Well, it's nice to be back with you once again today and to be able to go through another
psalm. Last week, those of you who were here will remember that we looked at two psalms
last week and they were both to do with David as he was running away from Saul and how the
Lord watched over him and how his confidence was in the Lord, his God. We're just dealing
verse by verse with Psalm 130 today and you will notice that these psalms are referred
to as songs of ascent. What does that mean? Well, they were songs that were sung by the
pilgrims as they made their way up to worship in the temple. They were required by the law
to go up three times a year. Exodus 34 and verse 23 says, three times a year all your
men are to appear before the sovereign God, the God of Israel. So as they made their way
up, so they sang these psalms. And one can imagine the Lord Jesus himself on his 12th birthday
or round about that time as he went up to the first Passover, singing something like this,
I rejoice with those who said to me, let us go into the house of the Lord. There are 15
of these psalms all together, beginning in Psalm 120 and going right through to Psalm 134.
They're psalms of ascent. Of course, they come under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit.
Men wrote them as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. What they wrote were literally
breathed out by God. But they benefit us today, of course, for all scripture is God breathed and
is profitable. But it's real men speaking about their real experiences. Sometimes the psalms speak
about the sadness in their lives or sickness or problems in their family. Other times the psalms
are full of worship. Sometimes they speak of God's providential overruling. But they're all there
for our learning. So what's happening to the psalmist here? Well, the psalmist, you'll notice,
goes from the very depths to the heights. That's where he begins. Out of the depths I cry to you,
O Lord. That's his position at that particular time. But at the end of the psalm, he's on the heights.
O Israel, put your hope in the Lord. For with the Lord is unfailing love, and with him is full redemption.
He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins. The mood has changed as he's reflected upon the
goodness of God. So as we look at this psalm, if perhaps this morning we have come here feeling
in the depths for whatever reason, I trust that before we leave we'll know what it is to reach
the heights because of God speaking to us from his word. So there are four points I want to bring
to you this morning. The psalm divides itself nice and neatly for us. Each section is in two verses,
verses 1 and 2, 3 and 4, and so forth through the psalm. So let's look at verses 1 and 2 to begin
with. And you'll notice that they are a petition. Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. O Lord,
hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. Now we're not told the identity of the
psalmist on this occasion, only that he's in the depths. He's obviously hurting for some reason or
another. And out of the depths he makes his call to God. He petitions the almighty, the living God.
What's bothering him? Well it doesn't seem to be danger. It doesn't seem to be illness. But it does seem
to be a question of sin because he speaks of sins in verses 3 and 4. So he's bothered by sin.
And that would be understandable. To be bothered by one's sin. Certainly he was bothered. I remember a
young man in Waterford. He didn't live a particularly bad life. But he was conscious of his sin when he
became a Christian. Before it didn't bother him. And when asked what it meant to him to now be a
Christian. He said, now sin bothers me. And the psalmist is in that sort of position. Sin is bothering him.
And he's crying out to the almighty God for mercy. Because it's only the almighty God that can deal
deal with his problem. Of course Jesus himself spoke a parable, didn't he? We read that parable in Luke 18 and
verses 9 to 14. Remember the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector. They both go into the temple.
They are both seeking God in their own particular way. And the Pharisee, we're told, prayed thus to
himself. His prayer didn't go higher than the ceiling. But more or less he's telling God how good and how
righteous he is. He's a cutter above others in the moral realm. And he looks over at this tax collector.
This man who fraternised with the Romans. This man who was looked at them. And he said,
well I'm just not like him. I'm somehow different. But here's the tax collector who can't go near the
front. He's way at the back. And all he can do is beat himself as it were and say, God be merciful to me,
a sinner. And that's the same idea that we have with the psalmist here. The psalmist is bothered by
his sin. And he's crying out to God for mercy. Oh Lord, he says, hear my voice. Let your ears be
attentive to my cry for mercy. He's aware, you see, of the gulf that existed between him and God.
Let's remember the context of the psalm. He's going up to meet with this God in his temple. That was a
very dwelling place of God. He could possibly see the golden dome of the temple in those days, in the
distance. God dwelt there. And God was absolutely holy. And he sees himself as totally unfit to meet with
God. What can he do? Well, he can cry out for mercy. And from the depths, he addresses this God. He makes his
petition known. Just before the service started, and they say confession is good for the soul, but bad for the
reputation. And just before the service started, Rosemary said, you've got a dirty mark on your sweater.
And here am I at the front with a dirty mark on my sweater. You didn't know that, did you, until I pointed
it out? Perhaps you did. But I didn't notice it, but there was a higher authority on this occasion who was
pointing it out to me. Who was pointing it out to me. It was seen. But in all seriousness, aren't we all
before a much higher authority? We were before God himself. We might consider ourselves clean, but to his
all-seeing eye, what can we do? We can only cry out for mercy. And that's what all of us must do. Even if we're
Christians here this morning, we constantly need his mercy, we constantly need his grace.
And as we think of his petition, he not only sees the God that exists, but he must ask himself the
question, would God listen to his petition? Would this absolutely holy God show him mercy?
Would God really care about his condition? Or would God shut his ears? Was there any hope for him?
Or maybe his mind would go to another psalmist like David. Remember the depths of sin to which David sank
was in the death of her husband, O God, that he could take hope? Because that same David, in confessing his sin
and asking God for mercy, is able to say the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise. Or maybe he thought back of Israel's history and thought of various people who had known the grace of God.
Noah, who found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Jacob, that cheat and liar who held on to God until God was blessed him.
Yes, God would hear his cry for mercy. And isn't it wonderful that we do have a God who does hear our cries.
He does hear the cry of every penitent sinner. And that leads us to the second point. And that is, not only is there
a petition in this psalm, there is also pardon. Verses 3 and 4.
If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness.
Therefore you are feared. Conscious as he is of his shortcomings, he knows that he deserves to be shut out
from the presence of God forever. If you kept a record of sins. If you kept a record of sins, O Lord, who can stand?
Again, I say we don't know the writer. But here is a writer who is calling out to the judge of all the earth.
Imagine this man, if you will, in the dock. He sees his sin and he knows the record of his sins.
Imagine him in the dock. And the judge of all the earth is asking him the question,
have you loved the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind,
and with all your strength? How do you plead?
And he might say, well, I've done my best.
I've tried to live a good life. No, no, I'm not asking you that.
Have you loved the Lord your God with all your heart?
And he would have to say, no, I haven't.
And we all fail.
Because we've all sinned and come short of the glory of God.
And then the judge of all the earth would ask the second question.
Have you loved your neighbour as yourself?
Well, I've tried not to do it. No, no.
Have you loved your neighbour as yourself?
And again, he would have to plead guilty.
If you would keep a record of sins, O Lord, who can stand?
Another psalm puts it like this.
Psalm 76 and verse 7.
Who can stand before you when you are angry?
From heaven you pronounce judgment.
And the land feared and was quiet.
You see, sin is serious.
And sin has to be dealt with.
God is not a benign being up there in the sky
who teaches, looks down upon us as a father might his child
and spoil that child and become indulgent with that child.
No, God isn't like that.
He must punish sin.
Because he's holy.
And we see his holiness again and again brought before us in Scripture.
If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, who could stand?
But with you is forgiveness.
Therefore you are feared.
Again, remember the context of the psalm.
Here is the psalmist.
He's going up to Jerusalem to meet with God.
Why is he going up?
Well, it was a time of sacrifice.
That's the reason they went up to the temple
to offer sacrifices to God.
So the man would not be going up to the temple empty-handed.
As he ascended to the temple,
he might be bringing a lamb with him.
If he was a more wealthy farmer,
he would be bringing a bullock.
If it were a poor person,
they would have money in their pocket,
ready to buy a few turtle doves
in order to sacrifice them.
Perhaps it was the time of Passover
when they were going up.
What would happen at Passover?
Well, a lamb would be sacrificed
and they would remember God's deliverance
out of Egypt
and remember how the children of Israel
had sheltered under the blood of the lamb.
The lamb had died
in the place of the firstborn.
But where there was no blood,
the judgment of God came
upon those particular houses.
So the man going up
would know that there was forgiveness
because he could go up with a sacrifice.
And the man of faith,
if he was bringing his bullock,
would come to the temple
and he would present this bullock
and he would bring it before the priest
and he would take hold of the head of the bullock
and he would say,
Yes, Lord,
I have failed to love you
with all my heart,
with all my soul
and with all my strength
and I know I haven't loved my neighbour
as I have myself.
I know I have done wrong
and offended you
and as he laid his hands upon the bullock,
so his sins would pass
to that sacrificial animal
and the animal would die
in the man's place.
So the man going up to worship
would know that there was pardon for him.
He would know that there was forgiveness
if he offered that animal in faith.
And the man who offered that animal in faith
would also be looking forward
to one who was promised.
Because right through the Old Testament
we have this pointing forward
to the Lord Jesus Christ.
And as we think of him,
isn't that exactly what we do?
Our sins are laid upon him
that the judgment of God
might not come upon us.
with you there is forgiveness
therefore you are feared.
It should produce in all of us
a sense of awe
that God has loved us so much
that he sent his son
into the world for us.
That Christ came into the world
to be our Passover,
to be our perfect sacrifice,
to be our once and for all sacrifice.
And pardon is obtained
for each one of us
who put our trust
in the Lord Jesus Christ.
So the pilgrim makes his way up
as he sings this song of ascent.
He's conscious of his sin.
He's conscious of his faults and failures.
But he's conscious also
that there's pardon
that can be obtained.
Let's move on to the third point
in verses 5 and 6.
I wait for the Lord, he says.
My soul waits
and in his word I put my hope.
My soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning.
More than watchmen wait for the morning.
What's happening here?
He's patiently waiting for God.
They use the word patience
in the sense of hope,
in the sense of confidence.
Psalm 40 says,
I waited patiently for the Lord
and he listened to me.
Those who wait on the Lord,
we're told in Isaiah 40 and verse 31,
or those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
So the psalmist makes his way
to the temple,
conscious of his sin,
conscious of the fact
that God is ready to pardon,
conscious of the fact
that his only hope
is the Lord himself.
I wait for the Lord.
My soul waits for him
and in his word
I hope.
There's an anticipation here,
isn't there?
There's a longing.
He's going up
and he can't wait
to be in the presence
of his Lord.
He's pinning everything
upon his God.
There is, if you like,
the patience of faith,
the patience of hope.
As he takes his sacrifice,
as he offers it,
he's looking forward
to being able to do that.
He has to wait
because he's not at the temple yet,
but he's getting near
and his hope is in God
who will pardon his sin.
And notice there's nothing uncertain
about his waiting.
In his word he says,
I put my hope.
The pilgrim, you see,
knows that God doesn't lie.
That God is absolutely trustworthy.
That the promises of God
can be depended upon.
Wasn't the temple,
the dwelling place of God
in those times,
didn't God come down
among his people
and meet with them there?
Didn't God say
that he could be approached there?
Yes, all of these things
were said
and so much more.
So the psalmist comes
to offer his sacrifice
with utter confidence
in God.
He traveled along
difficult and dusty roads,
sometimes a week's journey
in order to be there.
But he came with the word of God
ringing in his ear.
That if he sinned
and if he failed,
God would be ready to forgive.
You see,
when the temple was erected,
God had spoken
to King Solomon
in 2 Chronicles 7 and verse 14.
If my people
who are called by my name
will humble themselves
and pray
and seek my face
and turn from their wicked ways,
then I will hear from heaven
and will forgive their sin
and heal their land.
I will wipe the cellmate clean.
In his word,
do I hope,
said the psalmist,
God's promises
will be kept.
And notice how his whole being
is taken up
with his waiting.
He describes himself
just like the watchman.
And notice how
he repeats himself
in verse 6.
That's not a mistake.
It isn't like
going to sleep
at the computer
with your,
you know,
your finger
on the A
and you get a whole long of A's.
You know,
perhaps you've never done that.
You know,
I have.
But it's,
you know,
it happens.
But he hasn't made a mistake.
He knew what he was doing.
He wanted to emphasize
the fact,
I wait for you
as watchman,
he says,
wait for the morning.
Yes,
just like that,
more than watchman
wait for the morning.
Now,
I've never been on guard
all night long.
I've never been in that position.
But I can imagine
what it must be like
for the century.
He can't wait
for the morning lights.
He's been up
through the night.
There are dangers
to watch out for.
How does he stay awake?
Because most of the time,
nothing will happen.
But there is that occasion
when something
will happen.
So he has to be alert.
He has to be watching.
Now,
said the psalmist,
I'm just like that century
as he's looking for,
I'm longing.
And I'm longing
after God.
As a century
watches for the morning,
I'm more than that,
he says.
Because he wants to
meet with his God.
And he's waiting
with his patient confidence.
Trusting in his word.
Looking forward
to meet with his Lord.
And shouldn't this
be the longing
of each forgiven sinner?
We're not looking,
of course,
for Jerusalem.
We don't have to go
on a pilgrimage.
We don't have to come
to any temple.
But we do have to come
to God through that
once and for all
sacrifice.
Even our Lord
and Saviour,
Jesus Christ.
If we would come
before God,
we cannot come
in our own righteousness.
Because our own righteousness
is just like dirty rags.
But we come
with the righteousness
of another.
Even the righteousness
of our Lord
and Saviour.
And by him
we have access
into God's
holy presence.
Because doesn't
the promise
come to us
that the blood
of Christ
cleanses us
from all sin.
That there is
one who is faithful
and just
to forgive us
our sins
and to cleanse us
from all
unrighteousness.
So from the depths
he comes with
his sacrifice.
He's waiting
before his God.
And finally
there is this
proclamation.
O Israel,
he says,
put your hope
in the Lord
for with the Lord
is unfailing love
and with him
is full redemption.
He himself
will redeem Israel
from all
their sins.
From the depths
his petition
the promise
of pardon.
Patiently
he waits.
But he's now
no longer
in the depths
is he?
He's risen
to the heights
and he longs
that others
might join him
there.
And his proclamation
is an appeal
to his fellow citizens.
He can't be quiet.
He sees the wonder
of God's forgiveness.
The wonder
of God's salvation.
And he says,
now put your hope
in the Lord.
What Lord?
Well he tells us
the Lord
of unfailing love.
He looks back
into the past.
And he thinks
of Abraham
and how God
took him
from a life
of idolatry.
He thinks
of Joseph
who was sent
ahead of the
children of Israel
so that they
might not die
of starvation
in the land
of Egypt
where they went
to live.
He thinks
of Moses
and that deliverance
out of Egypt.
He thinks
of the judges
perhaps that God
raised up.
there were no
shortage of
examples
of God's
love
to his
people.
And you and I
have so much
more to go on.
God
so loved
the world
that he gave
his only begotten
son
that whoever
believes in him
should not perish
but have
everlasting life.
In Christ
we have
life.
In Christ
we have
hope.
In Christ
we have
a victory
that the
world
cannot give
and a peace
that the
world
cannot give.
Put your
hope
in the
Lord
of
unfailing
love.
Rise
from the
depths
of sin
to the
heights
of blessing.
Is his
love
unfailing?
Well
didn't he
think of us
from before
the foundation
of the world?
In eternity
God
put upon us
in love.
Will he not
take us
into eternity
with that
same love?
Put your
hope
in the
Lord
of unfailing
love
he says
for in him
is full
redemption.
He himself
will redeem
Israel
from
some of
their sins
most of
their sins
no he
doesn't say
that.
He himself
will redeem
Israel
from
all
their sins.
How is he
going to
do it?
Well
through
himself.
He
himself
will redeem
Israel
from
their sins.
He would
send his
son
into
the world
the perfect
sacrifice
and the
psalmist
ends that
by pointing
us
forward
to the
one who
would
purchase
us
with his
own
precious
blood.
So the
psalmist
shouts
it out
put
your
hope
in the
Lord.
Let us
go with
that
note
ringing
in our
ears.
And as we
share the
bread together
and drink
the cup
once again
we put
our hope
in the
Lord
who has
loved us
with an
everlasting
love.
From the
depths
to the
heights.
Amen.
from the
Boys
to the
icos
sometimes
hurt
a
day
Arizona
writes
on
parking
over
amps
кноп
час
lines
the