Have you ever faced a problem and reached the end of the rope? Can you recall a time when you were struggling and had exhausted all your resources? The writer of Psalm 130 had hit bottom. It’s unclear what battle he was fighting, but he recognized that only God could help him. The psalmists cry for mercy leads him to trust God for deliverance. He recognizes that if God gave people what they deserved no one would survive. Turning to God and expressing his dependence on the Lord, the writer deliberately decides to hope in God to come to his rescue and ultimately lead him to redemption.
Psalm 130 is one of the psalms comprising the Songs of Ascent which make up a big part of what is commonly known as the Great Hallel. The psalms of the Great Hallel were sung in worship as the Israelites journeyed from their respective hometowns to Jerusalem so they could celebrate the annual festivals associated with their faith. Joseph and Mary, as well as our Lord Jesus and His disciples, would have sung these songs as they participated in the yearly pilgrimage to Jerusalem to pay homage to God.
Hallel=to praise God
The psalm points readers to God’s unfolding revelation, and while the psalmist did not fully comprehend the redemption he proclaimed, his words point to the forgiveness accomplished through the first advent of Christ.
In his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul summarizes the reality of our situation and our desperate need for God’s forgiveness.
22 But now, since you have been liberated from sin and have become enslaved to God, you have your fruit, which results in sanctification—and the end is eternal life! 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:22-23)
Because of God’s initiative in sacrificing His son, Jesus, to atone for our sins, you and I can enjoy the freedom from the bondages of our sins past, present, and future. And, like the psalmist in the last lines of Psalm 130, we wait until the day that we can celebrate our ultimate redemption when we stand in the presence of our Lord, worshipping our deliverer, our savior, and our sustainer.
Psalm 130
A song of ascents.
1 Out of the depths I call to You, Yahweh!
2 Lord, listen to my voice;
let Your ears be attentive
to my cry for help.
3 Yahweh, if You considered sins, Lord, who could stand?
4 But with You there is forgiveness,
so that You may be revered.
5 I wait for Yahweh; I wait and put my hope in His word.
6 I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning—
more than watchmen for the morning.
7 Israel, put your hope in the Lord. For there is faithful love with the Lord,
and with Him is redemption in abundance.
8 And He will redeem Israel
from all its sins.
To experience forgiveness, we must receive God’s gift of salvation through Jesus Christ that is available to all who ask. Have you personally received the gift of eternal life and experienced the total forgiveness from your sins that come through believing in the atoning death and resurrection of Jesus Christ?
God is good all the time and all the time God is good! No matter what.
As always, thanks for reading.
Blessings,
The Devotional Guy™
ABOUT: The Devotional Guy™ is a writing ministry of Chaplain Rainer Bantau, a Swiss-born, German kid who grew up in East Texas and today ministers throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
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Source(s):
Blackaby, Henry and King, Claude A. (1994). Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God. Broadman and Holman Publishers. Nashville, Tennessee.
Lockyer, Herbert (1966). All the Books and Chapters of the Bible. Zondervan. Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Randel, Don Michael (2003) The Harvard Dictionary of Music. Harvard University Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Tomlin, Chris and Whitehead, David. (2017). Holy Roar: 7 Words That Will Change the Way You Worship. Thomas Nelson Publishing. Nashville, Tennessee.
White, James F. (1993) A Brief History of Christian Worship. Abingdon Press. Nashville.
Websites:
Bob Utley’s Free Bible Commentary
Thank you to the artists and talented editors providing images and tools at Pixabay and Pixlr.
The Devotional Guy™ 
More Grace, more strength, more wisdom, etc. Sir, as you continue in ministry in the Lord’s vineyard.
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Thank you! Blessings.
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