October 26 - Psalm 130

October 26 – Psalm 130:1-8

This Psalm is also called “De Profundis.” Out of the depths … It has been put to music by many composers. I have always associated this with my father because of his deep, booming voice. He would recite this Psalm and use all of the resonance and tone that he had in the lower register to bring home the sorrow and penitence the Psalmist intended.

Psalm 130:1-3. The depths. He feels distant and alienated from his Lord. Remember Psalm 42:7? Deep calls out to deep. That place in the Psalmist’s soul that has a connection to God is calling out again … pleading for the Lord to listen and to forgive.

Too often we ask forgiveness from those around us and then just hope that God will forgive us. I suspect there are some of us that actually believe we don’t sin all that much. We’re pretty good people, we take care of our friends and family, do our jobs well, etc., etc. So … there isn’t much time spent before God as a penitent sinner. That’s a difficult place to be. Because it forces us to acknowledge that we aren’t the king (or queen) of our domain.

Psalm 130:5-6 tell of the watchman on the city walls, waiting for dawn to arrive so that he is relieved of his duty. The repetition stresses the urgency with which the Psalmist lays out his plea before God. I am waiting, Lord … I am waiting.

Psalm 130:7-8. The Lord Himself will redeem Israel. There is no one qualified to redeem this nation. There has been no one other than the Lord Himself qualified to redeem us. Redemption requires payment.

Hah. I learned about this word from S&H Greenstamps. Many of you will be too young to remember those, but they were little stamps handed out at our grocery story (they were green) for every dollar that was spent. Each stamp was collected and put into a booklet. There was always a ‘redemption’ center – a store usually that had items that could be ‘redeemed’ for a certain number of stamps. We all had catalogs and we all dreamed about things we could someday own if we earned enough stamps.

By earning those stamps, we were able to purchase an item with them – no other funds were required.

I’m grateful that I don’t have to earn my redemption. You see, Jesus Christ offered that to me on the cross. No other funds are required. Thank you Jesus.