Psalm 130 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 130 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
Verse 2Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!
Verse 3If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand?
Verse 4But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered.
Verse 5I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;
Verse 6my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning.
Verse 7O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem.
Verse 8It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
Devotion
Without the witness of Scripture, especially that of the psalmists, our culture would have us under the impression that religion is for those who are blameless and enjoy success, the so-called “blessed.” Not so, says the psalm. This psalm finds its location not in the heights of success, but in the depths where only God can hear and respond to our cries. The psalm finds us in our lives as we are: in the well-worn ruts of our daily routine, which return, for better or worse, with each sunrise.
Who could stand and face such constant judgment? Rather than call out our failures, this psalm calls us into God’s mercy and redemption, born out of the forgiveness of sins.
The psalm echoes for us our hope: When we have nothing left to hold on to, God holds on to us. In this space we wait and watch. But we do not wait alone, for God in Christ has entered into the depths with us.
Prayer
O Lord, you are able to heal the wounds our sin has caused. We wait and hope for the forgiveness that is already at hand in Jesus. Amen.