The Text (Psalm 130)
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.
An Insight
This psalm is about waiting from a place of despair. It begins with the powerfully vivid statement, “Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD.” Ancient Israelites were terrified of the sea; it was chaotic, violent, and its depths could not be fathomed. It obviously remains quite scary today. To cry out from the depths is to cry out from a terrifying place, a place of death. The psalmist’s cries for mercy and forgiveness show us that his sins have placed him in these depths, but he expresses strong confidence in God’s forgiveness and redemption. Notice that the cry of the psalmist becomes the cry of all God’s people in the final verses. His experience of being rescued from the depths is reason for all of them to anticipate the same kind of rescue.
A Timeless Principle
The hope expressed in Psalm 130 is fulfilled many times over in Scripture. God rescues those who cry out to him from the depths. We could think of the cry of Jonah from the fish’s belly (Jonah 2:1–10), the cry of Peter as the winds and waves overwhelmed him (Matt 14:30), or the cry of the repentant believer for a clean conscience from the watery depths of baptism (1 Pet 3:21). People in the times of the Bible and today can find themselves in the depths as a result of sin or for all kinds of reasons outside their control. Just as the psalmist’s rescue gives all Israel hope for the same, followers of Jesus ground their hope in Jesus’ own descent into the depths of the grave and his victory over it in resurrection. The psalmist cried to the LORD, waited eagerly for rescue, and experienced it. He wants us to know that we will experience it, too.
Living the Text
All of us have been in the depths before. Some of us may be in them right now. If we’re not, the truth is we will probably be in them again in the future. The psalmist would have us cry out to the Lord for rescue and redemption, as he did. The good news is that the Lord can not only rescue us but can also teach us how to cry out as we eagerly wait. He can do this because he himself has been in the depths. If sin, struggles, or life circumstances are overwhelming you today, the cry of Psalm 130 can become your cry, as can the cry for Jesus to show you how to wait for God’s rescue. If instead you are not in the depths today, it is worth considering if God has put someone in your path who is drowning so that he can work through you to rescue them. Let’s all regularly be in prayer for God to open our eyes, either to see those drowning in our midst or to see his own hand reaching into the depths for us.
Prayer
Heavenly Father,
Out of the depths we cry out to you today. Teach our souls to wait for you and to hope in your word. Hear our cries for redemption, deliverance, and renewal. We place all our hope in you. You sent your Son into the depths for our sakes, and we pray that we will learn from him how to wait for you as watchmen wait for the morning. Rescue us from the depths not only for our sakes, but so that you may work through us to rescue others as well.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Thanks, Lee, for sharing these beautiful words. We can be so thankful that we are “in Christ” with all the blessings we have there.
Love you,
Roro
Thank you, Roro! And Amen!
What a blessing this reading and insight is. Most of us have been in a place of despair and have cried out to our Lord. How encouraging to know that He sees and hears us when we humbling call on Him. Thanks for sharing these thoughts.