I Have Blotted Out, as a Thick Cloud, Thy Transgressions
God's mercy removes our sins, and we should strive to return to Him in close communion.
C.H. Spurgeon emphasizes the nature of sin as a cloud that obscures the light of God's presence, illustrating how our transgressions can darken our lives and threaten us with destruction. He highlights the divine mercy of God in 'blotting out' our sins, which removes them entirely through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, ensuring that no sin remains for the justified. Spurgeon encourages believers to return to God, reminding them that they should not live distanced from Him after receiving forgiveness, but rather strive for a closer communion with the Lord.
Text
Attentively observe THE INSTRUCTIVE SIMILITUDE: our sins are like a cloud. As clouds are of many shapes and shades, so are our transgressions. As clouds obscure the light of the sun, and darken the landscape beneath, so do our sins hide from us the light of Jehovah's face, and cause us to sit in the shadow of death. They are earth-born things, and rise from the miry places of our nature; and when so collected that their measure is full, they threaten us with storm and tempest. Alas! that, unlike clouds, our sins yield us no genial showers, but rather threaten to deluge us with a fiery flood of destruction. O ye black clouds of sin, how can it be fair weather with our souls while ye remain?
Let our joyful eye dwell upon THE NOTABLE ACT of divine mercy--"blotting out." God Himself appears upon the scene, and in divine benignity, instead of manifesting His anger, reveals His grace: He at once and for ever effectually removes the mischief, not by blowing away the cloud, but by blotting it out from existence once for all. Against the justified man no sin remains, the great transaction of the cross has eternally removed His transgressions from him. On Calvary's summit the great deed, by which the sin of all the chosen was for ever put away, was completely and effectually performed.
Practically let us obey THE GRACIOUS COMMAND, "return unto me."Why should pardoned sinners live at a distance from their God? If we have been forgiven all our sins, let no legal fear withhold us from the boldest access to our Lord. Let backslidings be bemoaned, but let us not persevere in them. To the greatest possible nearness of communion with the Lord, let us, in the power of the Holy Spirit, strive mightily to return. O Lord, this night restore us!
Sermon Outline
- The Instructive Similitude of Sin
- The Notable Act of Divine Mercy
- The Gracious Command to Return
- Pardoned sinners should live in close communion with God
- Backslidings should be bemoaned and avoided
Key Quotes
“O ye black clouds of sin, how can it be fair weather with our souls while ye remain?” — C.H. Spurgeon
“God Himself appears upon the scene, and in divine benignity, instead of manifesting His anger, reveals His grace:” — C.H. Spurgeon
“Let backslidings be bemoaned, but let us not persevere in them.” — C.H. Spurgeon
Application Points
- We should strive to live in close communion with God, despite our past sins.
- We should avoid backslidings and return to God with a contrite heart.
- We should remember the significance of the cross, which has eternally removed our transgressions.