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,
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,
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,
verses 6 through 11.
Y'all turn with me there.
Romans 5.
Romans 5,
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
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.
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
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
fail
to
see
how
you
can
be
safe
but
as
long
as
you
look
to
this
high
priest
you
will
fail
to
see
how
you
can
be
in
danger
looking
inside
ourselves
we
can
anticipate
only
harshness
from
heaven
looking
out
to
Christ
we
can
anticipate
only
gentleness
with
our
Lord
there
is
steadfast
love
and
plentiful
redemption
for
all
who
trust
in
him
let's
read
our
psalm
one
more
time
in
closing
and
then
we'll
pray
out
of the
depths
I
cry
to
you
oh
Lord
oh
Lord
hear
my
voice
let
your
ears
be
attentive
to
the
voice
of
my
pleas
for
mercy
if
you
oh
Lord
should
mark
iniquities
oh
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
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
let's
pray