Cast Me Not Away/Resore Unto Me

The point: Be thankful for God's mercy in continually sending 'Nathans' to prick the conscience and stir the heart.

God's mercy in sending 'Nathans' (a hymn, a circumstance, a friend's word, a scripture phrase) to prick the conscience and stir the heart, bringing people to penitence, just as Nathan confronted David.

And God took the initiative with David as he does with sinners, and as he does with his own. And if it were not for his mercy to continually send us Nathans that prick the church, the conscience that is grown callous, and to stir up the heart that is grown indifferent, we would be of all men most miserable. But how gracious is the Lord to take just a phrase from a hymn, a little circumstance in life, a little word from a friend, just something we read in the newspaper, a phrase we may see in the scripture, in a book, and this becomes God's Nathan to pierce our hearts, and to bring us to the pl...

3:25 - 4:10 Read in full sermon

The point: Learn to focus faith on the appropriate attributes of God for given times (e.g., sovereignty in chaos, mercy in conviction of sin).

Comparing focusing faith on God's sovereignty during times of chaos to focusing faith on His mercy during times of conviction of sin, showing how different attributes provide comfort in different situations.

And we must learn what attributes of God's we need to focus our faith upon at given times. When you feel that all is giving way around you, and that the world itself is about to burst at the seams, then you find great comfort in the purposes of God that are sure, and you let faith feed upon His sovereignty. Then there are times when your heart is smitten with a sense of your sinfulness, and your uncleanness, and your unworthiness, and you cringe, as it were, at the very thought of even approaching God. Well, that's when you need to focus faith upon this attribute of His mercy as David does her...

4:33 - 5:11 Read in full sermon

The point: Recognize that sin deserves the withdrawal of God's realized presence and protection, and pray for His mercy to prevent it.

The pain of a child ripped from its mother's breast is used to illustrate the profound disturbance and loss of warmth, protection, and communion experienced when God's realized presence is withdrawn due to sin.

they said sing us the songs of Zion sing us the songs of Zion and they said oh we've hung our harps up upon willows how can we sing the songs of Zion in the land of our captivity for you see to be there was a reminder that the frown of God was upon them instead of his smile that instead of his protection he had drawn back the protective wall and allowed the heathen nations to come in and invade their very home their very sanctuary and raise it to the ground and so when David prays cast me not away from thy presence I believe what he's praying about is this oh Lord don't take from me thy realiz...

15:02 - 16:30 Read in full sermon

The point: Fear more than anything else that your sin would rob you of realized communion and the conscious support and enablement of the Holy Spirit.

A quote from John Newton's hymn 'How tedious and tasteless the hours' illustrates the experience of a withdrawn spirit, where even sweet things lose their sweetness when Jesus is no longer seen or appreciated.

and you get on your knees to pray and He is no longer the Spirit of grace and of supplication and so you mouth your sweet little praises but you know you haven't taken hold of God because there's a controversy with God now that may not be the only reason for a brassy heavens but that's one of the reasons and God's a good man He declares that your sins have separated between you and your God so that He will not hear if I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear then He's the Spirit of witness and of testimony and you know what it's like to try to crank up some kind of a witness and te...

24:01 - 25:30 Read in full sermon

The point: Guard against becoming accustomed to a clouded face and a withdrawn spirit, forgetting what it was like to know God's smile and the Spirit's communications.

A personal anecdote about a friend's prayer, 'Oh God, don't take your hand off me for a moment, I'll go back to the hog,' highlights the profound fear of God withdrawing His conscious support and the recognition of one's own weakness.

in the study up in the old place and I'll never forget it oh God don't take your hand off me for a moment I'll go back to the hog I've never forgotten for here was a man who feared more than anything else that God would withdraw the conscious support anything Lord but not a clouded face and a withdrawn spirit is that what you fear hmm I fear perhaps some of you don't fear that but it's only the man who fears it who knows what it is to maintain the unclouded face and the conscious support of the Spirit of God if you don't fear it the devil will see to it that by subtlety going about as a roarin...

26:59 - 28:26 Read in full sermon

The point: Acknowledge that only God can restore the joy of salvation once it's forfeited by sin.

The metaphor of running downhill easily but uphill with great difficulty illustrates the ease with which one can forfeit the conscious presence of God and the arduous process of regaining it.

as one of the old writers has said so quaintly it's easy running downhill but oh how hard to run back uphill we can go out of a life of the conscious presence of God on horseback one of the old writers says we come back on foot scratching away at an inch at a time that's the way it is and David found it Lord I've got the ability as it were to forfeit my joy but Lord I can't bring it back will thou not restore unto me the joy of thy salvation you see David wasn't guilty of this cute little way of just trying to put on a few of the white sister's records with a nice beat in it and make him self ...

34:21 - 35:49 Read in full sermon

The point: Pray not only for the restoration of joy but for the preservation of joy, recognizing your continued susceptibility to sin.

The analogy of gunpowder, no less susceptible to sparks when dry, illustrates that even after forgiveness and restoration, a believer remains susceptible to sin unless God continually upholds them.

but for the preservation of joy Lord it's not enough that you restore me to a place of present salvation you've got to keep me restore me keep me isn't that what we pray in the Lord's prayer lead us not into temptation I mean forgive us our debts as we forgive others restore us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil restore me preserve me that could be what David is praying here if this is the proper translation uphold me with thy free spirit having forgiven me and restored me now O Lord uphold me what's he saying he's saying Lord I acknowledge that gunpowder gets no less sus...

35:49 - 37:15 Read in full sermon

The point: Learn to discover yourself and put no confidence in the flesh, relying on God to uphold you.

Peter's denial of Christ, despite his confidence, and the cock crowing serving as his 'Nathan,' illustrates the painful lesson of self-discovery and the need for God's preservation against one's own weakness.

no confidence in the flesh and oh how painfully David had to learn that lesson how he had to learn look at Peter how he had to learn when the Lord said Peter you're going to break at the point of your strongest characteristic you're brave outspoken Peter you're going to act like a little cowering shriveling coward and you're going to deny me oh Lord no not that not that I might speak out where I shouldn't I might go lopping off a few ears I can imagine me doing that but deny you never why denial that's that's the weakness of a timid man of the backward man Lord that's not my area the Lord said...

37:15 - 38:44 Read in full sermon