Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Psalm 130



Wyneken Chapel
Psalm 130
4.03.2019
Out of the Depths
(De Profundis)

God of might and compassion, You sent Your Word into the world as a watchman to announce the dawn of salvation. Do not leave us in the depths of our sins, but listen to Your Church pleading for the fullness of Your redeeming grace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. [1]

Our Psalm for today is Psalm 130. This Psalm is a cry for mercy. It is a request. In which we call out to God. Asking for His mercy and grace. Quite a fitting prayer.  In these verses we are taught, whatever condition you are in, though ever so deplorable, continue calling upon God. Consider the Penitent’s Prayer. As he prays out of the depths…

I.        David prayed from personal experience (vv.1-6) He is depressed, defiled, determined.

A.     David is depressed

1.      He finds himself to be in a desperate condition. “Out of the depths I have cried to Thee, O LORD”. (v.1) Sin causes us to find ourselves in such desperate circumstances. When we hit rock bottom where do we turn? When we find ourselves in the dumps and in the pits of sorrow to whom do we turn? David finds us an answer. We turn to the Lord.

2.      He offers a desperate cry. “Lord, hear my voice! Let Thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications”. (v.2) David cries out to the only one who could help him. Likewise, you cry out to the one who hears every prayer. Jesus heard the prayer of the thief who said “Lord, remember me”…”remember me when You come into Your kingdom

B.     David is defiled.

1.      A sad fact:  “If Thou, LORD, shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?” (v.3) If the Lord were to mark our sin. If He were to treat us according to our sin. If He were to give us what we deserve. No one could stand. No one can measure up. To the scrutiny of the Lord’s judgment. Our sins rise up to condemn us.

2.      A sure forgiveness: “But there is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared.”(v.4) The clear message of the gospel. Which you need to hear, especially during this season of Lent is that in Jesus Christ all sin is forgiven period! There is forgiveness in Jesus Christ. At the cross, the Son of God paid for all sin. There is forgiveness in Jesus Christ. This is why we fear, love and trust in Him above all things.

C.     David is determined

1.      I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait, and in His word do I hope.” (v.5) Because the Savior is in the business of saving people from their sins, we wait upon the Lord and hope in His sure and certain words and promises. God can be trusted.  We can trust Him to keep His Word.  We can be confident. That all of His promises are sure and certain. We wait upon the Lord and place our hope and confidence in His promises. We are standing on the promises, counting every single one.

2.      My soul {waits} for the Lord more than the watchmen for the morning; {indeed, more than} the watchmen for the morning”. (v.6) The watchman, standing high atop the city gait. Keeping a watchful eye for the enemy. Waited for the dawn to break. The enemy could be easy to spot once daybreak came. Likewise. You wait upon the Lord to act as the watchman in the night.

Here we have a sure and certain hope. That God will act. He will bring to pass all that He has promised. All He asks is to wait upon Him and He will bring everything to pass.

II.     As David prayers. (vv.7-8) There is hope and there is help.

A.     There is hope in the Lord: “O Israel, hope in the LORD; for with the LORD there is loving kindness, and with Him is abundant redemption.”  (v. 7) David gives personal testimony. To the fact that the Lord can be trusted. In hopeful expectation, David has waited upon the Lord. Now he can be assured that the Lord will bring everything to pass. His loving-kindness is sure. His redemption is abundant. And plenteous. There is nothing lacking when it comes from the Lord.

B.     There is help in the Lord: “And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities”. (v. 8) From all their sins. Israel has been redeemed. From all of your sins. The Lord has freed you. From the root of all of our troubles. The Lord has rescued us. As a result. The consequences of sin have been settled. Jesus took the world’s sin to Himself. And has dealt with your sin problem at the cross. The greatest of all hopes has been fulfilled in Christ. You are now free from the power of sin. You are now set apart. To be a new and redeemed people.

Through season of Lent. Keep your eyes on Jesus. In your cries for mercy. He hears you. In His mercy. He saved and redeemed you.

Words –895
Passive Sentences – 7%
Readability – 86.3%
Reading Level -3.3


[1] For All the Saints A Prayer book For and By the Church; The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau © 1995 Delhi, NY Vol. II Year 1 The Season After Pentecost p. 741


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