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My Sin is Ever Before Me · Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons

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Let's turn back to the second passage we read, the book of Psalms, Psalm 51, reading again at verse 3.
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! For I know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me.
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We'll look at four things.
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Firstly, sin's terrible power and consequences.
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Secondly, God's judgment against sin.
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Thirdly, the greater power of God's grace in repentance and confession and forgiveness.
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And four and lastly, how do you deal with your sin?
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Let's look first of all then at sin's terrible power and consequences.
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The two passages we read shed a lot of light on the deep, dark nature of sin, its terrible power, and its consequences in the lives of individuals and in the lives of believers.
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The title of the psalm, a psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him after he had gone into Bathsheba.
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The title describes what the psalm is about.
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And the passage we read in 2 Samuel, of course, describes to us the detail of that narrative.
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King David's sin.
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Much more.
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Psalm 51 is one of the great penitential psalms.
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One of the great penitential psalms.
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What does that mean?
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It means psalms that express a very personal and intense grief for their own sinnership and for their own sin.
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Psalms 6 and 32 and 38 and 51 and 102, 130 and 143.
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A pattern of grief and crying out to God in that grief for mercy and for forgiveness for sin.
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But this is a prayer of faith, as are all of these penitential psalms.
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A prayer of faith.
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Faith and repentance towards God.
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The exercise of faith in confession of sin and the blessed forgiveness that follows.
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It seems that the psalm in the early church was prayed at the conclusion of morning services.
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And what a great practice that is.
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To read this psalm at the conclusion of morning services.
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This psalm, as the other psalms are, I'm sure, precious to every true Christian.
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You will have read and you will have prayed this psalm.
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If you're a born again Christian, how many times have you prayed,
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Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me?
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How many times have you gone and fallen on your knees and said what David said here,
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Have mercy, O God, according to your steadfast love?
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How often have you pleaded to the cross?
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How often have you pleaded to the blood of Christ?
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You must.
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It must be part of your Christian experience.
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Psalm 38, interestingly.
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The title of it is a memorial.
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A memorial.
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And in a sense, all of these penitential psalms are a memorial.
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They are a reminder to us about our sinnership and about our sin.
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And remember that simple rule.
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But perhaps it's not so simple.
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Because we forget.
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We're not sinners because we sin.
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We sin because we are sinners.
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It's a matter of the heart.
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It's what we are by nature.
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It's what we are by nature.
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And God has declared it so.
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God has declared it so.
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Listen to what God says.
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Romans 5 and verse 12.
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Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man,
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and death through sin,
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and so death spread to all men,
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because all sinned.
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For all sinned.
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And these remarkable verses.
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In Romans 3 at verse 23.
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We read these words.
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For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
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What is sin?
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Many of you, most of you, would have learned the catechism.
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What is sin?
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The larger catechism expands on the shorter catechism's explanation.
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Sin is any want of conformity unto or transgression of any law of God
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given as a rule to the reasonable creature.
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One commentator wrote this.
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God is light.
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Sin is darkness.
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God is life.
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Sin is death.
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God is heaven.
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Sin is hell.
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God is beauty.
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Sin is deformity.
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It cast angels out of heaven.
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Adam out of paradise.
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It laid the first cornerstone in hell.
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And brought in all the curses and crosses and miseries.
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It makes men and women godless.
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Christless, hopeless, and heavenless.
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That's what sin is.
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And it's a reality for every single person in here tonight.
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Whether you're a Christian or a non-Christian.
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salvation in the Bible demanded, demanded the incarnation of the Son of God
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as an atoning sacrifice for sins.
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Nothing else would do.
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It demanded the incarnation of the Son of God.
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And that remarkable declaration.
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You shall call his name Jesus.
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For he shall save his people from their sins.
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And without Jesus as your Savior.
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And if you die in your sin.
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The consequences are a lost eternity.
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And the pains of hell forever.
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In this psalm, David reminds us of the doctrine of original sin.
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He reminds us at verse 5 of the doctrine of original sin.
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Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity.
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And in sin did my mother conceive me.
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All mankind born guilty and corrupted and polluted because of Adam's sin.
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As the covenant head and representative of the human race.
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Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones said that the problem of life is sin.
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Sin and its guilt and its power and its pollution.
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Where is it first mentioned in the Bible?
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It is first mentioned in Genesis 4 and verse 7.
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And it's mentioned there in a very specific way.
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Sin is crouching at the door.
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Its desire is for you.
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But you must master it.
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Like a wild animal.
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Waiting to pounce on its victim.
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And to go in for the kill.
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Its desire is for us.
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Against us.
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Against God.
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So its very nature is rebellion.
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Rebellion.
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Adam and Eve discovered that.
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They discovered that.
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Abel discovered that.
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At the hand of his brother Cain.
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And so down through.
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These opening passages of the history of the world.
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You see the exceeding sinfulness of sin.
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And you see the judgment of God in Genesis 6.
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That every imagination of the thoughts of the heart.
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Were only evil continually.
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What a judgment.
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What a judgment.
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And he came in judgment.
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He came in judgment.
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The consequences of sin.
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There were consequences for Adam and Eve.
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They were driven out of the garden.
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Separated from the communion.
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And personal relationship with God.
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Mankind.
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The crowning glory of God's creation.
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He formed the earth in the first three days.
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In the next three days he filled the earth.
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And he gave mankind.
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That remarkable place.
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But sin separates mankind from God.
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And it still separates mankind from God.
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And if you're not a Christian.
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Sin separates from God.
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And that's not a very good place to be.
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In this psalm we have King David.
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A man of whom the Lord said.
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The Lord has sought out a man.
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After his own heart.
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One of the greatest men in the Old Testament.
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Surely.
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A humble shepherd boy.
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But zealous for the glory of God.
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Zealous for the glory of God.
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Who is this uncircumcised Philistine?
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As this shepherd boy stood against Goliath.
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While the whole of Israel quaked in their boots.
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Almost literally.
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And here is this.
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David.
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The shepherd boy.
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Who is this uncircumcised Philistine?
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Who would dare.
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Who would dare.
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To blaspheme against God the way he did.
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But here he is.
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Here he is.
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In a sense at the height of his power.
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It's almost unbelievable.
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But it's a fact.
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It's a fact.
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But in David's experience.
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We see sin's terrible force and power.
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Sin's terrible force and power.
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Firstly it sweeps aside all other considerations and interests.
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David was gripped with lust.
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He should have been out at the head of the battle.
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With his army.
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Instead he was gripped with lust.
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It's almost as if nothing mattered.
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And if you read 2 Samuel 11.
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Before that chapter we read.
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2 Samuel 12.
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You will see his reaction to Uriah's death.
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And to the defeat of the army.
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It's almost as if nothing mattered.
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The army didn't matter.
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Certainly the glory of God.
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Was swept aside.
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Swept aside.
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The honor and the glory of the Lord.
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Swept aside.
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So the power of sin sweeps aside.
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All other interests and considerations.
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The power of sin consumes.
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David had everything.
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He was the king.
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But there was something he didn't have.
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That somebody else had.
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And he wanted it.
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And he was so consumed.
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That he arranged for the death of Uriah.
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Murder.
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For which he was himself.
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Guilty.
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Under the penalty of death.
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Jealousy.
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And envy.
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And bitterness.
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Consumed him.
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And that's what sin does.
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The power of sin can consume us.
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It can consume us when we're in a rage.
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When our tempers flare.
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And we're in a rage.
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We say and do things we should never.
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Which we would not normally ever do.
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And it's almost at times as if we.
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Block out.
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That voice of conscience.
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That speak to us.
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That restraining voice.
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Any opportunity to retaliate.
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And to pay back.
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Sin consumes.
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Thirdly.
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Sin risks everything.
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David risked everything here.
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His power.
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His reputation.
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His honor before God.
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And before men.
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The whole honor of Israel.
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And Judah.
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Of the United Kingdom.
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Him.
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He was a slave.
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To sin.
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He was a slave.
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To sin.
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That's what sin does.
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Jesus himself.
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Tells us.
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In John 8.
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Verse 34.
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Truly.
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Truly.
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I say to you.
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Everyone who practices sin.
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Is a slave.
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To sin.
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To sin.
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And being a slave.
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To sin.
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To sin.
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Sin.
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Is the natural state.
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Of mankind.
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Add to that.
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The power.
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The terrible power.
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Of sin.
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In addiction.
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For example.
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Addiction to alcohol.
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And drugs.
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And pornography.
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And many other vices.
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And add to that.
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The danger of habitual sin.
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Christian brother and sister.
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The danger of habitual sin.
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When sin becomes a habit.
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I came across.
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As I was preparing.
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Something I had.
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Looked at many.
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Many years ago.
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The Reverend Moody Stewart.
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In his book on Jeremiah.
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When habit becomes strong.
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Through persistent indulgence.
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It exercises an appalling.
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Tyranny.
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Over the hearts.
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And lives.
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Of men.
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Of men and women.
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Of course.
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Fourthly.
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Sin paralyzes.
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Out better judgment.
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It blinds.
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It paralyzes.
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And blinds.
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It overpowers.
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It overpowered David.
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It mastered David.
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It robbed him of his power.
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It robbed him of his discernment.
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And judgment.
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And there was a battle.
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In David's conscience.
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And I'll come back to that.
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A little later.
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A battle in his conscience.
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More explained to us.
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In Psalm 32.
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Than particularly here.
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But there was a battle.
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Going on.
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And in Psalm 32.
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The danger of unconfessed sin.
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Of an unrepentant state.
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When we don't confess our sins.
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David tells us in Psalm 32.
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That the impact of unrepentant sin.
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Was silence.
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And groaning.
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Groaning with living with the guilt.
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Of a stifled conscience.
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And the aging bones.
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That he refers to in Psalm 32.
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Portraying the growing weakness.
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Of his spiritual life.
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And sin robs you of your power.
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It robs you of your power.
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Your power to pray.
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Your power to discern.
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Your power to resist.
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Temptations not to read your Bible.
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Not to go on your knees to pray.
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And he was aware.
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Of the heavy hand of God.
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And the need for repentance.
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But he stubbornly refused to yield.
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For a while.
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And of course there is the devil.
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Always there in the background.
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Always there.
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Ready to accuse you.
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Ready to twist.
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And pervert.
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The truth.
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Sin's terrible.
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Power and consequences.
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Secondly.
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God's judgment against sin.
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God's judgment against sin.
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It's very interesting in the narrative.
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where Nathan comes to David.
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And explains that story to him.
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About the rich man.
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And the poor man.
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And the story of the traveler.
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And of the lamb.
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And it's very interesting that David himself delivers the verdict.
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Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man.
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And he said to Nathan.
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As the Lord lives.
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The man who has done this.
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Deserves to die.
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And he shall restore the lamb fourfold.
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Because he did this thing.
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And because he had no pity.
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David anticipates and delivers the verdict himself.
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He utterly condemns the sin.
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And that sin deserves punishment.
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And of course David understood.
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That sin merits punishment.
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But David didn't recognize himself in this story.
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That Nathan told him.
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And perhaps we would have been exactly the same.
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If someone had come to us.
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And surely we would have said.
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Well that's terrible.
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That's terrible.
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That man deserves.
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To be penalized in some way.
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For what he has done.
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But what was God's verdict?
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What was God's verdict?
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God's verdict was delivered through Nathan.
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The verdict of the word of God.
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You are the man.
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You are the man.
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And in verses 7 down to 13.
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Nathan delivers that damning verdict.
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God's verdict against David.
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Because of David's sins.
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God's judgment.
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And the consequences of that judgment.
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Because Uriah had been killed by the sword.
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The sword would never depart from David's house.
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Because he had taken Uriah's wife.
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The judgment extended to David's own household.
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Taking his wives from him.
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David deserved to die.
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But God forgave him.
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Yet the son conceived from the adulterous relationship would die.
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Would die.
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Devastating consequences of sin.
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And the Bible teaches us in Numbers 32.23.
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Be sure your sin will find you out.
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Thirdly.
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The greater power of God's grace.
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In repentance.
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Confession and forgiveness.
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David's confession in 2 Samuel 12.
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I have sinned against the Lord.
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David's confession here in this psalm at verse 3.
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For I know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me.
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My sin is ever before me.
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Here is David's repentance.
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I have sinned against God.
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Against God.
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And he says in verse 4.
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Against you, you only have I sinned.
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And done what is evil in your sight.
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David's eyes have been opened.
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The floodgates of confession of sin.
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The floodgates have been opened.
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And outpours this confession of sin.
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And he realizes.
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That sin is contrary to and strikes at the very heart.
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At the very nature and being of God.
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His honor and his glory.
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He realizes that sin is a violation of the holiness of God.
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And a violation of his law.
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And that's what sin is.
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It strikes at the very heart of the Savior.
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It strikes at the very heart of Christ.
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And it takes away from the believer the joy of the spirit and the peace of conscience.
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It strikes at the heart of the church.
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The church.
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And it strikes at the heart of a witness to the world.
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He acknowledges that it is his sin.
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Have mercy on me, O God.
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Wash me.
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I know my transgressions.
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My sin.
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My iniquity.
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He accepts all responsibility as part of that process of repentance.
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And that confession that flows out.
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No one else to blame.
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Not circumstances.
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Not other people.
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Not the devil.
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No one else.
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Just me.
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I'm guilty.
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I deserve the judgment of God.
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I did it.
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And I need grace.
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I'm broken, Lord.
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He says.
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You've broken my heart.
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And he says to God, I know that you want.
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This is the pleasing sacrifice.
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A broken and a contrite heart.
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David's confession, as I said at the beginning, is a prayer of faith.
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A prayer of faith.
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And a prayer of faith.
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Must proceed all through confession of sin.
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And he pleads and he appeals to God.
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Have mercy on me, O God.
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According to your steadfast love.
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According to your abundant mercy.
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He pleads.
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God's steadfast love.
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God's covenant love.
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God's love.
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What is steadfast love?
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Or loving kindness, if you use the AV.
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What is it?
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It is love.
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Demonstrated.
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In reconciliation.
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It's love.
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It's love demonstrated in an atonement for sin.
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It's love personified in the Savior.
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Who is the propitiation for our sins.
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He turns to God in prayer.
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Cries out in faith.
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For the greater power of God's grace.
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For the removal of guilt.
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And the renewal.
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Of his standing before God.
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Notice the verbs.
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Have mercy.
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According to your loving kindness.
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Blot out.
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Wash me.
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Cleanse me.
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Purge me.
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Hide your face.
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Purge me.
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And look what he says in verse 7.
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Purge me with hyssop.
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Purge me with hyssop.
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He's appealing to the blood.
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He's appealing.
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Looking back.
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To the Passover.
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To the blood of the Passover.
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David understands.
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That without the shedding of blood.
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There is no remission of sins.
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Martin Luther made a remarkable comment about this psalm.
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David asks to be sprinkled.
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With the word of faith in the coming Christ.
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Who will sprinkle his church with his blood.
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He prays for removal.
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Of all the sin.
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And the guilt of sin.
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And every shred and presence of sin.
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And he prays again then for renewal.
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Create.
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Renew.
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Cast me not away.
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Take not the Holy Spirit away.
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What a remarkable prayer.
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Have you prayed that one?
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Christian brother and sister.
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Have you prayed that prayer?
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What a prayer.
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Restore and uphold and deliver.
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It's a complete and radical.
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Removal and renewal.
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Removal of his guilt.
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And the renewal and restoration.
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And reconciliation.
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With God.
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His God.
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As if he's saying to God.
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You want to clean me.
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Clean me then God.
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Clean me completely.
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Clean my insides.
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So that wisdom and righteousness would reign in my heart.
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That holiness would reign in my heart.
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That you would reign in my heart.
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That you would take your rightful place in my heart.
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Not myself.
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Not my lusts and desires and sins.
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But you Lord.
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Open my eyes.
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The psalmist said.
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That I might see wonderful things out of your law.
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Why does the psalmist say that?
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Because he knew.
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That sin blinds.
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And paralyzes.
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As we said before.
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Sin blinds.
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And it robs us.
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It robs us of prayer.
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And we can only beat our own breast in that regard.
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God's verdict.
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And declaration continues.
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It didn't stop with the judgment.
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This is where you see the grace of God.
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The remarkable grace of God.
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What did Nathan say to David?
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He said this.
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And Nathan said to David.
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The Lord also has put away your sin.
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You shall not die.
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The Lord has put away your sin.
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You shall not die.
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The remarkable truth of true repentance.
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True repentance.
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Evangelical repentance.
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As opposed to any legal repentance.
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But true repentance.
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Confession of sin.
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Followed by forgiveness of sin.
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If we confess our sins.
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John says.
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If we confess our sins.
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He is faithful and just.
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To forgive us our sins.
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And to cleanse us.
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From all unrighteousness.
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Confession.
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Followed immediately by forgiveness.
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That's what David experienced.
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Particularly too.
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In Psalm 32.
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When he speaks of it in that psalm.
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The dam bursting as it were.
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And outflowed this remarkable confession.
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Followed by almost.
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Oh well not just almost.
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But immediate.
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Immediate forgiveness.
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Immediate forgiveness.
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These remarkable verses.
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In Psalm 32.
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Psalm 32.
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At verse 5.
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I acknowledged my sin to you.
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And I did not cover my iniquity.
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I said I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.
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And you forgave the iniquity of my sin.
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Oh the greater power of God's grace in repentance.
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The confession and forgiveness of sin.
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It's sweet.
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It's sweet when we go to Christ and we say.
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Lords forgive me for my sins.
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Pouring out our heart.
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Pouring it out.
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And knowing the sweet sound of forgiveness.
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And if you're a non-Christian.
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If you haven't yet closed in with Christ.
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Oh how sweet that is.
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There is a sense in which.
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When we talk about sin.
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Here.
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In this psalm.
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And in other places of course.
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I have to say that I was taken back myself.
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To when Christ came into my own life.
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And I'm sure in the life of every Christian.
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It takes you back to that time.
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When Christ came into your life.
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And he saved you.
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And what a salvation.
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But what a price.
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Our sins demanded of him.
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What a price.
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But a price that he was willing.
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To pay.
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Finally.
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What do you do with your sin?
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My sin.
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David said.
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Is ever before me.
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And there is a sense as Christians.
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We wish that this were more true than it is.
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That I was more aware of my sin.
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Than I am.
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David promises in this psalm.
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In verse 13.
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Then I will teach transgressors your ways.
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And sinners will return to you.
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It's as if David is saying.
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I'm now going to teach others.
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So that they follow the pattern of.
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Of confession of sin.
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And forgiveness.
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This psalm and other psalms.
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Teach us how to deal without sin.
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When you struggle with sin.
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As we do from time to time.
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When there are seasons.
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In our heart.
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In our Christian experience.
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Here is the way to deal with sin.
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This is the God given pattern.
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Repentance.
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Repentance.
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Repentance.
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Repentance unto life.
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The catechism says.
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Is a saving grace.
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It's all of grace.
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Whereby a sinner.
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Out of a true sense of his sin.
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And apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ.
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Does.
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With grief and hatred of his sin.
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Turn from it unto God.
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With full purpose of and endeavor.
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After new obedience.
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This is the pattern.
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And this pattern encourages us.
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Not to sink in despair.
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Don't despair.
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Christian.
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Brother and sister.
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Don't despair.
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If you're not yet a Christian.
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Because the Savior's ears are open.
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His heart is open.
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To your cry.
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To your pleading.
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Plead with him.
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What shall I do to be saved.
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The Philippian jailer said.
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Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
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The reply came.
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Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
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And you will be saved.
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Here is the pattern to keep us from total despair.
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Fear.
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It also sets before us the matter of the heart.
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The heart before God.
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A broken and contrite heart.
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First before God.
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And notice what verse 19 says.
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He says.
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First to them.
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He says.
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You will not accept.
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Sacrifices.
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Until you see this broken and contrite heart.
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And then in verse 19.
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Then.
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Then will you delight.
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In right.
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Sacrifices.
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When there is a broken and contrite heart.
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When the church.
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Of Christ.
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When the church of God.
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Is being built up.
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Do good to Zion.
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In your good pleasure.
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Build up the walls of Jerusalem.
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Then.
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Then.
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Then.
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You will delight.
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In right sacrifices.
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These narratives are here to warn us.
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To warn us of the danger.
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The terrible power of sin.
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Christ has dealt.
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With the penalty of sin.
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He has broken the power and dominion of sin.
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So that sin no longer has dominion over the Christian.
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But the presence of sin remains.
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James.
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Reminds us that.
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Let no one say when he is tempted.
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I am being tempted by God.
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For God cannot be tempted with evil.
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And he himself tempts no one.
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But each person is tempted.
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When he is lured and enticed.
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By his own desire.
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Then desire.
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When it has conceived.
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Gives birth to sin.
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And sin.
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When it is fully grown.
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Brings forth death.
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And James adds this.
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Do not be deceived.
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My beloved brothers.
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I came across a quote from Bunyan.
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Which made me stop.
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Sin is worse than the devil.
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Sin is worse than the devil.
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If you are more afraid of the devil than sin.
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You know little of its badness.
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And thus little of Christ's love.
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Man does not know the nature of his wound.
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How can he know the nature?
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And excellence of the cure.
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If man does not know the nature of his wound.
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How can he know the nature and excellence of the cure?
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And finally.
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There is this.
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We must look to Jesus.
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David's plea.
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Was to the blood.
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And David's plea to the blood.
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Finds its true virtue.
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And greater power.
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Through the blood of Christ.
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Which cleanses us.
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From all sin.
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There is.
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Power in the blood.
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That hymn.
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It surprised me.
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When I was preparing.
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And I came across it.
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I was surprised.
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That hymn.
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Which I thought was relatively modern.
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And I suppose it is in a sense.
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But it was written in 1899.
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By Lewis E. Jones.
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And I'll finish with this.
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I'm not quoting it all.
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Just an element of it.
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Would you be free.
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From the burden of sin.
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Would you over evil.
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A victory win.
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Would you be free.
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From your passion.
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And pride.
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Come for a cleansing.
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To Calvary's tide.
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Would you be whiter.
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Much whiter than snow.
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Sin stains are lost.
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In its life giving flow.
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Would you do service.
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Would you do service for Jesus.
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Your king.
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Would you live daily.
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His praises to sing.
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There's wonderful.
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Power.
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In the blood.
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Amen.
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May the Lord bless these thoughts.
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On his word.
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Our final singing then.
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Is.
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From.
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Sing psalms.
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The sing psalms version of.
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Psalm 130.
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And.
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And.
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30.
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One of the great.
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Penitential psalms.
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The psalmist.
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Crying out.
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From the depths.
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What depths.
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What depths.
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Was the psalmist.
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Crying out from.
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He was crying out.
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From the depths.
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Of his sin.
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Crying out.
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From the depths.
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Of his sin.
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It doesn't tell us.
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What sin.
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But he was crying out.
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From that sin.
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Lord.
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From the depths.
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And let us all.
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Cry out.
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To God.
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Lord.
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From the depths.
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I call to you.
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Lord.
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Hear me from on high.
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And give attention.
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To my voice.
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When I.
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For mercy.
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Cry.
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And so on.
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Standing.
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To sing to God's praise.
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Lord.
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From.
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From.
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The.
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The depths.
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I call.
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I call.
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To you.
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Lord.
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Hear.
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Hear me from on high, and give attention to my voice when I for mercy cry.
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Lord, in your presence who can stand, with you our sins record.
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But yet forgiveness is with you, that we may fear you, Lord.
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I wait, my soul waits for the Lord.
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My hope is in his word.
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For that the watchman waits for dawn.
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My soul waits for the Lord.
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O Israel, put your hope in God.
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For mercy is with them, and full redemption from their sins, his people he redeemed.
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We'll conclude with a word of prayer.
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We give thanks that with thee there is forgiveness.
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That with thee there is plenteous redemption.
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O that we would avail ourselves of the blood of Christ, which still speaks better things than the blood of Abel.
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O that we would avail.
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We give thanks for that voice that still speaks to sinners.
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O speak, gracious God, tonight to all our hearts.
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Bless us on this your day.
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May we make every day a Lord's day.
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In the week ahead.
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Part us with your blessing.
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Forgiving us for all our sins in Christ's precious name.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.