I've been reading and rereading Psalm 130 for over a week now, and it has become very meaningful to me. It has personally spoken to my heart in a very special way. I'd like to share with you some of what I have gleaned from this Psalm, so if you would, turn there and read through the eight verses it contains before we begin...
Verse one says this, "Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord."
From the very first verse my heart was pricked. What a total dependency upon the Lord this verse offers us, amen? Isn't it so true that not until we are covered in the depths of despair do we turn to the Lord? Why do we wait so long, I wonder? In answering for myself, it is usually because I try other remedies first, namely my own abilities to fix things in my life, or even in the lives of others. What is usually your first reaction when things go wrong in your life? How desperately we need to become fully dependent upon our Lord ladies, and cry out to Him in prayer! It is vain for us to expect relief from any other source than God, amen? Then it is we find that He alone can heal, He alone can untangle that which has become so tangled we can see no way to straighten things out. The best way to untie the knots of life is on our knees, not with our hands, amen? You and I will learn then that God is with us in even the deepest, darkest of places...
Psalm 71:20, "Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth."
I am so thankful we have a God we can cry out to in prayer, a God who will rescue us, a God that we can hope in - what a blessing! And what a privilege that we should take more advantage of.... Our heavenly Father waits for us to cry out to Him and set our faith upon Him! Are you doing that today in that particular situation which is going on in your life or the life of a loved one? I hope so, for our God is a God that can be trusted to hear you as verse two points out....
"Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications."
Even as mothers we don't always hear our children's voices calling for us, nor do we pay full attention to others every time they are talking to us. But praise God this is never the case with our Lord! The Bible says He is ATTENTIVE to our cries, He knows the sound of each one of our voices specifically and listens intently to our every supplication - not a one goes unheard! Ladies, our heavenly Father doesn't tune us out after the first two or three complaints or burdens we might lay upon Him. Isn't that a marvelous comfort? If there is anything that frustrates me in life, it is when I am trying to pour my heart out to someone I trust who is only half interested in what I am trying to get across or need to talk about. It's easy to tell when you've been heard and when you haven't, amen? When I haven't, I always go away with a hollow feeling inside that leaves me feeling terribly alone, but not so with the Lord! I always leave His presence with the confidence that He heard MY cries and concerns all the way up to heaven, taking them seriously and lovingly into HIS bosom and will help me. I love knowing that!! I need that, don't you? Crying out to God is what we are supposed to do with our distresses, our fears, our troubles etc. God's children should be praying children!
Deut. 26:7-8, "And when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression: And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders..."
Psalm 3:4, "I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah."
Psalm 18:6, "In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears."
Psalm 34:4, "I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears."
Psalm 34:6, "This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles."
Psalm 116:1, "I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications."
Psalm 28:6, "Blessed be the Lord, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications."
Ladies, have you thanked God lately for the wonderful listener that He is?? Jesus did!
John 11:41, "...And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me."
Are you as good a listener as your heavenly Father is? Are you truly attentive to the cries of those within your sphere of influence? Are you giving to others the benefit of what you are receiving from the Lord? It is my heart's desire to be what I want others to become, to be like my heavenly Father. And ladies, let's strive to be as attentive to the voice of the Lord as He is to ours, amen? No matter what language we speak, He hears us.... And no matter what language we speak, we can still hear Him - and should! He is worthy of our undivided attention, is He not? Have you listened to Him the same number of times He has listened to you?? And if you heard Him, did you respond to Him properly??
Neh. 8:3, "And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law."
Isaiah 6:8, "Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me."
Jeremiah 23:18, "For who hath stood in the counsel of the Lord, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it?"
Deut. 12:28, "Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest that which is good and right in the sight of the Lord thy God."
You know ladies, there is a key word to verse two of Psalm 130 that we need to talk about for a moment in regard to the Lord hearing our prayers. What do you think causes God's ears to be so attentive to our cries? The answer is found in verse three which says:
"If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?"
Here we find that you and I need to acknowledge our sins before the Lord who sees all. Who can stand under the scrutiny of God's holy and omnipotent observation of each one of our lives?? None of us! We need to stop justifying our sins and mark them the way God does - let's see things HIS way for a change and stop deceiving ourselves! This is the way to ensure that God will hear our prayers. We are to humble ourselves before God, as guilty in His sight. Let us simply acknowledge our sinfulness, for we cannot justify ourselves, or plead not guilty, amen? Those that do right have the guarantee of getting God's full ear! If God doesn't hear you, it's nobody's fault but your own....
1 Peter 3:12, "For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil."
Proverbs 15:29, "The Lord is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous."
You know ladies, that's what makes verse four of Psalm 130 so special. It says this to us:
"But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared."
Once we acknowledge our sins before God's holy eyes we CAN find forgiveness for them! All is not lost, neither need we be....
2 Chron. 7:14, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
No need to despair - there is still hope for us even in the face of our many sins - aren't you thankful for that truth?! I for one am in need of God's forgiveness - minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day - how about you? And yet, my heart was pricked in wondering if that same forgiveness that I find with God is found with me.... Are we truly forgiving people, the way we are glad that God is? How would you like it if God forgave you the way you forgave others - or didn't?? The Bible says He is faithful to forgive us every time we ask! Is there forgiveness with you today, are you as ready to forgive as God always is? Is it fair of you to receive full forgiveness for your sins from God and then turn around and withhold it from man?? The Bible says He is just in His forgiveness every time we ask! We serve a good God, amen? Ladies, don't bother praying if you're not ready to forgive....
Psalm 86:5, "For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee."
Matthew 6:12, "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Matthew 6:14-15, "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
Mark 11:25-26, "And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses."
I have a question for you in regard to God's forgiveness. Is it to be acquired just so we can go and sin again? Is it a license for Christians to live like the devil now and be what the world calls 'party animals'? What is the purpose of God's forgiveness then? The second half of verse 4 in Psalm 130 says there is forgiveness with God "that thou mayest be feared." That is the purpose of it - that we might respect God and His ways. When we do not take the time to acknowledge our sins, marking them the way God has marked them and then asking forgiveness for them, we are simply being disrespectful of the Lord God Almighty! We are to revere the Lord, amen? Sin is what HE calls sin, and it needs to be repented of. Sad to say, that is not what is taking place today - even in many so called Bible believing churches. We need to fine tune our vision of the Lord, we need to have a healthy, proper perspective of Him, not a flippant, casual attitude. He is not to be viewed as a jolly Santa Claus or some 'cool dude' up in the big blue sky who doesn't really care about what we are doing. He's not 'the big guy upstairs' who looks the other way once in awhile when we're doing wrong. He's GOD!! And He's holy and righteous and He alone has the power to forgive our sins! Nobody else can do that for us, no matter what man may teach or say. The Bible says there is forgiveness with HIM, for that is what we sinners need, amen?
Acts 5:31, "Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins."
Ephes. 1:7, "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;"
Who is that one spoken of above that we have the forgiveness of sins through? Jesus Christ, of course! He is the great Ransom; he is ever an Advocate for us, and through Him we hope to obtain forgiveness. There is forgiveness with God through the blood of Christ, not that He should be presumed upon, but that He should be feared! The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, and is put for the whole worship of God. The only motive and encouragement for sinners is this, that there is forgiveness with the Lord... Have you gone to God for it, thanking Him for the price that Jesus Christ paid on the cross for your sins and asked Him for the gift of eternal life? Do you go to the Lord for forgiveness each and every time you sin against Him now as a child of God? Those that truly fear the Lord will seek His face and His forgiveness continually, out of love and respect for the Lord that bought them.
Let's look at verse 5 next in our study of Psalm 130 which says:
"I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope."
Have you ever had your hopes dashed upon the rocks? When I think back on the times in my life that I've become discouraged, disappointed or disillusioned, I can always pinpoint it to the fact that I was not waiting on nor hoping in the Lord. I was waiting on and hoping in man! Is that the case with you too? Have you ever placed all your expectation on man only to find out they cannot deliver the goods? God can though! He will never fail us, never leave us, nor forsake us. He keeps His Word ladies, you can bank on it! Don't set yourself up for a fall by setting your sights on man - set your sights on God and hope in Him. Ladies, when your hope is in God, you're ready for anything! Nothing that comes about can cause you to waver or sway as you rest in the Lord. Don't let your soul wait upon anything or anyone else other than Him. God's Word promises us that we'll never be sorry if we do, our expectations of Him will never be cut off! Are you guilty today of expecting too much from man and not enough from God??
Psalm 62:5, "My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him."
Proverbs 24:14, "So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off."
Verse 6 of Psalm 130 says this:
"My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning."
Take personal inventory today as I had to do when I read this verse. Is it for the Lord that your soul waits today dear lady? Are you waiting patiently for the gifts of His grace, and the working of His power? We must hope for only that which He has promised in His Word. But wait a minute.... HOW should we wait for Him? Miserably, angrily, with worried countenances, with anxious hearts, without hope, full of fear, doubtful of the outcome? No, of course not! We should wait upon the Lord like those who wish to see the dawn of a new day, being very desirous that light would come soon, and confident that it will come. Even still more earnestly should we long for the hand of God in our lives, and the visits of His grace. All that devote themselves to waiting for the Lord, should cheerfully stay themselves on Him, amen? There should be peace in our waiting....
Philip. 4:7, " And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
How is it that we can wait upon the Lord so cheerfully and hope in Him so readily? I think that once we really get to know our heavenly Father, we'll find out for ourselves firsthand what verses 7&8 tell us about the Lord:
"Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities."
You see, the Lord knows precisely how long we can wait for deliverance, how long we can withstand our circumstances, for there is mercy with Him! This is what He wants to teach us about Himself and rest in! He is ever aware of our personal limitations and all our human weaknesses. Therefore we can rest in the fact that He will never put more on us than we can bear. Like the psalmist, we can be confident that God will rescue us from our condition because our hope and trust is in a merciful God who has more than enough redemption to spare! There is room at the cross for you... The Bible says "plenteous redemption" is found with God as well as mercy, amen? Enough for all, enough for each, and enough for me! I'm glad there was enough to cover for my lost soul... Have you found mercy and redemption for your soul today dear lady?? What was lost in the garden of Eden through the sin of Adam and Eve can be found again in the redemptive work of God - what a blessed thought that is! What a relief when one realizes the depth of their sin as the psalmist did and cries out to God only to find out ALL their iniquities can be redeemed. Hallelujah!
I hope you've enjoyed going through this precious psalm with me today and that you'll read it over and over again as I have and let it sink in. It is life changing when you get a hold of it!
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 2000 Pamela A. Iannello
