Instruction
Scripture: Psalm 130
This psalm is one of the Psalms
of Ascents. It is believed that these psalms were sung as pilgrims came to
Jerusalem (which is on a hill) to worship on festivals like Passover, or when
they went up to the temple at other times to worship. This psalm is a prayer of
one who is in the depths of sorrow because of the sins he committed. It teaches
us both to confess our sins and to put our hope in God’s love and mercy. The
function of this psalm to teach us how to call upon God in our sin and to give
words to the painful experience of feeling separated from God even as we hope
in him for salvation.
Teaching
How should we feel when we sin? We
are shown two responses in this psalm.
The first response is shown as
the psalmist begs for mercy from an emotional place that he calls, “Out of the
depths.” Iniquity brings darkness into our lives, including dark emotions like
shame, guilt, unworthiness, and powerlessness. This moves us to confess our
iniquity and our guilt.
The second response is one that
proclaims hope. This is the confession of faith and trust in God. But what is
the basis of that faith and trust? That is what the psalmist speaks of toward
the end. With the Lord there is steadfast love – not a fickle love that would
abandon us. With him is plentiful redemption – not just a little for those who
feel their sin is small, but plentiful!
These things make us confident that he will redeem his people from all their
iniquities.
Life
In our life negative emotions
like guilt and shame are often shunned, but in the life of faith there is a
time and place for them, and we see that they play an important role. These
negative feelings drive us back to God, in whom we have experienced love and
redemption. We believe that God loved us so much that he gave his Son, Jesus,
to die to redeem us. This leads us to throw ourselves on God’s mercy when we
sin.
We are not meant to dwell
forever in those dark feelings. Even as watchmen waited for the sun to rise in the
early morning, we wait with certainty, hope, and even joy because we know that
just as the sun will rise, God will forgive us because he has redeemed us.
Because of this we always have hope even in our darkest moments.
Prayer
The theme of this prayer is Confession.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord! Please
hear my voice and have mercy on me. I know that I have sinned and that my guilt
is great. Indeed, it is so great that I can do nothing about it, and of that I
am ashamed. But in your love and kindness you have had mercy on me, and so I
cry out in hope: Please forgive me for Jesus’ sake! He has died for me. He bore
my sin. Do not let my iniquity overcome me, but help me to always have in mind
Jesus’ cross and sacrifice. I confess my sin, and I also confess my faith that
as surely as the sun will rise you will forgive me because of your great love.
Amen.
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