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Psalm 32 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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The Psalter is one of the pinnacles of the Old Testament.
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So when we read the Psalter, it's like seeing different photos of the majestic picture of God's glory.
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The majestic collage of God's glory.
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So Psalm 1 and 2 is a singular song in the Hebrew.
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It serves as an introduction to the Psalter, an interpretive lens on how we read the rest of the Psalms.
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Psalm 1 depicts this ideal man, this representative.
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And Psalm 2 puts a face to the ideal man, applying Psalm 1 to Psalm 2.
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So read verse 1 with me.
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Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers.
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The word blessed is the man, the word for man there, Adam, is in the singular and portrays a representative.
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It could be interpreted the blessed man or the blessings of the man.
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So Psalm 1 can be understood as that way.
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The blessed man in Psalm 1 thinks on God's word day and night, as we read in verse 2.
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He thinks it in such a way that it affects his thoughts, his affections, and his actions, so that they would be in line with God's.
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This man knows God, and he will stand in the congregation of the righteous.
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Now the second man in Psalm 1 is the wicked man who turns away from God and revels in his own counsel.
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Those who do not heed his counsel, scorn.
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Those who do not heed the counsel of the wicked, he scorns and scoffs at.
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This man will be like the chaff that gets blown away.
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And he will not know God, and he will fall on the day of judgment and perish.
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The blessed man of Psalm 1 is revealed as the righteous king of Psalm 2, as we go into Psalm 2.
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The righteous king takes counsel with Yahweh himself.
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The wicked of Psalm 1 are identified as the wicked rulers of Psalm 2.
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The wicked rulers take counsel together, and they scoff at the blessed man.
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Therefore, there is a warning to the wicked kings that they should not take counsel together and scoff the authority of the righteous king.
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And the warning is that if they do not submit to them, they will be crushed.
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Read Psalm 2.12 with me.
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Kiss the son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way.
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For his wrath is quickly kindled.
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Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
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In Psalm 1.2, we see the blessed man of Psalm 1 as the messianic king of Psalm 2.
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The audience of Psalm 1 who are listening and reading and seeing this are being warned that unless they take refuge in the messianic king,
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they will be crushed like the wicked rulers of Psalm 2.
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And we see his point further in Psalm 3.8.
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It says,
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Salvation belongs to the Lord.
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Your blessing be on your people.
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Do you see the connection that blessed the man of Psalm 1 as the royal son?
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And that all who take refuge in him are blessed and will be blessed.
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And then in Psalm 3, it says that salvation belongs to the Lord.
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Blessing be on your people.
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Those who are finding refuge in the son.
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So, as we come to the Psalm 32, this understanding of Psalm 1 and 2 sets up an interpretive paradigm, a way for us to understand the rest of the Psalms.
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This understanding of Psalm 1 and 2 shows that those who submit to the blessed king find forgiveness, refuge, comfort, loving kindness, faithfulness, and eternal life.
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But those who do not submit to the righteous king will receive justice, the righteousness of God, recompense, cursing, and everlasting sorrow.
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With this understanding, turn with me to Psalm 32.
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Before we begin the Psalm, I'd like to introduce it briefly by discussing a central theme of verses 1-5.
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David is describing his experience of wrestling with guilt and unrepentant sin.
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He explicitly describes the effect that this has on the state of his heart and how that is affecting his physical condition.
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While he loved God and desired him deeply, he wrestled with sin in this body of death.
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He was lured by lust.
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He was murdered.
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He murdered a man.
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He committed adultery.
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When his children sinned, he had been passive.
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He got angry.
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He manipulated circumstances in his favor.
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He is one who has experienced the consequences of his sin, as we see through the narrative.
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David was familiar with the grief of his own sin.
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What about you today?
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Are there sins you've committed that you feel the weight of upon your shoulders?
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Are there things that you are shameful for?
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I'm not sure if any one of you that are in here today are currently experiencing shame or guilt,
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or experiencing regarding things you've done in the past.
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But Psalm 32 is a passage of scripture that is like a wonderful salve for our soul,
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and rich food for the needy.
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It's a passage that provides relief from this massive burden of guilt and helps rid our stains of sin.
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So today, in Psalm 32, we will see the godly should be the happiest of people
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because they have been forgiven and received the blessings of forgiveness.
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We will also see that the one who is unrepentant, bearing his guilt,
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should heed the lesson of the psalm, do not be a mule.
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We'll see this through four points.
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The first point we'll see this through is point number one, the happy state of the forgiven.
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Second point, the divine blessings of the forgiven.
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The third point, do not be a mule.
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Seek God in prayer.
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And the fourth point, sorrow for the wicked and joy for the righteous.
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Now I'll repeat these points again.
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Point number one, the happy state of the forgiven.
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Point number two, the divine blessings of the forgiven.
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Point number three, do not be a mule.
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Seek God in prayer.
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And point number four, sorrow for the wicked and joy for the righteous.
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Read Psalm 32 with me.
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A masculine of David, blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
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whose sin is covered.
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Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
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and whose spirit there is no deceit.
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For when I kept quiet, my bones wasted away,
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through my groaning all day long.
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For day and night your hand was heavy upon me.
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My strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.
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Selah.
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I acknowledge my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity.
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I said I'll confess my transgression to the Lord,
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and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.
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Selah.
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Therefore, let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found.
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Surely, in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him.
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You are a hiding place for me.
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You preserve me from trouble.
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You surround me with shouts of deliverance.
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Selah.
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Selah.
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I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go.
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I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
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Be not like the horse or a mule without understanding.
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You must be curved with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.
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Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.
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Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.
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Psalm 32 offers a remark under the heading.
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It does not have a verse number.
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So if you look into the text, you see the heading says,
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Blessed are the forgiven.
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Under it, there is a phrase that has no number one.
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It's a masculine of David.
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This is what we call the superscription.
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It does not appear in every psalm, but when it does, it helps us understand the context of the psalm.
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Oftentimes, this will give you an understanding of what the meaning of the psalm is.
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So often this provides an author, an event, a genre.
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The heading of the psalm is not in the Hebrew-inspired.
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The superscription is in the Hebrew, and it is inspired.
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So it's wise for us to see what it says and to understand how that influences the text.
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Here it is a genre.
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We see that's a masculine of David.
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A masculine is a word in the Hebrew that means to instruct or to consider.
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So this psalm is a piece of poetic wisdom.
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It helps provide us understanding and wisdom in our relationship with God.
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So with this in mind, let us learn from God's eternal word in Psalm 32 and apply it to our hearts.
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Number one, the happy state of the forgiven.
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As we begin to explore Psalm 32, keep in mind that Psalm 1 and 2 are lens by which we see the psalms.
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So in this passage, the blessed are those who find refuge in the royal son for his forgiveness.
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This makes us, so as we see that, we'll see that the blessed are those who find refuge in the son for his forgiveness, his protection, and his instruction.
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The wicked are those who do not heed the counsel of the Lord and follow the way of the mule, the way of the foolish.
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So Psalm 31, 2.
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Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
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The one whose experience forgiven is blessed in the text.
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We will come back to what it means to be blessed after we survey this text.
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But let's talk about why they are blessed.
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Here we see that they are blessed because they are forgiven.
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So it makes me ask, what does it mean to be forgiven?
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And the way that I've found helpful to break this down is, what is one forgiven from?
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And what does it mean to be forgiven?
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So we're going to survey that in two points.
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What is one forgiven from in the text?
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And what does it mean to be forgiven?
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So in the text, there's this blessed individual who's forgiven from their transgressions.
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To transgress is one who has decisively rebelled against the authority of God.
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Their trespass is against God who created the heavens and the earth.
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He is the creator and we are the creatures.
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He has every right to establish what is right and what is wrong.
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When one transgresses, they reject his authority.
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So this person in Psalm 32 is forgiven from the countless times they have rejected God's authority over them
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and decided their understanding, their counsel, their feelings are superior to God.
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The text also says that their sin is covered.
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Sin is missing the mark.
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You're aiming at a target and the mark that's missed is what God has commanded.
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But sin is also disobedience against God when they do not do what God has said.
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But sin is more than that.
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Sin is not just one disobedience.
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It's a condition.
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Before one is saved and experiences the healing salve of forgiveness,
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they have a heart issue.
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A sin issue in which they delight in their sin and transgressions against God.
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In fact, they hate God before they are saved.
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This heart condition of one before they are forgiven
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is one of the wicked who will not stand in the judgment of God.
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So with that said, one is forgiven from their transgressions.
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What does it mean to be forgiven?
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The Hebrew root here for forgiven in the text is to lift or carry.
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To forgive someone from their transgressions,
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for their transgressions to be lifted and carried away.
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We see this language used throughout Scripture
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and it gives us an understanding of the liberating and precious doctrine of forgiveness.
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Bear with me while I belabor this point for a second.
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In Leviticus, when one would sin,
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they would bear the weight of their sin.
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As if having it on their back.
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Instead of their sin being carried, they're carrying it.
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Therefore, when one sins, they have to deal with it.
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And to deal with it, they would have to go and sacrifice a female goat.
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And they would bring this female goat before the priest.
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They would put their hand on the head and kill the goat.
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And then the priest would take it and make propitiation for that individual.
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But this act was like an act of transferring one's sin,
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one's iniquity to this goat.
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And then it would provide forgiveness.
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In Leviticus 16, on the National Festival Day of Atonement,
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people of Israel would gather before the priest and they would bring two goats.
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And the priest would take one goat and offer it as a sin offering before God and make propitiation.
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Then the priest would take the other goat, this goat called the scapegoat.
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And he would confess over it all the iniquities of the people,
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all their transgressions, all their sins.
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And this scapegoat we sent away from the camp,
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bearing the weight of iniquity and sins,
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and it would be no more.
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These practices were important for the people of Israel to seek forgiveness.
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When they sinned, they looked to God by faith in the sacrifices.
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And the prophets made clear that sacrifices themselves do not save.
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There is no works that will save us.
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But it is the faith itself is what is accounted to them as righteous,
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as we see in Genesis 15.
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For the audience of this psalm,
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they would understand that salvation belongs to the Lord.
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And for them to be saved would be for them to sacrifice
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and by faith look to God and look to his promises.
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So after David passed away,
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during the reign of King Uzziah,
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Isaiah began his prophetic ministry.
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He began prophesying and ministering to the people.
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Isaiah picks up on the language of Leviticus
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and the imagery we see in Leviticus in Isaiah 53.
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And he applies this to the servant of the Lord.
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So if you will, take your copy of God's Word
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and turn with me to Isaiah 53.
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Actually, I want to remind you,
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when they would bring the animal,
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the idea was you're taking your iniquity and your sin
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and you're putting it on the scapegoat
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and the scapegoat would go into the wilderness.
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So now we have the same language used in Isaiah 53,
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prophesying of the Messiah who would come.
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Starting in verse 4, we see,
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Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.
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Yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted.
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He was pierced for our transgressions.
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He was crushed for our iniquities.
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Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace.
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And with his wounds we are healed.
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All we like sheep have gone astray.
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We have turned everyone to his own way.
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And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
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So as the goats would bear the sins of the people,
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this servant of the Lord will come one day,
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in this context,
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and bear the weight and iniquities and sins of God's people.
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So the later Jews have this to look forward to.
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They're looking to this blessed king who they can find refuge in.
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And they're looking to this servant
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who would bear the weight of all their sins and iniquities.
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And this bearing, this weight that would be bore,
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would not be a constant sacrifice they'd have to bring.
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It would not be an annual day of atonement
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that they would have to bring two goats,
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one to be killed as a sin offering,
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one to be sent away as a scapegoat.
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This one will do one work
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in which all sin will be forgiven for those who believe.
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So as we read Isaiah 53 and Psalm 32,
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we see a greater and grander picture.
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As they had faith in God's promises to come,
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we have faith in the God-man who came.
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Jesus Christ is the servant of the Lord,
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prophesied in Isaiah 53.
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He is the blessed son of Psalm 2.
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He is the son of Abraham and the son of David,
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of Matthew 1.
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He is the Lamb of God who bore the weight
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of the sins of the world,
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and the Lion of Judah who will make a quick end to his enemies.
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He is the Alpha and the Omega,
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the beginning and the end.
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And it is in him that the Hebrew believers
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and us today place our faith.
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But just like the Hebrew believers of Psalm 32,
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we are in the same boat.
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We have sinned.
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And when we sin,
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we bear the weight of our sin.
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If you are here today
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and you do not believe in Jesus Christ,
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know that you are bearing the weight of your sin.
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There is a record of debt over you for all the wrongs you have committed.
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Good works and happy attitude and forgetfulness will not save you.
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Romans 6.23 says,
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For the wages of sin is death.
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This death is not just an end of life,
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but an everlasting pain and suffering in hell.
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Therefore,
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as the Hebrews would look to the royal son and serve the Lord,
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today,
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while you can look,
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look to Jesus Christ.
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Romans 5.8 says,
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God shows his love for us
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and that while we're sinned,
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Christ died for us.
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Christ has taken every sin,
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every treacherous trespass,
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the load of iniquity,
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which we should be bearing,
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and bore it before the wrath of God.
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He is the high priest and the scapegoat,
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the Lamb of God,
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who took away our sins.
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Therefore,
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today,
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turn from your sins
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and believe in Jesus Christ.
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Romans 6.23 says
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that the gift of God is eternal life.
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For those who have been saved and forgiven,
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there is something that awaits them,
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something beautiful,
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something wonderful,
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an eternal inheritance
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of everlasting joy
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awaits those who have been forgiven,
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those who find refuge
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in the Messianic King.
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Turn back with me to Psalm 32, please.
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Great.
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Let's read verses 1 and 2 together.
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A masculine of David,
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blessed is the one
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whose transgression is forgiven,
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whose sin is covered.
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Blessed is the man
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against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
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and whose spirit there is no deceit.
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So in Psalm 1 and 2,
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we see this blessed man is blessed
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because they have no transgressions
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held against them.
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Their transgressions have been cast
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as far as the east is
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from the west
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and is no more.
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They've been cast away and are gone.
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This verse goes on to explain
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two other ways
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in which our sin has been dealt with.
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In verse 1,
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we see that our sin has been covered.
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Sin brings shame and exposes us.
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Jesus has bore our sin
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and he has covered it
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through his sacrifice.
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Here, the person is blessed
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because their sin
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is covered in Christ.
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The third way we see
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that sin is discussed
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is that the blessed man
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will have no iniquity
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accounted against him.
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This word,
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iniquity accounted against him,
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is an accounting term.
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As if you're taking an account
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for everything that's ever happened.
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So all the sins
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that you've once done
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no longer is accounted against you
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if you find refuge
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in the Son
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and in Christ Jesus.
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The record of debt is gone.
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So now let's go back
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to the word blessed.
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So in the Hebrew scriptures,
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the word blessing
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is used an abundant amount of times.
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Genesis is used 76 times.
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In Deuteronomy,
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it's used 40 times.
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In the Psalms,
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it's used 76 times.
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The first word
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is in the idea of giving
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and receiving blessing.
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And the second word
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is usually used
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in the state of being blessed.
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It's a state of receiving
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this blessing
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and being blessed.
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The word is also translated
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to mean happiness.
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So this person
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who has been saved
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by the gospel of Jesus Christ
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and does not bear
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the weight of sin
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should be
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the happiest person alive.
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They have nothing
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to worry about
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in their eternal destiny
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because God has covered
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their sin for them.
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Their iniquities have been bore
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and their transgression
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is no more.
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So therefore,
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we should rejoice today
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in our Lord Jesus Christ
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in his life, death,
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and resurrection
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because truly,
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as saints of Christ,
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we are in a happy place.
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We have a happy state.
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Point number two,
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the divine blessings
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of the forgiven.
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As we move on
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to verses three and four,
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we'll see the divine blessings
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David has experienced
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from God.
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The first blessing
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we see in Psalm 32
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is the blessing
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of divine forgiveness.
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Verses three through four say,
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For when I kept silent,
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my bones wasted away
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through my groaning
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all day long.
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For day and night
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your hand was heavy upon me.
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My strength was dried up
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as by the heat of summer.
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Say law.
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Prior to repenting of sin,
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sin weighed him down.
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David felt the weight
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of his conviction
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and he describes this weight
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as his bones wasting away.
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He describes this as groaning
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all the day long.
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His condition is that
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he is grieved deeply
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and miserable over sin.
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Therefore,
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does David
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just stop thinking about it?
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Does he,
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does he,
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in a sense,
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just not tell anybody?
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That,
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that's not what brought him
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healing in this text.
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What brought him healing
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is verses,
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verse five.
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I acknowledge my sin to you
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and I did not cover
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my iniquity.
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I said,
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I'll confess my transgression
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to the Lord
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and he forgave
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the iniquity of my sin.
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Say law.
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For the believer,
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we have this beautiful truth
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that should cause our hearts
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to leap with joy.
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Should cause the spring
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of gladness
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when we think
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that the sin
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that we committed yesterday,
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maybe the sin you committed
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this morning,
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if you seek forgiveness from,
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has been forgiven.
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And you do not have
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to be miserable over it.
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You do not have to be
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in shame over this sin
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because Jesus has covered it
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for you.
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But,
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the opposite truth
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is still there.
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If you do not believe
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in Jesus,
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you do not know Jesus,
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this weight of sin
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is still upon you
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and you will be held
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accountable for it.
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We see that this blessing
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is followed up by a command
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in Psalm 32, 6.
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It says,
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Therefore,
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let everyone who is godly
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offer prayer to you
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at a time
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when you may be found.
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Surely,
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in the rush of great waters,
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they shall not reach him.
23:49
The command is following
23:50
the confession of David
23:51
and then beseeching
23:52
the audience of the song.
23:53
It's saying,
23:54
Brothers and sisters,
23:55
do not conceal
23:56
your iniquity.
23:57
Do not cover up your sin.
23:58
Do not forget about it,
24:00
but bring it to the Lord
24:01
in prayer.
24:02
And if you're here
24:03
struggling today
24:03
with sin and shame,
24:05
bring the Lord in prayer
24:05
and grab a brother
24:06
and a sister
24:07
and ask them to help you
24:09
wrestle through
24:09
the struggle together.
24:12
But look at the statements
24:14
used in this text.
24:15
It helps us understand it better.
24:17
It says,
24:18
Let everyone who is godly
24:19
offer prayer.
24:20
So,
24:20
the godly in this text
24:22
offer prayer to God,
24:23
but it's also a command
24:24
to unbelievers
24:25
that they have an opportunity
24:27
to offer prayer to God.
24:28
They have an opportunity
24:29
to repent of their sins
24:30
now
24:31
as it is today.
24:33
And look at the imagery here.
24:34
The command has a clear
24:35
picture to it.
24:37
The reference says,
24:37
Seek him
24:38
while he may be found.
24:40
Into many waters
24:40
is a clear reference
24:42
to the flood.
24:43
And what happened
24:44
in the flood?
24:45
God was going to judge sin.
24:48
And he gave his promises
24:49
to Noah
24:49
to build the ark.
24:51
And those who entered the ark
24:52
were saved
24:53
from their sin.
24:55
And saved
24:55
from the wrath of God.
24:57
And those who were not
24:58
in the ark,
24:59
the wrath of God
25:00
was poured out
25:01
and the waters crushed
25:02
the people.
25:04
So here we see
25:05
this clear picture
25:05
that God hates sin
25:06
and he will punish it.
25:08
This command
25:09
to seek God in prayer
25:11
is an invitation
25:12
to sinners
25:12
to get on the ark
25:14
while they can.
25:15
To get in the ark
25:16
before the doors
25:17
are closed
25:18
and the floodwaters
25:19
come pouring down.
25:22
Therefore,
25:22
the application
25:23
is very clear.
25:24
If you are not
25:25
a follower of Christ,
25:26
now is your chance
25:27
to become one.
25:28
Now is your chance
25:29
to get on the ark
25:30
by the blood
25:31
of Jesus Christ
25:32
and save yourselves.
25:35
The next blessing
25:36
we see,
25:37
second blessing
25:37
of Psalm 32
25:38
is the blessing
25:39
of divine protection.
25:42
Psalm 32, 7
25:44
says,
25:45
You are a hiding place
25:46
for me.
25:47
You preserve me
25:48
from trouble.
25:49
You surround me
25:50
with shouts
25:51
of deliverance.
25:53
Selah.
25:54
The godly did not
25:55
just receive
25:56
the forgiveness
25:56
of sins,
26:00
but the protection
26:01
from God.
26:03
The refuge
26:04
of the messianic king
26:05
is not a shack
26:06
on the side of the road,
26:07
but an impregnable
26:08
fortress.
26:09
As Francis made clear
26:12
last week,
26:12
our security
26:13
on this earth
26:13
is not from
26:14
our vocation,
26:15
our riches,
26:16
our possessions,
26:17
or what we do,
26:19
but it's from God
26:20
and his gifts
26:21
to us.
26:23
God is the one
26:24
who is the Jehovah-Jireh.
26:26
He is the one
26:26
who has purposely
26:27
provided for all
26:29
our needs.
26:30
So when things
26:31
get hard,
26:32
we do not have
26:32
to be afraid
26:33
of the trials
26:34
that come our way,
26:35
but we,
26:36
like Habakkuk,
26:37
could come to the Lord.
26:39
Habakkuk 3 says,
26:40
Though the fig tree
26:41
should not blossom,
26:43
nor the fruit
26:43
be on the vines,
26:45
the produce
26:46
of the olive fail,
26:47
and the fields
26:48
yield no fruit.
26:49
The flock
26:50
shall be cut off
26:50
from the fold,
26:52
and there be no herds
26:53
in the stall.
26:54
Yet I will rejoice
26:55
in the Lord.
26:57
So his rejoicing
26:57
is in all my possessions.
27:00
The food I'm growing,
27:01
the animals I have
27:02
for security,
27:02
everything is gone.
27:03
I have no security.
27:04
I'm wide open,
27:05
and the only thing
27:06
I have right now,
27:07
the Lord,
27:07
is to trust in you.
27:09
And listen to the rest
27:10
of the verse.
27:11
I will take joy
27:12
in God
27:13
of my salvation.
27:14
God,
27:15
the Lord,
27:16
is my strength.
27:17
He makes my feet
27:18
like the deers.
27:19
He makes me
27:20
tread on the high places.
27:22
So we see
27:23
that the blessings
27:24
that we receive
27:24
from God
27:25
are his divine forgiveness,
27:27
his divine protection.
27:28
The third blessing
27:29
is his divine direction.
27:32
In verse 8,
27:33
God now takes
27:34
the pen from David
27:34
and shares his instruction.
27:36
It says,
27:37
I will instruct you
27:38
and teach you
27:39
in the way you should go.
27:41
I will counsel you
27:42
with my eye upon you.
27:45
There are only two ways
27:47
one can go,
27:48
as we've seen
27:49
from Psalm 1 and 2.
27:50
There is the way
27:51
of the wicked,
27:52
and there is the way
27:53
of the righteous.
27:54
Let us take the instruction
27:56
and follow the way
27:57
of the blessed son
27:58
of Psalm 2
27:58
and find refuge in him
28:00
and learn from him.
28:01
Let us follow the way
28:04
and let us be those
28:05
who are forgiven
28:05
and meditate on the Lord
28:06
day and night.
28:07
Those who know
28:08
and have experienced
28:10
the living God.
28:12
The divine blessing
28:12
of Psalm 32
28:13
finishes with a lesson.
28:14
So we talked about
28:16
the happy state
28:17
of the forgiven,
28:18
the blessings of the forgiven,
28:19
and now we're at point 3.
28:21
Do not be a mule.
28:22
Seek God.
28:23
The command of verse 9
28:26
is a negative way
28:27
of saying the command
28:28
of verse 6.
28:30
The first command
28:30
possibly commanded
28:31
the people
28:32
to seek God in prayer.
28:34
Verse 9 says,
28:35
Be not like a horse
28:37
or a mule
28:37
without understanding,
28:38
which must be curbed
28:40
with bit and bridle,
28:41
bit and bridle,
28:42
or it will not stay near you.
28:45
Here are the pictures
28:46
of a farm.
28:47
You have the animals
28:48
that the farm person
28:49
would come and call,
28:50
and they would come
28:51
and come to the farm
28:52
be put in.
28:54
But there's the one
28:55
or two animals
28:56
that don't come
28:56
when they're called.
28:58
We see the horse
28:58
and the mule
28:59
as the example here.
29:00
And instead of them
29:01
being called and coming,
29:03
the person goes
29:04
and puts a bit
29:05
in his mouth
29:05
and has to drag him
29:06
or get him over
29:07
to the farm
29:09
to get him in there.
29:10
And what it's saying is,
29:12
don't be like the donkey.
29:13
Don't be foolish.
29:15
But seek God now
29:16
while he is found.
29:17
Seek him in prayer.
29:20
Be like the sheep
29:21
who listen to the voice
29:22
of the good shepherd
29:23
who seeks to lead
29:24
his people
29:25
by still waters.
29:26
Do not remain
29:27
in the valley of death.
29:30
Do not let sin consume you,
29:32
but seek the living God
29:33
while he is found.
29:35
He is a good shepherd
29:37
and king
29:38
who is kind
29:39
and will lead our souls
29:41
to still waters.
29:43
Truly in Jesus,
29:45
there is rest
29:45
for the forgiven.
29:47
So, point three,
29:50
do not be a meal.
29:50
Finally, point four,
29:51
sorrow for the wicked
29:52
and joy for the righteous.
29:55
As David finishes sharing
29:56
the blessings
29:57
and the lesson,
29:58
he summarizes
29:59
the result of their lives.
30:01
Verses 10 and 11 say,
30:03
Many are the sorrows
30:05
of the wicked,
30:06
but steadfast love
30:07
surrounds the one
30:08
who trusts in the Lord.
30:10
Be glad in the Lord
30:11
and rejoice,
30:12
O righteous,
30:13
and shout for joy,
30:14
all you,
30:15
upright in heart.
30:18
Those who do not turn to God
30:20
and remain in their sin
30:21
will continue to follow
30:22
the way of the wicked.
30:24
They will remain meal-like
30:26
and they will receive
30:27
great sorrow.
30:28
And this sorrow is so great
30:29
that it's not momentary,
30:31
it's an everlasting sorrow.
30:33
The result of the wicked
30:34
is that they will experience
30:36
the wrath of God
30:37
and they will be crushed
30:38
on the day of judgment.
30:40
The righteous are not so.
30:42
The righteous have received
30:44
divine forgiveness,
30:45
divine protection,
30:46
and divine direction.
30:49
They have been forgiven
30:49
and will not be condemned
30:50
for their trespasses.
30:53
They have been,
30:54
and because of that,
30:55
their transgressions,
30:56
their sins,
30:56
their iniquities
30:57
are no more.
30:59
According to verse 10,
31:00
they are surrounded
31:00
with steadfast love.
31:02
They have placed their faith
31:04
in the sin-bearing
31:05
servant king of God
31:06
and they will find
31:08
refuge in him.
31:10
In conclusion,
31:10
Christian,
31:11
we have so much
31:13
to rejoice in.
31:15
Christians should be
31:15
the happiest of people.
31:18
We have so many reasons
31:19
for joy that we have
31:20
God's divine forgiveness,
31:22
divine protection,
31:22
divine direction
31:23
in our lives.
31:25
Not only have we placed
31:26
our faith in the Lamb,
31:27
Jesus Christ,
31:28
in the Jesus Christ,
31:29
the Lamb of God,
31:30
and the resurrected king,
31:31
but we are now co-heirs
31:32
with Jesus
31:33
and we'll receive
31:35
a heavenly inheritance
31:37
and we will be
31:39
welcomed into heaven
31:40
receiving this everlasting
31:42
joy as co-heirs
31:44
with Christ.
31:46
So we're forgiven now
31:47
and we have a beautiful
31:48
future that awaits us.
31:50
So application,
31:52
go to God,
31:53
seek his face,
31:55
and repent of
31:55
any sins you may have.
31:58
Second application is
31:59
rejoice.
32:00
Consider how you spend
32:02
your mornings,
32:03
your family time,
32:05
your time in your marriage.
32:06
Are you cultivating
32:07
these times
32:08
that you're rejoiced in?
32:09
Are you cultivating
32:10
your heart religious affection
32:11
for you,
32:13
for your spouse,
32:14
for your family,
32:15
for your church?
32:16
And then in preparation
32:18
for the gatherings,
32:18
are we preparing for joy?
32:20
Because going to church,
32:22
singing songs together,
32:23
and hearing God
32:24
in his word
32:25
should be an act of joy.
32:27
It should fill us
32:28
with complete joy
32:29
in these moments.
32:31
So let us be
32:32
a joyful people
32:33
who have experienced God
32:35
and praise him
32:36
as he so duly deserves.
32:38
Pray with me.