To the despondent (Psalm 130)
If you have been following Jesus for some time, you may know that sometimes we experience dark and intense moments, and even seasons. Times when we feel overwhelmed because of the ugliness of our sin and its relentless desire to have us. The longer we walk this journey, the more we see the depths of our sin, and it can be debilitating and discouraging. While we should hate our sin, and be grieved by it, sometimes we can fall into the pit of despair and even despondency. How should we respond when we are tempted to slip into “the Slough of Despond” as John Bunyan puts in his book, The Pilgrim’s Progress. What is our hope when all we see is the darkness within? Praise God that he offers us hope in his word!
One of the things that the book of Psalms is most famous for is giving words to our prayers and songs, as it gives us a glimpse into the human experiences of God’s people. The book is a combination of songs and prayers of different kinds: laments, thanksgiving, praise, wisdom psalms and prophetic psalms to name some; individual and corporate. Psalm 130 is one of the psalms that stand out when we find ourselves discouraged by our sin and perceived lack of progress in our walk with the Lord.
The opening lines engage us with the feelings of the psalmist; the desperation and lament as he cries out to God; “If you, LORD, kept a record of sins, Lord, who would stand?” (verse 3). It is clear that the “depths” he is referring to in the earlier verses are related to reflecting on his own sinfulness and the holiness of God; the one who sees the fullness of our sin, thus leading the psalmist to utter the words “if you Lord kept the record of sin, who would stand?” The answer is, nobody could stand. Sometimes we are blind to the depth of our sin, but it is not hidden from the Lord; the Lord who is Judge, who is holy, and who is just. The psalmist’s tone of desperation and lament is appropriate because indeed nobody can stand before God, to whom we must give an account. The thought of it is overwhelming! As believers, by God’s grace, the light of the gospel has been shone in our hearts and God has enabled us to see him for who he is and to see ourselves for who we are. This means that we will still experience an ongoing struggle with sin in this life, even though we are redeemed and have been given a new identity. However, this ought to bring us to God our Redeemer in humble repentance and continued reliance on his grace.
Although the psalm does not go into detail about the situation, the response of the psalmist to his troubled soul is remarkable. Instead of being swallowed up in despair, he cries out to the God who is not only just, but also merciful. He appeals to God’s mercy, as the one who is willing and able to forgive sins. “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9) What a comfort it is to know that Scripture does not just confront us with the reality of our sinfulness and then leave us without hope, but we also see that God is willing to forgive those who come to him with their sin and depend on his mercy.
Picture yourself in a situation where your loved one badly injures themselves and you are in desperate need of an ambulance; the only thing you can do is wait for help to come. There may be instructions on how to handle the injury while you wait, but ultimately you are limited and all you can do is wait, maybe anxiously, but mostly expectantly. Perhaps similarly, the psalmist resolves to wait on the Lord. He is aware of his need for rescue and his inability to help himself, and we get to see where his hope truly lies. How often do we wallow in misery and hopelessness despite knowing the truth about God revealed in his word? Or perhaps we tell ourselves to get our act together and work harder, but before long we find ourselves right where we started. We do not just need a little help from God, we need him to rescue us and to continue to help and sustain us. We will never find ourselves in a position where we do not need God’s mercy. As we see from verse 5 and 6, the resolve to wait on the Lord expresses complete reliance on God's mercy and power to redeem; “I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.” This kind of dependence on God’s mercy is a display of humility as it is an acknowledgement of the need for him. We too can look to the Lord who is gracious and able to rescue us from our sin, allowing the truth that we are unable to save ourselves to humble us and bring us to God.
The last two lines of the psalm are overflowing with hope as the psalmist encourages the community to put their hope in the Lord. He reminds them of God’s character, his unfailing love and his commitment to save them fully and finally. “Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.” (verse 7 to 8). What do those words do to your heart? Think for a moment about what he says in these verses about God. Allow the compelling hope from this truth to draw you toward God. Ultimately, this is not just for Israel, but for all who will turn to him in humility.
We see this redemption clearly through Jesus Christ, the God-man who suffered a horrible death and was raised to life in order to redeem his people from their sin. The basis of our hope is that Jesus himself has paid our ransom with his own life, which was an acceptable sacrifice to God. In Jesus, our redemption is full and is final, and because of him we have a living hope ( Peter 1:3, Hebrews 6:19). This is true of you if you have entrusted yourself to Jesus. If you find that you do not relate to this and would not call yourself a follower of Jesus, I hope you are encouraged to come to God through Jesus, where true hope is found. For with him is unfailing love and full redemption.
