Out of the depths I have cried to you oh Lord, “ Lord hear my voice let your ears be attentive to the voice of my prayers Psalm 130: 1,2
We've all cried out of the depths to the Lord. We all staggered and stumbled. Many have fallen into the pit of trouble. Sickness and pain affect us, and anxiety and worry gripped our hearts. In such moments we have wrung our hands in agony and spent sleepless nights wondering where these troubles will lead us. Truly, these are depths that try our souls.
But this is not the depth of which the psalmist is thinking. Sin has cast him into the deep and dragged him down into the mire. We too, have sinned. We have not walked all day for the Lord nor glorified his name. We have not prayed from morning till night, nor our thoughts his thoughts. Sin puts us where we ought not to be. Sin makes us guilty and ashamed. And like Adam who hid himself in the garden after he had transgressed, we too hid from the Lord God.
It is impossible for us to get out of this depth if we depend on our own strength. I can pull at my bootstraps and wear myself out doing so and yet not lift myself 1/16th of an inch from the ground. So, it is impossible for you and for me to lift ourselves out of the depth of sin. We cannot by our character, we cannot by one good turn a day, we cannot by any tears that we shed lift our souls out of the depths of our sin. This we must realize lest we perish.
The psalmist knows that he cannot save himself, yet he is not despairing. Neither should you nor I lose hope. With a triumphant conviction that nothing can shake, the sacred psalmist declares but with you there is forgiveness Lord.
To forgive means to cancel. Sin has been cancelled with the precious blood of Jesus Christ and not by ourselves. Christ hands us the cancelled bill upon which is written I even I have blotted out your transgressions and will remember your sins no more. This assures us of a perfect peace with God. It also fills us with a glorious hope.
Who is this man crying unto the Lord? I searched in vain to find the name of him who has written this Psalm. I could not find the author. Yet it seems that God wants us to make this Psalm our own. It is you and I who cry out of the depths unto the Lord. As we do, peace and hope and strength fill our hearts. God lifts us up out of the deaths, embraces us with his loving arms, that we might be his own for time and eternity.
Prayer
Lord, you are my refuge and my strength, my light and my salvation. I’m seeking you. In my helplessness I come to you. My sins solely distress me, but I hasten to your everlasting arms, seeking forgiveness. Lord, if you should mark iniquity, I should not be able to stand. But in you there is forgiveness with the precious blood of Jesus. Give me grace to believe your promises. I ask all this because of him who has in his great love given his life that I might live eternally who is Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.