Psalms

[0:00] and the Lord shall be pleased to help me for a little while I shall call your attention to a subject you will find in Psalm 130 let Israel hope in the Lord for with the Lord there is mercy and with him is plenteous redemption Psalm 130 and the seventh verse this psalm is a wonderful setting forth of the dealings of God with poor sinners born again there are varied due points from which one could approach the subject the heading of the psalm is a song of degrees and godly scholars tell us that as far as can be searched out these psalms which are headed songs of degrees were sung when the Israelites were going up to worship God as they had to do three times a year all the while they dwelt in the land of promise as God so ordained but you will find that in some of the psalms so headed there is every suggestion that they were sung on such occasions you can well picture in your mind how they would sing

[2:16] I was glad when they said unto me let us go into the house of the Lord our feet shall stand within thy gates O Jerusalem but some of these psalms that are termed songs of degrees are related to the Babylonian's captivity and returning there from when God wrought wondrously on Israel's behalf wrought a miracle so that the way was made plain for them to return to dwell again in the land of promise and set up again the worship of God in their own homeland but that is only just an approach to the subject let Israel hope in the Lord

[3:16] Israel and now each of us who has the mercy to be after the spirit the things of the spirit will desire yet more and more evidence that we do indeed belong to the Israel of God there is a word which is very certain they are not all Israel that say they are of Israel you will find in Nehemiah and Ezra as you read what those two books recall that there came a testing time when the Israelites who had returned from Babylon's captivity had to produce their pedigree and there were those who could not do it and they were set aside and not accepted as belonging to Israel in truth and if I was preaching a sermon

[4:25] I should turn aside to comment that not all chapel goers are to be looked upon as belonging to the Israel of God but it is those who come up desiring to get in touch with God and do some business in heaven's marketplace and get good for their souls who are Israelites indeed and feel like Jacob when his name was changed to Israel I will not let thee go except thou bless me but as I thought a little on this word let Israel hope in the Lord my mind went back to when Israel dwelt in the wilderness wandering therein for forty years and how God instituted how his holy majesty was to be worshipped you may you may find it sometimes it may be uninteresting as you view it to read say the book of numbers or the book of Leviticus where you read so much about what is to be done as regards offerings and sacrifices and various ceremonies but if you were to see the deep that couches beneath you would find that God in his infinite wisdom while Israel were wandering in the wilderness all that while under the law there was a provision made for every breach of it so that any

[6:22] Israelite when he made a breach of it which was often he had to be warned what was to be done it might it might be a sin of omission a sin of commission whatever breach of the law there was something laid down in the law which that Israelite must do and in doing it he must consult a priest and go forward in what the law laid down and bring the respective offering whatever it might be a bird or a beast and other things besides so that there were sin offerings peace offerings and burnt offerings and buried offerings and now that suggests to me that for the Israel of God whatever your case may be whatever your circumstances are there is hope in the Lord for you you may you will feel helpless in whatever your case is whatever your circumstances are you may say as the psalmist did we are brought to our wit's end margin all our wisdom is swallowed up but although as you view your case it is helpless it is not hopeless there is hope in

[8:06] God there is help in God and so the psalmist tells us let Israel hope in the Lord although you have made such breaches of the law that you wonder depth of mercy can there be mercy for a wretch like me and now the gospel says yes there is Jesus blood through earth and skies mercy eternal mercy Christ here is this great declaration never to be abrogated while time shall be let Israel Israelites indeed poor sinners born again poor sinners in their varied cases and varied circumstances hope in the Lord for with the

[9:07] Lord there is mercy mercy and with him is plenteous redemption and now that is as it were the setting of the subject but as this psalm is as I said at the outset a psalm of degrees there is another viewpoint of these degrees and now you will find in the psalm itself in the context that godly David outlines the degrees of grace as it were the degrees whereby a sinner is led into the truth with many I might say with most it is here a little there a little line upon line precept upon precept but in every sinner taught of god there will be these degrees about that sinner is taught of god and the starting point is here out of the depths have

[10:23] I cried unto thee O Lord you see when a sinner is born again he may not be taught by terrible things in righteousness the spirit of god may lead him into the truth by more gentle means but in what he feels within before god with whom he has to do he will feel that he is in the depths of soul trouble the Puritans say that soul trouble is the soul of trouble which is to say there is none like it soul trouble is the essence of trouble and it brings a poor sinner down into the depths of need and such a need that he realizes it can only be that which a man cannot receive except it be given him from heaven can help him to feel as he wants to feel that matters are right between his soul and

[11:39] God and I can tell you this dear friends it is a great mercy when you are in the depths depths of soul trouble whatever your need may be to find in your heart there is a cry because if you should be feeling at the ends of the earth hardly know what you are or where you are in things divine and yet down in these depths in your soul's feeling and as yet you cannot seem to find a cry in your breast unto God with whom you have to do oh that is a very painful line of things a very solemn experience out of the depths and you go back to how you humbly hope God was pleased to deal with you and you found that when you were convinced of sin you went down and down and down in your soul's feelings into the depths until at length it might have been quite a while but at length you touched rock bottom no sinner needed mercy more than ever sought

[13:07] God's face you were like Jonah when the dear man says I went down to the bottoms of the mountains the weeds were wrapped about my head and how did he feel when he cried at length though I am cast out of thy sight I will look again toward thy holy temple yes out of the depths have I cried unto thee O Lord and now here you see the evidence of the sinner being born again Lord hear my voice behold he prayeth let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications do watch out that is worded there is no tautology in word of

[14:12] God which is to say meaningless repetition no let thine ears be attentive to my supplications is good grammar and good truth and sound experience but it says let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications you say prayer is the soul's sincere desire uttered or unexpressed and those unexpressed in words by you have yet got a voice in the ears of God and he knows the essence of your soul's desires let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications supplications and what do you observe when you listen to the public prayers of the dear brethren all their supplications have always got a voice and do not they often speak for you when they ask for this and that which their soul desires and deep down in your heart you add an amen and you feel the unity of the spirit and you realize there is that blessed bond that binds you together before the mercy seat though sundered far by faith we meet around the common mercy seat and the voice of the supplications of any israelite indeed will always touch a chord in another israelite indeed and they will walk in agreement with each other and walk in agreement with god and now here is another degree of teaching if thou lord shouldest mark iniquities o lord who shall stand and now not all are taught by a deep law work and I have sometimes thought

[16:36] I'm not critical of my brethren on Zion's walls but I have sometimes thought that sometimes a too rigid standard has been set up as to what must be known of a law work the word of god sets up no rigid standard a real standard a necessary standard is set up and while there are those taught by terrible things in righteousness and have a deep law work they must never set up their experience as to how everybody else taught of god must be taught just as they have been no no god will have none of it and he will fulfill his word blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled the desire of the righteous shall be granted but every sinner taught of god learns by the law it's a knowledge of sin sooner sooner or later that sinner so taught of god is brought right down before god at sinai's mount if thou lord should his mark iniquities o lord who shall stand he accepts the punishment of his iniquities he is guilty he knows as he hears the laws now thunder pay me that which thou owe is that he cannot produce a father to worry therefore he must put his mouth in the dust of self abasement if to be there may be hope and he acquiesces in what the psalmist says here if thou lord should mark iniquities o lord who shall stand if my soul is sent to hell thy righteous law approves it well ay but when a sinner is so led into the truth and he humbles himself under the mighty hand of god under the law and adds his amen if thou lord should mark iniquities o lord who shall stand there is another degree to enter into in our soul's experience here is a but and it is a wonderful but but there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared here you see the unfolding of our subject let

[19:35] Israel hope in the lord for with the lord there is mercy there is forgiveness forgiveness of sins oh what a blessed theme that is through this man there is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins and now when that good tithing of great joy illuminates the poor sinner's breast who has felt undeserving hell deserving and now is brought before Calvary's cross to behold the lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world as he realises this man receive his sinners he wants to enter into that line of things he wants to be such a sinner whom this man will receive and make welcome at his feet and that he might taste the unutterable bliss of forgiveness of sins and now that brings us to another degree

[20:48] I wait for the Lord my soul doth wait and in his word do I hope you remember many of you I hope it is all of you that when you were brought in guilty before God as a poor sinner when it was made plain to you none but Jesus can do helpless sinners good you began to wait for the Lord mark how this is worded the psalmist could have said I wait on the Lord so do you and I but as you wait on the Lord what do you wait for you wait for the Lord for him to do for you what he alone can do to make matters right between your soul and him with whom you have to do

[21:55] I wait for the Lord my soul doth wait and in his word do I hope and now that word says in that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out wait on the Lord be of good courage he shall strengthen thine heart wait I say on the Lord blessed are all they that wait for him and you wait for him it is good to have grace waiting grace I have said many a time it is very scarce grace I wait for the Lord my soul doth wait and now some of you you're in you're out have been doing it waiting on the Lord waiting for the Lord and as yet you cannot rejoice it may be that there is forgiveness for poor sinners such as you it is still in your soul's esteem and good it will be to remember the vision is for an appointed time though it tarry wait for it in the end it shall speak and not lie it will surely come it will not tarry the time of love will come when each shall clearly see not only that

[23:23] Christ shed his blood but each shall say for me and now says dear David my soul waited for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning I like how this is worded I say more than they that watch for the morning here you see the sinner an Israelite indeed waiting on the Lord waiting for the Lord and he is especially waiting for the son of righteousness to arise with healing in his wings like you think sometimes so this Israelite indeed is waiting on the Lord to rejoice in that experience a timely asset to heal up thy woes a season most fit his love to disclose until he is ready to accomplish his will be patient and steady and wait on him still yes my soul waketh for the

[24:39] Lord more than they that watch for the morning I say more than they that watch for the morning and now you see there are three words here that you will have wrought in your soul's experience and they will be as it were degrees of experience wait hope watch and is your help to live like that wait for the Lord hope in the Lord watch for the morning to dawn in your soul's experience when the sun of righteousness shall shine with light and life and healing too this is what you will find to be the blessed outcome I waited patiently for the Lord and he inclined unto me and heard my cry he brought me up also out of an horrible pit out of the mary cloud and set my feet on a rock and established my boy and he had put a new song in my mouth even praise unto our

[25:52] God many shall see it and fear and should trust in the Lord there is no doubt whatever that dear godly David pen this sound before us as I view it and having outlined as I have just touched on what was his own soul's experience what does he say having tasted that the Lord is gracious he desires that every Israelite indeed shall know the same mercy rejoice in the Lord let Israel hope in the Lord for with the Lord there is mercy and now go back a moment to what I said about Israel in the wilderness under the law there was an offering which they were to bring to the priest for every breach of the law that they might be made clean and be once more instated in

[27:01] Israel's hopes on a proper God honouring basis and now under the gospel it is like this what though bad is your condition and your wounds you can't endure Christ the sinner's wise decision will effect a perfect cure you have not got to do what they did in the wilderness to bring a bird or a beast and this and that as the Lord demanded but you have got an all prevailing plea I can no denial take while I plead for Jesus you may be an Israelite indeed who is very tempted and tried you may be one who is troubled about matters within matters without you may be in your soul's experience walking in darkness and had no light or

[28:08] God may have laid affliction upon you and brought you very low thereby or you may be an Israelite indeed and yet full of fears as to whether you really are an Israelite indeed and much in need of a fear not but but then whatever is your case or your circumstances this is the word of the Lord let Israel hope in the Lord for with the Lord there is mercy and what a great word that is he delighted in mercy he delights to dispense you remember one in writer says oh God of grace of love immense and free thy favors to dispense I also thy mercy see repair since thou have said

[29:09] I meet thee there oh dear friends take this home and reduce it to practice let Israel hope in the Lord for with the Lord there is mercy you are not here without God and without hope are you you do possess a hope in the Lord may not be at this present time you feel it is what we call the assurance of hope it may not be bright in your soul's experience so that you were risen above all ifs and buts and hows regarding it but then the word of God speaks about the patience of hope and that is hope's function why art thou cast down all my soul why art thou disquieted in me hope thou in God for I shall yet praise him who is the health of my countenance and my

[30:19] God hope may sink very low until you come to the rock bottom of it which is to hope against hope and that means you feel though by my sins deserving hell are not despair for who can tell who can tell there is one who can blessed be his name he who befriends poor sinners and of whom it has to be recorded no sinner was ever yet empty sent back who came seeking mercy for Jesus time who then can despair blessed be God there is hope there is help to be had I will be inquired of you or house of

[31:19] Israel to do these things let Israel hope in the Lord for with the Lord there is mercy and within is plenteous redemption a very striking expression plenteous redemption the meaning is Jesus Christ who came down into this poor sin cursed earth to redeem Israel the number God the Father ordained which is a number that no man can number God and he has redeemed everyone he shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied and with him still there is plenteous redemption there is a plenty so that you can hope in the

[32:25] Lord that you likewise shall know with the Lord there is mercy and that you shall taste the wonders of redeeming love for he who is the sinner's friend he is so good to deliver so strong to redeem the weakest believer that hangs upon him Amen