A Song of Ascents.
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. – Psalm 130:1-8 ESV
The author of this psalm begins with an impassioned plea for Yahweh to show him mercy. While he doesn't disclose the nature of his circumstances, he is in desperate need of Yahweh to intervene and rescue him. His request for mercy (taḥănûn in Hebrew) is a prayer of “supplication” expressing his desire for unmerited favor. It would appear that he thinks his suffering is somehow tied to an undisclosed sin he has committed. This is not a confession of sin as much as it is a confirmation of Yahweh’s marvelous mercy and grace. The psalmist doesn’t follow David’s lead and confess a specific sin. In Psalm 51, written in the aftermath of David's affair with Bathsheba and his sanctioned murder of her husband, David willingly acknowledged the gravity of what he had done.
For I recognize my rebellion;
it haunts me day and night.
Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;
I have done what is evil in your sight. – Psalm 51:3-4 NLT
This psalmist doesn't minimize sin, but instead, he emphasizes Yahweh’s willingness to extend mercy despite our sins.
LORD, if you kept a record of our sins,
who, O LORD, could ever survive?
But you offer forgiveness,
that we might learn to fear you. – Psalm 130:3-4 NLT
This perspective coincides with that of David found in another one of his psalms.
He does not punish us for all our sins;
he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.
For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. – Psalm 103:10-11 NLT
What an unbelievable reminder. Our God is not some kind of cosmic scorekeeper, keeping meticulous track of all our sins and waiting for us to balance our good behavior with our bad behavior. He's not Santa Claus, "making a list and checking it twice” so he can determine “who's naughty or nice."
As the psalmist points out, if God kept track of all our sins, we'd be in big trouble, because our sins would far outweigh any righteousness we might have to offer. Isaiah put it in these graphic terms: "We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight. We all wither like a leaf; our sins carry us away like the wind" (Isaiah 64:6 NET).
Instead of chronicling each of our sins and expecting us to right every wrong we have ever done, God offers forgiveness instead. Why? So that we might learn to fear and reverence Him (verse 4). When we begin to understand the magnitude of our sinfulness, His forgiveness becomes all the more precious to us because He is a holy God who stands diametrically opposed to our wickedness. Yet, in His grace and mercy, He reaches down and offers His undeserved favor and forgiveness.
That is they the psalmist declares that he is willing to wait on Yahweh.
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the LORD
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning. – Psalm 130:5-6 NLT
He compares himself to a night watchman, someone whose job it was to stay awake all night and keep an eye out for any danger. These individuals were invaluable to the safety of a city as they patrolled the walls and watched for any signs of danger. But their greatest desire was to see the sun come up without incident. They waited or longed for the morning.
That is the psalmist's perspective as he considers the darkened nature of his own predicament. He is willing to wait for Yahweh to show up with the rising sun and extend mercy. The prophet Jeremiah expressed this same hopeful perspective as he considered the faithfulness of Yahweh.
The faithful love of the LORD never ends!
His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in him!” – Lamentation 3:22-24 NLT
Jeremiah wasn’t putting his hope in his own ability to live a righteous life. He knew that was impossible. Like Isaiah, he recognized that all his righteous deeds were “nothing but filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6 NLT) in Yahweh's eyes. No, his hope was in the faithfulness and forgiveness of the LORD. Yahweh's mercies were new every morning, which is why the psalmist said he waits for the LORD like a watchman waits for the morning. There is an expectation and eagerness in his words. Despite his sinfulness, Yahweh was prepared to shower him with mercy and grace.
But some of us have a different attitude when it comes to sin. We take the perspective that our sins aren't all that bad. We seem to believe that our sins are less egregious and offensive than those of others. Somehow, our need for forgiveness is not that great, so we fail to recognize the unbelievable and undeserved nature of the gift Yahweh offers.
The psalmist seemed to understand both the magnitude of his sin and the magnificence of the one who offered him forgiveness. He writes, "O Israel, hope in the LORD; for with the LORD there is unfailing love. His redemption overflows. He Himself will redeem Israel from every kind of sin" (Psalm 130:7-8 NLT).
Unfailing love and overflowing redemption. The psalmist believed in both and was counting on the fact that Yahweh was prepared to redeem Israel despite their sin. Yahweh wasn't waiting for His rebellious people to clean up their act and exhibit some form of sinless perfection. No, He was prepared to rescue them and forgive them, despite their inability to live up to His righteous standards.
That is a sobering reminder to all of us. Our God offers forgiveness from every sin, large or small, through His Son Jesus Christ. He isn't keeping a list of all our sins and checking off the ones we successfully eliminate from our lives. Yahweh isn’t weighing our wickedness and righteousness in a balance in the hopes that our good deeds will somehow outweigh our evil deeds.
In one of his psalms, David expressed the futility of anyone trying to earn Yahweh's favor through self-effort.
The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man,
to see if there are any who understand,
who seek after God.
They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one. – Psalm 14:2-3 ESV
The apostle Paul quoted David’s words when writing to believers in Rome to remind them that their personal righteousness was not the key to their acceptance by God.
…for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin. As the Scriptures say,
“No one is righteous—
not even one.
No one is truly wise;
no one is seeking God.
All have turned away;
all have become useless.
No one does good,
not a single one.” – Romans 3:9-11 NLT
For Paul, acceptance by God had nothing to do with living up to a some kind of moral code and list of religious rules.
…no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. – Romans 3:20 NLT
He goes on to explain the amazing nature of God’s plan for making us acceptable in His sight, and it has nothing to do with our futile attempts at self-righteousness.
God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. – Romans 3:21-22 NLT
And he explains why Yahweh came up with this alternate plan for restoring sinful men to a right relationship with Himself.
For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. – Romans 3:23 NLT
In other words, sin wasn't just a black spot on our resumé; it was a roadblock that prevented us from ever earning God's favor and restoring our fractured relationship with Him. But Paul provides the good news.
Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. – Romans 3:24 NLT
This news should cause us to stand in awe and reverence before our gracious, loving God. It should draw us near to Him, not push us away in fear. He should be where we run for hope and healing because He will not reject us because of our sins. Instead, He welcomes us with open arms. Long before Jesus came to earth and offered Himself as the sacrifice for the sins of mankind, David expressed his confidence in God's grace, mercy, and forgiveness.
The LORD is compassionate and merciful,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
He will not constantly accuse us,
nor remain angry forever. – Psalm 103:8-9 NLT
Then he adds:
He does not punish us for all our sins;
he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.
For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
He has removed our sins as far from us
as the east is from the west. – Psalm 103:10-12 NLT
That was the confident assurance of the author of Psalm 130. He shared David's belief that Yahweh was compassionate, merciful, loving, kind, and forgiving. He was well aware of his sins but counted on God to remove them as far as the east is from the west. There was no list of wrongs done. There was no demand for course correction or behavior modification to earn His favor. All God asked for was that His people place their faith and hope in Him. Which is why the psalmist ends his song with the words, “hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is unfailing love. His redemption overflows” (Psalm 130:7 NLT).
Father, thank You for Your unfailing love and limitless forgiveness. Forgive me for not taking advantage of it and for sometimes thinking I don't even need it! If You kept track of all my sins, I would be without hope. But instead, You offer me forgiveness and healing. Never let me forget that. Amen
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.