The Way of Hope

July 16, 1989 PM

Psalm 130

(1) Out of the depths I have cried unto Thee, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice! Let Thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. (2) If Thou, O LORD, shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? (3) But there is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared. (4) I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait, and in His word do I hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than the watchmen for the morning; indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning. (5) O Israel, hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is lovingkindness, and with Him is abundant redemption. And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

This Psalm speaks about hope. It was sung on the way to Jerusalem. And it speaks of seeking God, and of calling out to Him even when it is a struggle.

The Psalm has five natural sections, as I read it, for us to consider:

I. THE HELPLESSNESS OF MAN'S EXTREMITY

The very best I can do is not enough to bring me to God, or to "force" God to satisfy my felt needs. It is a victory when I realize this, and I cannot really begin the journey to hope until I acknowledge my helplessness. There are many different kinds of things that make people cry out to God.

Jeanine Van Beek cried out to God because of the horror and injustice of the Nazis in her native Holland, during WWII. As a girl of 15 she went to her room and cried out to God— and God met with her in a faith-kindling way, even though she had no adult encouragement.

The Peruvian Indian I mentioned before, now a church leader, was met in his primitive house by a shining being who spoke to him about a Book of Life.

Lewis Smedes tells of a black man, the son of a prostitute and a white travelling salesman; a man whose mother was so violent at times that he became a hobo at eleven years of age, and finally found himself in a black hole of solitary confinement in a Texas prison. As he began to crack mentally and emotional he cried out loud: "Help me!" And a voice said to him, "You are not an animal!"

And in the 9th of Acts is the story of Paul, who did all he could do to be the best he could be in his fundamental mindset in his own religion, who sought through sheer zeal to prove that he was right. But Paul was struck down by the arresting Holy Spirit until in anguish he cried out: "What would you have me to do?"

II. THE WAY OF HOPE LIES THROUGH THE DOOR OF CONFESSION AND OPENNESS BEFORE GOD

"If Thou, O Lord, shouldst mark iniquities NO ONE could stand!" The Psalmist is saying, "My sins can and will separate me from the hope of knowing God, unless they are dealt with!" There is only ONE thing that can permanently separate you from God and hope! And that one thing is refusing to face your own sins, and refusing to let God deal with your sins! It is not the fact that we are sinners that keeps us from God. Every one of us has sinned, and do not deserve His love. But what keeps us from hope is refusing to acknowledge our sins! The only sin God cannot forgive is the sin we refuse to confess.

III. GOD IS A GOD OF FORGIVENESS AND GRACE

"But there is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared!"

1. It is not always sin that causes our life crises! We need to know that, and understand it. But we need to "clear the decks" and know that we are open and above-board with God!

   Grace is a New Testament word, perhaps. But the Psalmist knows that God is love! He says, "If you held my sins against me, I could not stand! But there is forgiveness with You!"

   God has promised to meet the sinner. God has promised to support His children.

   In Old Testament times God had made provision for sacrifices, which, while not very satisfying perhaps, pointed forward to the Perfect Sacrifice that was to come. This provision, and the Day of Atonement and the Passover taught the people that while sin was serious, and while it brought a great sense of separation, there was atonement for sin!

   But now we know that the place where God meets the sinner is called Calvary! The place where God's hatred for sin, and His justice, and His great love for each one of us is at the Cross of Jesus Christ!

   But we must be convinced, convicted in a personal way of this truth. It sounds like a story that is too good to be true! we think, "There IS forgiveness with Thee! But can you forgive ME?"

   And He CAN!

2. And when we have sought God for our sin, we can be certain that we can also seek Him succor for our sorrows and our burdens! And we seek Him with His own gift to us: F A I T H !

IV. TO PERSONALLY EXPERIENCE GOD'S GRACE WE MUST EMPLOY GOD'S GIFT OF PERSONAL FAITH

The Psalmist says (1) I have cried to you from my extremity! (2) I have begun to grasp the fact that You care about sinners, and that You forgive them. (3) So now I will begin to cast myself on Your Word. I will begin to trust Your mercy, Your revealed grace!

Once again a key word (that we have heard a lot lately:) "Wait!" "I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait."

I wait, not because God wants me to jump through hoops and over hurdles to be saved. And certainly not until I get "good enough" or earn or merit, or come to the place where I am sad enough or have wept enough tears.

But I wait because there is a reality to this salvation that we dare not miss! We dare not accept someone's pale version of the genuine article. We dare not PRESUME that because we have a reasonably accurate understanding of the plan of salvation, and have acknowledged the mere FACT that we are sinners, that the "facts" or the "truth" will save me. No! We must be certain that we meet with God Himself! We must be certain that we have heard His word of pardon!

HOW MAY I FIND CERTITUDE? HOW DO I KNOW GOD HAS HEARD? Sometimes this step of personal faith is straightforward, and rather businesslike. Sometimes it is very emotional. Sometimes there is a need to take hold and hang on "by naked faith"- particularly among the children of the church, it seems.

But the important thing in this seeking is— it must be OUR OWN faith! And it must find God's reality. And always there is the element of obedience, or a willingness to walk in revealed light! That's a key!

V. THERE IS ASSURANCE!

Verses 7,8 — although to the day we meet Jesus our faith will be tested ... and we must walk by faith, and not by sight ... and we will need the encouragement of the people of God, and the strength of the means of grace—

There is assurance in the matter of our soul's salvation: We can know that our sins are forgiven! Don't settle for second-hand assurance here!

There can be God's assurance even IN our trials, too! I believe that we can have God's assurance at the time we need it most.

In Acts 27 Paul is a prisoner, with a group of prisoners on a voyage in first one ship and then another on his way to Rome. When the centurion and the captain of the vessel determined to sail on from Crete, even though it was the dangerous hurricane season, Paul spoke up in warning (27:10.) But his warnings were not heeded, and there was nothing, as a prisoner, that he could do about it. And sure enough they ran into a storm which ultimately destroyed the vessel and threatened all their lives.

Then in the darkest hour of despair it was Paul, the prisoner, who "took charge!" He spoke to the assembled passengers and crew (and there were 276 of them!) with great peace and confidence. And these were his words:

"This very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and who I serve stood by me, saying, 'Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.'

"Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God, that it will turn out exactly as I have been told. ... "

Conclusion: Let's look at that Psalm again:

(1) Out of the depths I have cried unto Thee, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice! Let Thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. (2) If Thou, O LORD, shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? (3) But there is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared. (4) I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait, and in His word do I hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than the watchmen for the morning; indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning. (5) O Israel, hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is lovingkindness, and with Him is abundant redemption. And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

And let's pray:

43 WS O Master, Let Me Walk