Psalm 130
1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord;
2 O Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy.
3 If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins,
O Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness;
therefore you are feared.
5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
6 My soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.
7 O Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
for with the Lord is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.
8 He himself will redeem Israel
from all their sins.
Every now and then this could be me. If someone asked me: How’re you doing? This might be my answer. I need a lift. I need a lift for my spirits.
For I look around and what do I see? Some people I know and care about having a tough time. I see a society that has lost its moral bearings, adrift in a sea of immorality. Then I look at myself. I want to live for my Lord Jesus. But too often I see a person who is not very kind, not very patient, not very generous. I need a lift. How about you?
The writer of this psalm sure did. But unlike so many people today and us sometimes, he knew where to look. This morning we thank the Holy Spirit for giving him these words that speak to us. So this morning I ask you:
FEELING DOWN? LOOK TO THE LORD AND SEE
I. Your sins, forgiven
II. Your future, bright
Sin gets us down whether we realize it or not. Listen to the psalmist: Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord; Out of the depths. This man was not in some dark dungeon. He was feeling down because of his sinfulness. So do we at times.
But more often than not we don’t make the connection when we feel the same way. Yet think about it. Isn’t it true that much of those depths can be traced back to our sinful condition? The bad choices we have made and the consequences that followed. The lie or gossip that came back to bite us. The laziness or bad attitudes that have cost us in some way. The distance we’ve put between ourselves and others- especially God. Sin gets us down whether we realize it or not.
And sin would keep us down – in a far worse way than many realize. This man knew. The prayer of his heart expressed this terrible truth. If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins,
O Lord, who could stand? Who could stand before God and be accepted? Who could stand his all revealing gaze? The answer is so clear. If God broke out a file that listed all our offenses, not one of us could stand, not even one. God’s judgment would sweep us away.
But this man knew what we now know. God had revealed it to him. If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? 4But with you there is forgiveness; With the Lord there is forgiveness.
What does that mean? It means something much different than the forgiveness that sometimes comes from us. We tell people we forgive them, but often deep down we hold on to that memory. We keep that record maybe for decades able to recall it in the heat of anger.
Thank God his forgiveness is not like ours. I suppose that’s why the Hebrew word for forgiveness is only used for God’s. For the Lord doesn’t forgive and then later remember. He doesn’t forgive and later on shake that sin in your face. He forgives and he forgets, just as he promises, I even I am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. (Is 43:25)
But how can that be possible? How can God be a god of justice and yet forgive our sins as if they never existed? Look to Jesus’ cross where you find God’s amazing answer. He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins. So Look to the cross of God’s one and only Son and think of these words. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us. God made my forgiveness possible. He made it real by taking my guilt and putting it on his own Son, our Lord.
So look to that cross and see your Lord. And know this. Sin gets us down. Sin would keep us down. But with the Lord there is forgiveness.
Therefore you are feared. When I first read that I thought, that makes no sense. God sends his Son to die for me. He now forgives me so I fear him? Huh? Well if you understand fear to mean run away and hide. But there’s another fear in the Bible. What we have here. This man rescued from the depths of his guilt could only stand in awe of God’s mercy. Praise the Lord, o my soul.
What about us? When we realize what God has given us, what he has given up for us at the cross of his own Son, something is going to happen in here. And whether we fall to our knees or rise to our feet or just plain sit in silence, our hearts say Wow. You’ve forgiven me Lord. Wow.
So are you feeling down? Look to the Lord and see. See your sins forgiven, But see something else. Look to the Lord and see your future, bright.
Somebody once said: If you have hope, you can get through most anything. I agree. Well our Christian faith is about hope. You hear it loud and clear in the words. 5I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I put my hope…. 7O Israel, put your hope in the Lord, But what hope? What future? Certainly we hope for and we can count on God’s blessings in this life. We just had a wonderful wedding and family time. But if we are expecting to wake up one day and find everything just fine, all joy, no sorrow we are sadly mistaken. Our Christian hope is not for this life. Again and again life reminds us of that. Flash a peace sign all you want. But we live in a fallen world where hatred, selfishness and violence will always be. And we live in this weak, sinful flesh which troubles us and dies a little bit each day.
So our Christian hope is not about this short life. For if it was, what would it mean for the Christian whose body or mind is broken. What would it mean for the Christian whose life is cut short by disease or persecution. What would it mean for those loved ones left behind to grieve their loss. The apostle Paul says it this way: If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
But our Christian hope is not for this life. It’s for another. That life which our brothers and sister who have gone before us now enjoy. The psalmist was waiting for that life. He was looking forward like the apostle Paul who said: I desire to depart and be with Christ which is better by far. For what does the psalmist say? With the Lord is full redemption.
Has this ever happened to you? It did to my parents. They got a nice brochure about a resort that looked great on paper. But then we got there. The lake didn’t look so good. The room was shabby and the service not so good either. My mom and dad were disappointed.
Or how about this. You decide to move to another neighborhood to escape some of the problems. But then you get there and what do you find over time. You exchanged one set of problems for another. You’re disappointed.
There is no disappointment in heaven. For with the Lord there is full redemption. Total freedom. I’m looking forward to that day when we are set free from all that hurts and saddens. No more broken hearts or bodies. And we will live, really live as God meant us to. Not with tears in our eyes or worry in our hearts but with joy in that hope that will be ours.
So is it any wonder the psalmist says: My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, The watchmen would wait anxiously for that morning light when his watch was over. He could go home. Well this man know what God had in store. So he waited anxiously for that full redemption. He waited anxiously for that time when he could go home.
And we don’t have to wait and wonder. This is more than a wish for what may or may not come true. For what do we know? People may let us down. Even our moms or dads may let us down. But with the Lord is unfailing love. Love demonstrated on a cross and made certain at an empty tomb. Love poured out on us when we were baptized. With the Lord is unfailing love that gives you hope and a future that is bright.
So when you are feeling down, look to the Lord. Look to his Word and see. See your sins, forgiven. See your future, bright. You can count on it. Amen.