WEBVTT 00:00:09.710 --> 00:00:15.890 Psalm 51, we'll be reading verses 14 and 15. 00:00:16.750 --> 00:00:20.410 Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God, the 00:00:20.410 --> 00:00:25.390 God of my salvation. Then my tongue will joyfully 00:00:25.390 --> 00:00:29.910 sing of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, 00:00:30.109 --> 00:00:40.179 that my mouth may declare your praise. the end 00:00:40.179 --> 00:00:45.320 of Psalm 51. Over the next several weeks, I think 00:00:45.320 --> 00:00:50.780 it's appropriate to just think and review a bit 00:00:50.780 --> 00:00:56.960 about why we continue to hunker down in this 00:00:56.960 --> 00:01:01.100 psalm. Some of you have been sitting here listening 00:01:01.100 --> 00:01:04.920 to Psalm 51 for all these weeks, and you hear 00:01:04.920 --> 00:01:10.579 it and you think, I don't know. of what this 00:01:10.579 --> 00:01:15.340 says. I don't have the experience that David 00:01:15.340 --> 00:01:21.640 has in my heart. I don't know what sorrow and 00:01:21.640 --> 00:01:25.640 grief and mourning over my sin is like. I don't 00:01:25.640 --> 00:01:27.980 know what this terrible struggle in my heart 00:01:27.980 --> 00:01:33.159 is like. Some of us don't know what it's like 00:01:33.159 --> 00:01:37.739 to cry out to God to help us. Because of our 00:01:37.739 --> 00:01:42.939 own sinfulness. And the reason you don't is because 00:01:42.939 --> 00:01:45.840 you don't have the Spirit of God dwelling within 00:01:45.840 --> 00:01:50.000 you. You are not in possession of these realities 00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:55.319 in your very soul. God has not given them to 00:01:55.319 --> 00:01:59.060 you in your soul. So take note of the reality 00:01:59.060 --> 00:02:02.299 that you are missing these things in your heart. 00:02:02.340 --> 00:02:07.489 That you need these things. Let the absence of 00:02:07.489 --> 00:02:14.669 these realities drive you to Christ and to take 00:02:14.669 --> 00:02:17.430 refuge in the Lord Jesus Christ, where these 00:02:17.430 --> 00:02:23.050 can become realities in your soul. I think there's 00:02:23.050 --> 00:02:28.009 another group that would think, and I've had 00:02:28.009 --> 00:02:31.110 to answer in my own head, my own heart, as we 00:02:31.110 --> 00:02:35.360 continue to study this. Why do we continue to 00:02:35.360 --> 00:02:42.599 spend time in this penitential song? Why do we 00:02:42.599 --> 00:02:46.319 continue to talk about repentance week in and 00:02:46.319 --> 00:02:49.620 week out? Why do we keep talking about forsaking 00:02:49.620 --> 00:02:53.180 sin and confessing sin? Why do we keep talking 00:02:53.180 --> 00:02:56.080 about week after week about dealing with sin 00:02:56.080 --> 00:03:01.240 in our lives? Why is this so relevant to our 00:03:01.240 --> 00:03:08.560 hearts? Why does he keep focusing on this? Why 00:03:08.560 --> 00:03:11.300 do we need to keep learning about repentance 00:03:11.300 --> 00:03:15.580 and faith in our lives? Can't we move on to something 00:03:15.580 --> 00:03:21.659 different? Brothers and sisters, we have to continue 00:03:21.659 --> 00:03:24.939 focusing on faith and repentance because you 00:03:24.939 --> 00:03:30.400 continue to sin. Because I continue to sin in 00:03:30.400 --> 00:03:34.599 my life. I continue to desperately need the Lord 00:03:34.599 --> 00:03:38.560 Jesus Christ to sanctify me just as you do. Therefore, 00:03:38.659 --> 00:03:41.360 we need to continue learning about these things. 00:03:43.319 --> 00:03:51.539 So don't brush it off. Lay into it. Lean into 00:03:51.539 --> 00:03:54.599 the word of God and let it affect you. Let it 00:03:54.599 --> 00:03:57.699 change you. Let it sanctify you. Receive it in 00:03:57.699 --> 00:04:01.300 your hearts, in your mind, in your souls. Let 00:04:01.300 --> 00:04:06.240 God work in your soul as he so desires to. Open 00:04:06.240 --> 00:04:09.879 up your heart that he might have free access 00:04:09.879 --> 00:04:14.379 to every single area, every single recess, every 00:04:14.379 --> 00:04:19.899 single part, every single thought. That you might 00:04:19.899 --> 00:04:25.300 be transformed. That you might come to love the 00:04:25.300 --> 00:04:30.550 Lord Jesus Christ more and more and more. So 00:04:30.550 --> 00:04:34.769 today, as we continue in Psalm 51 and verses 00:04:34.769 --> 00:04:41.250 14 and 15, we're looking at three things in David's 00:04:41.250 --> 00:04:46.310 psalm of repentance. We're going to look at the 00:04:46.310 --> 00:04:51.769 dilemma he is facing. We're going to look at 00:04:51.769 --> 00:04:56.829 the solution he is seeking. And we're going to 00:04:56.829 --> 00:05:04.300 look at the result. he longs for. First, the 00:05:04.300 --> 00:05:10.939 dilemma he is facing. David, in verses 14 and 00:05:10.939 --> 00:05:15.639 15, has a dilemma that he's dealing with, doesn't 00:05:15.639 --> 00:05:21.319 he? He is facing a difficult reality in his life. 00:05:22.120 --> 00:05:26.899 He cannot worship and praise God as he ought 00:05:26.899 --> 00:05:31.600 to. He wants to open his mouth and praise God. 00:05:32.139 --> 00:05:36.560 He wants to gladly sing of God's righteousness. 00:05:36.680 --> 00:05:39.379 He wants to declare God's works and God's righteousness 00:05:39.379 --> 00:05:44.279 to him. But he can't. You see, it's an issue 00:05:44.279 --> 00:05:49.660 of worship in his life. He can't do it. Why? 00:05:50.980 --> 00:05:55.220 What's the issue? He can't worship because of 00:05:55.220 --> 00:05:58.100 guilt in his conscience, in his heart, in his 00:05:58.100 --> 00:06:03.420 life, because of his sin. He wants to worship 00:06:03.420 --> 00:06:08.220 God rightly. He longs to worship Christ truly. 00:06:09.040 --> 00:06:12.259 He longs to praise him and declare his righteous 00:06:12.259 --> 00:06:16.360 works, but he can't in his current state, in 00:06:16.360 --> 00:06:20.300 his current condition. There are several reasons 00:06:20.300 --> 00:06:26.160 for this. The primary being, Blood guilt. The 00:06:26.160 --> 00:06:31.740 text reads, deliver me from blood guiltiness. 00:06:32.839 --> 00:06:37.779 Now why does David feel guilt in his conscience? 00:06:38.259 --> 00:06:43.620 And why does it refer to blood guiltiness? Think 00:06:43.620 --> 00:06:48.439 about David's sin and the events that transpired 00:06:48.439 --> 00:06:53.060 over that time. What blood is David... Guilty 00:06:53.060 --> 00:06:58.060 of shedding. What is the guilt on his conscience 00:06:58.060 --> 00:07:01.139 as a result of his sin and his transgression? 00:07:02.560 --> 00:07:06.819 Well, he's guilty of much blood in his life. 00:07:08.639 --> 00:07:15.040 There's rightful guilt on his conscience. Uriah, 00:07:15.120 --> 00:07:20.699 the husband of Bathsheba, the woman he took. 00:07:21.120 --> 00:07:26.259 and committed an affair with? The woman he committed 00:07:26.259 --> 00:07:30.259 adultery with, he killed her husband? Had him 00:07:30.259 --> 00:07:38.839 murdered? What about the blood of his son that 00:07:38.839 --> 00:07:44.800 went to the grave as a result of David's sin? 00:07:46.579 --> 00:07:51.279 David's guilty for Uriah and his blood. David's 00:07:51.279 --> 00:07:55.120 guilty for the blood of his son. What about all 00:07:55.120 --> 00:07:57.620 those that would die in his household after him 00:07:57.620 --> 00:08:02.379 because he broke his covenant with God? There's 00:08:02.379 --> 00:08:08.240 a great deal of guilt rightfully and justifiably 00:08:08.240 --> 00:08:12.680 on David's conscience as a result of his actions, 00:08:12.740 --> 00:08:17.660 and it is debilitating on his worship of God. 00:08:18.990 --> 00:08:24.990 Has anybody ever experienced this? You come to 00:08:24.990 --> 00:08:30.009 church on the Lord's Day, but you don't want 00:08:30.009 --> 00:08:34.970 to worship God. Am I the only one that's ever 00:08:34.970 --> 00:08:38.049 experienced that? You come to church on the Lord's 00:08:38.049 --> 00:08:40.429 Day, and you don't want to sing praises to God. 00:08:41.669 --> 00:08:44.309 You don't want to give Him what is rightfully 00:08:44.309 --> 00:08:51.480 His. Because... There's guilt on your conscience 00:08:51.480 --> 00:08:54.620 because of an action that you have committed 00:08:54.620 --> 00:08:57.639 that is sinful in the sight of that holy God. 00:08:58.860 --> 00:09:03.080 Brothers and sisters, it's a very real dilemma 00:09:03.080 --> 00:09:06.080 that you and I will continue to struggle with, 00:09:06.120 --> 00:09:08.639 that you and I will continue to face, that David 00:09:08.639 --> 00:09:12.419 deals with right here. And that's not even the 00:09:12.419 --> 00:09:16.179 biggest issue of this. The biggest issue of all 00:09:16.179 --> 00:09:19.240 of this in David's life is not that he has guilt 00:09:19.240 --> 00:09:21.620 on his conscience. It's not that he can't worship 00:09:21.620 --> 00:09:24.399 God. The biggest issue is that God is always 00:09:24.399 --> 00:09:31.659 rightfully owed worship. The biggest issue is 00:09:31.659 --> 00:09:38.019 that God is always worthy of being exalted. So 00:09:38.019 --> 00:09:42.120 what does sin and guilt do? With regards to God's 00:09:42.120 --> 00:09:44.399 worship, what's it doing in David's life? It's 00:09:44.399 --> 00:09:51.639 robbing God of his worship. The guilt on David's 00:09:51.639 --> 00:09:56.059 conscience is prohibiting him, is hindering him. 00:09:56.139 --> 00:10:00.019 It is acting as a stumbling block to his worship, 00:10:00.059 --> 00:10:04.320 which is due the glory is holy and good name 00:10:04.320 --> 00:10:10.309 of God. God doesn't get his worship. Because 00:10:10.309 --> 00:10:17.330 David and his guilt. God is always worthy to 00:10:17.330 --> 00:10:25.769 be praised. Regardless of our sin. Our choices. 00:10:26.509 --> 00:10:29.889 Our desires and our longings. Regardless of how 00:10:29.889 --> 00:10:33.049 we feel today or tomorrow. That does not change 00:10:33.049 --> 00:10:36.830 the fact that God is worthy to be exalted and 00:10:36.830 --> 00:10:40.820 praised and worshipped and glorified. He remains 00:10:40.820 --> 00:10:45.779 worthy, regardless of our sin and our choices. 00:10:47.299 --> 00:10:52.779 So David's guilt and David's sin is keeping him 00:10:52.779 --> 00:10:59.100 from worshiping God as he ought to. It's keeping 00:10:59.100 --> 00:11:04.720 him from giving God the praise and honor and 00:11:04.720 --> 00:11:10.740 worship that is due his name rightfully. What 00:11:10.740 --> 00:11:12.879 is it that's keeping you from worshiping God 00:11:12.879 --> 00:11:21.279 as you ought to today? What is it today that 00:11:21.279 --> 00:11:23.860 is in your heart that you are unwilling to deal 00:11:23.860 --> 00:11:26.159 with, that you are unwilling to let go of, that 00:11:26.159 --> 00:11:30.120 you are unwilling to give up, that's keeping 00:11:30.120 --> 00:11:40.789 your worship from God's glory? Is it pride? Is 00:11:40.789 --> 00:11:46.509 it arrogance? Is it self -righteousness? Is it 00:11:46.509 --> 00:11:50.629 wealth? What is stealing away your heart from 00:11:50.629 --> 00:11:53.429 God so that you aren't worshiping him as you 00:11:53.429 --> 00:12:02.950 ought to? Is it immorality? Is it vanity? Is 00:12:02.950 --> 00:12:05.529 it how you look and how you appear and it's an 00:12:05.529 --> 00:12:09.879 idol in your life? Is it envy and covetousness? 00:12:10.100 --> 00:12:13.019 Are you envying somebody's house? Are you envying 00:12:13.019 --> 00:12:15.159 somebody's husband, somebody's wife, somebody's 00:12:15.159 --> 00:12:17.240 situation, and you continue to deal with that 00:12:17.240 --> 00:12:22.759 and you refuse to give it up? Is it the worry 00:12:22.759 --> 00:12:25.080 and concern of the world, brothers and sisters? 00:12:27.440 --> 00:12:30.740 Is it pulling your mind and your heart and your 00:12:30.740 --> 00:12:33.519 longings? Are your affections set on things in 00:12:33.519 --> 00:12:37.419 this life, in this world? In constraining and 00:12:37.419 --> 00:12:43.919 restricting your worship of God? Maybe it's the 00:12:43.919 --> 00:12:46.980 fact that you know you need to repent of sin, 00:12:47.039 --> 00:12:49.259 but you won't repent of sin because you don't 00:12:49.259 --> 00:12:56.100 want to appear as though you're a sinner. You 00:12:56.100 --> 00:12:58.340 know in the back of your head and you know in 00:12:58.340 --> 00:13:00.320 your heart you have to deal with this sin, but 00:13:00.320 --> 00:13:05.669 you won't because you want to appear wise. You 00:13:05.669 --> 00:13:09.110 want to appear holy. You want to come off a certain 00:13:09.110 --> 00:13:11.669 way. Maybe it's the fact that you say everything's 00:13:11.669 --> 00:13:15.289 okay, but your marriage is in shambles. Maybe 00:13:15.289 --> 00:13:17.889 it's the fact that you come to church every day 00:13:17.889 --> 00:13:23.210 or every Sunday. You sing with your mouth, but 00:13:23.210 --> 00:13:26.769 you don't love your wife. Maybe it's the fact 00:13:26.769 --> 00:13:33.350 that you idolize your children. Maybe it's pornography. 00:13:35.659 --> 00:13:38.419 Brothers and sisters, the list goes on and on 00:13:38.419 --> 00:13:42.059 and on. What is keeping you from worshiping God 00:13:42.059 --> 00:13:47.620 as you ought to be worshiping God? What is robbing 00:13:47.620 --> 00:13:51.779 God of his glory in your life because you won't 00:13:51.779 --> 00:14:00.539 let go of it? If this remains undealt with in 00:14:00.539 --> 00:14:04.730 your life, You will not worship God as he ought 00:14:04.730 --> 00:14:08.889 to be worshipped. If you do not repent of your 00:14:08.889 --> 00:14:11.850 sin that you are dealing with in your life, if 00:14:11.850 --> 00:14:17.789 you refuse to deal with your sin, you won't praise 00:14:17.789 --> 00:14:21.590 him as he ought to be praised. And he is worthy 00:14:21.590 --> 00:14:25.250 to be praised. He remains worthy to be praised. 00:14:25.889 --> 00:14:28.549 Christ's name is meant to be exalted regardless 00:14:28.549 --> 00:14:35.129 of what you're dealing with in your life. This 00:14:35.129 --> 00:14:41.250 is David's dilemma. This is our dilemma. This 00:14:41.250 --> 00:14:44.610 leads us to the solution he is seeking. Secondly, 00:14:44.629 --> 00:14:53.710 how does David seek to solve this dilemma? The 00:14:53.710 --> 00:14:58.549 solution is two parts really. The first being 00:14:58.549 --> 00:15:03.750 God's part. David cries out, deliver me from... 00:15:04.090 --> 00:15:08.710 blood, guiltiness. O God, the God of my salvation, 00:15:08.889 --> 00:15:12.789 then my tongue will joyfully sing of your righteousness. 00:15:15.029 --> 00:15:20.350 It has to do with God's deliverance of David 00:15:20.350 --> 00:15:27.470 from this guilt in his conscience and the sin 00:15:27.470 --> 00:15:32.190 in his life. It has to do with the pardoning 00:15:32.190 --> 00:15:36.990 of his sins and the cleansing of his conscience 00:15:36.990 --> 00:15:44.289 from those sins. David knows that he will never 00:15:44.289 --> 00:15:48.110 have a cleansed and purified conscience unless 00:15:48.110 --> 00:15:55.909 God forgives his sins. You see, David understands 00:15:55.909 --> 00:15:59.350 that he doesn't just need God's pardoning grace, 00:15:59.669 --> 00:16:04.360 he needs God's Purifying and cleansing grace 00:16:04.360 --> 00:16:11.679 on his conscience. But this also means that a 00:16:11.679 --> 00:16:17.639 cleansed conscience is a token sign of God's 00:16:17.639 --> 00:16:22.799 pardoning grace in our life. Meaning, if you 00:16:22.799 --> 00:16:25.259 have a clean conscience according to the word 00:16:25.259 --> 00:16:30.159 of God, then you can rest. And have assurance 00:16:30.159 --> 00:16:33.559 of the fact and the reality that God has in fact 00:16:33.559 --> 00:16:37.120 answered your prayer and forgiven your sins. 00:16:39.159 --> 00:16:41.480 But brothers and sisters, if your conscience 00:16:41.480 --> 00:16:46.639 remains unclean and defiled, if your conscience 00:16:46.639 --> 00:16:50.299 is still condemning you and convicting you over 00:16:50.299 --> 00:16:54.240 and over and over, then consider your repentance. 00:16:56.039 --> 00:17:02.539 Was it genuine? Was it sincere? Have you really 00:17:02.539 --> 00:17:04.980 dealt with the sin in your life if your conscience 00:17:04.980 --> 00:17:10.339 is still condemning you? David knows this. David 00:17:10.339 --> 00:17:14.640 knows that if God will pardon his sins and restore 00:17:14.640 --> 00:17:20.519 him and renew him, that his conscience will be 00:17:20.519 --> 00:17:24.700 cleansed and purified from those sins. The actual 00:17:24.700 --> 00:17:30.819 guilt from those sins will be... Removed. Now 00:17:30.819 --> 00:17:36.700 this is powerful if we think about it. The fact 00:17:36.700 --> 00:17:42.000 that God pardons and purifies his people in an 00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:44.779 ongoing and perpetual manner when they repent 00:17:44.779 --> 00:17:49.180 and that he will do so when they confess their 00:17:49.180 --> 00:17:53.579 sins. But it's also important to understand that 00:17:53.579 --> 00:17:59.490 just because God pardons our sins, and God purifies 00:17:59.490 --> 00:18:06.769 our consciences, we can't undo the actions that 00:18:06.769 --> 00:18:10.710 were carried out in those sins that brought about 00:18:10.710 --> 00:18:22.269 that guilt. David's sin can be forgiven. David's 00:18:22.269 --> 00:18:25.319 guilt can be cleansed and washed away. by the 00:18:25.319 --> 00:18:29.640 blood of Christ. But that doesn't mean that Uriah 00:18:29.640 --> 00:18:34.079 will be brought back. That doesn't mean his son 00:18:34.079 --> 00:18:38.319 will come back from the grave. That doesn't mean 00:18:38.319 --> 00:18:40.900 that all those who would die would not die now. 00:18:42.220 --> 00:18:47.539 The consequences for his sin remain, even if 00:18:47.539 --> 00:18:53.740 the guilt and the sin is removed. It's meant 00:18:53.740 --> 00:18:55.660 to be an exhortation and a warning, brothers 00:18:55.660 --> 00:19:03.480 and sisters, that we should heed. If you sin, 00:19:03.700 --> 00:19:07.859 Jesus Christ has accomplished the work for your 00:19:07.859 --> 00:19:12.380 sins to be forgiven. They can be pardoned by 00:19:12.380 --> 00:19:16.160 the blood of Christ. Your guilt can be removed 00:19:16.160 --> 00:19:19.380 and taken away, but that does not mean there 00:19:19.380 --> 00:19:23.430 won't be consequences for your sin. It doesn't 00:19:23.430 --> 00:19:26.349 mean that things won't come about in your life 00:19:26.349 --> 00:19:32.069 as a result of your bad choice. Because of your 00:19:32.069 --> 00:19:37.450 transgression and your iniquity. Yes, God will 00:19:37.450 --> 00:19:39.869 use it for the good of his people, but there 00:19:39.869 --> 00:19:46.210 will be consequences. It's meant to be a deterrent 00:19:46.210 --> 00:19:52.740 for you to sin and to stir you up. Unto holiness. 00:19:54.799 --> 00:19:57.579 Consider the reality. That yes our guilt can 00:19:57.579 --> 00:20:00.059 be washed away. It can be cleansed. Yes our sins 00:20:00.059 --> 00:20:02.259 can be pardoned. And they can be forgiven. But 00:20:02.259 --> 00:20:05.619 there are real actual consequences. For sinning 00:20:05.619 --> 00:20:10.359 in this world. That God has made. And they will 00:20:10.359 --> 00:20:17.819 follow and proceed. Now I said. A moment ago. 00:20:17.859 --> 00:20:20.180 That it's very powerful. If we think about the 00:20:20.180 --> 00:20:23.200 reality. That Christ. Sacrifice is sufficient 00:20:23.200 --> 00:20:27.339 to cover our sins, to pardon us and to purify 00:20:27.339 --> 00:20:33.839 us. It's incredible to think about the reality 00:20:33.839 --> 00:20:39.180 of the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice and 00:20:39.180 --> 00:20:45.400 his death. Here is David, an adulterer. Here 00:20:45.400 --> 00:20:51.940 is David, a murderer. But here is David. The 00:20:51.940 --> 00:20:55.319 man who can be forgiven. The man whose conscience 00:20:55.319 --> 00:21:02.720 can be cleansed. If he'll but repent. There's 00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:07.180 no sin in your life. There's no iniquity. There's 00:21:07.180 --> 00:21:10.420 no transgression that is so great that the sacrifice 00:21:10.420 --> 00:21:14.740 of Jesus Christ is not sufficient to pardon it. 00:21:14.960 --> 00:21:19.140 Do you understand that? As a believer in Jesus 00:21:19.140 --> 00:21:23.380 Christ, all your sins are forgiven. As a believer 00:21:23.380 --> 00:21:26.599 in Jesus Christ, his grace is sufficient to cover 00:21:26.599 --> 00:21:29.799 all your sins and to purify you in your conscience 00:21:29.799 --> 00:21:33.220 of that guilt. Do you know that, brothers and 00:21:33.220 --> 00:21:38.039 sisters? Have you murdered somebody? Have you 00:21:38.039 --> 00:21:41.640 committed adultery? Is your sin, your iniquity, 00:21:41.640 --> 00:21:44.400 and your transgression worse than David's? No. 00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:49.000 Brothers and sisters, in Jesus Christ, there 00:21:49.000 --> 00:21:52.779 is absolute sufficiency for the forgiveness of 00:21:52.779 --> 00:21:56.599 sins and the cleansing of the conscience. This 00:21:56.599 --> 00:21:59.299 is for those in Christ, and this is true of those 00:21:59.299 --> 00:22:02.240 outside of Christ, if they will but come to Christ 00:22:02.240 --> 00:22:06.940 in repentance and faith. There is no sin so great 00:22:06.940 --> 00:22:11.299 that his blood won't save you from it. There's 00:22:11.299 --> 00:22:15.259 no wickedness so... that his blood is not so 00:22:15.259 --> 00:22:17.680 precious that it will wash all that iniquity 00:22:17.680 --> 00:22:21.539 away. That it will cleanse you of your sinful 00:22:21.539 --> 00:22:23.740 deeds and your dead works and your conscience. 00:22:24.500 --> 00:22:28.559 That's how great and mighty and excellent and 00:22:28.559 --> 00:22:31.559 beautiful and powerful his blood and his sacrifice 00:22:31.559 --> 00:22:40.400 is. If you'll but trust in that sacrifice. This 00:22:40.400 --> 00:22:45.480 is what God does. In Christ. This is what God 00:22:45.480 --> 00:22:48.619 does in the work of Jesus Christ. He forgives 00:22:48.619 --> 00:22:52.859 sin and he purifies the conscience of that sin. 00:22:54.720 --> 00:23:00.039 For believers, this still means that we must 00:23:00.039 --> 00:23:09.519 believe in that good work. Yes, God cleanses 00:23:09.519 --> 00:23:13.490 the conscience. Yes. God pardons sin, but you 00:23:13.490 --> 00:23:18.529 have to believe it. You have to trust in it. 00:23:19.710 --> 00:23:24.049 This is David's part in it. This is David's part 00:23:24.049 --> 00:23:31.490 of the solution. Faith and trust in the promise 00:23:31.490 --> 00:23:34.849 of God and the forgiveness of sins following 00:23:34.849 --> 00:23:41.069 genuine repentance. David believed. that his 00:23:41.069 --> 00:23:46.150 sins would be forgiven. He was believing this 00:23:46.150 --> 00:23:50.750 reality. He believed that he would worship God 00:23:50.750 --> 00:23:54.569 rightly and truly. He believed that he would 00:23:54.569 --> 00:23:59.269 praise God as he ought to do so. This is a glorious 00:23:59.269 --> 00:24:03.910 promise of the gospel. We read in 1 John 1, 9, 00:24:03.970 --> 00:24:07.210 which we've read multiple times in this series. 00:24:07.799 --> 00:24:14.539 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous 00:24:14.539 --> 00:24:17.579 to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from 00:24:17.579 --> 00:24:23.240 all unrighteousness. Brothers and sisters, God 00:24:23.240 --> 00:24:29.619 is always, always willing to forgive your sins. 00:24:32.259 --> 00:24:39.190 God is always ready, eager, And willing to cleanse 00:24:39.190 --> 00:24:44.470 your conscience of guilt. He is always ready 00:24:44.470 --> 00:24:47.410 to remove the shame from your conscience and 00:24:47.410 --> 00:24:54.650 from your heart. If we will but confess our sins 00:24:54.650 --> 00:24:59.670 to him. He's not slow in forgiving us our sins, 00:24:59.690 --> 00:25:04.170 is he? He's not slow in cleansing the conscience. 00:25:04.470 --> 00:25:09.930 But brothers and sisters, we. We are slow in 00:25:09.930 --> 00:25:16.930 going to Him in repentance and faith. We drag 00:25:16.930 --> 00:25:21.630 our feet in going to the throne and giving up 00:25:21.630 --> 00:25:29.329 our sin. It's not Him. He will forgive your sins. 00:25:31.329 --> 00:25:35.890 And He will continue to forgive your sins. For 00:25:35.890 --> 00:25:39.569 those in Jesus Christ, There is an innumerable 00:25:39.569 --> 00:25:45.910 degree and amount of forgiveness for those in 00:25:45.910 --> 00:25:49.589 Christ. Again, because of the sufficiency of 00:25:49.589 --> 00:25:55.589 Jesus Christ in his work. He will continue to 00:25:55.589 --> 00:26:01.309 forgive. He will keep forgiving. But brothers 00:26:01.309 --> 00:26:06.930 and sisters, we must keep believing. We must 00:26:06.930 --> 00:26:12.970 keep repenting. It's a glorious promise of the 00:26:12.970 --> 00:26:17.309 gospel that God is always willing to forgive 00:26:17.309 --> 00:26:21.029 and to cleanse, and we must be always willing 00:26:21.029 --> 00:26:27.369 to repent and believe in that glorious promise 00:26:27.369 --> 00:26:30.329 of the gospel. This is the solution David is 00:26:30.329 --> 00:26:33.309 seeking, and we saw God's part in the solution. 00:26:34.119 --> 00:26:38.880 his deliverance from guilt and shame, his forgiveness, 00:26:39.299 --> 00:26:43.000 his pardoning grace, and his purifying grace. 00:26:43.279 --> 00:26:48.380 And we see David's part, faith in God's promise 00:26:48.380 --> 00:26:53.579 to forgive his sin following genuine repentance. 00:26:54.119 --> 00:26:57.900 This leads us thirdly and lastly to the result 00:26:57.900 --> 00:27:01.380 that David so longs for. What does David want 00:27:01.380 --> 00:27:05.569 to come about as a result? of this solution to 00:27:05.569 --> 00:27:11.950 his dilemma? Well, he wants to be able to worship 00:27:11.950 --> 00:27:17.809 God rightly, doesn't he? He longs to praise God 00:27:17.809 --> 00:27:21.829 as he ought to praise God. He wants to be able 00:27:21.829 --> 00:27:28.009 to open his mouth and praise God. David wants 00:27:28.009 --> 00:27:33.000 to be able to gladly sing. and joyfully and happily 00:27:33.000 --> 00:27:37.960 sing of God's righteousness towards him. This 00:27:37.960 --> 00:27:42.859 is why he says, Then my tongue will joyfully 00:27:42.859 --> 00:27:46.420 sing of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips 00:27:46.420 --> 00:27:49.059 that my mouth may declare your praise. He wants 00:27:49.059 --> 00:27:52.299 to both be enabled to praise God and he wants 00:27:52.299 --> 00:27:55.980 to be able to do so rightfully out of grace and 00:27:55.980 --> 00:28:01.319 the experience of the forgiveness of sins. He 00:28:01.319 --> 00:28:04.279 would have it, and he desires and he longs to 00:28:04.279 --> 00:28:08.460 worship and praise God from the experience of 00:28:08.460 --> 00:28:13.220 grace in his life. He wants to worship God from 00:28:13.220 --> 00:28:17.980 a place of being forgiven by his sins. But he 00:28:17.980 --> 00:28:22.019 also wants to worship God freely, without the 00:28:22.019 --> 00:28:28.599 constraint of guilt on his conscience. He wants 00:28:28.599 --> 00:28:35.720 to be able. to praise God without the binding 00:28:35.720 --> 00:28:43.220 of a guilty conscience upon him. Both of these 00:28:43.220 --> 00:28:53.500 necessitate faith and repentance. Both. Let me 00:28:53.500 --> 00:28:58.049 offer you three applications for these. We've 00:28:58.049 --> 00:29:00.730 seen the dilemma, the solution, and the result. 00:29:02.009 --> 00:29:04.410 We've already made several applications, but 00:29:04.410 --> 00:29:09.630 let me offer you a few. The first is this. Beware 00:29:09.630 --> 00:29:15.970 of the form of worship. Or we could say beware 00:29:15.970 --> 00:29:23.710 of a form of worship. David very well could have, 00:29:23.930 --> 00:29:27.519 we don't want to assume, He very well could have 00:29:27.519 --> 00:29:32.319 continued to open his mouth and sing and praise 00:29:32.319 --> 00:29:39.759 God while clinging to sin in his life. Now, if 00:29:39.759 --> 00:29:43.480 David would have done this, it certainly would 00:29:43.480 --> 00:29:46.619 have been a form of worship. He would have been 00:29:46.619 --> 00:29:50.700 making noise. He would have been using words. 00:29:50.720 --> 00:29:52.599 He would have been using mouth. But there would 00:29:52.599 --> 00:29:56.319 not have been any substance whatsoever to his 00:29:56.319 --> 00:30:01.299 worship. It's the idea that a person walks in 00:30:01.299 --> 00:30:07.279 to worship God on a Sunday morning. They're wearing 00:30:07.279 --> 00:30:11.400 their normal clothes. They sing. They pray. They 00:30:11.400 --> 00:30:16.099 worship. They sing loudly. Everybody can see. 00:30:16.180 --> 00:30:19.460 Everybody watches. Everybody hears. But underneath 00:30:19.460 --> 00:30:24.779 their clothes, they have little idols taped to 00:30:24.779 --> 00:30:29.759 their body. They're worshiping God while clinging 00:30:29.759 --> 00:30:35.619 to idols on them. They're bringing idols into 00:30:35.619 --> 00:30:40.539 the worship of God. Are they really worshiping 00:30:40.539 --> 00:30:45.779 God if their idols remain? Will God accept that 00:30:45.779 --> 00:30:48.160 worship? Will God be pleased with that worship? 00:30:49.740 --> 00:30:51.960 Or does that individual need to take those idols 00:30:51.960 --> 00:30:54.519 out and crush them, cut off their arms, cut off 00:30:54.519 --> 00:30:55.960 their feet, and cut off their head and let it 00:30:55.960 --> 00:31:04.519 fall over on the threshing floor? Beware of a 00:31:04.519 --> 00:31:11.200 form of worship. Do not simply use your mouth 00:31:11.200 --> 00:31:18.660 to make noise when your heart is far, far away. 00:31:19.200 --> 00:31:23.940 From Christ. If there is sin in your life. And 00:31:23.940 --> 00:31:27.220 you are not willing to give it up. Then you are 00:31:27.220 --> 00:31:31.700 doing something. But it is not worshiping. If 00:31:31.700 --> 00:31:35.099 you have conscious. Willing sin. In your heart 00:31:35.099 --> 00:31:37.460 and your mind. And you are singing and making 00:31:37.460 --> 00:31:39.460 noise. And you are praising God. You are doing 00:31:39.460 --> 00:31:41.319 something. But it is not worshiping the Holy 00:31:41.319 --> 00:31:47.220 God. In truth and spirit. Crush the idol. Then 00:31:47.220 --> 00:31:55.960 worship God. Deal with the sin, then sing praises. 00:31:56.279 --> 00:31:58.920 The idea is not to keep you from worship. The 00:31:58.920 --> 00:32:01.539 idea is to get you to deal with the sin so that 00:32:01.539 --> 00:32:10.039 you truly can worship. So beware of a form of 00:32:10.039 --> 00:32:17.299 worship. Secondly, be exhorted to prepare your 00:32:17.299 --> 00:32:21.960 hearts for worship. All of this... teaches us 00:32:21.960 --> 00:32:26.319 that we need to be cautious of our own hearts, 00:32:26.380 --> 00:32:29.599 doesn't it, brothers and sisters? Have you ever 00:32:29.599 --> 00:32:34.700 considered your relationship with sin to the 00:32:34.700 --> 00:32:42.019 worship of God? Have you ever considered how 00:32:42.019 --> 00:32:45.799 your sin affects the worship of God, your worship 00:32:45.799 --> 00:32:54.930 of God? Of all things in this life, of all things, 00:32:55.170 --> 00:33:03.029 we ought to spend time thinking, praying, considering, 00:33:03.230 --> 00:33:09.410 examining our hearts to see if there are idols 00:33:09.410 --> 00:33:13.069 in them, if we are clinging to things before 00:33:13.069 --> 00:33:17.730 we seek to worship a holy and a sovereign and 00:33:17.730 --> 00:33:25.390 a good God. Take time before the worship of God 00:33:25.390 --> 00:33:31.509 to examine your hearts. Think about Saturday 00:33:31.509 --> 00:33:34.730 night. What do I need to deal with from this 00:33:34.730 --> 00:33:36.930 previous week in my heart so that I can worship 00:33:36.930 --> 00:33:43.990 God rightly tomorrow? Get rid of the idols before 00:33:43.990 --> 00:33:50.890 you come into his glorious presence. Examine. 00:33:51.660 --> 00:33:55.960 And be exhorted to prepare your hearts for worship. 00:33:56.059 --> 00:34:01.160 He's always worthy of our praise and our honor. 00:34:01.859 --> 00:34:08.039 He's always worthy of it. Be sure of your worship 00:34:08.039 --> 00:34:13.079 this morning. As I was working on this message, 00:34:13.260 --> 00:34:19.420 my heart longed to worship the way that David 00:34:19.420 --> 00:34:25.630 desires to worship. My heart longs to experience 00:34:25.630 --> 00:34:28.769 the worship that he desired where my mouth freely 00:34:28.769 --> 00:34:34.969 worships God without the hindrance of sin. Free 00:34:34.969 --> 00:34:39.710 of guilt. Brothers and sisters, we can possess 00:34:39.710 --> 00:34:44.630 that which he desired. You can possess that which 00:34:44.630 --> 00:34:48.630 David so longed for if you'll but deal with your 00:34:48.630 --> 00:34:54.340 sin this morning. Do you understand that? That 00:34:54.340 --> 00:34:57.699 you can be free in your heart to worship God 00:34:57.699 --> 00:35:00.500 from guilt in your conscience this morning. This 00:35:00.500 --> 00:35:03.059 next song, you can sing like you've never sung 00:35:03.059 --> 00:35:05.059 before if you'll just deal with the sin in your 00:35:05.059 --> 00:35:09.619 heart right now. You can praise God as you never 00:35:09.619 --> 00:35:11.519 have if you'll search your hearts and you'll 00:35:11.519 --> 00:35:13.280 deal with your hearts and you'll deal with the 00:35:13.280 --> 00:35:15.460 iniquity and the corruption that is running wild 00:35:15.460 --> 00:35:24.510 in them. You can be sure that your worship is 00:35:24.510 --> 00:35:27.789 true and sincere and heartfelt and you can be 00:35:27.789 --> 00:35:34.030 free of your guilt. If you will go to God now 00:35:34.030 --> 00:35:38.130 and you will pray to him and you will repent 00:35:38.130 --> 00:35:40.550 of your sin and trust in the blessed promise 00:35:40.550 --> 00:35:45.349 that he will forgive your sins. That can be a 00:35:45.349 --> 00:35:50.230 reality in your heart and your soul now. You 00:35:50.230 --> 00:35:52.349 don't have to wait till tomorrow to deal with 00:35:52.349 --> 00:35:55.829 your sin. You don't have to wait till you go 00:35:55.829 --> 00:35:58.070 home to repent of sin in your life. You don't 00:35:58.070 --> 00:36:01.329 have to wait to get right in your fellowship 00:36:01.329 --> 00:36:04.050 with God, brothers and sisters. You don't need 00:36:04.050 --> 00:36:09.550 to push it off. Do it now. Repentance is not 00:36:09.550 --> 00:36:12.090 a physical act where we get up and go and do 00:36:12.090 --> 00:36:14.809 something. Repentance is dealing with God in 00:36:14.809 --> 00:36:20.420 prayer. It's a spiritual act, a spiritual motion. 00:36:21.599 --> 00:36:24.900 Go to him now. Deal with your heart and give 00:36:24.900 --> 00:36:27.019 him the worship and give him the praise that 00:36:27.019 --> 00:36:35.360 he is due. We can all experience that. Don't 00:36:35.360 --> 00:36:39.880 be slow in going to God for the forgiveness of 00:36:39.880 --> 00:36:43.539 sins. Brothers and sisters, he's eager. He's 00:36:43.539 --> 00:36:47.300 willing. He's ready to forgive you right now. 00:36:49.230 --> 00:36:51.909 He's eager, he's ready, he's willing to cleanse 00:36:51.909 --> 00:36:55.969 your conscience of guilt, to give purity in your 00:36:55.969 --> 00:36:58.590 heart, to renew you, to restore you right now. 00:36:59.949 --> 00:37:05.269 If you will go to him. If you will believe his 00:37:05.269 --> 00:37:09.630 promise that he will forgive your sins.