Blessed Thursday to each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, your Savior!
When we read this short psalm, the memorable verses about waiting really jump out at us. We wait so much, and waiting is such a challenge for us. As Christians, we are very blessed to wait & hope in God's Word, by the faith God has given to us! But first I'd like us to focus on another blessing the Lord reveals to us in this psalm.
Dr. Martin Luther included this psalm as one of his four "best psalms of all", because in it we find so clearly laid out the realities of our sin, God's grace and our salvation won for us on Golgatha's cross by Jesus Christ.
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 the voice of my pleas for mercy!
3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
4 But with You there is forgiveness, that You may be feared.
5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in His word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.
7 O Israel, hope in the Lord!
For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
and with Him is plentiful redemption.
8 And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
When we take a serious look at our sins, we join the psalmist in the depths of despair. We plead for God's mercy, because without the mercy of Jesus Christ, we cannot even stand or come into God's presence. In verse 3 the psalmist prays the Lord would not mark iniquities, which has the sense of writing down our sins as a legal record of offenses. Unfortunately, this is our sinful habit; we're all too happy to remember, preserve and record others' sins for their future punishment. If God did this for us, we'd be hopelessly doomed! But the psalmist quickly assures us God does not mark our iniquities, but with Him, there is forgiveness! Thanks be to God!
And yes, we who ask the Lord's mercy must often wait. We leave our requests to God's gracious will. He will determine when, how, where, and by what means He will help us. But remember, this is NOT a bad place to be, this is the BEST place to be! Why? Because we hope in His word where we find all of God's blessed promises to hear our prayers, to comfort and preserve us, and to never leave us nor forsake us! We are so blessed to wait for the Lord, like watchmen for the morning; joyfully anxious for the sun to arise, but never doubting that it will!
By God's mercy and grace, you can be JOYFUL today, living your life, FORGIVEN! Be assured, for with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with Him is plentiful redemption! He will redeem Israel [ & YOU!!] from all YOUR iniquities!
Thank You God, for my life, FORGIVEN!
Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Mark
Pilgrim Lutheran Church, LCMS Burton, Michigan
office: 810.744.1188
We are Pilgrims with a Purpose:
Sharing God’s Love & Mercy with Each Other & the World.
Soli Deo Gloria
"The LORD is a stronghold in times of trouble." Psalm 9:9
