Scripture: Psalm
130
While Psalm 130 is one of the Songs of Ascents, it is also
one of the Penitential Psalms.[1]
As such, we can imagine this psalm being used by the saints gathering for
worship to confess their sins and proclaim their hope in God who forgives and
redeems his people. The psalm portrays the psalmist sadly mourning his sin. He stands
before God depending upon him for forgiveness waiting for his reply with hope,
having faith that God’s desire is to redeem his people from their iniquities. The
words, of v. 3&4, “If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who
could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.” are still
used in some settings of the liturgy, leading us into confession and then into
worship of the God who forgives us for Jesus’ sake.
Teaching
Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote of the Penitential Psalms saying
that they, “lead us into the very depth of the recognition of sin before God.
They help us in the confession of guilt. They turn our entire trust to the
forgiving grace of God….”[2]
We can see this in Psalm 130 as it cries from the depths but focuses its hope
on God’s forgiveness. It may seem bold for a sinner to pray in such confidence,
but as Bonhoeffer states, “There is such a thing as confidently leaving sin
behind for the sake of Jesus Christ.”[3]
Bonhoeffer goes on, “The Christian will find scarcely any
difficulty in praying these psalms. Nevertheless, the question could arise
concerning how we are to understand the fact that Christ also prays these
psalms with us. How can the sinless one ask for forgiveness?”[4]
It is because he confesses our sins, which he himself bore to the cross for our
sake.
Life
Perhaps you have found yourself down and hurting over your
sin. Perhaps you have wondered why God would even hear your prayer after what
you have done. Psalm 130 teaches us to not despair. While it is good and right
to be in the depths of sorrow and shame because of our sin, we see that we
should call to God for forgiveness. Our relationship with him is not rooted in
our actions or in how good we are. Instead it is his actions that matter! He
forgives. He redeems. He acts out of steadfast love on our behalf.
God forgives sins in the Old Testament as well as in the New.
This is this heart of our relationship with him. It was for the forgiveness of
sins that Jesus died on the cross for us; that we might be redeemed and
forgiven. Can you think of a more potent picture of God’s steadfast love than
Christ on the cross for you?
Prayer
Use Psalm 130 to guide your prayer today. Pray that the Holy
Spirit would teach you to bring all of your sin to the Lord; to hold nothing
back from him. Pray that you will be confident in Jesus’ forgiveness for you,
so that you will be willing to wait for him and hope in his Word.
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