Why Repentance Works

Introduction

And about you be turning your Bibles to the Psalm that was read earlier by our brother Walter, Psalm 143. Psalm 143 will be our text this morning. And I very much appreciate the song that Brother Cody just led us in, even though he did not yet know what psalm we would be covering this morning. It is very appropriate, and I hope that is seen by all, even as we consider Psalm 143 this morning. First of all, a hearty welcome to our visitors. We do have many who are with us. We thank you for joining us as we’ve come together again to praise our God and to study what he has left for us in his word. We are covering a psalm out of our daily Bible reading, and typically each week there are two to three psalms that we have read in that weekly scripture reading, that daily Bible reading, and I’ve just been trying to choose one of those every week to cover.

And we’re going to take 143 this morning. Before we get into the lesson, I just want to comment on Brother Angelo’s prayer, and I very much appreciate his conviction and his leading us in that prayer. I do just want to make this point, though. Let’s not be surprised if what we pray doesn’t come to pass in those regards. Because for that to come to pass, it would require a complete reverse of man, not just Supreme Court or even a few men leadership positions. It would require the change of course of man and his thinking. And in fact, if we were to pray about marriage, then we would have to also recognize that it’s been a long time in our country since our definition of marriage has fit God’s definition in the first place.

For God’s definition is not simply a man and a woman. God’s definition is a man and a woman, and they become one. What we can be thankful to for God, though, in always, is that God’s definition will never change. And that goes in regards to anything that we think of in regards to morality. God’s will has never changed. And we are his people, as Brother Angelo well knows. We his people, we are still governed by what God says, regardless of what nations say, regardless of what man says, we follow a mighty God. Let’s continue to pray to him. Let’s continue to go with him with all that is in our hearts and our minds, and recognizing that we serve this God. Last week in Psalm 6, we began really the first of the penitential Psalms.

And this week in 143, we come to the last of the penitential Psalms. Now, if you’re again, in fact, Brother Angel even asked me last week, just repeat what those penitential Psalms are. They are Psalm 6, Psalm 32, Psalm 38, Psalm 51, Psalm 102, Psalm 130, and now Psalm 143. Like Psalm 6, this penitential psalm seems to fit within the time of Absalom’s rebellion. Again, we have David at the hands of his enemies. And there’s a recognition, again, that what David is suffering is because of his sin. And again, you go back to 2 Samuel 13 through 15, and you see there the horrible experience, the horrible case in David’s kingdom of his own son Ammon and defiling Amon’s half-sister, and David not taking anything, any measure of correction, and so he’s not upholding God’s principles of righteousness and justice.

And so David’s son Absalom slays his half-brother. And David has not done what he should do. And ultimately Absalom will lead a rebellion against David, and David will have to flee even for his life. Now, going back to Psalm 6, I’m just going to look at the last part of Psalm 6 again this morning because it paves the way for what we’re discussing in Psalm 143. We had this plea of David and recognition of his sin and a plea that God, and it seems that God is far away, and he wants to know how long, O Lord. And then in verse 4, he says, Return to me, O Lord, rescue my soul. But then in the last stanza of the Psalm in verses 8 through 10, there is this confidence, this assurance that God has heard, God has returned.

And so he says, Depart from me, all you who do iniquity, for the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping, the Lord has heard my supplication, the Lord receives my prayer. There is this assurance that even though David is still facing his enemies, he is beset by his enemies all around. He knows the Lord hears. And so he is confident. He even forecasts himself back in that kingly role of being able to say to all those who do iniquity to depart from me. The same thing that Jesus says in Matthew 7 and verse 23. What we want to focus on this morning is how could David be so sure. Psalm 143 speaks of why repentance works. I’ll not take the time to read through the Psalm again.

1. Repentance Does Not Work Because of Man

Our brother Matt has already done that. But I do want to note what this Psalm says about why it is that repentance works in the first place. Why could David be assured that God would hear him and God would even restore him to the throne? Well, the first point is that it’s not because of man. Repentance does not work because of us. Repentance does not work because of how sorrowful we may even become. Repentance does not work because of how good we may be or what good things we may do. In fact, you see here in Psalm 143 and in verse 2, David recognizes that this is what he deserves. Do not enter into judgment with your servant, for in your sight no man living is righteous.

And so David just dispels this notion that he could be good enough to come back to God and God would forgive him because of how good he became. What he is doing is he is pleading with God, do not enter into judgment with me. If you enter into judgment with me, I will not stand. No man can stand because no man is found righteous in your eyes. And how true that is.

Repentance is not going to work because of how good we are. Again, just as in Psalm 6, David knew that his present trials were the result of his own sinful activity, his own sin against God. He goes on in verse 3. For that points back to what he’s just said, and why he’s asking that God not enter into judgment on him. He recognized I cannot stand, and so he’s alluding to what he is going through now as an indication of just how simple he is in the eyes of God and why he cannot stand. For the enemy has persecuted my soul, he has crushed my life to the ground. He has made me dwell in dark places like those who have long been dead. Therefore, my spirit is overwhelmed within me.

My heart is appalled within me. Note how this has affected him both physically, spiritually, and emotionally. He is afflicted on every side. His enemies press about him. His spirit is overwhelmed. My heart is appalled. And then in verse 7, he recognizes, if the Lord will not forgive, if the Lord will not restore, here is what awaits me. Answer me quickly, O Lord. My spirit fails. Do not hide your face from me, or I will become like those who go down to the pit. And that is a language, as he said in Psalm 6 about how in Sheol there is no remembrance of God. They do not worship him in death. And David is fearful that if the Lord will not forgive, not again because of his own righteousness’ sake, because David is not righteous.

I cannot stand before God. But if God will not forgive, and now as I experience God’s punishment on me, here is what awaits me. If the Lord does not answer me and does not answer me quickly, my spirit will fail. If the Lord hides his face from me, I will go down to the pit.

2. Repentance Works Because of God and His Covenant

David was not looking for forgiveness based on his own merits. He recognized I am not righteous. I am receiving the punishment that follows my unrighteousness. And if I continue in this state, if the Lord continues to hide his face from me, I have nothing to look forward to other than to go down to the pit. So then, why does repentance work? Well, repentance works because of God and his covenant. The word covenant is not found in this psalm. But covenantal language is found throughout this Psalm. Now, what do we mean by a covenant? Oftentimes we think of a covenant, and this will be uh also of interest in our Bible class this morning as we’re covering uh 1 Corinthians 11 and verses 17 through 34 and uh the Lord’s Supper and the abuse of the Lord’s Supper there in Corinth, and how even Paul reminds them of what the Lord did on that night.

And he took the bread and blessed it, and then he took the cup and blessed it. He said, Take it. This is my blood of the new covenant. Well, what is a covenant? You and I might enter into an agreement. We might enter into a contract together, and so in that contract, we both have an obligation there. Well, God’s covenants, you might say, are like that, but not exactly. We’re not giving something to God that God necessarily needs, or we’re not equal partners in this covenant, but God is making an agreement with us. He is binding himself to us, and then he makes promises to man. And he says to man, follow me, and you will receive these promises. Well, David could appeal to God on the basis of two covenants.

There is first of all God’s covenant with Israel, going all the way back to Exodus 19 and 20, when God is saying to them that I’ll be your God, you’ll be my people. And then we have that passage in Exodus 34 again where David, I’m sorry, where God is revealing himself to Moses, and as he’s passing by Moses, and what does he say? You know, about the loving kindness of the Lord and how he extends to generations. And yes, even the judgment of God, his righteousness extends to generations, that he would even forgive iniquity, but also punish the wrongdoer. David can appeal to the God of the covenant who is in covenant with Israel, recognizing that I have sinned, I deserve your judgment, but in appealing to God as the God of the covenant of Israel, he could also appeal to the one who would forgive his people.

But that’s not the only covenant that David had with God, was it? What was the promise that God had made to David back in 2 Samuel chapter 7 and verse 12 and also in verse 16? That God would establish his descendant on the throne. Probably an initial application to Solomon, but certainly there in verse 16, his throne forever. The application to the Messiah, to the Christ. David could appeal to God of the covenant. What if I perish? What if my kingdom is taken away from me? Then the covenant that God made with me has failed. Because certainly Absalom was not the one whom God had intended there in 2 Samuel chapter 7. So note what he says throughout this Psalm. I’m going to go to the end of the Psalm first of all, just to pick up some of this language.

Note verse 10 and then verse 12. Note the language here. When David says in verse 10, Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. And then what is the last thing that he says in verse 12? For I am your servant. That is language of covenant right there. You are my God. I am your servant. And so he’s appealing to him on that basis. You’re my God, I am your servant, hear me. Now I’ll go back to verses five and six. Passage that’s right there in the middle. I remember the days of old. I meditate on all your doings. I muse on the work of your hands. I stretch out my hands to you. My soul longs for you as a parched lamb.

What is David doing here in verse 5? And recalling what the Lord has done, the works of his hand. Now, when we hear that phrase, the works of his hands, we think of creation. And certainly we ought to. But that’s not the only work of the Lord’s hand throughout history, is it? David can think back and meditate on how God delivered Israel out of Egypt. That was the work of God’s hand. How God rescued them through the Red Sea, how God brought them into Canaan. David can even think of in his own life and how God had delivered him out of Saul’s hand over and over again. And what David is doing is he’s reflecting on the very character of God and how God has been faithful to his people, how God has kept his covenant throughout time.

And it’s on that basis, as David has been remembering who God is and what God has done for his people, he then says, I stretch out my hands to you. My soul longs for you as a parched land. David recognizes that God’s not in his life right now. He is absent from God, he has departed from God because of his sin. But he reflects on what God has done for his people, and so it makes them long all the more for God. And so he stretches out for God. Again. The idea of covenant. My verse I come back to over and over again is Hebrews 10, verse 23. Therefore, let us hold fast to the assurance of the things that we hope for. For he who promised is faithful.

And that’s what David is doing here. He’s reflecting on just how faithful God is, on the works of God’s hands. And because of that, he is stretching out for God. Then note just how God is described in the Psalm. Go back to verse 1, where David appeals to God to answer me in your faithfulness. The idea of faithfulness is that of certainty. Again, God is faithful. So answer me in your faithfulness. Do not enter into judgment on me, but answer me in your faithfulness. That is one of the terms that’s applied to God over and over again throughout the scriptures in regards to his covenant. God is faithful to his covenant. When God makes a covenant with man, then God keeps his promises. So answer me in your faithfulness.

Don’t enter into judgment with me. Answer me in your faithfulness. And then in your righteousness. That’s found not only in verse 1, but also in verse 11, where he says, For the sake of your name, O Lord, revive me in your righteousness, bring my soul out of trouble. Righteousness, and we might simply define righteousness as doing that which is right. And certainly God does that which is right. And it’s in that righteousness that God would even judge the sinner. Doing that which is right would require justice on God’s part. And David recognized that again in verse 2. When he pleased, do not enter into judgment with me, for no man can do, or sorry, let me just read it. In your sight, no man living is righteous.

God being righteous would mean God punishing the wickedness of man. But you see, when righteousness is applied to the covenant, then God’s righteousness can be appealed to not only for God doing what is right, but forgiving. Because if one of God’s aspects of the covenant is if you sin against me and you return, I will forgive, which was God’s aspect of one of God’s aspects of the covenant with Israel. Then for God to do what was right would be for God to abide by the terms of his own covenant with man. And so David can plead with God. Answer me in your faithfulness, in your righteousness. As you uphold the covenant. David could say, I have not upheld the covenant. I’ve sinned. I’ve transgressed you, but I’m coming back to you.

And so you do what you have promised. You forgive as you have promised, because that would be righteousness on the part of God. And then both in verse 8 and verse 12, the loving kindness of God is appealed to. Loving kindness can be translated in a variety of ways. And again, it’s that idea in the New Testament that we often associate with grace. Loving kindness in your translation may be referred to as steadfast love or even mercy. Perhaps the definition that I uh in looking at this this week, some more, that I tend to gravitate toward a simple translation would be loyal love. And again, applied to the covenant, it is loyal to those in his covenant. And so David asks, let me hear your loving kindness in the morning.

David’s in the night right now. He’s in the darkness. He sees that he’s away from God, but the morning’s coming. Let me hear your loving kindness in the morning. And then in verse 12, in your loving kindness, cut off my enemies. Again, an appeal to the covenant as the Lord is his God and he is his servant. This assurance that God will be faithful to his covenant, that God would establish David in his kingdom forever, that God would forgive in your loving kindness, in your loyal love, cut off my enemies. And then finally, note what he says in verse 11, the beginning of that verse. For the sake of your name. For the sake of your name, O Lord, revive me. Who would it reflect poorly on if David’s kingdom failed?

Well, you might say, well, David would have a bad name. And David probably would not treat, sorry, history would not treat David so kindly as it has. But who would it really reflect on? It would reflect on God. It would say something about God. That God does not keep his promises. That God failed in his covenant with David. For God had promised to David, your descendants will reign forever. Your kingdom will be established. And so David appeals to the Lord for the sake of your name. You may remember how Moses does much the same as Israel has sinned with a golden calf. And God in his righteousness could have wiped out Israel. Could have begun a new nation out of Moses. But what does Moses do?

He appeals to the Lord for the sake of his name. What will the nations think? If your people that you have brought out of Egypt, they now perish in this wilderness. For the sake of your name. Again, an appeal to the God of the covenant. You have made this promise to me, God. I am now coming back to you. I deserve judgment. But I ask for your faithfulness and your righteousness. Please, O Lord, revive me for your name’s sake. That’s why repentance works. It’s not because of how glorious man is or how much man can do in response to God. It is because of who God is. And God being faithful and God being righteous and God having loyal love, and for the sake of his name, there is this confidence that yes, God will restore, yes, God will revive.

Now, let’s not get things misconstrued here. It does not mean that man does not have a responsibility in all this. David could not just go out and do whatever he wanted to and just plead to the God of the covenant. He recognized that. In fact, the very reason why God had made a covenant with David was because of David’s attitude and disposition towards God. And so what does David plead for? And ask that the Lord would help him to do in verse 8. When he says, Let me hear your loving kindness in the Lord in the morning, for I trust in you. Teach me the way in which I should walk. For to you I lift up my soul. Deliver me, O Lord, for my enemies.

I take refuge in you. David could not ask the Lord of the covenant to restore him in faithfulness and righteousness if David was not repenting and going back to God. If David was not saying, Now I put my complete trust in you, in you I take my refuge. If David was not willing to be taught by the Lord and then to walk in what the Lord has said, David could not appeal to God because David was not keeping the covenant himself. The very covenant of God, while it would allow for forgiveness. God would not just forgive man in sin without man coming back to God. And that is what David is pledging to do here. I put my faith in you, O Lord. Teach me your ways.

Implicit being that I will therefore walk in your ways. A change, a repentance. That is man’s part in this. So much discussions today about salvation. Does man earn salvation? I don’t think anyone here thinks that man earns salvation. Salvation is something that God has done for us. He has saved us through the blood of his son. But how can we be saved? God does not just save man when man is apart from him and has no longing for him. But within God’s own covenant with us today, what has he said? That those who will come to me through my son, yes, I will save. And so there is that imperative on us to have faith in him, to repent of our sins, and to come to him and follow him, trusting that yes, God does, in fact, save.

3. Repentance Will Work for Us

And so the final point that we would make from this Psalm is that repentance will work for us.

If you’re not in Christ, then you’re not in this covenant with God. The blood of Christ is the blood of God.