Word of Salvation – Vol.44 No.3 – January 1999

 

Out of the Depths

 

Sermon by Rev J Haverland on Psalm 130

Scripture Readings: Job 19:13-27; Psalm 86

Suggested Psalms:

Ps 32; 51; 130

 

Congregation.

It is always hard to wait for something.  Children, you know how hard it is to wait for your birthday.  “How long is it?” you ask.  “Two months.”  Two months?!  That seems like forever!

Waiting is hard for adults as well – you’re waiting to be served in a supermarket; all the lanes are full and you are in a long queue and the five people in front of you have their trolleys overflowing with groceries – you’re in for a long wait!

Some of the women know what it is like to wait for the end of a pregnancy – you get more and more uncomfortable and you can’t sleep and your back aches!  Or your husband or wife has been away for a few weeks and you are waiting for them to return – you’re counting down the days.

Plenty of people in the Bible also had to wait.  Think of Abraham waiting for the birth of his son, Isaac; or Israel waiting for their deliverance out of Egypt; or think of the many people in the psalms who waited for God to act in situations of intense struggle and difficulty – like the person writing the psalm of our text.

We don’t know the exact situation of this person, but that is one of the good things about the psalms – they describe specific experiences in general terms; that makes them applicable to our specific situation.

Here was a man who cried out to God for forgiveness and who then waited for God to respond – and God did respond.  This teaches us that we, too, can cry out to the Lord and we, too, can receive his forgiveness.

As we look at this Psalm let’s notice the Psalmist’s despair, his hope, and his testimony

Firstly, then…

1.  His Despair

We don’t know his precise situation, but do know he was in deep despair.  This was a dark night of the soul, a time of great depression, of severe discouragement.  He was as low as low and could see no way out; couldn’t even see a light at the end of the tunnel!

There are a number of examples in the Bible of people in this sort of situation.  Job felt like this during his illness.  Think of Joseph when he was in prison — he must have wondered what God was doing with him.  Think of David when he had to leave Jerusalem because of the rebellion of Absalom.  Or of Jonah when he was in the stomach of that great fish.

Think, too, of our Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane and of his time on the cross when he cried out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”

The psalmist was in the depths because of his sin.  Verse 3 – “If you O Lord kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?”  He knew that God was holy, he was a just judge, the perfect God, the righteous lawgiver.  He thought of what it would be like if God kept a record of sins.

Children, imagine that every time you did something wrong that your parents would write it down.  Monday: messy room, argued about doing the dishes, didn’t share with his sister, thumped his little brother.  Tuesday: messy room, refused to do homework, answered back, was nasty to his friend.

Now imagine if God kept a complete record of every sin we have ever committed — it would fill a large book with small print!  You see, it would include the visible sins, but also the sins which other people had not seen.  It would include sins of commission (what we have done that was wrong) and sins of omission (what we have failed to do).  It would include our deliberate and wilful sins and the sins done in ignorance.

This man considered all this and recognised that he was guilty.  People don’t use the word ‘guilt’ very often today.  It’s not a ‘buzz’ word.  We can talk about our weaknesses, our problems, our struggles, our co-dependency, our lack of authenticity, but it is not politically correct to talk about our guilt, even in many churches.  But this man knew he was guilty before the Lord – he had sinned – he had failed the Lord and his neighbour

We need to admit this as well.  We need to recognise the sin that clings so closely to us, that pulls us back, holds us down.  A proper recognition of sin will make us cry out to the Lord.  This is what the psalmist did — he cried to the Lord [read verses 1-2].

When you are really down in the depths there isn’t a lot you feel you can do.  But one thing you can do, and should do, is cry out to the Lord, to plead with God.

In his beautiful commentary on the Psalms, Spurgeon writes: “It would be dreadful to look back on trouble and feel forced to own that we did not cry unto the Lord in it; but it is most comforting to know that whatever we did not do, or could not do, yet we did pray, even in our worst times.  He that prays in the depth will not sink out of his depth.  He that cries out of the depths shall soon sing in the heights.”

This man cried out to the Lord in the hope God would hear him.  We need to do this, too.  Are you trying to deal with your sins on your own?  Are you trying to carry your sorrows by yourself?  Are you attempting to fight temptation in your own strength?  Don’t do that – cry out to the Lord, because you can put your hope in him.  That’s what this man found.

So, secondly, let’s consider…

2.  His Hope

He prayed with the hope, the desire that the Lord would forgive him.  Verse 4 — “But with you there is forgiveness.” You’ll notice that this is one of the ‘psalms of ascent’ – so this is a psalm people sang as they were going to the temple for the annual festivals – they went there putting their hope in the Lord and his mercy.

The forgiveness God offered was pictured in the whole Old Testament sacrificial system.  Every day in the temple there was a morning and evening sacrifice, as well as all the individual sacrifices people brought for their sins, as well as the sacrificial ceremony of the Day of Atonement.  All these spoke of God’s forgiveness.

Those Old Testament sacrifices pointed forward to the person and work of the Lord Jesus, to the cross, to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  We can have forgiveness through this great work of the Lord Jesus and his sacrifice. Jesus paid the price for the sin of every person who trusts in him.

The psalmist also had reason to hope in the Lord’s forgiveness because of the promises of God’s Word. Verse 5 — “and in his word I put my hope.”  This is what God promised in the Bible.

Think of the words of Psalm 86:15, “But you o Lord are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” Or the words of Jeremiah 31:34b, “For I will forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more.”

Think of the beautiful words of invitation we began this service with (Hebrews 10:19-22) and of the words of the Assurance of Pardon (Micah 7:19-19).  These are God’s promises to you, his assurance to you, this is the surety of his Word.  You need to recognise your sin, but you also need to hope in God’s promised forgiveness.

Now you might say, “But I don’t really feel this; I have prayed but the assurance of God’s forgiveness hasn’t come to me, it’s not real, it’s not part of me.”  If this is how you feel then you need to keep waiting – as this man did: [Read verses 5-6.]

He pictures a watchman.  In those days, they would place a watchman in a tall tower in the fields to guard the crops; or place a man on the city walls to keep a look out for enemies.  They would watch through the night.  The last watch of the night was the longest and the sentinels would watch for the first streaks of dawn marking the beginning of another day.  They were waiting for the morning.

Or think of a mother sitting all night by the bed of a sick child waiting for the morning.  Or think of times when you have been unable to sleep because of anxiety or sickness and you have been waiting for the morning.

This is a picture of longing, of expectation; this is how he waited for God’s forgiveness.  God may use these times to impress on us his forgiveness.

One of the greatest of the English Puritans was a man called Dr John Owen.  A young man came to see him about forgiveness through Christ.  Owen said: “I preached about Christ for many years but didn’t really know what it meant to go to God through Christ.  But then the Lord gave me a terrible sickness which brought me close to death.  God used the words of Psalm 130:4 to bring me great comfort and peace: “But with you there is forgiveness.”

The Holy Spirit has written these words to give you comfort and peace as well.  You need to take these words to heart and apply them to yourself.  Are you struggling with sin?  Does God seem far away from you?  Does he seem at a distance?  Then believe the promises God gives you and put your hope in God’s Word.

The Canons of Dort have some wise pastoral advice for those who do not experience a full assurance of faith.  Those pastors of the seventeenth century urge us to diligently persevere in the means of grace, “and with ardent desires devoutly and humbly to wait for a season of richer grace” (Canon of Dort, 1,16).

This Psalmist experienced a season of richer grace and he wanted to tell others about it.

This bring us to consider our third point…

3.  His Testimony

He found such joy in the Lord’s forgiveness that he wanted others to know about it.  Spurgeon writes: “What one Israelite does he wants all Israel to do.”  He urges all in Israel to put their hope in the Lord.

We need to do the same.  If you have been forgiven you need to tell others how they can be forgiven.  Someone has said that witnessing is “one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.”  Let’s pray for and look for opportunities to speak about sin and guilt and about the forgiveness we can have through the cross of the Lord Jesus – look for ways to pass on this good news to other beggars.

So he gave a testimony to others, but it was a testimony about the Lord.  Verse 7: “For with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.”  The Hebrew word translated here as ‘unfailing love’ is so rich it is difficult to translate.  It is sometimes translated as lovingkindness.  It refers to the covenant love of God; God’s faithful and gracious love to his people.  God will forgive us because he loves us as his people.

Verse 7b: “With him is full redemption.” God will forgive us because he . has redeemed us. He did this by sending His Son into the world to pay the price for sin, to buy us back. This is what the word redeemed means — “to buy back’, ‘to set free by paying a price’.  Jesus bought us to be his own by purchasing us with his blood.

This forgiveness and freedom is for all who put their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ – for you who believe that Jesus paid for your sins – for you who are committed to serving him as Lord.

So, this Psalm ends very positively.  It began with sin and ends with forgiveness.  It began with a trembling hope and concludes with a strong conviction.  It began in the depths and rises to the heights.  It began with a cry and finishes with a chorale; it ends with a sure song of hope and trust in the Lord who redeems his people.

Sometimes it’s hard to wait for the Lord – but it’s worth it!

Amen.