, Lord, give me mercy because within me, there is nothing good.

[19:42] Within me is only rebellion. From conception, Lord, I have been in iniquity and in sin. From conception, I desperately need your mercy.

[19:57] Because of the disobedience of the first man, Adam, every human sense has inherited his sinful nature and is in desperate need of God's mercy.

[20:08] It doesn't matter what age you are. Kids today, you need God's mercy. Ashlyn, you need God's mercy.

[20:22] The rest of us may look at you and say, you're only eight years old. You're innocent by our standards. Everything seems okay, but the Bible says that even from conception, at the moment that God gave you life, you are in need of his mercy and his grace.

[20:35] That's all of us. Every one of us, from the time that God gave us life, not only needed to be redeemed from an action we committed, we needed to be redeemed from the very nature of our sin that we have inherited from Adam.

[20:48] We are in desperate need of God. Every one of us are in a position. You say, I've never committed adultery. I've never murdered somebody. My life has been pretty good. But your nature is not.

[21:01] And it's your nature that needs to be redeemed by God. It's your nature that he desires for you to acknowledge in sinfulness. And it's because of this nature that we can agree with the Bible when it says that every single person has sinned against God.

[21:17] Romans chapter three, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Psalm 130 and verse three, if you, oh Lord, should mark iniquities, oh Lord, who could stand?

[21:31] It's a rhetorical question. The answer is no one, no one could stand. Second Chronicles six, Solomon in his, in his prayer at the dedication of the temple says, there is no one who does not sin.

[21:46] Why? Surely there would be someone who would come along the way in thousands of years that could finally get a handle on this, but there's no human that can, because we are all by our very nature bent toward rebellion against God.

[22:01] We don't, we're not sinners because we sin. We sin because we are by nature sinners. Spurge and sin. In our shaping, we were put out of shape.

[22:13] And when we were conceived, our nature conceived sin. He says, alas for poor humanity. Those who will may cry it up, but he is most blessed, who in his own soul has learned to lament its lost estate.

[22:30] It's important here in this confession. Our cry of confession is not merely about actions committed, but about the true nature of our hearts.

[22:41] Our culture does everything that it can to believe that inside of each person is a basic goodness. But the Bible teaches us that inside of each one is an innate wickedness that is set on rebellion against God.

[22:54] And it is only upon the realization that a person can truly cast himself wholly on God's mercy and cry out with David, Lord, Lord, have mercy on me.

[23:07] Have mercy. Our need for mercy is not about the severity of our sin. It's about the depravity of our heart.

[23:18] And that's what God desires to redeem in you, is your whole being, your whole nature. And he will do that if you will, but cast yourself wholly on his mercy through Jesus.

[23:35] So then true confession is not merely about admitting wrongdoing or experiencing feelings of regret. Think about 2 Samuel 11.

[23:49] Everything that David did beyond that initial sin in 2 Samuel 11 was because he realized he had done wrong. The whole reason he's hiding his sin is because he knew it was wrong and he regretted that he did it because now he's going to have to clean up the mess.

[24:04] And he was in danger of losing his reputation, possibly his life. But there was no confession in 2 Samuel 11.

[24:16] So confession is not merely saying, I did this and I regret it. It involves coming to terms with God about your sin against him, acknowledging his righteous judgment and pleading for his mercy to be applied to your life.

[24:31] It's a humbling act, genuine contrition, which is why so many of us fight so hard against it. It's hard to be humbled. It's not uncommon either for unbelievers to be involved with repentance.

[24:46] Repentance, by its basic definition, is just turning away from something. But that doesn't mean because I've decided to make a change in my lifestyle that I've brought into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.

[24:58] No. True confession and repentance is different than that. Confession acknowledges our sin against God. It acknowledges our just warrant for judgment.

[25:11] Repentance turns away from that sin in order to specifically turn to Jesus Christ. It's not about saying, I'm turning away from all these bad habits and I'm gonna turn to good ones. No, that's not what Christianity is.

[25:23] That's not what salvation is. It's not saying, I'm tired of this alcohol, I'm tired of the way that it's consumed my life, so I'm gonna put that away and I'm gonna live sober. That's a form of repentance, but it's not saving repentance.

[25:35] Repentance is saying, in me is nothing good. I am wicked and I am turning away from me and anything I feel like I can offer and I am turning specifically to Jesus Christ and the sacrifice that he has paid for me.

[25:48] I am casting myself wholly on the mercy of God. Lord, have mercy on me. Well, that's a lot of time on the basis of his appeal.

[25:59] Let's quickly move to the goal of his appeal in verse number two. David says, wash me thoroughly from my iniquity. Cleanse me from my sin.

[26:11] Once we've understood the basis which David made his appeal, it was his own sinfulness, we can begin to now understand exactly what he's asking for. Because he recognized his sinful nature to be his problem, he cries for the Lord to wash him thoroughly.

[26:28] And he makes the appeal for the Lord to do this cleansing because David knew he couldn't do it himself. He would be unsatisfied with external reform.

[26:42] He needed a complete change of heart, a renewal of mind in order to be right with God. So his appeal was not for God to look the other way and give him a pass.

[26:55] His appeal was, Lord, do whatever you have to do to clean me up and don't just clean up the outside. Clean up the inside. Change me, God, he says.

[27:08] Significant to this verse is what he doesn't request. He never asked God to remove the consequences of his sin, though I'm sure he was grateful if that were to take place.

[27:19] That's not what he asked for. He didn't ask for God to give him another chance. He wanted to be completely clean. His desire was to be right with God, to be brought back to fellowship, relationship with God.

[27:36] Spurgeon is again helpful here. It's not the punishment he cried against, he says, but the sin. Many a murderer is more alarmed at the gallows than at the murder which brought him to it.

[27:49] The thief loves the plunder, though he fears the prison. But not so, David, Spurgeon writes. He is sick of sin as sin. His loudest outcries are against the evil of his transgression and not against the painful consequences of it.

[28:05] No matter how hard you try, you can't change your own nature. That's the problem. We can change our behavior. We can't change our nature. We need God to do that.

[28:16] So after realizing his own nature, David says, God, wash me. Wash me from the inside out. And then finally, we see the object of his appeal.

[28:27] The object of his appeal. Look at verse one. Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy loving kindness. According unto the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.

[28:43] You remember being caught in disobedience by your parents as a kid and having to face the wrath of your parents?

[28:56] Any of you ever have the experience? I didn't have this very often. My parents weren't this kind to even give me a say in it. But maybe you had this experience that can be common where a parent, in a moment of frustration, explains this is what your punishment will be.

[29:10] Give me one reason why I shouldn't do this to you right now. You're familiar with that, right? That's a rhetorical question if you didn't realize it as a kid. They're not actually looking for an answer from you on that.

[29:22] So kids, if your parents ever ask you that, Clementine, just know they're not really looking for an answer. They just want you to listen in that moment. If you did give an appeal, it was probably something like this.

[29:35] I know, I know, I know. But I cleaned my room today. Can I get some credit for that? Right? And we'll maybe find some other things that we did, right? Or I helped take out the trash today. I know that I punched my sister in the face, but I helped clean the dishes.

[29:48] Is there some balance in here? Is there some give and take? And we may make an appeal based on some of the other good things that we did as a kid, right? That's how our minds work, right? By nature, that's how our minds work. Perhaps it wasn't so much about making an appeal to other goodness because maybe you didn't have a lot of other goodness to appeal to.

[30:06] Maybe it was just a promise. I know, I know, I know. I messed up, but I promise I'll never do it again. I will never do it again. How many of us made a hundred of those promises a week probably as kids?

[30:18] It's interesting. David doesn't make his appeal that way. I wonder how many of us as kids ever when our parents said, give me one reason why I shouldn't wring your neck as my mom would say.

[30:29] I don't even know what that means. I think it has something to do with the chicken, but I don't know for sure. It sounded rough, but I didn't want to deal with it. Give me one reason. I wonder how many of us would have ever said, I know I messed up and I deserve whatever punishment you want to give, but I know that you're a dad that is full of love and compassion.

[30:56] would you just give me mercy today? I know I never said anything like that. That's exactly what David does.

[31:10] God initiates this conversation. 2 Samuel 12, God sends Nathan and he sends Nathan not with Nathan's word, he sends him with his own word. It's his own message.

[31:21] God initiates the conversation. He says, why in the world have you done this? You're going to have to face the penalty of this, David, he says. And what's the response in David's appeal?

[31:34] It's not, but look at all the awesome things I did. Look, I've been prepared all this furniture for a temple for you to have here in Jerusalem. That wouldn't have been good enough. Look at all the battles that I fought.

[31:45] Look at all the times that I have led the nation to worship you, God. Nope, that wouldn't be enough. He couldn't appeal to any good that he had. He's already acknowledged that in him is nothing good.

[31:57] He couldn't just make a promise that he'd never do it again because he's talking to the omniscient all-knowing God who knows that if he was left in his nature, he would do it all over again just like we would.

[32:09] He couldn't make promises. He couldn't appeal to goodness. What does he appeal to? The character of God. The character of God. And what is that character?

[32:20] Mercy. Mercy. The object of his appeal was not what he felt he deserved but what he knew to be true of his God. And that's what's awesome about this confession.

[32:33] It's hard to wade through the waters of our own sinfulness. It's hard to come to terms with the fact of our own nature. It's hard to be exposed in the way that the Bible exposes us. But once we get through that exposing that the Bible brings, we begin to see the loving, mercy, grace, eternal kindness of our God which is why he exposes our sin to begin with because he wants to bring us to repentance.

[32:57] So David understands that. He says, according to thy loving kindness, according to the multitude of thy compassions, Lord, have mercy on me. It's the wonderful truth of all the Bible.

[33:11] We deserve nothing but death and hell. But God is rich in mercy. And anyone who will come to him in true confession and repentance, Jesus said, I will not cast away.

[33:27] I will not cast away. Ephesians chapter two, but God being rich in mercy because of his great love with which he has loved us, even when we were spiritually dead dead in our trespasses, he gave us life together with Christ for by grace you have been saved, Paul writes.

[33:49] That's the extent of God's love and mercy for you is that he exposes your sin in order that he might make you alive with Christ. It's by his grace you can be saved, nothing of your own.

[34:04] Psalm 103 is so helpful here as a form of praise. The psalmist writes, the Lord is merciful and gracious. He's slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

[34:16] He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him.

[34:34] As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.

[34:48] And the ultimate demonstration of God's love and mercy was shown in the incarnation and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God's son.

[35:00] It's the same compassion that David appealed to in Psalm 51. That is seen in Jesus laying down his life for the sins of man. In fact, tender mercies in verse 1 is akin to the New Testament phrase of being moved with compassion.

[35:18] What is it that this compassion of Jesus led him to do? Pour out the mercy of God by taking the punishment of sin on our behalf?

[35:30] How wonderful of a God is that? 1 Timothy 1.15, we read it last week. This saying is trustworthy.

[35:41] It's deserving of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to condemn sinners. No, that's not what it says. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

[35:53] That's his heart. Redemption. Isaiah 53. He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities.

[36:06] Upon him was the chastisement of us all that brought peace. And with his wounds, we are healed. And then in conclusion, we see this last phrase.

[36:17] In verse number 1, David says, have mercy, blot out my transgressions. According to your mercy that I know you have, God, blot out my transgressions. And this is exactly what Jesus does for every person that will repent and follow him.

[36:38] I like how Paul said it to the Colossian church. He says, and you who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven all your trespasses.

[36:55] And here's how he did it, Paul says. By blotting out the record of debt that stood against you with its legal demands. And he set them aside, nailing them to his cross.

[37:10] The parchment that they would have used when Paul wrote that on that day, the ink didn't have the acidity that our ink has. It wouldn't have stayed in the paper long. So they could have easily taken a wipe and they could have wiped off the ink that they had written before.

[37:24] So if they're collecting debts from someone, whenever a debt is paid, they could literally take a rag and they could wipe the debt away from that parchment. And Paul is saying, just like a debt would be wiped away once it's paid in full, when we look to Christ.

[37:39] He has paid it in full. And so when we come to Christ in faith, we look at the parchment that has the record of our debt, all the things we've done, all the nature of sin that we have.

[37:49] And when we come to faith in Christ, Christ takes the rag and he wipes away, he blots out the transgression. That's what David is praying for, blot out my transgression.

[38:00] Why is he asking God to do that? Because only God can do that. Only God can do that. Some people may look at this passage and say, what a hateful God.

[38:11] What a hateful God to draw somebody, to humble them so much, to draw them to a point where they were so desperate in this moment, but they're missing the point. The point of this passage is the mercy of God.

[38:23] It's the mercy of God. And he is good. Spurgeon, again, I know I've quoted him a lot, but he's just good on the Psalms. This wasn't a part of a Psalm, it's just a statement that he's known for making.

[38:38] He said, I have a great need for Christ and I have a great Christ for my need. And so do you. You have a great need for Christ, but there is a great Christ for your need and he will need it if you will just call out to him today.

[38:58] The good news of the gospel begins with the worst news, that we are hopelessly lost in our sinful state. And it's upon the realization of this truth that we come to see that we too have a great need for Christ.

[39:14] And once we understand our need, we're ready to understand what the good news of the gospel is, that we have a great Christ that is willing to meet that need.

[39:26] but salvation only comes to those who will, like David, cast themselves wholly on the mercy of God through Jesus Christ.

[39:39] If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, Romans 10 says, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

[39:52] It's an assurance. You will be saved. Thank you for listening to this sermon made available by Lakeside Bible Church. Feel free to share it wherever you'd like. Please do not charge for it or alter it in any way without express written consent from Lakeside Bible Church.

[40:08] Don't forget to visit us online at lakesidebible.church or find us on Facebook and Instagram by searching for Lakeside Bible NC. If you live in the Charlotte or Lake Norman area, we'd love for you to attend one of our worship services.

[40:21] We meet every Sunday morning at 10 a.m. We'd love to meet you.