Hope In The Lord's Forgiving Love

Hope in the Lord’s Forgiving Love

Psalm 130

Farmer Joe decided his injuries from the accident were serious enough to take the trucking company (responsible for the accident) to court.

In court, the trucking company’s fancy lawyer was questioning farmer Joe.

"Didn’t you say, at the scene of the accident, ’I’m fine’?," questioned the lawyer.

Farmer Joe responded, "Well I’ll tell you what happened.

I had just loaded my favorite mule Bessie into the..."

"I didn’t ask for any details," the lawyer interrupted, "just answer the question.

Did you not say, at the scene of the accident, ’I’m fine’!"

Farmer Joe said, "Well I had just got Bessie into the trailer and I was driving down the road..."

The lawyer interrupted again and said, "Judge, I am trying to establish the fact that, at the scene of the accident, this man told the Highway Patrolman on the scene that he was just fine.

Now several weeks after the accident he is trying to sue my client.

I believe he is a fraud. Please tell him to simply answer the question."

By this time the Judge was fairly interested in Farmer Joe’s answer and said to the lawyer,

"I’d like to hear what he has to say about his favorite mule Bessie."

Joe thanked the Judge and proceeded, "Well as I was saying, I had just loaded Bessie, my favorite mule, into the trailer and was driving her down the highway when this huge semi-truck and trailer ran the stop sign and smacked my truck right in the side.

I was thrown into one ditch and Bessie was thrown into the other.

I was hurting real bad and didn’t want to move.

However, I could hear ole Bessie moaning and groaning.

I knew she was in terrible shape just by her groans.

Shortly after the accident a Highway Patrolman came on the scene.

He could hear Bessie moaning and groaning so he went over to her.

After he looked at her he took out his gun and shot her between the eyes.

Then the Patrolman came across the road with his gun in his hand and looked at me.

He said, "Your mule was in such bad shape I had to shoot her. How are you feeling?"

It was then that I said, "I’m fine."

Today we may say “I’m fine” but honestly that is not the case

We are not fine because we are wracked with sin

Sin that the only payment for is death

And we can never be cleansed of this sin, except for the blood of Jesus that washes away all sin

How many of you have ever used SC Johnson’s Scrubbing Bubbles?

That stuff has never worked like the commercials.

Just spray it on and those scrubbing bubbles will do the work.

YEAH, RIGHT!!

Today our text deals with the incredible power of God’s forgiveness.

We, however, often think that God’s forgiveness is like SC Johnson’s Scrubbing Bubbles, the bottle says it removes tough soap scum easily, but instead takes a lot of Scrubbing elbow grease to make it work.

Have you ever asked God to forgive you of your sin, but then felt that He had not?

Or, have you ever asked God to forgive you and then thought that you must beat yourself daily for His forgiveness to take place?

Today, we are going to learn the reality of forgiveness as found in Psalm 130.

SO, let us learn together the Hope of the Lord’s Forgiving Love

Read Psalm 130

Our God forgives sin and forgiveness begins with a cry for freedom

We first see the

I. Urgent Prayer of the Psalmist (1-2)

“Out of the depths I cry”

In order to begin this cry for freedom you must first see the circumstances you are in

In the depths of despair the psalmist cried out to God

Out of the depths is a figurative expression of severe distress

Despair makes us feel isolated and distant from God

But this is precisely when we need God most

The author of this psalm is unknown and some suggest Hezekiah wrote it

I tend to think it is another great Psalm of David

We read the words of a brokenhearted man who is struggling with the problem of guilt

We hear the cry of this man as he deals with his haunting sense of guilt that stems from his past

You remember David and his sin

His sin of adultery that led to lies, deception and even murder

And one day the prophet Nathan came to David and told him “Thou art the man!”

At this David admitted his sin and was restored to fellowship with the Lord

And even though David had repented and his sin had been forgiven by God

The scars and marks of sin were still there