(REFLECTIONS ON Psalm 130:1-8)

As we read the words of the psalmist:

1 Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord.
2 Lord, hear my voice!
Let Your ears be attentive
To the voice of my supplications.

What do we imagine that the psalmist is going through? Although we may quickly conclude and associate the pleas of the psalmist to challenges in our life, with feeling lonely, in despair, and without hope.

Yet what makes the psalmist cry to the Lord of help unique is that it is not coming from a place of helplessness, but rather the psalmist’s awareness of sin and the inability to stand before God on his own righteousness.

This isn’t just a plea and cry out to the Lord in desperation, but an acknowledgment of unfaithfulness, of not giving glory to the Lord, and of not submitting to the authority of God. This acknowledgment of sin, of unfaithfulness and spiritual weakness, leads the psalmist to conclude, that if the Lord should mark iniquities, or keep a record of sins, that no one could stand in His presence.

For the psalmist, “Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord!” is a cry for being separated with God because of sin. It is the feeling of loneliness, not from loss in the world, but of being apart from the Lord and not in right relationship with Him.

Yet, in the cry from out of the depths is also the memory and knowledge that God is a forgiving God, and will forgive our iniquities if we are willing to approach Him in humility and fear. This fear is not being scared of God, but approaching God with reverence, awe, and submission. It is closely connected with walking in His ways, and aligning our life with His will.

And it is in that movements back to God, we turn from ourselves, the world, and being self-consumed, back to the Lord that there is forgiveness, hope, and promise. It is in this turning back to the Lord that the psalmist waits for the Lord writing,

5 I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait
And in His word do I hope.
6 My soul waits for the Lord
More than the watchmen for the morning;
Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.

More than watchmen wait for the morning to come, waiting for the time that they can go home and rest from the weariness of their assigned post, the one that turns from sin, that is turning back and aligning oneself with the will of God, is the one that waits for the Lord.

There is hope in the Lord for the one that waits for Him, that pleads to the Lord for mercy with our voice and from out of the depths. This is our hope in the Lord as we wait for Him. This is the hope when we turn back to Him, and align ourselves once again with His will.

It is not only our hope, but the hope for Israel, the church, and all of creation,

7b “For with the Lord there is lovingkindness,
And with Him is abundant redemption.”

As He will redeem Israel, He will also redeem the church, because His mercies are not only for the individual, but also for the church. If we as a church turn back to Him, align ourselves with the will of God, then as a community we also can wait for Him in hope, for He will redeem us from all our iniquities.

Pastor Michael Lu
Enduring Word Bible Commentary: Psalm 130