[0:00] We shall read in the book of Psalms, Psalm 65, the prophecy of Isaiah, Psalm 65, the book of Psalms.
[0:14] Psalm 65 Psalm 55 1, Belief in a Athen el 44 Psalm 65 Ayr sel 44 Iniquities prevail against me.
[1:04] Ask for old transgressions. How will you rise in heaven? away. See in the title of the psalm that this is a psalm and song of David.
[1:24] It begins with a note in any glorious speech of the Bible. It is up to date.
[1:37] The Bible is always up to date. It never grows old like other books. And I have often said to you and say this just going off at a slight and short actually that nothing will ever take by surprise if you are acquainted with the word of God.
[2:07] There is nothing that is not written in the end. I don't mean of course that you know everything is coming. But what I mean is that when anything comes upon yourself or upon the world in which you live if you are acquainted with the Bible then you know what to do.
[2:29] It's all to do here. It's a book of instruction and it's taught us what to do when these things come. Now this up to date is is not as real in our sense that in any sphere as it is in the sphere of experiment of religion.
[2:55] The Bible is essentially a book of Christian experience. and you'll never have any experience that is not recorded in the matter.
[3:10] Don't ever think that nobody will never the way you are that is not when you have spiritual appreciation or when you have spiritual joy.
[3:27] Don't ever say when there was no people in the time. All people get that to you. I remember a man once telling me about all trials and situations that there were neighbors than anyone who had gone through.
[3:50] Now that is not the case with anyone and others. It's all we do here and you always find that the Bible is ahead of you.
[4:02] Somebody of which we read in the Bible has gone deeper into everything that you have gone or ever will go. Well then, here we have an experience, a religious experience.
[4:20] A man saying the liquid is not prevailed against him. But that's that Christian experience, or rather he says the liquid is prevailed against him.
[4:33] He doesn't use the past paper. He speaks of what is happening to him now. So that is our religious experience. And so is the second part of this.
[4:47] Out comes Christians, who came and purged them away. That is partly religious experience. It's more than that but it's not enough.
[5:00] Some read this first part of a complaint. I'm going to speak of it as a confession. It is that. But some speak of it as a complaint.
[5:14] But if it is a complaint, that doesn't take it out of the relevant Christian experience. Some read it that instead of this talent, meaning what we commonly take out in him, that iniquities were prevailing against him.
[5:31] His own iniquities were prevailing against him. Some read it that he was accused of iniquities that he never committed.
[5:45] Iniquities were prevailing against him. He was charged with things which he had never done. Well, that is the sentence.
[6:01] I'm not sure that it is the sentence. According to very good judges, the world at least is deserved. It would happen to me.
[6:12] If that is the case, then the psalmist was a sick type of savior. He was of a charge, sick, and never committed him.
[6:27] But we're going to take the words as a confession, the liquid is prevailing against him. And then we shall speak of the confidence, no transgressions, but we're to purge you, so you have confession and confidence in the nation.
[6:49] While the confession is about his own sin, he speaks about himself perfectly, iniquities prevailing against him. this does not apply to the sin that he confesses in 151.
[7:09] People make a lot about the sin of David, and we all know that he did sin, after even sin, which he confesses in 151.
[7:21] But this has nothing to do with us, speaking about iniquities in general, and he says that they prevailed against him.
[7:34] Now we see here there's an important indication that this might be the power of evil. And evil must be very strong when it prevailed against David, for David was a man after God's old promise.
[7:54] David was one of those men of whom he said in the interest. Sin shall have no more done many know it. Now, you carry this with you, and when you're discussing things in different homes, as many of you are, from time to time, I believe, you discuss things among yourselves that are set in church, and read in the Bible, and in books.
[8:24] Now, if you think of this, how does the Bible say to Christians, you are not that there is open and the place, sin shall have no more dominion over you.
[8:40] And yet here is a ancient Christian saying, the iniquities prevail against you. Iniquities have dominion over you.
[8:52] They overcome you. how can the two things be true? This word identity, I may refer to this, as I go on, that identity indicates the terrific power of human that can overcome a man after God's own heart, that can overcome any believer on whom a descend to shall have no Lord to lead.
[9:25] David was a mighty man of war. Thomas used he was a man of war. When he was only a young boy, he was out watching his father's sheep, and he killed a lion.
[9:41] And it's not better than he would kill a lion. And on another occasion he killed a bear. And he was only a stripling, a lad with teeth, and he slew a bear.
[9:57] It's not ever he was a bear. He was a sword, but he did it. And then he was a young man when he went and they put it without sin.
[10:18] He never overcame David. No man ever did. The power ever is wickedly sin. Iniquities prevailed against him. So what did he mean?
[10:31] What does the confession imply? I don't think it implies that iniquities prevailed against him. In an out what way? it is quite possible to live a lameless life outwardly.
[10:50] I don't preach and I never did preach that there can be a Christian life without outward sin.
[11:03] Of course we all come short in thought and word and deed every day. But what I'm trying to say is that it is quite possible for a believer to live such a holy life in the world that there will be an absence of positive sins in life.
[11:29] I suppose you've known people in your divisions and you could never say anything against them or could anyone else not even the biggest enemies of religion they couldn't find any part with it.
[11:42] They are like Daniel of people say we can find no fault with it. Daniel except it be for the Lord was gone. He was blameless. There was nothing in his life that they could accuse him of or accuse him to anybody else of.
[11:57] Now there are people like that in the world. Many of them and to a large extent he was falling into what sin at all.
[12:12] That happened to him but it didn't happen to him. Happened to him. Of course inwardly we are guilty of sins of omission. There are so many things in life I should say there are so many sins of omission into which we fall.
[12:30] So many things we ought to do that we don't do but this does not refer to that. It refers to other kinds of sins. But not to outward sins but to inward sins.
[12:44] Now it is this power of evil in the heart that he left the iniquities prevailing against him. How then was this true?
[12:56] Well every believer is conscious of sin. If there is no consciousness of sin then there is no pain. There is no feeling there is no real religion.
[13:11] Consciousness of sin is one of the shrewdest marks of a child of God. Of course one would need to enter into this to explain that this consciousness of sin is not something that is talked like that but produced by the Holy Good.
[13:30] So this man was conscious of the sin of his own heart and he said the iniquities prevailed against him. It was the sins of his heart or of his mind the inward sins prevailed against him.
[13:45] But of course for the sins that had prevailed against him. That does not mean that he carried outwardly into the sins into which he had inward. Because every believer receives sin.
[14:00] That's another mark of the believer. the believer who assists sin. He opposes this evil force. And there is many a thing coming into his heart and that overcomes him inside but prevails against him inwardly into which he does not fall openly.
[14:20] That be the God for that. Where would we be friends if we had fallen outwardly into every sin into which we have fallen inwardly.
[14:31] But we don't thank people praise God for that. So this man says the liquidus prevail against me to carry him to the inward.
[14:42] And when they prevailed against him it means that there was opposition to them. The very word prevails means the liquidus prevail against him. They didn't carry him away as let's carry a straw or throw away chop.
[14:58] There was resistance to prevail against sin. And he said I put myself against sin and I fight against sin but sin prevails.
[15:10] Sin overcomes me. I don't always get the better of it. Sometimes the believer not not only does the believer own sin but the believer sometimes and don't overcome sin.
[15:26] These appreciate experience this consciousness of sin this resisting sin this overcoming of sin.
[15:37] My friends we could give you a catalog as long as tomorrow of sins that fought against it and we resisted them and we buried against it.
[15:48] I mean inward sin sins of thought sins of the devil pushing to our minds and whenever we noticed them whenever we realized them we prayed to God and we talked by the grace of God and we overcame we were the masters of them came back at that Christian experience and that is the poor is true and I hope is good experience too.
[16:14] See friends we are not always lying at the truth of the form a Christian never does always lie at the truth of the form one of the most harassing parties in the pilgrim of progress is the Christian fight that promise to remember how that fought and fought and at last Christian was overcome and he had his back to the ground and his enemy was ready just to draw his sword and to give the killing the final stroke then Christian remembered the word and said rejoice not against me though I fall yet shall I rise and so he rose and fought and won but there nothing experience every Christian he over the country you know how it is you know how sometimes when the evil thoughts come into your heart we just don't say oh well the evil thoughts come into my heart but
[17:15] I heard people say that this is true Christian but you go aside into the secret place and you pray to God and take them out and God takes them out and you come back and you have his presence well that was the experience of his life and yet sometimes the believer is overcome by sin he's overcome well he does not make use by illiquity and you find this in the life of saints actually in the biographies of Christian people they were overcome by evil and sometimes the believer is overcome by sin but a prophet would be a dumb of the doctor to say that the believer is overcome by sin all the time that would be a terrible thing to say it would be a terrible thing to say that the believer is habitually overcome by sin that this is the only experience in his life sometimes
[18:19] I think by the way I hear some people talk that it seems to be the only experience of their life that they are overcome by sin and they never think to get beyond that well this man doesn't make any excuse for himself he just makes a bold statement and says that he could prevail against but I was going to mention just one or two ways before I come to the next point which we are very conscious of how does inequality prevail against well by obstructing our spiritual freedom especially in worship simply in the man let me put it like this to you who are Christian people what have you been thinking of since I began to preach or since you took the pude you took the seat in the Lord's house have your thoughts been one hundred minutes of all to be together and think that we understand things when iniquities then is not the case and iniquities are made against you if it carried away a power stronger than himself talked to you and you didn't receive or if you did it overcame you in anything and your thoughts were carried away and your worship of
[19:45] God has been abstracted if not completely destroyed you're not to worship God while you have other thoughts in the house of God you're not my friends in this case we remember it is the case for us all and it would stand against us because sometimes we're abstracted we cannot do in the good that we would because he and then we get made parts we get made parts in our silent emotions you don't know where they come from you don't know and they can you may have an urge to go into the secret place and whenever you go into the secret place the urge leaves and instead of having an urge to pray with all them all sorts of wicked things that we see in mind or all sorts of non-sexual things even if they're not wicked they're just absolutely non-sexual things
[20:47] I have often wondered when I have wondered what kind of mind I have sometimes there are nights in which I don't sleep with and I am out awake and I can honestly say that during these hours no thought happened through my mind that I would call wicked or unclean or evil but it's non-sexual thoughts rubbish as it were something that's of no consequence whatsoever your thoughts who are aware and are wanted and although they're not wicked in themselves they obstruct you that you can't think about God so this is iniquity prevailing against us but we should be engaged in pride and devotion then these worldly things that have no consequence are not very much sparing upon our own lives or the lives of others they come flooding in and through this life we cannot get out from God to carry them away sometimes the iniquities prevail against us when we carry our worries and our cares with us into the arms of
[22:02] God and they prevail against us when we are not in the house of God can't you worry about the future and Jesus has said take no thought for the morrow will take thought for the things of itself sufficient just to the day is the even thereof and yet we worry what about tomorrow what if this happens what if that happens and the Bible says take no thought for anything but by prayer and supplication give that the Bible tells us that God keeps the fowls of the air and clothes the grass of the eel will do the same for us and yet we worry when they prevail against us and they prevail against us by completely spoiling our communion with God or how sometimes we've looked forward to things just longed for them to come we've longed to hear our 30 minutes and preach and then when we heard the preach we couldn't even believe because the antiquity was prevailing in the atmosphere was not there we couldn't fix those minds on what we were saying in antiquity was prevailing in and then there is the sinner that believed and then there is so pathetic there is one sin in particular may be that prevails against you and you say well
[23:24] I'm not going to do it anymore I'm going to have anything to do with it I'll be watch for the mixer maybe you back and then you go into a back temper and you contest it before God and you say this is good yesterday against me and I made a fool of myself and I haven't showed myself to be a Christian in the eyes of other people this is what I done what I should have been patient and say well I never do it again and then liquid it may be vanity it may be vanity the vanity of the world the following of the passions of the world and say to yourself hear other people say that it follow the passion of the world and yet this vanity of man of being a passion and being hurt in the passion this inequity plays against so spot comes to the soul keeping it I the spiritual sins that we should be afraid of more than the outward sins do you know my thing it's not the outward sins that are most disastrous to the soul people see the outward what
[24:40] David promised everybody got to know about it when lots became drunk they got to know everybody got to know about it and when people commit sins before the purple guy we think of them as these terrible things and so they are but the sin of anger the sin of envy the sin of malice the sin of hypocrisy sins which people don't see the sin of heaven things which people don't see how more disaster to our souls than easily but if I am a little thought towards my brother or my sister that is far more disastrous to me to spoil my communion with God than if I committed that sin outward than if I took drink it's far more disastrous to my soul I must go to the one at all I am not condoning taking drink that thing
[25:42] I am only comparing the two things by way of the distractiveness upon the soul and the inward sin the spiritual sin the sin of the mind he has sin but that is after most disaster to the soul but now this man expressed my confidence he said after all things thou take them away purge them away now fromérique here to have a man, and iniquities are prevailing against him. And while the iniquities are prevailing against him, he expresses confidence of thorough transgressions, though we take them away. And the two things are there at the same time. Don't think that iniquities prevail against him have passed away, and that now he's expressed confidence. Not at all. Iniquities will prevailing against him, and at the same time he has confidence in
[27:09] God that he'll take away his death. And then, what I have to have a thing, why no such iniquities are prevailing against him, and at the same time he has confidence in God, that will keep them, and even keep them. That will keep them driving through the storm.
[27:28] You see, there are many of you here, and if you were asked to load a ship, a ship and passengers were to go from one continent to another, well, that would be the end of them.
[27:42] If people like you have never done it, and who have never been trained to do it, and we were asked to load a ship, we just couldn't do it. This needs experience, it needs so much that. When a ship is loaded, it's loaded in the proper way. It's loaded so that the cargo will not ship. People are expecting storms. They're expecting the ship to go to this angle, and to that angle, and to be talked to and fro, and they're making sure that the cargo will not ship, so that they will get saved to their destination. Well then, this is the cargo of the Christians. Our sense of sin, and at the same time calling to the forgiveness of God, I'm not as good to keep them, or I leave it clean, but they go to the stall for life. Our sorrowful Christians, though we purge them away. Let it take the healing away.
[28:33] I said, the healing is all the strength, and so is the constant. But it means, it means that the conscience is purified by the blood of Christ, and I want to put them in the same place as I want to plan. What I want to say is that there is a difference between a good conscience and a purified conscience, and all the difference in the world between the two.
[28:59] There are lots of people sitting here in churches in life, and there are lots of things about which they have a perfectly good conscience. Say, for example, if you have a perfectly good conscience.
[29:12] How do you? Many of you are working, many of you are handling matters that doesn't belong to the rest, and there is a manner that has taken a finger in the hand that doesn't belong to you. Well then, if you have a perfectly good conscience, and I use the word perfectly, with all this, perfectly good conscience concerns us. Now people can have a perfectly good conscience regarding a whole lot of things, and regarding everything from the old man. The pattern of the state of the conscience is purified. And the conscience can be kept good by our sense, by our honesty and by our integrity, the conscience can be purified only by the efficacy of the blood of the state. See, the purified conscience is the conscience that knows that exists at the point. The purified conscience is the conscience that tells the Christian why you are a highly serving sinner man. Iniquities prevail against you. Such which kind of man you are. You are a professor Christian, and the iniquities prevail against you. And the purified conscience, yes I know. I know that I am uneven man. I know that the iniquities prevail against you. But I know little there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, and that die of in Christ Jesus. Such the purified conscience.
[30:39] That's what the purified conscience means. So it's different to our good conscience. There is this, there is this, there is the confession, there is the consciousness of evil, and then there is the confidence in the grace of God. And the consciousness of evil is not any deeper than the confidence in the grace of God. Why man? You know you are a sinner. You know that iniquities prevail against you. But if I ask you, have you got your confidence in God? You say, of course I am. If I ask you, do you know, do you believe that you will be condemned for reasons? You know, I know that I will not be condemned for them. I condemn myself. But I know that God will never condemn me because he condemned Christ for them. Christ suffered for them. Christ shed his blood for my sins. These iniquities must prevail against me. Christ died to make atonement for me regarding these things. And I know that I will never be damned because of them. I can't be. Well, this is the purified conscience. Well, this is what this life is. And for our transgressions, he said, thou wilt purge them away. So many have been baptized, been justified, been justified. Now he's been baptized. And I wouldn't be at all surprised if this means something that I have heard to obey that is, this objection, I think. It might be taken in. And for our transgressions, thou wilt purge them away. Sometimes thou wilt purge them away invisibly. Sometimes thou wilt take them away from the priest. And my friends say, if I know anything at all about Christian religion, I know that. I know that one can translate a temptation inwardly or outwardly. That is, putting it like that, that is almost in bare, almost in bare, almost in bare, almost in bare, but you're fast to resist it. You can't do anything ever. And I know that one tries to go, and the devil pleases away, to resist the devil and he will be promised. And every Christian knows that that is true. The devil is there, and all of them are all, ready to peace you, ready to destroy you. And the strength of the Christ of God, and he's not there anymore. And you're living at great and peace and quiet. But that Christian experience, God of doom, is out there. But in a bundle of people and are more precious even than us. And if this, that art for our transgressions, thou wilt purge them away. And he has purged them away already. Of course. But this is the application of the forgiveness to my conscience. And so I am purifying the conscience. Even when I have the sense of sin. But some say, thou cannot be, and you're not afraid that God will punish you for your sins. Oh yes, I am afraid that he will just tithe me for my sins. I know that he will just tithe me for my sins. And I shouldn't be afraid of the judgment, for he will give me grace to Mary and justice to the privilege of my sonship. But if you ask me, are you afraid God is going to cut him to hell because of the sins? Well, the answer is that one, anathetic, no. God cannot do that. That would be a letter of possibility. If he has put my Savior already to a hell of condemnation, a hell of misery for my sins, how can he put me to hell for these things? It cannot be. And this is the confidence we have in God. After all the sins, they would purge them away. They would oblique them in them. And how do they get them? Destroy them from me. And just a nice love. However numerous those sins are, it's no difference. God. You make your difference. Take the throne out. And this is all you want to give you, honey. Iniquities prevail against you. And oh, what iniquities. I never knew that there would be so many sins that I do not have to sin. But that I am not. What iniquities. And you want every day. I never thought these corruptions were with me at all. But listen. Thou will purge away all the things. And you put your own sins. You put the numeric of faith of your sins. Put it in its dexter position with its own eyes. Thou will take them away. And what are the number of the sins? In comparison with the infinite, the exceeding grace of God. The sins are not infinite in America. But the grace of God is infinite. So see, this is how you feel when you get comfortable. Oh, you see. There are more than a complete number. Of course they are. But God will purge them away by its infinite grace. By my grace. The number of the sins are not even like a little grain of sand thrown into the middle of the earth. It's not paramount with the richness of the grace of God. And your sins are sufficient. Oh, you see, I could never tell the sins that came into my life. If people knew the sins that came into my life, they wouldn't even speak to me. They certainly wouldn't let me go to the Lord's table. You see, that's my friend. I know. But what I want you to think of this world. Think of the thou would purge away. Oh, sin is sin. Sin is our way. Sin is even a subtle sin. Some sins get as it went between your flesh and your bones. Some sins make you creep because of their enormity, because of their hemorrhage. They're like that. But thou would purge them away. Would you not purge these away? The heinous ones? As well as these more innocuous ones? It makes no difference to the reason. It's a mad reason. I hope there is a supernatural power at work.
[37:06] What a liquid is prevailing. Up to the natural power it is, the power of darkness. And there is God in the living power against this supernatural power. And then sometimes we say, what will not only do you prevail against me? But when illiquities prevail against me, I conclude that I would never prevail against me. Sometimes we say, I give up. I am so real with the truth that I think that the owners get into the worst. And I just give up. And there is an explanation that I sometimes like to use, in this connection, that we read in different places, but particularly if you ever happen to be down at a solver first. But if the solver first the tide goes up, I will develop the darkness. She is nothing but the mind of the sun. That's the way the nation of the light of the sun. Full of dirt in the night. See wind and dawn in the night. Now if nobody had ever seen the tide, or didn't know that there were tides, they say, well, that could never become as these lines. And then all of us that have the tide become as it comes in. The tide goes on east, and it becomes a sea. And they say that sometimes it's like a galloping off. It depends on the type of gear, and the type of direction of the wind. But sometimes it says that it goes like a galloping off. And it turns in over these lands, and travels every grave. And then when you look at it, you will never know that there is a sand clear at all.
[38:55] It is nothing but the sea. And so sometimes, my friends, it may be with you. Sometimes they've been different. And you think it will never be covered over. And then all of us that will all get away that God's nurses will overthrow you, and your cup will run over. And it's changed as it brings me up for me, so Christ, yet purge them away. Oh, what a key to her.
[39:20] What a confidence to change. Oh, that everyone of thy obligation could have done that.