Psalm 130: Out Of The Depths

[0:00] Well, will you turn with me this evening to the book of Psalms, as we said, Psalm 130.

[0:17] The book of Psalms, Psalm 130. And we'll read the whole psalm.

[0:31] Psalm 130 from the beginning. A song of ascents. Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. O Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy.

[0:45] If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness. That you may be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits.

[0:57] And in his word I hope. My soul waits for the Lord. More than watchmen for the morning. More than watchmen for the morning. O Israel, hope in the Lord.

[1:09] For with the Lord there is steadfast love. And with him is plentiful redemption. And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

[1:20] Psalm 130 is a beautiful psalm.

[1:31] Because it's a psalm which speaks right to our soul. And it opens up before us the anatomy of our soul. And as many of you know, it was John Calvin, the French reformer.

[1:45] He claimed that the entire book of Psalms was an anatomy of all parts of the soul. Calvin says in his commentary of the book of Psalms, he says, I have been accustomed to call this book, the book of Psalms, I think not inappropriately, an anatomy of all parts of the soul.

[2:06] For there is not an emotion of which anyone can be conscious that is not here represented as in a mirror. And Calvin rightly believed that the psalms, they get under the surface and under the facade and under the front that we put on to people.

[2:24] And they get right into our very being and they address our soul, our emotions and our mind. And they reveal to us what is at our very core.

[2:35] But you know, I want to suggest this evening that Psalm 130 is a condensed version of the book of Psalms. In the sense that this beautiful psalm, it reveals to us the anatomy of our soul.

[2:52] And it addresses our soul at every level. Because Psalm 130 is asking us, is it well? Is it well with your soul?

[3:04] Is it well with your soul? Where is your soul in relation to Jesus? Where is your soul in relation to Jesus?

[3:17] And it's a very probing question. But it's a question which we have to address. And a question that we have to deal with. Because even though our outward body is deteriorating and failing and getting older.

[3:31] Sometimes full of sickness. And ultimately our bodies are moving closer and closer towards the grave. There's no denying it. Even though the outward man is perishing.

[3:42] Our soul is immortal. The soul never dies. It had a beginning. But it will never have an end.

[3:53] Our soul will go into eternity. But on this side of the veil. We need to make sure that our soul is well. We need to make sure that our soul is filled with Jesus.

[4:07] And that it is well with our soul. But as you can see from the title of this psalm, about the soul. Psalm 130, as it says, it's part of a group of 15 psalms called the Songs of Ascent.

[4:22] And there are the psalms, as you can see, from Psalm 120 to Psalm 134. They're the Songs of Ascent. And we were looking at Psalm 121 on Wednesday evening in the prayer meeting.

[4:35] But this group of 15 psalms, they're called the Songs of Ascent because they were sung by all the Jews as they ascended towards the city of Jerusalem.

[4:46] For all the annual festivals that were held there. And so these Songs of Ascent, they are ascending songs. They are ascending songs.

[4:56] And, you know, that's the picture which Psalm 130 gives. Because it illustrates to us the anatomy of our undying soul. And it shows us where we are without Jesus.

[5:11] And it shows us where we need to be with Jesus. And, you know, as we walk through this psalm, we'll walk through it, we'll see this progression. We'll see the progression from what a soul is like without Jesus to what a soul is like with Jesus.

[5:29] And so as the psalmist illustrates to us the anatomy of our soul, his starting point is everyone's starting point. His starting point is everyone's starting point.

[5:39] Because he reveals to us what our soul is like when we are without Jesus. And he says we are right down in the depths. We're right down in the depths.

[5:51] But what's so beautiful about this Song of Ascent or this ascending song is that as we progress through it, the psalmist gives to us this ascension out of the depths.

[6:05] It's a beautiful image. And as the psalmist progresses, he gives to us all these points of assurance for our salvation, which are to be found in Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone.

[6:18] And as he points us to Jesus, you know, you could imagine your own soul. It's like climbing out of the depths and ascending higher and higher.

[6:28] And it keeps ascending all the way through the psalm from the depths to the heights until at last the psalmist urges everyone to put their trust in Jesus because in him there is plenteous redemption.

[6:43] And so when we look at this Song of Ascent, this ascending song, we can see in the anatomy of our soul that there are four stages. There are four stanzas which depict four pictures of the anatomy of our soul.

[6:56] And this evening I'd just like us to follow that progression of the anatomy of the soul and see where it leads us. And so as we said, the psalmist illustrates to us that the anatomy of our soul, it has a starting point.

[7:10] And it's everyone's starting point. We're all born in sin. We're all born without Jesus. He reveals to us what our soul is like when it is without Jesus.

[7:23] And when we're without Jesus, he says, we are in the depths. We are in the depths. So that's where we're going to begin. He says in verse 1, Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.

[7:36] O Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy. And as you can see, these opening words, they set the tone for the entire psalm.

[7:50] Because these words reveal to us where our soul is at without Jesus. And they make known to us that when we are in the depths, we are far away from Jesus.

[8:01] We are not where we should be, which is with Jesus. But as the psalmist highlights, this is a soul which knows that it's in the depths. This is a soul which knows that it's far away from Jesus.

[8:14] This is a soul which knows that it's not where it should be. But you know, there are many souls or many people who may sit in church week by week, month by month.

[8:26] And they don't realize that they're actually in the depths. They can't see that their soul is without Jesus. They don't know that they're not where they should be. And that's because they've either filled their soul with things or other distractions.

[8:41] Or they're just blind to the fact that they have an undying soul that needs to be attended to. But the soul which the psalmist describes is a soul that can see where it is.

[8:56] It's a soul which knows that it's in the depths and far away from Jesus. And it's a soul that can see its need of Jesus. And that's because it's a soul which has been awakened.

[9:09] It's a soul which has been challenged and confronted and convicted by God's word. It's a soul that knows it's in the depths. It's a soul which is beginning to feel the burden of sin and the strain of guilt and the weight of unfaithfulness.

[9:27] And it's a soul that is struggling in dangerous and deep water. Is that your soul? Is this a description of your soul my friend?

[9:39] Has your soul been awakened? Do you see that you're in the depths? Do you see your need of Jesus? Do you see that you need to do something about your soul?

[9:50] Do you see that you're in the depths of the sea? But you know the picture which the psalmist is giving to us here. It's this awful image of someone drowning at sea. In which they're struggling to keep their head above the water.

[10:03] And with every wave and every current of the sea. It's this fight for survival. Just to draw in a breath. And every breath is precious.

[10:14] But as the struggle continues and the waves keep coming and the current gets stronger and the sea is so deep. There's only one thing left to do.

[10:24] And that is to cry for help. All the other avenues have been exhausted. Everything has been tried. And the only thing left to do is to cry for help.

[10:37] And that's what the psalmist is saying here about our soul. That we will try everything else. We will try every other avenue in life.

[10:48] And we will fill our lives with people and things and stuff. That will try and take our mind off our undying soul. But you know it's no use.

[11:00] It doesn't work. It doesn't take away the emptiness. It doesn't remove the burden. It doesn't free you from the guilt. If anything it makes it all worse.

[11:11] Until you come to this point where you are in the depths. And you have nowhere left to go. But to cry to the Lord. To cry to the Lord.

[11:23] Out of the depths he says. I cry to you O Lord. O Lord hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy. And you know it's interesting that in the book of Jonah.

[11:37] These same expressions were used. Because as we were reading that well known event. About when Jonah. He ran away from the Lord. He wanted to get as far away from the Lord as possible.

[11:50] Didn't want to do what the Lord was telling him to do. But his running away. It resulted in Jonah being thrown overboard in a storm. And being swallowed by the whale. The big fish.

[12:01] And when Jonah was in the belly of the fish. In the depths of the sea. Sinking further and further away from the Lord. To whom else could Jonah go.

[12:12] But to the Lord. And out of the depths Jonah cried to the Lord for help. And when we consider Jonah's plea. He didn't pray to be freed from the belly of the fish.

[12:24] That might have been our first prayer. But Jonah prayed for the Lord to have mercy upon him. And the Lord to forgive him. For his sin. And his disobedience.

[12:36] He says. I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction. And he answered me. Out of the belly of the grave. I cried. And you heard my voice. You cast me into the deep.

[12:48] Into the heart of the sea. And the floods surrounded me. All your billows and your waves. They passed over me. He says. The waters surrounded me. Even to my soul.

[13:00] Even to my soul. Jonah's sin and disobedience. Made his soul feel. Far away from Jesus. But when his soul was brought into the depths.

[13:13] And he was made to see his need. He cried to Jesus for help. And my friend. The root cause for Jonah's plea. Which came up.

[13:23] Out of the depths of his soul. Was because of his sin. Sin was the reason why his soul was in the depths. And sin is always the reason why.

[13:35] Our soul is in the depths. Because that's where sin will always bring us. Sin will always bring us down. Down. Down. Into the depths. It will cause disobedience.

[13:46] Division. Hurt. Heartache. Anger. Jealousy. And ultimately death. Sin will ruin everything. But what's being illustrated to us here. Is that this soul.

[13:58] Which realizes that it's full of sin. And far away from Jesus. It's a soul that is under conviction of sin. That's the kind of soul he's describing.

[14:10] A soul under conviction. Maybe that's not something we talk about very often. We don't often talk about sin. Or conviction of sin.

[14:21] Or being in the depths because of our sin. But what we are being reminded here. Is that this should be the experience of our soul. To see our sin.

[14:33] To see our need of Jesus. And to cry to him for mercy. And this experience. It certainly isn't just the experience of those who are not committed Christians.

[14:45] This should be the experience of every Christian. This should be the experience of every person. Because as we know only too well. There are times. In our Christian lives.

[14:56] Where we sin. We make blunders. We make a mess of things. We let the Lord down. And it may be the case that no one knows about it. Except the Lord. But if our soul has been awakened.

[15:07] And we have an awareness of our sin. And we find ourselves in the depths. We need to cry to the Lord. We need to cry to the Lord. And that's what we're being encouraged with here.

[15:21] Because we may think that when we sin. And that we are so ashamed of the state of our own heart. We might think that the last place we should go is to the Lord.

[15:32] How can I go to the Lord with this burden of guilt? But when our soul is in the depths. We can only turn to a great physician of our soul.

[15:43] And cry to him for help. The only person we can go to. Is to the Lord. And you know when we look at the words of verses 1 and 2 here. This stands out. We've been reminded that our sin.

[15:55] It shouldn't drive us away from the Lord. It should drive us again and again to the Lord. Because the cry of the repentant soul is.

[16:07] Lord hear my voice. Be attentive to the voice of my supplication. I love that word supplication.

[16:18] It means to plead humbly. Highlighting that a repentant soul has no pride. There's no arrogance in prayer. There's no conceit in their words.

[16:31] But utter dependence upon the grace and the mercy of the Lord. And you know Jesus. He spoke so clearly about this type of prayer. That he hears. He doesn't listen to the prayer of the Pharisee.

[16:45] The Pharisee. Whose soul is full of sin. And self. And ego. And pride. But the soul that. Or the voice that Jesus does listen to. Is the soul of the tax collector.

[16:58] Who's in the dust. In the depths. Nothing to boast. Nothing but to beat his breast. And say God. Be merciful to me.

[17:11] A sinner. God be merciful to me. A sinner. Well my friend. If our soul. If your soul is in the depths.

[17:22] Tonight. Then you need to go on your knees. And cry to God for mercy. Because when our soul is in the depths.

[17:35] The only way is up. The only way is up. And that's what we see in the second section. Because as our soul. Turns towards Jesus.

[17:47] In repentance. And confession. God be merciful to me. A sinner. It ascends. And it rises. Out of the depths. And we find it secondly. As we see in verses 3 and 4.

[17:58] We find it. At the mercy seat. In the depths. At the mercy seat. It says in verse 3. If you O Lord. Should mark iniquities. O Lord.

[18:10] Who could stand. But with you there is forgiveness. That you may be feared. So when our soul is awakened. To the reality of our sinfulness.

[18:23] We become very aware of the Lord. And that's what comes across so clearly. By the amount of times. The psalmist uses the word Lord. In the first three verses. He says.

[18:34] Out of the depths. I cry to you. O Lord. O Lord. Hear my voice. That your ears be attentive. To the voice of my pleas for mercy. If you O Lord. Should mark iniquities. O Lord.

[18:45] Who could stand. And this awareness. Of the Lord. It comes because. As our soul rises. Or ascends. Out of the depths. Of darkness. The light begins to reveal.

[18:57] The extent of the mess. That we are really in. And having found. No rest. In the depths. We know that the only place. That we can find forgiveness. Is at God's mercy seat.

[19:10] God's mercy seat. We come to the realization. That the only thing we can do now. Is throw ourselves. At the mercy of God. But what's so wonderful.

[19:21] About these verses. Is that. We're given the image of. Two seats. Two seats. Which belong to God. Verse three.

[19:32] Is the judgment seat. Verse four. Is the mercy seat. Verse three. We're given a seat.

[19:43] That. Which we could have been brought before. If we didn't. Cry to God for mercy. We could have been brought before. The judgment seat.

[19:53] Of condemnation. And in these words. We can see. In verse three. That's what he said. If you oh Lord. Should mark iniquities. Oh Lord. Who could stand. In these words.

[20:04] We can see that the psalmist. He moves from the illustration. Of someone. Crying in the depths. In the depths of despair. To this illustration. Of the courtroom. He's now in the courtroom.

[20:15] The psalmist. He's presenting to us. The illustration. Of the bar. Of God's judgment. And he says. If that the Lord. Was to have. If the Lord. Was to have. Marked down.

[20:26] And taken note. And kept record. Of all. Our sins. And our faults. We could never have. Withstood the judgment. Of God. If the Lord.

[20:36] Had read our soul. To us. And to others. If the Lord. Had revealed. All the sins. All the thoughts. All the words. All the actions. All the gossip.

[20:47] All the anger. All the backbiting. All the things. That we detest. About ourselves. If the Lord. Had revealed. Our own soul. To us. He says. Who could stand.

[20:57] Who could stand. We would be condemned. Under the righteous judgment. Of the Lord. But you know. The wonder of this illustration.

[21:08] Is that. When the psalmist. Presents to us. The courtroom. For those who have cried. From the depths. To the Lord. He doesn't show us. The judgment seat. But the mercy seat.

[21:21] Shows us the mercy seat. He shows us. The place of mercy. And forgiveness. Rather than the place of judgment. And condemnation. But why?

[21:34] Why? Why? Why are we shown mercy? Why are we shown kindness? Why are we not judged. According to our sins? Why are we not condemned.

[21:45] Because of all of our wrongdoing? Why are we not left in the depths. Just to suffer? Why are we not cast. Into the outer darkness. Of hell. Where there is wailing.

[21:56] And gnashing of teeth. Why? Why? Because he says. With you. There is forgiveness. With you.

[22:09] There is forgiveness. With Jesus. There is hope. With Jesus. There is mercy. With Jesus. There is love. With Jesus. There is forgiveness. And my friend. That is the message.

[22:19] Of our gospel. It is the message. Of a forgiving God. God. Because the good news tonight. Is that. God. Does not deal with us.

[22:30] As we deserve. He doesn't deal with us. As we deserve. Because. He deals with us. Through the death. And judgment. Of his own son. Jesus Christ.

[22:42] You know. Is there. Better news. In the world. Tonight. Than for you. To hear the good news. Of God's forgiveness. My friend. There is no better experience.

[22:52] Than to experience. The forgiveness. And the mercy. And the grace. That is to be found. At the mercy seat of God. There is no better joy. In this life. That you will ever know. Than to know.

[23:04] That the Lord has heard. The cry of your soul. And to have your soul. Cleansed. As white as snow. My friend. There is. This is the wonder. Of salvation.

[23:15] That there is. Forgiveness with God. And that he has dealt with us. Not as we deserve. But he has dealt with us. Through the death. Of his son.

[23:25] Jesus Christ. Because. By bringing us. To the mercy seat. He brought his son. Jesus. To the judgment seat.

[23:38] And. As the hymn. Might or say. He is bearing shame. And scoffing rude. In my place. Condemned. He stood. Sealed my pardon.

[23:49] With his blood. Hallelujah. What a savior. It was Calvary's. Great transaction. The sinless.

[24:02] For the sinner. The righteous. For the unrighteous. The just. For the unjust. Christ. In which. This Jesus. He became. Sin for us.

[24:13] Who knew no sin. And he did it all. So that we could be made. The righteousness. Of God and him. And our soul. Can be glad tonight. Because. We have received the promise.

[24:23] The great. And precious. Promise. That if we confess. That if we confess. Our sin. He is faithful. And just. To forgive us. Our sin. And to cleanse us.

[24:34] From all unrighteousness. All because. The blood of Jesus Christ. His son. Cleanses us. From all sin. My friend. When we cry. To the Lord.

[24:44] From the depths. We have the assurance. That we will be brought. To the mercy seat. To the mercy seat. Of God. And we will be issued. To the decree there.

[24:55] That there is therefore. Now. No condemnation. To those. Who are in Christ. Jesus. No condemnation. To those. Who seek. The Lord's forgiveness. No condemnation.

[25:07] To those. Who cry. To the Lord. For mercy. But what should be. The response. Of our soul. To this. Great forgiveness. The psalmist says.

[25:20] In verse 4. Lord. With you. There is forgiveness. That you may be feared. The Lord. Is to be feared. Not afraid. But feared.

[25:33] Feared. Feared in the sense. Of reverence. And this. The response. To the forgiveness. Of God. Is committing. Our life. To him. It's a desire.

[25:44] To live. According. To his word. And for the glory. Of his name. In a sermon. On this. Sam Spurgeon. He explained.

[25:54] What it means. To fear the Lord. And he explained. It very. Very simply. When he translates. The verse. Verse 4. As. But there is forgiveness. With thee. That thou mayest.

[26:05] Be loved. And worshipped. And served. That's what it is. To fear the Lord. That thou mayest. Be loved. And worshipped. And served.

[26:15] God. So the response. Of our soul. To God's forgiveness. Is that we should. Love him. And worship him. And serve him. By committing.

[26:26] Our life. To him. There is no better. Thank you. You could say. Other than. For us to love God. Worship God. And serve God. And so as our soul.

[26:38] Turns. Towards Jesus. Out of the depths. It ascends. And it arises. Out of the depths. In repentance. And confession. It receives.

[26:49] Receives forgiveness. At the mercy seat. But thirdly. We see that it continues. Until it kneels. Before the throne. In the depths. At the mercy seat.

[27:01] Before the throne. Before the throne. He says in verse 5. I wait for the Lord. My soul waits. And in his word.

[27:11] I hope. My soul waits. For the Lord. More than the watchmen. For the morning. More than the watchmen. For the morning. You know. The progression of this psalm.

[27:22] It's wonderful. We've seen what we have. Without Jesus. Our soul. Without Jesus. It's in the depths. Drowning in sin. But when we look to Jesus.

[27:34] When we cry. To Jesus. We're brought. Into the courtroom. Not to the judgment seat. But to the mercy seat. Not to the place of condemnation. But to the place of forgiveness.

[27:45] And when our soul finds mercy. And forgiveness in God. It finds it before the throne of grace. Because we're reminded in the letter to the Hebrews.

[27:55] That it's at the throne of grace. We obtain mercy. And we find grace to help in time of need. And what the psalmist is illustrating to us here.

[28:07] Is that. Having risen out of the depths. And experienced the forgiveness of the mercy seat. We must now wait upon the Lord. At the throne of grace. We must wait upon the Lord.

[28:18] In prayer. And in reading the Bible. Reading his word. Because when we come to the throne of grace. We come. As the writer to the Hebrews reminds us.

[28:29] In Hebrews 4. He says. We come to our great high priest. Who is able to sympathize with. All our weaknesses. Because our high priest.

[28:40] He says. He was tempted in all points. Like as we are. Yet without sin. And we're able to come before. Our great high priest. Jesus Christ. And pray.

[28:50] Because he knows everything about us. And he understands all that we go through. He understands all the burdens that we bear. All the trials that we experience. All the sorrows that come into our life.

[29:01] And he says. This is why we can come. To the throne of grace. With boldness. This is why we can come. Because we find there grace to help in time of need.

[29:14] And you know. I was a hymn writer. I love these. What it says. Before the throne of God above. Love. I have a strong and perfect plea. A great high priest.

[29:24] Whose name is love. Whoever lives. And pleads for me. My name is graven on his hands. My name is written on his heart. I know that while in heaven.

[29:34] He stands. No tongue can bid me. Thence. Depart. And you know. There are many tongues. Tongues. Which try to bid us.

[29:45] To depart from the throne of grace. Not least. Our selfish desire. To depend upon our own strength. And our own ability. Or the fear of.

[29:56] What other people will think. What other people will say. But Satan. He always comes. Always comes with distracting thoughts. To take us away from the throne of grace.

[30:08] He doesn't want us to pray. To the great high priest. He doesn't want us to seek. His help and his grace. He doesn't want us. To go to the Lord. And he will try anything. And everything.

[30:19] To stop us. Because the greatest battle of our soul. Is the battle of prayer. Trying to have fellowship with the Lord.

[30:30] While. Trying to fight off distracting thoughts. It's a great struggle. And don't think that if you became a Christian. It would stop. It gets worse. But the greatest evidence.

[30:42] Of a soul. That has been forgiven. And has experienced mercy. Is a soul that prays. The soul that prays. You think of the apostle Paul.

[30:54] Converted on the road to Damascus. Saw the light coming down. Converted there. But how did people know. That he was converted. How did they know. That Paul was a Christian. The man who had been.

[31:06] Killing Christians. How did they know. It wasn't by his Bible knowledge. It wasn't by his upbringing. It wasn't by his church attendance. It wasn't by his church giving. It wasn't by his. His good living.

[31:17] Or his circumspect life. How did people know. That Paul was a Christian. They said. Behold. He prays. Behold. He prays.

[31:28] He waited upon God. By coming before the throne of grace. And prayer. Behold. He prays. My friend.

[31:38] If you want to know. Whether you're a Christian or not. Do you pray? Do you pray? Have you cried out of the depths.

[31:49] To the Lord for mercy? Have you come to his mercy seat. Confessing your sins. Resting in the blood of Jesus Christ. To cleanse you from all your sin.

[32:01] And are you waiting upon the Lord in prayer. By coming to the great high priest. Every day. Before his throne of grace. My friend. Do you pray?

[32:12] Do you pray? I'm not asking. Do you sit in a corner. And pray for an hour a day. That's not what I'm asking. I'm asking. Do you pray every moment. Of every day.

[32:25] Every moment of every day. Do you speak to the Lord about everything. Every situation. Everything you're confronted with. Do you ask for his help at all times. During the day.

[32:36] Whilst you're going about. Your daily business. Do you pray? Do you pray? But you know. The psalmist. He affirms to us.

[32:46] That our soul. It finds hope. Not only when we pray. But also when we read God's word. He says in verse 5. I wait for the Lord. My soul waits.

[32:58] And I hope. In his word. I hope. Prayer and reading. The Bible. Is what feeds the soul.

[33:08] The Bible reminds us. That man shall not live. By bread alone. But by every word. That proceeds. From the mouth. Of the Lord. And God's word. And prayer.

[33:19] Is what gives us hope. And it's what assures us. Of our hope. Because the word of God. Assures us of God's promises. And prayer. At the throne of grace.

[33:31] Allows us. To plead the promises. Of God's word. To him. It's only in the word of God. That you can find hope. It's only in his word.

[33:41] That you'll find a hope. That is sure and steadfast. It's only in the word. My friend. That you will ever find. An anchor for your soul. Only in the word.

[33:52] I wait for the Lord. My soul waits. And in his word. I hope. But in verse 6. The psalmist gives this illustration. Of the soul waiting upon the Lord.

[34:04] And he says. My soul. It waits for the Lord. More than the watchmen. For the morning. More than watchmen. For the morning. The watchmen in their tower.

[34:15] Watching over the city. All night. As they watch. And they expectantly wait. For the morning. They know the morning will come. They have no doubt. That the sun will rise. When it's time.

[34:27] And so they watch. And they wait. But the psalmist. He repeats this phrase. More than watchmen. Wait for the morning. I wait. I wait. Upon the Lord.

[34:39] And what he's saying is that. Even though the watchmen. Expectantly wait. For the sun to rise. He waits. Upon the Lord. He waits. Expectantly.

[34:50] Upon the Lord. To answer his prayers. And be faithful. To all his promises. And like the faithfulness. Of the sun rising. Each morning. Our soul.

[35:02] Is to wait. Upon the faithfulness. Of the Lord. Even in the darkness. Even in the uncertainty. Even when we don't know. What's going on. We are to wait.

[35:14] Upon the faithfulness. Of the Lord. And as we said. When we come before. His throne of grace. And wait upon him. And plead his promises.

[35:24] We have a hope. That is sure. And steadfast. A hope. Which is the anchor. Of our soul. And so what we've seen.

[35:35] In this ascending psalm. Is that. As our soul. Turns towards Jesus. In repentance. And confession of sin. As it ascends. And it rises. Out of the depths.

[35:45] It receives forgiveness. At the mercy seat. And it prays. And hopes. In God's word. Before the throne. But lastly. And very very briefly. Our soul comes around.

[35:58] The cross. We've been. In the depths. At the mercy seat. Before the throne. And around the cross.

[36:11] Around the cross. He says in verse 7. O Israel. Hope in the Lord. For with the Lord. There is steadfast love. And with him. Is plentiful redemption.

[36:22] And he will redeem Israel. From all his. Iniquities. When our soul. Has experienced. The transforming power.

[36:33] Of the gospel. And being brought. From the depths. To receive. The mercy. And forgiveness. Of God. And all the promises. That are bound up. In his word. Our soul's desire.

[36:46] Is that we want others. To have what we have. The longing. Of our soul. Is that those. Who are still. In the depths. Without Jesus.

[36:58] Our longing. Is that they too. Will run to Jesus. And that's what the psalmist. Illustrates to us. In these closing words.

[37:08] Because. He exhorts. And he appeals. To all those. Who are still. Without Jesus. O Israel. He says. Hope. In the Lord. For with the Lord.

[37:19] There is steadfast love. And with him. There is plentiful. Redemption. He calls them. To come. And experience. The hope. And the love. And the mercy.

[37:30] And the forgiveness. And the redemption. That is alone. To be found. With Jesus. And my friend. Is that not our longing. As Christians.

[37:41] As a congregation. As a community. As a church. Is that not the longing. Of our soul. The burning desire. Of our soul. To see others coming.

[37:52] To know this Jesus. And experience his grace. And his mercy. For themselves. Is that not the longing. Of our soul. Does that not burden you.

[38:03] Every day. When you look at people. And you see them. And you see their soul. Their undying soul. And they have no thought of it. That should be our burden. The unconverted.

[38:16] Should be our burden. My unconverted friend. Our longing. Our longing. Our longing. Is for your soul. To live.

[38:28] Our longing. Is for your soul. To come out of the depths. That's our longing for you. That you will see. That you are in the depths. And that you will cry.

[38:39] To the Lord. And seek his mercy. Seek his forgiveness. Seek his grace. The longing. Of our soul. Is to bring.

[38:52] You around the cross. The longing. Of our soul. Is to bring you around the cross. Because. When we gather. Around the cross.

[39:03] We are able. To witness that. As he says. Plentiful. Redemption. And it's only found. With Jesus. Because it's only Jesus.

[39:13] Who is able. To redeem. Our soul. From the depths. Of our sin. And he does it. As Peter says. In his letter. He does it. Not with. Corruptible things. Such as silver and gold.

[39:24] But. With the precious. Blood. Precious blood. My friend. Come and gather. Around the cross. Come and gather.

[39:35] Around the cross. Because it's. Around the cross. That you will find. Rest for your soul. Come and gather. Around the cross. Because. It's around the cross. That you'll. Be given the promise.

[39:45] Of eternal life. Come and gather. Around the cross. Because it's. Around the cross. That you'll see. That greater love. Hath no man than this. That a man lay down his life.

[39:56] For his friends. My friend. Come and gather. Around the cross. Because it's. Around the cross. That you will experience. That. Plenteous.

[40:07] Redemption. Which is ever found. With Jesus. It hasn't run dry. It hasn't run out.

[40:18] It is plenteous. Redemption. And it's there for you. And for millions more. For you. And for millions more.

[40:29] And so we've considered. From the words of this beautiful psalm. The anatomy of our soul. Our undying.

[40:41] Soul. In which our soul. It begins. In the depths. Far away from Jesus.

[40:52] Us. But then. We are. Brought to the mercy seat. Receiving forgiveness. And mercy. We are before the throne.

[41:02] Waiting in prayer. And. Finding hope in God's word. But. Now the longing. Of our soul. Is that. You.

[41:14] Will find. Plenteous redemption. Around the cross. The longing. Of our soul. Is that. You will see. The wonder.

[41:24] And the glory. Of redemption. That is found. In Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ. Alone. In the depths. At the mercy seat.

[41:37] Before the throne. Around the cross. The anatomy. Of our soul. But my friend. Where is your soul?

[41:47] In relation. To Jesus. Where is your soul? Is it when? Is it when?

[42:00] With your soul? May the Lord bless these thoughts to us. Let us pray. O Lord our gracious God. Enable us to say.

[42:12] With the hymn writer of old. That when peace like a river. Never attendeth my way. When sorrows like sea billows roll. Whatever my lot. That was taught me to say.

[42:24] It is well. It is well. With my soul. And O Lord. That we would truly seek. Thy face this evening. Knowing that. There is plenteous redemption. Ever found with thee.

[42:35] That with thee alone. O Lord. That. We can find forgiveness. We are able to find mercy. We are able to find cleansing. Help us to come to Jesus.

[42:47] O leave us not. To ourselves. But. Enable us to cry. From the depths. That thou wouldest hear our voice. That thou wouldest hear. And answer our prayers.

[42:58] Bless those. O Lord. Who. Who are still without thee. Still strangers to grace. And to God. O Lord. We ask that thou wouldest awaken. Their undying soul.

[43:10] And draw them to thyself. Draw them with cords of love. Which cannot be broken. Bless us in the week. That lies ahead. A week. As we are often reminded.

[43:21] Is unknown to us. But it is known to thee. Help us then. To trust thee with everything. To cast our lot in with Jesus. And put our hope in him.

[43:32] For in him. O Lord. We are able to find the anchor. Of our soul. Do us good. For Jesus' sake. Amen. We shall conclude by singing.

[43:47] In that psalm. In Psalm 130. Psalm 130. This is going to Psalter. Page 421. We'll sing the whole psalm.

[44:10] Lord from the depths. To thee I cried. My voice Lord. Do thou hear. Unto my supplications voice. Give. An attentive ear. Down to the end of the psalm. And plenteous redemption.

[44:21] Is ever found with him. And from all his iniquities. He is real. Shall redeem. The whole psalm. To God's praise. Lord from the depths.

[44:35] To thee I cry. To thee I cry. My voice. Lord. Do thou hear.

[44:49] cheery.

[45:09] For who shall thou If the whole Lord Should smirk and hear With thee But yet with thee Forgiveness is That fear thou mayest be I wait for God My soul doth wait My hope is in this word More than lay that

[46:13] O'er morning what My soul waits for the Lord I say for thou They thought to watch The morning light to see Let Israel Open the Lord For with him mercy's be And plenty of retention

[47:17] Is ever found with him And from all his Iniquities Israel shall redeem The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ The love of God the Father And the fellowship of the Holy Spirit Be with you all Now and forevermore Amen