in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth, who keeps truth forever, and who never forsakes the works of his own hands. Amen. Grace be to you and peace, mercy, and comfort from God the Father in Christ Jesus, his Son, through the Holy Spirit. Amen. Let us sing Psalter 53. Psalter 53, the five stanzas. The Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want. He makes me down to lie in pastures green. He leads me this quiet waters by. My soul he does restore again. And me to walk does make within the paths of righteousness, even for his own namesake. Yea, though I walk through death's dark veil, yet will I fear no ill, for thou art with me, and thy rod and staff me comfort still. A table thou hast furnished me in presence of my foes. My head thou dost with oil anoint, and my cup overflows. Goodness and mercy all my life shall surely follow me, and in God's house forevermore my dwelling place shall be. Psalter 53, the five stanzas. Peace be with us. Peace be with us. ♪ Sing, sing, sing, sing, sing ♪ Let us listen to the holy law of God. And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them. For I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days thou shalt labour and do all thy work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. In it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day. Wherefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour's. Scripture reading for this morning you find in the book of Psalms, Psalm 86. Psalm 86, beginning at verse 1, where the holy and infallible word of God in Psalm 86 from verse 1 is as follows. A prayer of David. Bow down thine ear, O Lord. Hear me, for I am poor and needy. Preserve my soul. for I preserve my soul, for I am holy. O thou, my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee. Be merciful unto me, O Lord, for I cry unto thee daily. Rejoice the soul of thy servant, for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. For thou, Lord, art good and ready to forgive. and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee. Give ear, O Lord, unto my prayer, and attend to the voice of my supplications. In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee, for thou wilt answer me. Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord, neither are there any works like unto thy works. All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord, and shall glorify thy name. For thou art great and doest wondrous things. Thou art God alone. Teach me thy way, O Lord. I will walk in thy truth. Unite my heart to fear thy name. I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify thy name forevermore. For great is thy mercy toward me, and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell. O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul, and have not set before them. But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long-suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth. O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me. Give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid. Show me a token for good, that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed, because thou, Lord, hast helped me, and comforted me, until thus far. Let's pray. Gracious God, thou hast made a difference between us and others. Also, members of the congregation that are in hospital this morning, as Deacon Klein and Inge Gelderblom We pray for them and their beloved ones that thou wilt visit them and be gracious unto them. We are allowed and given strength to come together to sing thy glory in the Psalter, to listen to thy word read in the Holy Scripture. and to pray, to call upon thy name, to tell thee all our sorrows and all our sins, to confess thee who we are, to confess thee who thou art, and to testify that we trust thee or else our prayer is a sham without any content. without any value. Grant us to trust the inhumility looking upon us, ourselves, who we are, that we do not have any reason to trust in ourselves. Although we many times do it, but Lord, teach us not to continue trusting our intellect, trusting our virtue, trusting our whatever we think we have. It is all sinful as far as it is from us. It is all from Thee as far as it is good. So we thank Thee for all the good gifts for everyday life, bodily life, and we pray grant us that faith, that trust, that hope, that is glorifying thy name, that is resting upon thee, that does not expect anything from anyone beside thee, but that knows all life and grace and felicity is in God, eternal life, heavenly felicity and blessedness. and thou canst grant it in hospital, at home, in church. Thou canst grant it to those who do not know thee, and thou will turn them, convert them, and give them repentance and faith. Thou canst grant also these great gifts to all thy children, they need it again and again. They cannot earn it. They cannot keep it. They can beg from thee, receive from thee, and praise thee for thy goodness. We did sing about it, O Lord, that thou as a good shepherd dost care for thy sheep. Not that David in other Psalms did not complain about all kinds of misery. He did read it, but nevertheless, he could say, the Lord's my shepherd. I'll not want, nothing will lack me. All things are in Christ. all things I have in the covenant, the covenant of grace in Christ, certified and confirmed by his sacrifice, by his blood, the payment for sin, and the conquering of Satan. We pray, Lord, for a blessed service this morning, that thou wilt grant what we need in preaching and listening, that we may receive words to speak, that these words may be biblical, that these may be by thy Holy Spirit also powerful, and that they may find the heart We cannot aim in the right way, but thou canst. And thou canst attack and also conquer by thy love a boy or a girl, a man, a woman that is going away from thee, turning around from thee, that thou will turn that person unto thee. Grant us also to see that thy kingdom may come worldwide among thy children, more and more, and among thine enemies for the first time. Where the world is deceiving, alluring, where the world is persecuting, whatever the world is doing, it's an enemy. Let us recognize it. But also, Lord, thou canst, by the preaching of thy word and the disseminating of thy holy gospel, turn people from darkness to light and from the service of Satan to the childlike, loving service of Jesus Christ, and bring them from death to life. O Lord, do it in all the countries of the world by the preaching of this day in all the languages wherever thy word is opened. Let it be blessed also for every one of us. Forgive us our sins and teach us by the Holy Spirit out of thy word and to salvation to become wise as a Christian, to become such a Christian that will be a light in the darkness of this world, a salt for everyone that is going to perdition, to be a testimony of thy goodness, and that people will come unto thee to beg thy grace for Jesus' sake. Amen. Let us sing Psalter 51, the three stanzas. Psalter 51, stanza one. Amid the thronging worshipers, Jehovah will I bless. Before my brethren gathered there, his name will I confess. Come, praise him, ye that fear the Lord, ye children of his grace. With reverent sound, his glories forth, and bow before his face. Verse 2, the burden of the sorrowful the Lord will not despise. He has not turned from those that mourn. He hearkens to their cries. His goodness makes me join the throng where saints his praise proclaim. And there will I fulfill my vows with those who fear his name. Three. He feeds with good the humble soul and satisfies the meek, and they shall live and praise the Lord, who for his mercy seek. The ends of all the earth take thought. The nations seek the Lord. They worship him, the King of kings, in earth and heaven adored. Psalter 51, the three stanzas. The praise him he hath giv'n the Lord, Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Yeah. you Last week I read an announcement of a church service in Norwich, and the billboard read, if God is real, why so much suffering in the world? And then people are invited to come to that service to get an answer. It is a big question. It is a difficult question. Why so much suffering if God is real? This first sentence, if God is real, supposes that God is good. Because when people would suppose God is evil, there would not be any question why there is suffering. Then you can say God likes suffering. He likes to hurt. And so there is no question. All is only gloomy and sad. Or when you suppose God is perhaps not evil, but good, but still he is not powerful. He is willing to help, but he can't. He tries, but he is unable. But when, in that announcement in Norwich, the first sentence reads, If God is real, it is supposed that God is powerful and good. And then, yes, there is a real question, a problem. Why so much suffering? It is a question every generation is asking. Not only people outside of church, but also in church. Not only other people, but also perhaps you yourself. It is coming up in your heart, why does a powerful, wise, and good God permit so much evil and suffering, calamities, earthquakes, hurricanes, sickness, and whatever? People try to find an answer. And according to the billboard, people tried to give that answer in Norwich this morning, I think. Perhaps you also are trying to find an answer, but did you ever come across such an answer that satisfies your mind? Or will it always be a riddle? You are thinking about it, but you can't find the solution. The difficulty remains. It is a mystery. And then, of course, there is the doubt. Is God real? If God is real, the first sentence of that billboard reads, if. Many people say there is no God. They wish, at least, there would be no God. Because if there is a God, you have to meddle with him. You have to stand before him. You have to give an account of your life. You cannot escape him. So wishing there is no God, then also there is no problem. At least there is no why. Why is there so much suffering and evil? Because there is no one that governs the world. All is happening by chance. It is simply happening. You don't know why, but there is no why and there is no answer to the why. So leave it, accept it, and be quiet. But that's not the answer of the Bible. The Bible teaches us, yes, God is powerful. Last week, Lord's Day morning, We heard that the Lord said to Abram in Genesis 17 verse 1, I am God Almighty. And he is also wise. Last week, Lord's Day, we heard about the wisdom of God in 1 Corinthians 1 and 2. Against the foolishness of the world, there was the wisdom of God in the preaching of the message of the gospel, the gospel of the cross. the crucified Christ. And also God is good, but yeah, I don't understand him. So leave him alone, go your way, make it a condition, first I want to understand and then I try to trust him. That's the way it happens with us people. Yes, I understand that people are reasoning in this way. This is the option, one of the two. The first I mentioned already. First I want to understand, then I trust. But be honest, then you do not trust God. You trust your mind. You trust your intellect. You trust your reasoning. your understanding, and then you say you trust God, but that's not true. To trust is without understanding. That's the second option. It is a gift of God that a person who does not understand God in his goodness, while so many miseries are there outside and also in the little sphere of your own life, sickness, bereavements, all kinds of disappointments, nevertheless, not less, to trust Him before you understand Him. If you choose the first option, stop with it. It will not happen. Never persons come to trust the Lord after they did understand Him. And what a kind of pride is it to think that my little understanding intellect is capable to fathom the creator of the universe. I, a little speck of dust on this earth. This earth, a little, little speck in universe. I am so proud that I think I must be able to understand God. He is little, I am big. No, it is the other way around. To adore him and to trust him because he is good and not because I understand that he is good. It is the way we read in the text for this morning, in Psalm 86, verse 5, where David, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, confesses and testifies, you may also say reveals, in verse 5 of Psalm 86, for thou, Lord, art good and ready to forgive. When you say to a person, you are a good landscaper, you are a good truck driver, you are a good teacher, what are you doing? David is saying, thou art good. What is he doing? When you say to a person, you are good whatever, of course, you say something about that person. And also, you say something about yourself. Perhaps you did not notice it, you were not aware of it, but the same moment you say you are a good whatever, let's say preacher, you are also saying I am able and capable to judge about your goodness. about the goodness of your preaching and whatever you do. I am in the right position to judge about you if you are a good truck driver, yes or no? A good landscaper, yes or no? A good preacher, yes or no? Who is able to judge about the goodness of God? Once a person came to Jesus. He had a burden on his soul. He was very reverent. He knelt down before Jesus. And he asked him a question, what good do I have to do to inherit eternal life? But before he asked this question, he calls Jesus with a very reverent and positive name. He says, good master. What do I have to do? Good master. Well, that is positive, isn't it? Many in those days of the Pharisees and Sadducees did not say Christ was a good one. They said he is a deceiver and so on. This young ruler said, good master. But what does Jesus answer him? What was his reaction? He did not approve and say, yes, you are right. I am a good master. He says, what is the reason that you call me good? Why? What do you mean when you say I am good? Who do you imagine to be that you are capable to judge about me that I am good? We can use the word good, whatever accent you add to it, good or good or whatever in English, at least you can say it, but what do you mean and what are you doing? When you know with David in Psalm 86 and also confess it to, for example, your children or other neighbors, thou Lord art good, you do not judge about God. At least, that's not the way David does it. He is not in a position that he thinks, I have a standard, and I measure the Lord, his doings, his promises, his commandments, and then I see, yes, the standard and Jesus' doing, they compare, they are equal, so I can call him good. Thou, Lord, art good. It is another way around. It is by experiencing the goodness of the Lord. And listen, it is not because David had a quiet life. Yes, the first psalter this morning we did sing could give you the imagination or the thought that David would have had always a very quiet, happy life, good shepherd, still waters, and so on. But in the beginning of the psalm we did read, 86, David says, I am poor and needy. In verse six, in verse seven, in the day of my trouble, what kind of trouble he didn't say, but he has some. As perhaps you this morning coming up to church burdened with a misery that you cannot tell people. Perhaps you cannot find words for yourself. So gloomy is life, so sad is it today. And then to say God is good, that's very difficult. I remember Catechism class in Gutteren. I don't know exactly how it happened, but then I asked, as I am used to do in catechism classes, to ask questions that can be some interaction and not only a monologue to teach. I asked, is God good for you? I asked a girl of, I think, 14. And of course, I supposed that she would say the good answer. and say, yes, pastor, God is good. But she said, honestly, no, God is not good. That was a surprise for me, how to manage it. I can't remember what I did say, but she was very honest. Her parents did divorce. There was a lot of trouble in that family. She and her sister had a lot of misery. And then to say God did all things well? God was good for me? No, she said. No, Pastor, God's not good. Perhaps some today are thinking, if not sometimes even saying the same, is God good? It depends, people, in what place you are lodging. Are you living in such a place that you think, I have a claim. I can claim God's gifts. I have the right to ask, Lord, give me this and give me that? Or are you in that spot that you did forfeit all claims? Of course, I do not accuse that catechism class student. But it is a lesson for us all to really think about it for ourselves. Is my position such that I can claim God's gifts? Perhaps then I have reason to be critical because he does not answer as what I want to have and I think he should give. But when I am a sinner, no, not only say I'm a sinner, but to be aware, to feel, and then, of course, to accuse yourself and to humble yourself. to bow in the dust. Yes, it is a message people do not like to hear, I know. It is in Elspeth not different from Springford. It is inside church not different from outside the church. People do not like to hear that they are bad, that they do not deserve any good thing, that they do not deserve any good gift from God. And therefore people have sometimes or many times all kind of thinking bad thoughts about God. But when you bow down by grace and come on the place where you should be by grace, yes, it is a great gift to be on the right spot. without any claim to whatever little gift of God. And for sure not a great gift of God. Then you perhaps can understand a little bit of the beginning of verse five, our text, thou Lord art good. So it is a great difference in what kind of place you live. Do you live in a place of I am good, and perhaps God is good or not, but I am good for sure? Or do you live in a place I am bad? That's sure. Perhaps I do not understand God, his whole thing, that he does good or not. I'm not capable to judge. I do not understand, but for sure I know I am bad. I am a hell deserving girl, boy, woman. If that is the place we are in, we really can say, Lord, all what we received, personally, I received, or together we received as a family, as a congregation, as a country, it is more than we deserve. Therefore, really, thou art good. So it is not because David is judging God. standing on such a place that he thinks I'm capable to see, to esteem, to value if God is good or not, and I say, yes, he is good. And another perhaps say, no, he is not good. No, no, he's in that spot that he has to say, all that I receive is only grace, only the goodness of God. If you are not in that spot, it's not forbidden. to pray the Lord, to teach you this reality. The reality of who you are. No longer imagining that you are good. No longer supposing that you have claims on God. Claim to be healthy, claim to be happy, claim to be whatever. No. Only to be a person that deserves this day, this 4th of August, to be cut off and to thrown away in outer darkness. I can say it, as a church we do confess it, and I think most of you, perhaps all of you do agree it, but is it true in our hearts? then we will always agree with David, thou Lord art good. And this is for him a reason to do what is in verse four. He says, I lift up my soul to thee. I draw nigh unto thee. I seek thy face. I love to be near thee. not an evil God, a God that likes to hurt, no, no. A God, yes, I do not understand always in the big questions of the world and in the small sphere of my own life, but nevertheless, not less I trust Him, not less I love Him and I long to be near Him and I know that it is not in vain to tell him all my need. And so he says, for, that's the reason that I come and lift up my soul unto thee, for thou art good. And then he calls him by his name, Lord. You know that in the Bible, the Lord is mentioned with different names, and every name has also a kind of meaning. The meaning of the word Lord is also this, that He is great, that He is the owner of all that exists. Sun, moon, and stars are His. The seas, the mountains, the crops on the field, and whatever we think we possess are His. So also we ourselves are His. He is the owner. and he has to say about us. He may do with us what he likes. And because we know by experience as we, if we are his children, that he is good, as David also confesses in this verse, we also know that why, perhaps we do not understand, but that he is doing good, it's sure. in my life, whatever kind of direction He is steering me, however way He is governing me, whatever will be my future, how many sad days will follow, how much pain I have to endure or to suffer. Still, true faith, that miracle of God's grace, that gift of his power. Faith says, thou, Lord, art good. How does David know? Well, you can say many things teaches it him. Many things in his life, yes, but one he mentions in the first place after the confession, thou, Lord, art good, He says, thou art ready to forgive. That is the most important evidence of the goodness of God, the most clear evidence of the goodness of God. What does it mean to forgive? It does mean that we have offended him, that we did all kind of bad things. We call it in the Bible sin. and that it was always against God, not because we had a reason to be disobedient, not because we have a reason to transgress His commandments, but we are against Him. It is really a great riddle if you are thinking why we would sin against God. But that's our nature. That is really a sad situation in which we are. And the Lord, he forgives those sins. It is even in our text, thou art ready to forgive. It means thou art willing. And thou didst prepare all things that were necessary, to be able now to forgive. Ready. I am already there. I am already in the position. I have already the disposition to forgive. I'm very willing to do it, and I am ready to do it. So it is His nature, as it is our nature to sin. It is God's nature to forgive. Now, we don't say it easily. At least we should not do it easily. To say, thou art ready to forgive. Yes, of course, all kind of truth we can speak. We can speak after another, say the same words as other people say, and then they are right, the words are good, but is it in our heart also true? So, let us ask the question about the forgiveness of God. Are we amazed that this is true of God? That David not only for himself may testify, but also by inspiration of the Holy Spirit may reveal as a kind of preaching and a kind of saying it is for all people true that God is ready to forgive. How did David know it? Well, he could say it for himself because he had experience of it. But also he could say it for all the Israelites because God himself told. When you read Psalm 86 and especially also the verses later on, for example, in verse 13, great is thy mercy toward me. And also, 15, thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion and gracious, long-suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth. When you know your Bible or you look in the margin references, texts, you are brought back to Exodus 34. In verse 5 and 6 of Exodus 34, God himself told the people of Israel when they were at the foot of Sinai, after they have sinned, the great sin of the golden calf, the idolatry with it, and they forfeited life and God threatened death, now by grace God pronounces that he is long-suffering, great, full of mercy, and all kinds of good things as we read also in Psalm 86. So that is the reason why David could tell people, all kinds of people around about him, God is ready to forgive. God told he was ready, but how could it be? because he, I said, prepared all things already before he are standing there and pronounces and announces that he is willing to forgive. What had to be done before God could stand and forgive? It could not happen without any preparation. There must be done something before it could happen. So when David says God is ready, he also confesses God did a lot of work before. and we know from the Bible and let it be also a prayer in our heart that we may know it by experience what it means that has to be done before God ever can be ready to forgive. Namely, that sin must be carried away, borne away, and that the guilt of sin must be paid. and that all the virtues of God, especially his justice, must be honored. So that was necessary before he would be ready or could be ready to forgive. But how would that happen? Who of us would be able to do this, to carry away the sin of the world? Even not of ourselves, and for sure not of others, or all. And who can pay the debt? When you know how big is your debt spiritually, Jesus tells it in Matthew 18, in the parable of the person that received forgiveness of his king. And then he was so cruel to his neighbor that he did not forgive the little amount of money that the other man owned him. And then what kind of guilt did he have? pounds or whatever it is in English. It means such an amount of money that you had to work as a day laborer 200,000 years before you could pay off your debt. Well, no one can pay so much an amount. Your debt is very great before God's holy face. it has to be paid, not by you, not by me. And we all know the answer when I ask, by whom? Do you know that dear person out of the Bible? Do you long to know him personally, Jesus Christ, that did carry away the sin of the world as John the Baptist taught us when he showed him, look, Lamb of God, And when Jesus speaks about such a great amount of guilt, debt, he also told us in the words that he did pay with his dear blood, not with gold or silver, says Peter in his first epistle, first chapter, but with his dear blood by suffering unto death. by being forsaken by his father and descending into hell, paying the debt that we owe. That was necessary before God could forgive us. And now the Lord says, by David to you, he is ready to forgive. May I ask you, do you believe it? May I ask another question before this one? Do you need it? Who of you does honestly say, yes, I need a forgiving God? I need this grace that God will take away all my sins because they are standing between God and me. They are hiding the good face of God before me. They are separating me from God for time and eternity. So I need it that God will take away my sin, will forgive. He is prepared. He did the preparation himself by his son. He is ready. So you may perhaps doubt, but it is not right to doubt the willingness of God. Yes, you can doubt because when you see upon yourself, there are many reasons not to believe the willingness of God to forgive. But nevertheless, it is true. He says, by David, It is the Holy Spirit that reveals it to us, not only in this one verse, but in many places of the Holy Bible, of the Old Testament and the New Testament, that He is ready to forgive. And now the question is, are you also ready to receive forgiveness? Well, you say, of course, I'm ready. No, no, that's not of course. Don't say it so easily. Think about it. When is a person ready to receive forgiveness? Let me suppose you did offend a person grievously, even repeatedly, many times. You did hurt him. You made all kinds of bad names and whatever. You can fill it in for yourself. So there is reason that he would never forgive you. But when you do not care about it, when you are not sad about it, you say, well, it doesn't matter that I gave him such bad names and I accused him falsely and I offended him and whatever. Then, of course, you do not long for forgiveness. Let me suppose that other person He is a real Christian. He himself lives by the grace of a forgiving God. So he should be, and by grace may also be, ready to forgive, to forgive you, what you did, what you said. In his heart, there is, of course, sadness for all kinds of bad things you did, but nevertheless, he's willing to forgive. But you are not sad about your sins. You did not mourn about it. You were not humbled for it. You were perhaps proud of it, or at least did not care about it. So again, my question is, are you ready to receive forgiveness? And I think every one of us feels the answer must be no. Only when you, the offender, feels the badness, what you did and said, and feels sorrow for it, and feels sad for it, then there only can be a readiness to receive forgiveness, or at least to ask for forgiveness. That is, when I speak about two people, you are offending another one. You first have to feel that you were bad, to confess that you were bad, to ask, forgive me what I said and did. Then only you are ready to receive forgiveness. And one step further, when are you ready to receive? The Bible tells us in our text, God is ready to forgive. My question is, are you ready to receive the forgiveness of God? One step more is necessary. to be ready to receive forgiveness. Let us suppose again, you did offend a person. You are sad, you are humbled, you come, you confess, you beg for forgiveness. And then the person says, of course, yes, I did already forgive you. long time ago, before you even came to me to ask forgiveness, I was ready, I was willing to forgive. But of course, you did not come. And all the time you did not come, there was no place to show you my forgiving heart. There was no place in you to receive my forgiving love. But now, yes, I'm ready to forgive. I forgive you all what you did. Let me suppose that you think, my sins were so bad, so big, I can't believe it that that person is really willing to forgive. Then you are still not ready to receive forgiveness because you can't believe it. You cannot, you dare not trust that word of that person when he says, yes, for sure, I forgive. It's the same in our text. When God says by David, I am ready to forgive. Ask yourself, old and young, are you ready to receive the forgiving grace of God? Are you sad? Did you mourn, ever weep in your heart about your sins against whatever of the 10 commandments? We did hear them again. We did hear them again and again and again, so many, many, many large days. Did you ever hear them? Did you ever feel you transgressed them? Was it only that you say, yes, of course, we all are transgressors and we all are sinners, so yes, of course, I am a sinner. And that's it. And we go on and leave it there. Or was there a place in your life, a time, perhaps last week, that you were convinced, convicted, convinced that you were bad? that only one sin perhaps you did, and you did many, but let me suppose only one sin you said or you did made you a punishable sinner, a hell deserving sinner. Do you agree with what the Bible says about this or do you not? In the last situation, you are not ready to receive forgiveness. You can sing about it. You can speak about it. You can suppose it. That is not true. First, to bow before him and say, Lord, thou art good, because I have my breath in my mouth, because my heart is still beating. I'm not yet cast out in utter darkness. Thou really art good. I don't understand all things about thy goodness, but I know it for myself that I'm still alive in the special and so precious time of grace. I'm still here. I'm able to listen to thy word. I'm able to pray for forgiveness. Oh, Lord, I'm bad enough that thou wilt not forgive. But now I hear, I read that thou art ready to forgive. Oh, Lord, is it true? Perhaps you confess in humble and real weeping. But then, do you believe it? Do you believe the Lord? Not because you feel forgiveness, but because He tells you, His Word tells you that He is ready to forgive, willing and ready. He does do it. He already did do it. He was a God forgiving graciously. It means he likes to do it. He does it with all the love of his heart, not unwilling. So, yes, of course, you ask so many times, okay, let me forgive, but not willing. No, no, that's not the case. He was already willing before you asked him, before you confessed him your sins and asked for forgiveness. Every day of your life, He stands ready to forgive. Don't believe it easily by only saying, of course, that's it. No. Ask your Lord to be honest in believing it as a great miracle, as a real God wonder, as a great gift of grace, not to be understood all the time of your life. that God could forgive, that God would forgive, that he did prepare all things that he was able to forgive in a right way, that he did all things to prepare, that he stood ready to forgive all the days of your life, and that he still, O child of God, after you have sinned many times, Receiving grace time and again, sinning again and again, He is still ready to forgive and He is still willing to receive you, confessing your sin. Don't mistrust the Lord's willingness and readiness to forgive. And be assured that whenever doubts arise in your soul, about the goodness of God. Because of so many disasters, so many calamities, so much suffering, also in your own life, so many questions you can't answer, so many doubts you can solve, you cannot solve, so many disappointments you do not understand. Yes, listen. When these kinds of questions and doubtings arise in your soul about the goodness of God, look into this first and ask yourself, am I a person that can claim anything from God or am I a person that do deserve his punishment? then to fall before him and say, O Lord, grant forgiveness for Jesus' sake. And be assured, as he already told you in the holy sign of baptism and the Lord's supper, as really as you are washed with the water, I in promise washed you with the blood of Christ. I promise you are welcome. I testify I am ready. O sinner, are you ready to receive the forgiving grace and love of God? Fall before Him, confess your sin, and trust His holy word, infallible. It does not fail. It does not Make a mistake. You cannot err when you found yourself leaning upon the Lamb of God. May it this morning be that every one of us is aware of a sin terrible, is aware of God's grace. Merciful. Amen. Let us sing Psalter 202. Psalter 202. The three stanzas. In doubt and temptation, I rest, Lord, in thee. My hand is in thy hand. Thou carest for me. My soul, with thy counsel through life, thou wilt guide and afterward make me in glory abide. In glory thou only my portion shall be, on earth for none other I long but for thee. My flesh and heart falter, but God is my stay, the strength of my spirit, my portion for ever, always. All they that forsake thee must perish, but near to my Saviour most blessed am I. I make thee my refuge, my Lord and my God. Thy grace and thy glory I publish abroad, the three stanzas of Psalter 202. you you to Christ's kingdom. I praise and I glory I knew. Let us pray. Forgiving God, grant us to need it. Grant us to beg in faith humbly for it. Grant us to believe it, that it is indeed. that there is enough in thee forgiving mercy, willingness to take away between thee and us the separation wall of sin and guilt and penitent willness. O Lord, grant us to receive thy forgiveness. that no one of us shall leave this life without forgiving grace, that even no one of us shall live one day more without Thy forgiving willingness. Thou hast showed it in all the sacrifices of the Old Testament, day after day, In the morning, burnt offerings. In the evening, burnt offerings. Time and again, thou didst say, I am ready to forgive. On the day of atonement, year after year, thou didst say, all the sins of Israel, I forgive. O Lord, if we do not beg and pray for it, if we do not desire it, if we do not receive it, accept it. If there is such one in our midst or listening at home that still is going on without and going in his own way, oh, we pray, Lord, how terrible that way. Grant such a person this day to fall before thy holy countenance, praying for forgiving grace. We pray now for those who have not understood English, that you will give out of grace, to be allowed to learn to believe what David teaches. You, gentlemen, are good and willing to forgive. and of great kindness to all who call on you. Yes, gentlemen, to call on you as guilty and holy sinners, and not to be able to leave it, to hope for your free will alone. Gentlemen, then give to believe that forgiving love. in uw vergevingsgezindheid te vertrouwen. En bij u met al onze dagelijks vermeerderende zonderschuld te schuilen. Grant us a blessed day on our way home. And again, when we may come together in this building. Grant, O Lord, thy grace in everyone's life. that we may rejoice and be glad and admire Thee, a God we do not understand, but know that Thou dost know. That's enough. To trust Thee that Thou art wise, although we do not can understand, that Thou art powerful, although it sometimes seems the opposite. To believe Thy holy word, not because our parents taught us, that's a good thing, but because thou thyself has taught us, that is necessary, and we pray for it. For old and young, first time and again, we thank thee for this worship service and pray, O Lord, let it be a blessing for every one of us, for Jesus' sake, amen. Let us sing Psalter 2, 29, verses 1 and 6. 2, 29, verse 1. How lovely, Lord of hosts, to me the tabernacles of thy grace. Oh, how I long, yea, fain to see thy hallowed courts, thy dwelling place. For thee, my heart and spirit sigh. For thee, O living God, I cry. Verse six, and we sing it about the goodness of God. Also in the other Psalters, we did sing about the goodness of God. And now again. Jehovah God, our shield and sun will grace and glory surely give. No good will he withhold from one who in his sight shall rightly live. What is to live rightly? To lean upon Jesus. and to follow in his footsteps. O Lord of hosts, most blessed is he who puts his steadfast trust in thee. Stanzas 1 and 6 of Psalter 229. Grace. O'er thee, O'er thee, King of all my heart. Hell, O'er my heart, lies still inside. O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? Yeah. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the comforting communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.