WEBVTT 00:00:01.419 --> 00:00:05.780 Let's pray together once more. Heavenly Father, 00:00:05.799 --> 00:00:10.039 we are thankful for your help and guidance in 00:00:10.039 --> 00:00:12.460 the meeting thus far. We're thankful for your 00:00:12.460 --> 00:00:15.419 continuing work of the Holy Spirit that calls 00:00:15.419 --> 00:00:18.280 men and women, boys and girls unto yourself. 00:00:19.219 --> 00:00:21.140 We pray that indeed that work might continue, 00:00:21.239 --> 00:00:23.820 that we might see more and more come to repentance 00:00:23.820 --> 00:00:27.339 and faith. We're thankful for this time now that 00:00:27.339 --> 00:00:30.559 we have to open your word and hear from you. 00:00:30.589 --> 00:00:32.710 We pray that indeed you would own your word, 00:00:32.869 --> 00:00:34.829 that you would fulfill your promise, that it 00:00:34.829 --> 00:00:37.490 would accomplish all of your perfect purposes 00:00:37.490 --> 00:00:40.869 in the hearts of your people. I pray for myself 00:00:40.869 --> 00:00:43.189 that you'd enable me to bring forth all the truths 00:00:43.189 --> 00:00:46.310 that you have given to me this week and that 00:00:46.310 --> 00:00:49.210 it would be brought forth in a way that is honoring 00:00:49.210 --> 00:00:52.070 and glorifying unto you and helpful to all who 00:00:52.070 --> 00:00:55.530 hear. So we do pray that you would own this time 00:00:55.530 --> 00:00:57.649 for your glory, the advancement of your kingdom, 00:00:58.049 --> 00:01:04.510 and we pray in Christ's name. Amen. Turn with 00:01:04.510 --> 00:01:07.670 me once again then, if you will, to Proverbs. 00:01:08.989 --> 00:01:11.129 We've been looking at various Proverbs in the 00:01:11.129 --> 00:01:15.709 last several weeks. So we're going to look at 00:01:15.709 --> 00:01:32.269 this Proverb found in chapter 28. Verse 13. This 00:01:32.269 --> 00:01:52.790 isn't even off. Alright, in verse 13 we read, 00:01:54.290 --> 00:01:56.950 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper, 00:01:57.829 --> 00:02:02.849 but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall 00:02:02.849 --> 00:02:10.530 have mercy. So indeed it is a wonderful promise 00:02:10.530 --> 00:02:15.370 there that those who do not attempt to cover 00:02:15.370 --> 00:02:19.740 their sins because they won't prosper. So what 00:02:19.740 --> 00:02:23.780 does it mean to cover your sins? It means that 00:02:23.780 --> 00:02:27.400 you try in your own power and in your own strength 00:02:27.400 --> 00:02:33.840 to somehow get forgiveness. We know some people 00:02:33.840 --> 00:02:36.900 think that good works will overshadow all of 00:02:36.900 --> 00:02:40.039 their bad works. That's an attempt to cover their 00:02:40.039 --> 00:02:45.659 sin. So some people think that they do so many 00:02:45.659 --> 00:02:51.009 good works or so many... works of penitence. 00:02:51.669 --> 00:02:56.629 Their sins will by doing that be covered. So 00:02:56.629 --> 00:03:00.389 that's what it is we're not to do. We're not 00:03:00.389 --> 00:03:05.110 to cover our sins by our own devices or by our 00:03:05.110 --> 00:03:09.389 own thinking or reasoning or by what we do or 00:03:09.389 --> 00:03:14.229 by what we don't do. We cannot cover our own 00:03:14.229 --> 00:03:17.150 sins. That's what the Bible's making plain to 00:03:17.150 --> 00:03:22.000 us. Well, what what do we have to do? Well, we 00:03:22.000 --> 00:03:26.319 have to confess and forsake them So we have to 00:03:26.319 --> 00:03:29.919 own our sin We have to realize who we are. We're 00:03:29.919 --> 00:03:34.080 our sinners We're not God. We're not the creator. 00:03:34.080 --> 00:03:37.000 We're the creatures and we have a sin problem 00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:40.080 And I shouldn't have to stand here and say anything 00:03:40.080 --> 00:03:43.020 more than that All you have to do is read the 00:03:43.020 --> 00:03:47.639 news. All you have to do is Go out into the outside 00:03:47.639 --> 00:03:50.520 world And all you have to really do is take an 00:03:50.520 --> 00:03:54.139 honest look at yourself and you'll know for a 00:03:54.139 --> 00:03:59.759 certainty that mankind, whoever they are, has 00:03:59.759 --> 00:04:06.659 a sin problem. So that's evident. So I don't 00:04:06.659 --> 00:04:09.539 want to go any further with this until we look 00:04:09.539 --> 00:04:12.810 at the sign. I don't know if you got my email 00:04:12.810 --> 00:04:15.409 or not, but if you did, hopefully you were able 00:04:15.409 --> 00:04:17.649 to read ahead and you were going to realize that 00:04:17.649 --> 00:04:21.230 we were going to use Psalm 32 as a commentary, 00:04:21.410 --> 00:04:24.829 more or less, on this proverb. Because Psalm 00:04:24.829 --> 00:04:29.470 32 speaks directly to this issue. So let's turn 00:04:29.470 --> 00:04:40.750 over there then to the Psalm. And this psalm 00:04:40.750 --> 00:04:45.470 is a, well, it's called a maskel, or it's called 00:04:45.470 --> 00:04:51.269 a psalm of instruction. And you say, well, there's 00:04:51.269 --> 00:04:53.769 instruction in all the psalms. There certainly 00:04:53.769 --> 00:04:57.009 is. But there's a half a dozen or so of the psalms 00:04:57.009 --> 00:05:01.430 that have this designation. So we can probably 00:05:01.430 --> 00:05:03.930 learn from that that this is a pretty important 00:05:03.930 --> 00:05:08.550 instruction. This is something that we should 00:05:08.550 --> 00:05:12.750 be paying particular attention to. Maybe it's 00:05:12.750 --> 00:05:14.889 an indication that we should read it more often 00:05:14.889 --> 00:05:18.730 than we do. For whatever reason, it's designated 00:05:18.730 --> 00:05:24.230 particularly as a psalm of instruction. So we'll 00:05:24.230 --> 00:05:30.930 read then here the first two verses. Blessed 00:05:30.930 --> 00:05:34.250 is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose 00:05:34.250 --> 00:05:37.699 sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom 00:05:37.699 --> 00:05:41.339 the Lord imputeth not iniquity and in whose spirit 00:05:41.339 --> 00:05:47.259 there is no guile So here we have this bold statement 00:05:47.259 --> 00:05:53.860 blessed overwhelmingly happy Overwhelmingly at 00:05:53.860 --> 00:05:59.540 peace Blessed it's a state of blessedness that 00:05:59.540 --> 00:06:04.300 a Christian possesses Why because his sin is 00:06:04.300 --> 00:06:08.920 forgiven We need to focus our attention as already 00:06:08.920 --> 00:06:12.680 been said many times this morning That we have 00:06:12.680 --> 00:06:16.480 to remember and focus our attention on The finished 00:06:16.480 --> 00:06:20.139 work of Christ and what a blessing it is to be 00:06:20.139 --> 00:06:25.160 his We are Christ's We're no longer ourselves. 00:06:25.839 --> 00:06:29.160 We are Christ's and that is a blessed place to 00:06:29.160 --> 00:06:34.620 be That's what the psalm is telling us so Here's 00:06:34.620 --> 00:06:40.839 the particulars. It gives three types, perhaps, 00:06:40.860 --> 00:06:44.800 or three designations of sin in these two verses. 00:06:45.959 --> 00:06:50.100 So the first sin that is mentioned here is transgressions. 00:06:51.399 --> 00:06:55.680 And if you're familiar with the children's catechism, 00:06:56.139 --> 00:06:59.180 you'll know that a transgression is any violation 00:06:59.180 --> 00:07:03.319 of the law of God. That's what it taught us. 00:07:03.629 --> 00:07:07.029 But it's a willful doing what you know you shouldn't 00:07:07.029 --> 00:07:12.910 do. We're given instruction from Christ Himself. 00:07:13.990 --> 00:07:17.790 We heard the Sermon on the Mount reference today, 00:07:17.990 --> 00:07:22.970 full of instruction. So we do know what we should 00:07:22.970 --> 00:07:26.029 do. We get instruction all the time, from the 00:07:26.029 --> 00:07:30.110 Word, from the meetings together. Perhaps you 00:07:30.110 --> 00:07:32.209 get instructions from talking to your husband 00:07:32.209 --> 00:07:38.480 or your wife. So the problem is not that we don't 00:07:38.480 --> 00:07:41.699 know what to do. The problem is that we don't 00:07:41.699 --> 00:07:45.279 do it, or that we do something that we shouldn't 00:07:45.279 --> 00:07:49.319 be doing. It's a transgression then. That's the 00:07:49.319 --> 00:07:52.939 first designation. The second is sin. And so 00:07:52.939 --> 00:07:56.620 the theological definition of sin, you've probably 00:07:56.620 --> 00:07:59.319 heard it hundreds of times, is a falling shard 00:07:59.319 --> 00:08:03.430 of the mark. It's a falling short of the mark. 00:08:03.569 --> 00:08:07.189 It's not doing what you should do Transgressions 00:08:07.189 --> 00:08:10.110 doing what you shouldn't this the word sin is 00:08:10.110 --> 00:08:13.970 generally understood to be not doing what we 00:08:13.970 --> 00:08:18.730 should do So those are the really that really 00:08:18.730 --> 00:08:22.610 covers the the sin but the Bible goes on and 00:08:22.610 --> 00:08:27.110 talks about iniquity as the third element or 00:08:27.110 --> 00:08:30.420 description of sin And the Bible uses this word 00:08:30.420 --> 00:08:34.159 in at least a couple of different ways. So the 00:08:34.159 --> 00:08:41.220 one way it uses is the perversity of sin, the 00:08:41.220 --> 00:08:46.000 ugliness, the grossness. It's iniquity. It's 00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:52.240 iniquitous. So it's something that's used to 00:08:52.240 --> 00:08:56.710 describe some perhaps grievous sins. that people 00:08:56.710 --> 00:09:01.049 fall into, iniquity. And that's not the way it's 00:09:01.049 --> 00:09:04.070 used here in this psalm. It's used in the second 00:09:04.070 --> 00:09:08.889 way. And that is, it can be translated, and you 00:09:08.889 --> 00:09:12.769 may have it translated so in your Bibles, as 00:09:12.769 --> 00:09:20.450 guilt. So along with sin comes guilt. Along with 00:09:20.450 --> 00:09:26.129 doing what you shouldn't comes guilt. Along with 00:09:26.129 --> 00:09:32.529 not doing what we should comes guilt So sin is 00:09:32.529 --> 00:09:38.529 ugly It's worthy of the wrath of God it's worthy 00:09:38.529 --> 00:09:45.830 of death So we need to understand as well and 00:09:45.830 --> 00:09:48.090 I don't know that this is well understood or 00:09:48.090 --> 00:09:52.110 well remembered We don't sin against each other 00:09:54.130 --> 00:09:58.590 We hurt each other. We treat each other badly. 00:10:01.610 --> 00:10:04.330 It's certainly true that we don't do all we should 00:10:04.330 --> 00:10:09.830 do for each other. But how can we sin against 00:10:09.830 --> 00:10:12.690 somebody who hasn't told us what to do or not 00:10:12.690 --> 00:10:16.929 to do? Sin is against God, folks. That's where 00:10:16.929 --> 00:10:21.210 our sin lies. And that's who we have to primarily 00:10:21.210 --> 00:10:25.789 deal with, first of all, in sin. David makes 00:10:25.789 --> 00:10:28.250 the confession against you and you only have 00:10:28.250 --> 00:10:33.049 I sinned So yeah, we do a lot of ugly things 00:10:33.049 --> 00:10:35.629 that have a lot of ugly effect upon everybody 00:10:35.629 --> 00:10:40.490 else But our sin is against God and we need to 00:10:40.490 --> 00:10:45.149 deal with our sin with God Primarily first of 00:10:45.149 --> 00:10:48.529 all, perhaps I should say our first obligation 00:10:48.529 --> 00:10:52.210 is to clear ourselves with God clear our sin 00:10:52.210 --> 00:10:56.580 with God Now you know that this happens when 00:10:56.580 --> 00:10:59.519 you're converted, when you're saved. That's the 00:10:59.519 --> 00:11:03.240 beginning of the whole thing. All of these descriptions 00:11:03.240 --> 00:11:06.379 of sin were certainly true of all of us when 00:11:06.379 --> 00:11:09.840 we were lost. Just as they're true of every lost 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:14.080 man still today. So when we're converted, we 00:11:14.080 --> 00:11:17.120 had a day of reckoning, we had a day of coming 00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:20.440 forth, we had a day of the first day in our lives 00:11:20.440 --> 00:11:23.679 probably that we were totally honest. and we 00:11:23.679 --> 00:11:26.559 came forth and agreed with God and we said, yes, 00:11:26.559 --> 00:11:30.639 I am a sinner against you, Lord. I have offended 00:11:30.639 --> 00:11:35.120 you. I have done grievously before you. That 00:11:35.120 --> 00:11:38.460 all happened to us in some form or another when 00:11:38.460 --> 00:11:41.480 we were converted. If you never had a change 00:11:41.480 --> 00:11:43.840 of mind about your sin, you had never been converted. 00:11:45.860 --> 00:11:48.559 At the same time, when you were converted, you 00:11:48.559 --> 00:11:52.009 had a different view of God. Before you were 00:11:52.009 --> 00:11:53.529 converted, you didn't want nothing to do with 00:11:53.529 --> 00:11:55.409 God. You didn't care what He said. You didn't 00:11:55.409 --> 00:11:58.429 love Him. You didn't care anything about God, 00:11:58.490 --> 00:12:00.529 how He felt about you, whatever. That didn't 00:12:00.529 --> 00:12:04.950 interest you. When you were converted, you got 00:12:04.950 --> 00:12:09.470 a big increase in the way that you felt about 00:12:09.470 --> 00:12:12.990 God. You went from really rebellion and hatred 00:12:12.990 --> 00:12:17.490 to love for God when you were converted. You 00:12:17.490 --> 00:12:22.220 began to understand. just who God is and all 00:12:22.220 --> 00:12:24.740 that He's done for us when you were converted. 00:12:26.139 --> 00:12:29.440 So you had a big change of mind over sin and 00:12:29.440 --> 00:12:33.320 over God. So that's where it all starts. So if 00:12:33.320 --> 00:12:35.460 you've never had any of these experiences, if 00:12:35.460 --> 00:12:39.320 you never come to submit yourself unto the Lord 00:12:39.320 --> 00:12:42.440 in repentance and faith, I urge you this morning 00:12:42.440 --> 00:12:48.620 again to do so. Get with God. Confess your sin. 00:12:49.620 --> 00:12:54.220 Express your desire to be saved. And He's told 00:12:54.220 --> 00:12:57.019 us that all that come to Him, He will receive. 00:12:58.279 --> 00:13:01.600 So when you do come to God in repentance and 00:13:01.600 --> 00:13:06.840 faith, you will be saved. Until you do, you won't. 00:13:07.559 --> 00:13:14.320 That's all. Well, along with the three types 00:13:14.320 --> 00:13:18.320 of sin that we have here, we have the three Shall 00:13:18.320 --> 00:13:26.139 we say remedies of God for our sin? The first 00:13:26.139 --> 00:13:33.519 remedy is forgiveness. We've been forgiven. And 00:13:33.519 --> 00:13:39.740 we hear about this every Sunday just about, during 00:13:39.740 --> 00:13:44.039 the communion time. Our sins are forgiven. And 00:13:44.039 --> 00:13:51.639 glory to God, they're forgiven. It's like the 00:13:51.639 --> 00:13:55.019 pilgrim's progress. Pilgrim's trudging along 00:13:55.019 --> 00:13:57.179 to get to the cross and he's got the burden on 00:13:57.179 --> 00:14:01.539 his back. Right? And he finally gets to the cross. 00:14:01.580 --> 00:14:04.799 He finally sees Christ. And what happens? The 00:14:04.799 --> 00:14:08.059 burden of his sin falls off and tumbles on down 00:14:08.059 --> 00:14:10.960 the ravine never to be heard from again. His 00:14:10.960 --> 00:14:15.320 burden is lifted. His sin burden is done away 00:14:15.320 --> 00:14:20.879 with. Forgiveness through Christ. Owning your 00:14:20.879 --> 00:14:24.440 sin and confessing it to Christ is guaranteed 00:14:24.440 --> 00:14:28.120 forgiveness. First John tells us he is faithful 00:14:28.120 --> 00:14:30.700 and just to forgive us our sins when we confess 00:14:30.700 --> 00:14:37.659 them unto him. First John. So, forgiveness. It's 00:14:37.659 --> 00:14:40.720 a beautiful thing. It's wonderful to have the 00:14:40.720 --> 00:14:45.860 forgiveness of God. The second is that our sin 00:14:45.860 --> 00:14:50.639 is covered. We can't cover our sin. There's nothing 00:14:50.639 --> 00:14:55.580 we can do. We have to fly to God We have to ask 00:14:55.580 --> 00:14:57.899 him to do it. How does he do it? He covers us 00:14:57.899 --> 00:15:03.019 with the precious work of Christ That ugly filthy 00:15:03.019 --> 00:15:07.360 mess that we've made of ourselves The big old 00:15:07.360 --> 00:15:11.700 ugly pit that we dug the miry clay that was stuck 00:15:11.700 --> 00:15:15.740 in all the descriptions of a man in sin It's 00:15:15.740 --> 00:15:18.059 all cleaned up. It's all covered. It's gone. 00:15:18.139 --> 00:15:22.659 What? In the finished work of Jesus Christ. He 00:15:22.659 --> 00:15:25.299 not only forgives our sins, but He gives us an 00:15:25.299 --> 00:15:28.759 actual righteousness in Christ that covers all 00:15:28.759 --> 00:15:33.779 of our sin. When God looks at us, He sees the 00:15:33.779 --> 00:15:36.139 righteousness of Christ. That's what He sees. 00:15:37.399 --> 00:15:44.570 We're covered. Our sin is covered. This is what 00:15:44.570 --> 00:15:50.769 we think about, this is what we remember. And 00:15:50.769 --> 00:15:54.350 then last thing, the remedy here, he says that 00:15:54.350 --> 00:15:59.830 he will not impart or impute iniquity. He will 00:15:59.830 --> 00:16:05.509 not give unto the believer guilt. He won't reckon 00:16:05.509 --> 00:16:09.960 the sinner guilty. He doesn't impute iniquity. 00:16:09.980 --> 00:16:13.179 He does impute righteousness to us, as we've 00:16:13.179 --> 00:16:18.100 just said, but by doing so, that prevents or 00:16:18.100 --> 00:16:21.080 completely eliminates the Christian's guilt. 00:16:23.879 --> 00:16:27.559 Now these are glorious truths, and hopefully 00:16:27.559 --> 00:16:31.139 they still stir our hearts. We've been hearing 00:16:31.139 --> 00:16:34.690 this for as long as we've been Christians. and 00:16:34.690 --> 00:16:37.830 we're basking in the glory of these truths, hopefully. 00:16:38.649 --> 00:16:48.049 Hopefully we are. So, the lesson doesn't end 00:16:48.049 --> 00:16:53.450 there though. What the last sentence says, and 00:16:53.450 --> 00:17:00.730 if I was to read this without the... The middle 00:17:00.730 --> 00:17:05.289 part, verse two would read, blessed is the man 00:17:05.289 --> 00:17:11.410 in whose spirit there is no guile. Now here's 00:17:11.410 --> 00:17:17.049 where we get into trouble as Christians. Here's 00:17:17.049 --> 00:17:24.890 where the problem rears its head. Guile. What's 00:17:24.890 --> 00:17:34.759 guile? Deceitfulness. Pretending. Perhaps. Rationalization. 00:17:37.539 --> 00:17:40.680 None of those things can be found or should be 00:17:40.680 --> 00:17:45.420 found in a Christian. We're done with that. We're 00:17:45.420 --> 00:17:48.240 done with that pretending that we're these perfect 00:17:48.240 --> 00:17:51.460 people that walk around without any sin. We're 00:17:51.460 --> 00:17:54.480 done with that. We've already owned our sin. 00:17:54.599 --> 00:17:58.000 We've already said that God has forgiven our 00:17:58.000 --> 00:18:01.619 sin. And again, in John, he tells us, confess 00:18:01.619 --> 00:18:04.599 our sins. He's faithful and just to forgive us 00:18:04.599 --> 00:18:07.799 our sins. In other words, sin is an ongoing problem 00:18:07.799 --> 00:18:09.859 with the Christian. It's not a one -time act 00:18:09.859 --> 00:18:13.920 and everything's disappeared. Yeah, your sins 00:18:13.920 --> 00:18:18.539 are forgiven. You're right with God. You're guaranteed 00:18:18.539 --> 00:18:21.619 to be carried along by God. But that does not 00:18:21.619 --> 00:18:28.589 eliminate the probability of sinning. We still 00:18:28.589 --> 00:18:32.049 have to deal with this flesh that embodies our 00:18:32.049 --> 00:18:36.750 spirit. And we still have to be watchful and 00:18:36.750 --> 00:18:40.690 mindful and open to the fact that we've got some 00:18:40.690 --> 00:18:44.970 sin problems. We still sin. We still need forgiveness. 00:18:45.829 --> 00:18:51.390 We still need to confess that sin. Now, I think 00:18:51.390 --> 00:18:54.910 I know all of you here as well as I know myself, 00:18:54.930 --> 00:18:59.299 and we all know that's true. Is there anybody 00:18:59.299 --> 00:19:03.940 going to deny that they don't sin? Of course 00:19:03.940 --> 00:19:08.799 not. Well, how are you going to deal with it? 00:19:10.400 --> 00:19:15.839 How do we deal with our sin? Do we try to cover 00:19:15.839 --> 00:19:20.200 it? Do we try to rationalize it? Do we ignore 00:19:20.200 --> 00:19:25.039 it? I know I'm forgiven. Does it matter to us 00:19:25.039 --> 00:19:28.460 that we sin? Does it matter that we're offending 00:19:28.460 --> 00:19:31.960 God when we sin? Does it matter that we're trampling 00:19:31.960 --> 00:19:34.380 on the grace and the blood of Christ when we 00:19:34.380 --> 00:19:40.279 sin? Do those things matter to us? Well, I think 00:19:40.279 --> 00:19:43.559 again most of us here would say yeah, they do 00:19:43.559 --> 00:19:48.960 So it's important that we don't be deceitful 00:19:48.960 --> 00:19:55.500 about our ongoing problem with sin and we Bring 00:19:55.500 --> 00:20:01.259 them to the next Perhaps implication perhaps 00:20:01.259 --> 00:20:05.440 is the fact that we have forgiveness of sins 00:20:05.440 --> 00:20:08.859 and we have the ongoing forgiveness of sins from 00:20:08.859 --> 00:20:12.920 God Has got to definitely affect the way that 00:20:12.920 --> 00:20:20.160 we treat each other Look we don't expect everybody 00:20:20.160 --> 00:20:23.299 to be perfect. We don't expect to never be hurt 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:26.819 by people we're in a close relationship with. 00:20:27.539 --> 00:20:30.059 We don't expect that. In other words, we are 00:20:30.059 --> 00:20:35.559 those who forgive. We forgive when sin occurs. 00:20:35.660 --> 00:20:39.420 We forgive when we're hurt by someone. Or whatever 00:20:39.420 --> 00:20:42.859 the case may be. Because we have been forgiven 00:20:42.859 --> 00:20:47.319 so much, it should be easy for us to forgive 00:20:47.319 --> 00:20:51.400 others. If we have a proper view of ourselves, 00:20:51.880 --> 00:20:56.140 and know what big sinners we are and how much 00:20:56.140 --> 00:20:58.980 God has freed us and given us the forgiveness 00:20:58.980 --> 00:21:02.799 that we didn't deserve or earn, it should make 00:21:02.799 --> 00:21:05.680 it that much easier to be forgiving one another. 00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:12.460 Hopefully that's true. It should be. As far as 00:21:12.460 --> 00:21:17.940 I know, there is forgiveness here. There are 00:21:17.940 --> 00:21:21.329 no grudge keepers here. There are no folks that 00:21:21.329 --> 00:21:25.190 gonna dwell on the past and past hurts and it 00:21:25.190 --> 00:21:29.809 gonna Allow a wedge to be driven in between them 00:21:29.809 --> 00:21:33.710 Everybody's gonna do their level best to forgive 00:21:33.710 --> 00:21:38.190 each other So I'm just encouraging you to continue 00:21:38.190 --> 00:21:44.849 to do it You know David David was a he has some 00:21:44.849 --> 00:21:48.750 sin in his life, you know the story of David 00:21:49.349 --> 00:21:53.150 He wasn't perfect, but God claimed him to be 00:21:53.150 --> 00:22:01.190 a man after my own heart So Sin as long as it's 00:22:01.190 --> 00:22:03.990 continued to deal with properly is not going 00:22:03.990 --> 00:22:06.569 to be a hindrance to your relationship with the 00:22:06.569 --> 00:22:11.829 Lord But it can be and this is the next verse 00:22:11.829 --> 00:22:15.819 where David gives his testimony He says when 00:22:15.819 --> 00:22:19.359 I kept silence my bones waxed old through my 00:22:19.359 --> 00:22:23.279 roaring all the day long For day and night thy 00:22:23.279 --> 00:22:26.599 hand was heavy upon me. My moisture is turned 00:22:26.599 --> 00:22:30.539 into drought of summer Sila In other words, he 00:22:30.539 --> 00:22:33.579 was covering his sin. He was denying it. It was 00:22:33.579 --> 00:22:37.200 rationalizing it. However, whatever excuse you 00:22:37.200 --> 00:22:40.779 want to give He was he didn't confess his sin 00:22:40.779 --> 00:22:44.519 and God's hand was heavy against him He lost 00:22:44.519 --> 00:22:48.019 his relationship. He lost the joy. He lost the 00:22:48.019 --> 00:22:50.319 blessedness of his relationship. He didn't lose 00:22:50.319 --> 00:22:54.059 his salvation, but there was an interruption 00:22:54.059 --> 00:22:59.660 in his daily communing with God because he refused 00:22:59.660 --> 00:23:07.079 to acknowledge and confess his sin to God. I 00:23:07.079 --> 00:23:08.880 don't know if anybody here has ever experienced 00:23:08.880 --> 00:23:13.970 that. Hopefully you've not, but you will. Unless 00:23:13.970 --> 00:23:17.569 you're honest with yourself over your sin, and 00:23:17.569 --> 00:23:22.769 you need to be confessing it unto God. Now, obviously 00:23:22.769 --> 00:23:25.150 I'm not saying every single little sin that you 00:23:25.150 --> 00:23:27.990 confess, that you commit, you have to confess. 00:23:28.450 --> 00:23:30.930 There just has to be this willingness to do so. 00:23:30.950 --> 00:23:33.309 There has to be this, when you know you've sinned, 00:23:33.349 --> 00:23:37.910 you need to actually confess it. Probably just 00:23:37.910 --> 00:23:39.670 as many times, and maybe more than, we don't 00:23:39.670 --> 00:23:44.119 even realize our sinfulness. So it's pretty, 00:23:44.339 --> 00:23:48.460 that's not what we're talking about. Once you 00:23:48.460 --> 00:23:51.079 come to a realization that you have committed 00:23:51.079 --> 00:23:53.619 sin against God, you need to confess it. That's 00:23:53.619 --> 00:23:55.599 what David said and that's what he didn't do. 00:23:56.240 --> 00:23:58.579 That's a personal testimony that we all learn 00:23:58.579 --> 00:24:02.579 from. God doesn't allow us to go on in sin. He 00:24:02.579 --> 00:24:05.599 brings his heavy hand upon us to work repentance. 00:24:06.119 --> 00:24:10.799 Those whom he loves, what? He disciplines. We've 00:24:10.799 --> 00:24:15.019 already seen that from the Proverbs. So what 00:24:15.019 --> 00:24:18.299 was the remedy? How did David get back? In verse 00:24:18.299 --> 00:24:22.059 5, he says, I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and 00:24:22.059 --> 00:24:25.559 thine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will 00:24:25.559 --> 00:24:28.799 confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and 00:24:28.799 --> 00:24:33.619 thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Seel it. 00:24:34.180 --> 00:24:37.259 So that's the remedy. That's what we've just 00:24:37.259 --> 00:24:40.440 been discussing and talking about. The remedy 00:24:40.440 --> 00:24:44.559 is being totally honest and open with God and 00:24:44.559 --> 00:24:48.779 yourself. Confess your sin. Ask forgiveness. 00:24:50.700 --> 00:24:55.339 Go hard after God. Don't just slough it off. 00:24:57.539 --> 00:25:03.519 It's a big deal. It should be a big deal. You 00:25:03.519 --> 00:25:10.589 should make every effort to own your sin. and 00:25:10.589 --> 00:25:15.930 repent from it. You can't ask forgiveness for 00:25:15.930 --> 00:25:17.849 something that you have every intention to do 00:25:17.849 --> 00:25:23.849 it again. That's just hypocritical. That's just 00:25:23.849 --> 00:25:27.309 fire insurance. And that's not what the Bible's 00:25:27.309 --> 00:25:32.769 saying. Now I understand also and again that 00:25:32.769 --> 00:25:36.490 we do battle with sin. We're all subject to a 00:25:36.490 --> 00:25:39.220 particular sin perhaps. more than others and 00:25:39.220 --> 00:25:43.900 it is going to be harder to truly repent about 00:25:43.900 --> 00:25:47.960 from that sin but indeed it has to be the desire 00:25:47.960 --> 00:25:52.819 of our hearts to be free from sin we long for 00:25:52.819 --> 00:25:55.299 that day as we've sung and as we heard already 00:25:55.299 --> 00:25:58.400 for what when we're at in glory with God and 00:25:58.400 --> 00:26:02.779 we will no longer be in the battle with sin the 00:26:02.779 --> 00:26:07.539 ultimate victory is ours we know that That's 00:26:07.539 --> 00:26:10.539 the attitude. We want to be sinless. We want 00:26:10.539 --> 00:26:15.519 to be free from all of the temptations that confront 00:26:15.519 --> 00:26:20.380 us. We want to be free from our own sinful desires 00:26:20.380 --> 00:26:27.980 that hinder us. And we own that with God. He 00:26:27.980 --> 00:26:31.319 already knows it. He already knows all about 00:26:31.319 --> 00:26:34.180 it. We're not telling Him anything new. We're 00:26:34.180 --> 00:26:37.740 just agreeing with Him. over our sin issues. 00:26:38.859 --> 00:26:41.900 And we're making every effort to stop it, to 00:26:41.900 --> 00:26:45.059 correct it, to start doing what we know we should 00:26:45.059 --> 00:26:50.960 do. Just a brief word here about this. Seal it. 00:26:52.319 --> 00:26:55.039 I don't know, not all of the translations have 00:26:55.039 --> 00:26:58.079 this, but this is a pause. It's an indication 00:26:58.079 --> 00:27:03.359 of a pause in the teaching. It's giving time 00:27:03.359 --> 00:27:07.200 for consideration. It's giving time to meditate 00:27:07.200 --> 00:27:11.720 on what has previously been said. So if you do 00:27:11.720 --> 00:27:17.039 have it, that's a good thing. So the need to 00:27:17.039 --> 00:27:21.920 consider is what they're asking us to do here. 00:27:22.319 --> 00:27:28.220 Learn something. Look at the word. Take it into 00:27:28.220 --> 00:27:32.480 your heart. Meditate upon it. Don't keep reading. 00:27:32.640 --> 00:27:35.789 Wait, wait. Get the point from what you've already 00:27:35.789 --> 00:27:43.410 read, then go on. In verse 6, then, we read, 00:27:44.230 --> 00:27:47.789 For this shall every one that is godly pray unto 00:27:47.789 --> 00:27:52.690 thee in the time when thou mayest be found. Again, 00:27:52.970 --> 00:28:02.089 there's how many times God is able to be found 00:28:02.089 --> 00:28:09.680 now. He's ready now Nobody knows if we've got 00:28:09.680 --> 00:28:13.460 tomorrow how many times if we heard that Now 00:28:13.460 --> 00:28:19.720 is the time You can't put it off The verse that 00:28:19.720 --> 00:28:22.900 tells us pray to God while he can be found and 00:28:22.900 --> 00:28:28.519 this is the time now If you need to confess now 00:28:28.519 --> 00:28:30.400 is the time and that's just that's that's what 00:28:30.400 --> 00:28:34.690 he's saying If you, when you come to realize 00:28:34.690 --> 00:28:37.069 your sin and your need of forgiveness, now is 00:28:37.069 --> 00:28:40.950 the time to pray to God for it. Because it's 00:28:40.950 --> 00:28:43.829 the only time that you have. And you know what's 00:28:43.829 --> 00:28:46.990 really fantastic about it is there's no difference 00:28:46.990 --> 00:28:50.930 among any of us. We all have 24 hour days. Some 00:28:50.930 --> 00:28:53.430 people aren't given 20 hours and some are given 00:28:53.430 --> 00:28:57.910 28. No, it's everybody has the same 24 hours 00:28:57.910 --> 00:29:02.099 in a day. And God expects us to use those 24 00:29:02.099 --> 00:29:05.920 hours responsibly and wisely. Well, I don't have 00:29:05.920 --> 00:29:08.559 time to pray right now. Well, yeah, you do. You 00:29:08.559 --> 00:29:13.000 just won't do it. That's all. It's not that we 00:29:13.000 --> 00:29:15.599 don't have time, in other words. God gives us 00:29:15.599 --> 00:29:19.119 ample time. It's how you use it. What are you 00:29:19.119 --> 00:29:21.839 going to do with it? What's the most important 00:29:21.839 --> 00:29:24.799 thing in your life? Is it your relationship with 00:29:24.799 --> 00:29:32.140 the Lord or something else? That's usually what 00:29:32.140 --> 00:29:41.500 it comes down to. So he says that we should pray 00:29:41.500 --> 00:29:45.119 unto thee in the time when thou mayest be found. 00:29:49.359 --> 00:29:54.059 And he doesn't say that some of the godly do 00:29:54.059 --> 00:29:57.799 this. He doesn't say those who are super godly 00:29:57.799 --> 00:30:05.220 do it. He says what? Everyone that is godly should 00:30:05.220 --> 00:30:15.079 be doing it. So, first of all then, we got to 00:30:15.079 --> 00:30:17.539 get right with God. We got to get the forgiveness 00:30:17.539 --> 00:30:21.980 that God promises to give us. Then what? Well, 00:30:22.039 --> 00:30:25.519 then you've got to make every effort not to repeat 00:30:25.519 --> 00:30:28.910 the sin that you've just confessed. And then 00:30:28.910 --> 00:30:32.529 lastly, you've got to go to the person whom you've 00:30:32.529 --> 00:30:37.329 offended. If you know that you have offended 00:30:37.329 --> 00:30:39.849 somebody, you've hurt somebody, you need to go 00:30:39.849 --> 00:30:45.230 to them and confess that to them and ask for 00:30:45.230 --> 00:30:50.710 their forgiveness. That's the circle. That's 00:30:50.710 --> 00:30:53.720 what we should all do. And we shouldn't be afraid 00:30:53.720 --> 00:30:56.440 to do it because we know that we're going to 00:30:56.440 --> 00:30:59.380 be received by God and the person we've offended. 00:31:00.359 --> 00:31:03.279 That's what we already talked about. A forgiveness, 00:31:03.619 --> 00:31:06.420 a forgiving spirit that we all should possess 00:31:06.420 --> 00:31:10.279 because we've all been forgiven so much. Then 00:31:10.279 --> 00:31:22.009 in verse 7, we read, Thou shalt compass me about 00:31:22.009 --> 00:31:26.829 with songs of deliverance." Selah. So there it 00:31:26.829 --> 00:31:30.150 is. God is our hiding place. God is going to 00:31:30.150 --> 00:31:33.769 preserve us. God is going to surround us with 00:31:33.769 --> 00:31:37.890 songs of deliverance. That's what happens when 00:31:37.890 --> 00:31:40.509 our sins are forgiven. That's what happens when 00:31:40.509 --> 00:31:43.089 we repent. That's what happened when you were 00:31:43.089 --> 00:31:47.740 converted, didn't it? Didn't you have a great 00:31:47.740 --> 00:31:52.960 time with the Lord when you were converted? Was 00:31:52.960 --> 00:31:57.019 it like choirs of angels were singing? When the 00:31:57.019 --> 00:32:02.039 light came into your life and you were finally 00:32:02.039 --> 00:32:06.420 free from your sin and your guilt and the ugliness 00:32:06.420 --> 00:32:11.579 of it, that's what it was. We have a hiding place. 00:32:11.700 --> 00:32:16.619 Everybody needs a hiding place, folks. realize 00:32:16.619 --> 00:32:20.500 it are the blessed ones. We can't do this ourselves. 00:32:20.720 --> 00:32:24.440 We can't go through life ourselves. We need a 00:32:24.440 --> 00:32:27.240 hiding place. We need somebody that has more 00:32:27.240 --> 00:32:31.319 strength, more power, more love, more willingness 00:32:31.319 --> 00:32:36.240 than we do in order to be kept, in order to get 00:32:36.240 --> 00:32:39.640 from this life to the next. That's what a hiding 00:32:39.640 --> 00:32:46.519 place is. He's going to preserve me from all 00:32:46.519 --> 00:32:52.960 my trouble. We persevere and God preserves, and 00:32:52.960 --> 00:32:57.839 He does. He loses nothing. No one that He set 00:32:57.839 --> 00:33:01.319 His love upon in this life will fail to reach 00:33:01.319 --> 00:33:04.900 heaven, will fail to reach glory. He will preserve 00:33:04.900 --> 00:33:13.190 us. That's the promise. So then we get God's 00:33:13.190 --> 00:33:15.809 response here in verse 8, and here's probably 00:33:15.809 --> 00:33:19.309 why they call it a massacre. In verse 8, he says, 00:33:19.490 --> 00:33:21.910 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way 00:33:21.910 --> 00:33:25.470 which thou shalt go. I will guide thee with mine 00:33:25.470 --> 00:33:29.730 eye, or I will counsel thee. Mine eye shall be 00:33:29.730 --> 00:33:32.710 upon thee. You may have either one of those readings. 00:33:33.470 --> 00:33:38.730 So there it is. There's God's promise. When you 00:33:38.730 --> 00:33:43.910 are His, And when you are in the battle against 00:33:43.910 --> 00:33:50.309 sin, God's gonna do his part, in other words. 00:33:50.849 --> 00:33:54.410 He's gonna instruct and teach thee. Okay, we've 00:33:54.410 --> 00:33:57.009 heard this a thousand times. God instructs us 00:33:57.009 --> 00:33:59.670 through the word of the Spirit. He instructs 00:33:59.670 --> 00:34:03.150 us through other people in our lives who use 00:34:03.150 --> 00:34:06.269 properly the word of God in the power of the 00:34:06.269 --> 00:34:09.719 Spirit. There's instruction everywhere. You don't 00:34:09.719 --> 00:34:12.900 have to wonder. You don't have to say, what does 00:34:12.900 --> 00:34:16.960 God want? God tells us exactly what He wants 00:34:16.960 --> 00:34:21.619 us to do. He instructs us. He teaches us in the 00:34:21.619 --> 00:34:27.960 way that we're supposed to be going. We're all 00:34:27.960 --> 00:34:33.920 going, remember? Christians go through a time 00:34:33.920 --> 00:34:37.269 when they're just kind of standing still. If 00:34:37.269 --> 00:34:41.510 we're honest, we have to admit it. But we don't 00:34:41.510 --> 00:34:46.369 stay there. We go. We go forward. We make progress 00:34:46.369 --> 00:34:49.489 in our walk. We grow in the grace and knowledge 00:34:49.489 --> 00:34:52.489 of our Lord and Jesus Christ because of who He 00:34:52.489 --> 00:34:56.670 is and what He's doing. Nothing in us, when we 00:34:56.670 --> 00:34:59.570 stop or when we pause or when we have an interruption, 00:34:59.650 --> 00:35:03.710 that's us. We're the cause of those interruptions. 00:35:04.130 --> 00:35:08.510 Sin, in other words. But when we're right and 00:35:08.510 --> 00:35:10.849 things are right, we're going forward and we're 00:35:10.849 --> 00:35:13.289 under the instruction, we're under the watchful 00:35:13.289 --> 00:35:16.469 eye, we're under the care of God. He's leading, 00:35:16.769 --> 00:35:20.869 directing, guiding, keeping, preserving. Is that 00:35:20.869 --> 00:35:24.289 a blessed state? Is it a blessing to be under 00:35:24.289 --> 00:35:29.869 God's watchful eye? Or is that scary? There's 00:35:29.869 --> 00:35:33.409 no other reason to be scared. It's God who loves 00:35:33.409 --> 00:35:36.750 us and guides and directs us. He watches over 00:35:36.750 --> 00:35:44.309 us. He keeps us on the way. So then the warning, 00:35:45.489 --> 00:35:48.630 be not as the horse or as the mule, which have 00:35:48.630 --> 00:35:52.309 no understanding, whose mouth must be held in 00:35:52.309 --> 00:35:55.630 with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto 00:35:55.630 --> 00:35:59.989 thee. So don't be like that. Don't be stubborn 00:35:59.989 --> 00:36:03.789 in other words. The horse and the mule, they're 00:36:03.789 --> 00:36:05.789 stubborn animals. They gotta be guided. They 00:36:05.789 --> 00:36:07.969 gotta be directed. They gotta have some kind 00:36:07.969 --> 00:36:10.250 of controlling device stuck in their mouths. 00:36:11.869 --> 00:36:15.989 Don't be like that. Willingly submit to the leading 00:36:15.989 --> 00:36:20.969 of God. Willingly change. Willingly do that which 00:36:20.969 --> 00:36:24.110 you should. Stop doing that which you shouldn't. 00:36:24.329 --> 00:36:28.789 Listen to God. Draw near unto Him on your own 00:36:28.789 --> 00:36:32.139 accord. Because why because he loves you and 00:36:32.139 --> 00:36:35.760 you love him and you love to be near to your 00:36:35.760 --> 00:36:40.539 God So that's but but don't do but don't do the 00:36:40.539 --> 00:36:44.159 opposite because that's not going to be profitable 00:36:44.159 --> 00:36:48.480 In verse 10 many sorrows shall be to the wicked, 00:36:48.739 --> 00:36:52.860 but he that trusteth in the Lord Mercy shall 00:36:52.860 --> 00:36:58.239 compass him about So there you have it Do you 00:36:58.239 --> 00:37:00.840 trust God to do all the things that He said He's 00:37:00.840 --> 00:37:03.019 going to do in this verse? Do you believe the 00:37:03.019 --> 00:37:05.639 description of sin? Do you believe that you need 00:37:05.639 --> 00:37:08.519 Him? Do you believe that you need to be more 00:37:08.519 --> 00:37:12.840 attuned to watch care over our own souls and 00:37:12.840 --> 00:37:16.320 hearts so that we don't sin? Do we need to be 00:37:16.320 --> 00:37:20.119 more proactive in confessing our sin? These are 00:37:20.119 --> 00:37:22.219 the questions you should ask of yourself when 00:37:22.219 --> 00:37:25.780 you read a text like this. Do I have any knowledge 00:37:25.780 --> 00:37:28.679 of anything that's being spoken about here? Have 00:37:28.679 --> 00:37:32.880 I experienced any of these things? How can I 00:37:32.880 --> 00:37:35.539 change my life to conform more to this text? 00:37:36.860 --> 00:37:43.860 God is full of mercy. He's got mercy to completely 00:37:43.860 --> 00:37:48.199 surround us, compass Him about. He's the God 00:37:48.199 --> 00:37:52.400 of mercy. He's proven it, hasn't He, by giving 00:37:52.400 --> 00:37:58.019 us His Son? What better place can you be in? 00:37:58.460 --> 00:38:02.780 The place of forgiveness, the place of acceptance, 00:38:03.000 --> 00:38:05.460 the place of covering with the righteousness 00:38:05.460 --> 00:38:09.699 of Christ. Is this our life? Is this what we 00:38:09.699 --> 00:38:12.760 treasure? Is this what we refuse to have any 00:38:12.760 --> 00:38:16.340 interruption to? Is this what we're going to 00:38:16.340 --> 00:38:19.139 spend at least a portion of our 24 -hour day 00:38:19.139 --> 00:38:28.440 on? Those are all legitimate questions. And it 00:38:28.440 --> 00:38:30.800 should be a blessed thing. That's what he tells 00:38:30.800 --> 00:38:35.920 us. Blessed is he. Blessed is the person who's 00:38:35.920 --> 00:38:40.719 in a right relationship with the Lord. In verse 00:38:40.719 --> 00:38:45.320 11 it says, be glad in the Lord and rejoice ye 00:38:45.320 --> 00:38:49.420 righteous and shout for joy all ye that are upright 00:38:49.420 --> 00:38:53.460 in heart. That's got to be the response of the 00:38:53.460 --> 00:38:57.920 Christian to God. Rejoicing always. Being glad. 00:38:59.239 --> 00:39:04.719 Acknowledging. Knowing. Serving. All of the glorious 00:39:04.719 --> 00:39:07.940 truths that we all know. Does that make us shout 00:39:07.940 --> 00:39:10.519 for joy? Does you ever think about it like that? 00:39:10.960 --> 00:39:13.820 Do you shout for joy because you can serve God? 00:39:15.099 --> 00:39:18.059 Do you shout for joy because you can die to yourself 00:39:18.059 --> 00:39:25.329 and live unto God? Hopefully that's true. Hopefully 00:39:25.329 --> 00:39:30.969 the center of your life is what? Yourself? Hopefully 00:39:30.969 --> 00:39:34.489 not. The center of your life is your children. 00:39:35.690 --> 00:39:39.869 Hopefully not. What is the center of our lives? 00:39:40.750 --> 00:39:45.789 The center of our lives is God. The Father, God 00:39:45.789 --> 00:39:49.170 the Son, God the Holy Spirit is the center of 00:39:49.170 --> 00:39:56.159 our lives. It all revolves around Him. That's 00:39:56.159 --> 00:39:59.800 the blessed place to be. That's what we should 00:39:59.800 --> 00:40:04.519 all desire more and more of. Amen.