Psalm 130

A middle-aged man from my congregation visited me in my office a while back. I could tell something was wrong when he walked in. He looked tired, a little nervous, and a little sad. He said he didn’t know where else to turn. He talked of how he was feeling depressed and overwhelmed by various things going on in his life – everything from work pressures to his aging parents.

I listened as carefully as I could. At one point though, when he mentioned some tension at home, I happened to hit upon the right question, and it came out that his marriage was on the rocks. He confessed he had been unfaithful to his wife of many years. She’d found out and was very angry with him.

At first, he tried to rationalize the relationship and play it down as not a big deal. After all, it wasn’t a physical affair; it was just emotional. Perhaps his wife was just overreacting. Besides, if things were better home, maybe this sort of thing wouldn’t have happened to him. But the more he talked and the more I prodded, it became obvious – this man had a tortured soul. He had done something wrong. He knew it, and he was wallowing in the depths of guilt.

Guilt happens to all of us. I don’t know about you, but I have a tendency to really mess things up. I am a sinner, and I’m prone to look out for “number one”. I’m full of pride, capable of cutting words, impure thoughts, and selfish actions. Now and then I tell my congregation, If you knew me like I know me, you wouldn’t want to come and hear me preach. But then again, if I knew you like you know you, I probably wouldn’t want to.

Even some of the biggest names in Christianity have had their falling out from grace. They’ve participated in various indiscretions and then tearfully confessed their sins to the public telling how sorry, guilt-ridden, and full of shame they feel. The truth is, however, we are all in the same boat. We all sin.

John has it right when he says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us . . .” (I John 1:8). We all sin, but what we do with our sin is what matters.

Some people try to ignore it. Others act rather flippantly about it. Some rationalize it. Some blame others. Some make comparisons to others (I’m not as bad as that person). All these excuses are dangerous and unwise for our spiritual health. They can pull us down into the depths just like the man I described in the opening paragraphs of this message.

Have you ever been at a place in your life where you felt totally lousy over some sinfulness in your life? Then Psalm 130 is for you. You see, it teaches us a healthy way to handle our sin and guilt.

It begins by turning to God. Listen to the songwriter’s emotional cries to God.

“Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD! O Lord, hear my voice!

Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!”

This man sounds quite miserable as he cries for mercy, doesn’t he. He’s in the depths, he’s depressed, and he’s feeling far from God. He cries out in an agonizing way: God, come on! Hear me. I’m calling out to you! I need your help!

What problem has gotten him to the state that put him into the depths? Is it sickness? I don’t think so. Is it his enemies like in some of the other lament Psalms? No. Listen to these words as he goes on . . .

“If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities (sin), O Lord, who could stand?

But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.”

This psalmist is overcome with guilt and sorrow over his sinfulness. He refers to them as his iniquities. He’s looking for forgiveness.

For a long time, the Church has classified Psalm 130 as a Penitential Psalm. It is assigned to be read during the first Sunday in Lent, which is a season of penitence. It is a prayer for those of us who are repentant over our sins. If you should mark iniquities, he says, If you would keep a record book of all my sins, no one who could stand before you, O God, for we are all sinners! He admits he doesn’t have a leg to stand on.

I’m reminded of Psalm 32, which was written by King David after his affair with Bathsheba. He was emotionally distraught. “When I kept silent about my sins, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For days and nights your hand was heavy upon me. My strength was dried up as in the heat of summer.” He was convicted of his sinfulness.

The Psalm writer has done a very wise thing. He calls to God for forgiveness. “But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared,” (feared meaning to be worshiped, revered, and served).

I know you are a forgiving God, he says. This is a faith statement, based on Israel’s long history. God has always proven to be forgiving. He operates with the policy of forgiveness, being slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. This guy knows he ultimately needs God’s forgiveness in his life if he’s going to move on.

Martin Luther placed forgiveness at the center of all God’s gifts. “Where there is forgiveness of sins, there is life and salvation.” We have a new lease on life; a new life has been breathed into us.

The prayer moves on to express the Psalmist’s affirmation of trust. Having confessed, he says,

“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.”

Notice those words – In His Word I hope! Studies of the Psalms say these words are a pronouncement – perhaps made by a Hebrew priest. It is an absolution of sorts after the admission of his need for forgiveness from sin.

Perhaps. Or was the writer was simply reflecting upon God’s promises to always love and forgive. Maybe he was thinking about the past.

I’m reminded of a story about John Wesley, the great founder of Methodism. On May 24, 1738, Wesley was depressed. He had been wrestling with spiritual questions. Was faith alone enough for his salvation? If so, could a man be converted instantaneously?

That afternoon, in the midst of this pondering at London’s St. Paul Cathedral, Wesley heard an anthem sung based on Psalm 130, which opened up his heart. “Out of the depths of long distressed, the borders of despair . . .” Wesley was greatly moved, because this anthem was telling his personal story.

That afternoon he happened to attend a meeting in a chapel on Aldersgate Street, and he heard a reading from the introduction to Martin Luther’s commentary on Romans, which really focused on God’s grace and forgiveness. He reported that he felt his heart strangely warmed. It was a turning moment for him. He had taken the leap from verse one in this Psalm – out of the depths – to verse five – and in his word I hope.

By the way, the word hope doesn’t mean wishful thinking in this context. It means absolute confidence. This song writer is saying, “I have absolute confidence in God’s grace and forgiveness.”

But he also is saying he is waiting. Waiting for what? He is waiting for the Lord to step into his life again, to make His presence known, and to help him face the rest of life with Him, and to be Immanuel, God with us. He’s waiting – “like a watchman waits for the morning.” It’s like a guard on the midnight shift who knows dawn is coming for certain! A new day lies ahead. As sure as the morning sun will rise, you can count on the Lord.

Again, we’re hearing words of trust. A conviction is being voiced in these words. God is actively involved in His creation, and He’s at work in our redemption. He’s not a hands-off God who is far away, who wound up the world and left it to run on its own like an alarm clock. No, He is God with us. Active. Not even the depths of the writer’s despair is out of bounds for this God. Neither heights nor depths nor anything else in all creation can separate him from the love of God.

Finally, as so often happens in these lament Psalms, the psalmist makes an appeal to the people of Israel to turn in repentance and trust God with their lives and their future. Hear these words:

“O Israel, put your hope in the LORD!

For with the LORD there is steadfast love and full redemption.

And he will redeem Israel from all their sins.”

Some biblical scholars have wondered if this Psalm was actually written during the time of Nehemiah when Israel was in exile. Upon hearing that the city of Jerusalem lay in ruins, Nehemiah prayed, cried, fasted, and confessed his and the people’s sins to the Lord asking for God’s forgiveness, redemption, and help.

The picture seems to fit the scenario. After confessing his own sin, the writer turns to Israel. O Israel, hope in the Lord with me. Why? Because with the Lord is steadfast love. God’s love is like the prophet Hosea’s love for his wife. When he discovered she was unfaithful, and he kept loving her anyway, and begged her to come back.

God’s love is like the father in the Prodigal Son parable. Though his son ran away from home and broke his father’s heart, the father kept loving him. When the boy came to his senses and went home, he was welcomed with open arms.

The psalmist says, With Him is plenteous redemption, and He will redeem Israel from all her sins. The word redeem is a marketplace word meaning a payment being made to rescue someone who had fallen into slavery. Israel’s redemption is plenteous. God has plenty of grace to go around, no matter how grave their sin. This Psalm seems to be saying, No matter how deeply you are mired in your guilt and despair, you can cry out to God for mercy and forgiveness. He will redeem you.

This Psalm has a lot of emotional movement. The writer moves from darkness to light, from the depths to the heights, from despair to hope. My dear friend, so can you. This is our Good News. We have forgiveness with God for He has kept His word to redeem Israel (and us). Listen to the words of Zechariah the priest after the birth announcement of John the Baptist. He talks of Jesus, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he has visited and redeemed his people” (Luke 1:68). John the Baptist later cried out, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!” (John 1:28).

Jesus talked of himself as coming to rescue the lost sheep of Israel. Listen to Paul’s words: “He (God) has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:13-14). Jesus came into the world, lived the perfect life of obedience, and went to the cross while we were lost in our sinfulness. He paid the price for our sins that we might be redeemed. By trusting in Him, we have forgiveness for sins and eternal life.

This Psalm has truth for you and me as we face times of guilt and sorrow over sin. No matter how deep you’ve gotten in over your head, no matter how low your life has sunk, no matter how badly you messed up, you are never out of the range of God’s love and forgiveness. Turn to Him, for with Him there is forgiveness.

I encourage you to consider the last line of this Psalm as a personal invitation to confess and receive forgiveness and redemption. You can put your own name in there. O Israel (O Steve, O Bill, O Mary, O Dorothy), put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is steadfast love and full redemption. And the Lord will redeem you from all your sins. Trust in that one.

By the way, the man I talked about earlier asked God for forgiveness that day, and he asked Jesus to help him in his marriage. We prayed together, he confessed his sins to God, and when we opened our eyes, I pronounced absolution. He had tears in his eyes. As he walked out of my office, he felt relieved and was ready to put his marriage together with God’s help. Then he went home to ask for forgiveness from his wife. God is working with him and his wife to this day to rebuild their marriage.

Praise God for his plenteous redemption.

Amen.