Day Twelve

Psalm 130:1-8

1.) Out of the depths I cry to You, O LORD!

2.) O Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!

3.) If You, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?

4.) But with You there is forgiveness, that You may be feared.

5.) I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in His word I hope;

6.) my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.

7.) O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with Him is plentiful redemption.

8.) And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

         Verse five was the only verse that the guide gave, which is amazing. These eight verses make up the whole chapter and there is so much more here than just one verse.

         To begin, the Book of Psalms is the hymnbook of the Jewish songs. Like most of our hymnbooks, they are arranged by topic. This Psalm is a song of Ascents. Jerusalem is elevated. To get to the city you have to travel uphill. People normally traveled in groups. At the times of holy days to be observed in Jerusalem, the people would sing certain songs at certain points along the way up the long incline to the city. These are referred to as Songs of Ascents. This is one of those songs. These Songs of Ascent were mostly praise songs, as this one is a praise song.
         In verse one, the psalmist expresses that he is calling to the Lord from the “depths.” Sadness, sorrow, worry, failure…whatever might cause depression. We all go down that road from time to time and some live in depression. Depression is real, even for the best of us. But we have a Lord we can call to during those times!

         Verse two, the call is for the Lord to listen to his pleas. And we have all gone down that road, as well. Those moments when we feel as though we are not getting through. In Psalm thirteen, King David, whom the Lord said was a man after His own heart, said this at a point when he was calling from the depths, How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? That feeling affects us all. Verses one and two hardly sound like a praise song, do they?

         But, with verse three, the tone begins to change. The psalmist says that if the Lord based everything on our sins, all would be found separated from God. Humanity is sinful. The good news is that our God is, first and foremost, a forgiving God. One might argue and say, if God is forgiving, why does He send some to Hell? The truth is, people sent themselves to Hell.

         Verse four says there is forgiveness in the Lord so that all may fear Him. The word ‘fear’ here is a word that is often used as ‘respect.’ What a holy, holy God to never fail to give forgiveness when asked by a remorseful soul.

         In verse five we have the focus verse, but it means something other than what the guide says it means. The Hebrew word used here for ‘wait’ is ‘Qavah.’ It means to bind together. By context, it can be assumed that he is referring to bringing in more believers. It literally means to work. So verse five is not telling us to sit and wait, as we normally understand the word, but to work for the Lord, as a waiter or waitress works to serve us. Never stop serving the Lord. The method of service might change over the years. You might go from being physically active in your service (visiting, preparing meals for shut-ins, mowing someone’s lawn) to being able only to set aside time to pray for the needs of others. But service is service.

         Verse six also uses the word ‘wait,’ but it is a different Hebrew word. ‘Napsi’ means to wait in the sense we normally mean it. In context, it means to be on the lookout while you wait. The phrase more than watchmen for the morning is repeated, which in Hebrew adds emphasis.

         Verses seven and eight urges the nation to put their hope in the Lord and He will redeem the nation. Specifically, the psalmist was talking to Israel, but we can apply it to our nation, as well. Imagine if Americans were to begin to live as God intended. There is certainly nothing wrong with living a real Christian life, but we are mocked by the world for being simplistic and naive. Meanwhile, the ‘enlightened’ and worldly life is leading us to ruin. We are the ones who need to carry the Word to the masses if we wish to see our country redeemed.

         Today, let’s pray that Christians will begin to raise their voices to the Lord, out of their depression, out of their grief, out of their afflictions. Let’s pray that in all the worldly interference and noise the prayers of Christians will begin to unite us into one powerful body. Not Methodist or Brethren or Baptist or whatever, but as believers. Believers who are willing to do the work to redeem our nation and the world through Jesus.