Friday
Friday
Psalm 130—a Cry from the Depths
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD; O Lord, hear my voice.
Psalm 130:1
The psalmist depicts himself as floundering in deep waters, and out of these depths he appeals to God to rescue him. Since he cries for mercy, it is evident that the deep waters are a picture of his sin, guilt, and remorse, together with his sense of God’s judgment upon him—and also upon the nation with which he identifies himself. He knows well that if God were to keep a record of his sins, reckoning them up against him, neither he nor anyone else could stand. “But with you,” he adds immediately, “there is forgiveness” (v. 4).
It was this offer of a free forgiveness, by grace and without works, that led Martin Luther to call this penitential song one of the “Pauline Psalms.” Verse 4 was also one of the Scripture verses that brought comfort to John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim’s Progress, when his conscience troubled him and he was convicted of sin. The verse contains a beautiful balance, because its first part brings assurance to the despairing (“with you there is forgiveness”), while its second part sounds a warning to the presumptuous (“therefore you are feared”). Far from encouraging sinners in their sins, God’s forgiveness promotes that fear of the Lord, or reverent awe in his presence, that leads us to depart from iniquity (see Prov. 16:6).
Confident of the forgiving mercy of God to penitent sinners, the psalmist now does two things. Firstly, he affirms his own determination to trust God for forgiveness, relying on God’s promise. So he waits for the Lord, as expectantly and patiently as “watchmen wait for the morning” (v. 6). For however long the night may seem, and however deep the darkness, watchmen know for certain that the dawn will come in the end. Secondly, he urges Israel to do the same, for he knows that Yahweh’s “unfailing love” (v. 7) will “redeem Israel from all their sins” (v. 8).
Many times I too have needed to make this penitential psalm my own, and many times its promises have brought me the assurance of God’s forgiveness.
For further reading: Psalm 130