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Psalm 130 English Standard Version (ESV)
My Soul Waits for the Lord
A Song of Ascents.
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.
Reflection
- Donald Grey Barnhouse used to picture a believer, burdened with a sense of guilt, appealing to God for forgiveness. The believer was ashamed, for he knew that he had committed the same sin many times before. “O Lord,” he begged, “Please forgive me again, I know I don’t deserve it, as this is the nineteenth time I’ve committed this sin this month. But please, Lord, forgive me this nineteenth time.” And Dr. Barnhouse would say, the Lord looked up in surprise. “What do you mean, nineteenth?”
- The point this great old expositor of God’s Word was making is stated clearly in Psalm 130:3-4. “If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness.”
- God keeps no record of our sins! When we confess, He forgives, and then our sins are gone.
- What a blessing! Our past no longer is a weight we must carry with us always. Our past is gone, and we can look ahead with renewed hope. Through forgiveness we have been cleansed! Tomorrow will be different, and through Christ we will win victory over sins that in the past meant defeat.
- Don’t let a sense of shame keep you from enjoying God’s forgiveness. Confess your sin (sorry), Receive God’s forgiveness (thank), Ask for protection and strength to resist any future temptations (please).
