1.  Sorrow and affliction before God is not a bad thing. 1-3
Psalm 69:1-2
 
            What can cause this condition?
 
            1a. Loss of God’s abiding presence
            1 Peter 1:8; Habakkuk 3:17-18:
 
            1b. Contemplating our own poor love for Christ
            Ps 77:3
 
            1c.  A renewed realization that we really do deserve God’s wrath

            1d.  Perhaps we gain a fear of falling into God’s judgment.
            Psalm 119:119-120
 
            1e.  There may be a fear of being rejected by God
           
            1f.  God sends his arrows into the soul disturbing our quietness
            Psalm 38:1-2; Psalm 39:11; 1 Peter 4:17 -18
 
2.  There is a severity in God, but there is also forgiveness 4
             
            2a.  This is the heart or mind of God
            Psalm 86:5; Neh 9: 17
 
            2b.  Christ is the only satisfaction offered to God
            Romans 3:25, 1 John 2:2
 
            2c.  This forgiveness is real, right now
            Psalm 103:1 -5; Col 2: 13
 
3.  This forgiving God is worthy of our trust and our fear
 
If you have not been troubled over your sin lately, you are not spiritually healthy.  We should not pretend that not being troubled means we have nothing over which to be troubled. 
 
If you are in deep sorrow over your sin, you are not spiritually hopeless.
 
If you understand your hope in Christ properly, you will wait expectantly for deliverance.
 
If you have tasted deliverance at least one time, you will testify of God’s goodness by your life and your lips.