Bible Study - Psalm 130

Read Psalm 130

Which one of us can say they have never prayed out of the depths. Here though the writer is praying, not out of fear or despair, but out of guilt. There is something for which he knows that he desperately needs God's forgiveness. This is not just a formal request, a saying sorry for the sake of duty. Here is a true humble and contrite heart.

As we move through the Psalm we receive the wonderful message that God does not hold our sin against us. That with Him there is forgiveness. Although the writer here says to God you are feared, this is not fear as we think of it. The fear of the Lord as used in the Old Testament is an expression of reverence not of terror.

Because of the trust that he has, based of his past experience of God, the writer is full of hope for the future for himself and for Israel, and so the psalm which begins with such sorrow ends with a cry of joy.

To think about

1. Is there anything for which, although you have asked God's forgiveness, you have not been able to forgive yourself? If there is, then maybe now is a good time to come to terms with it and ask for God's help in letting go.

2. Have you ever asked forgiveness for the same thing more than once? How do we build up our trust in God, so that, like the psalmist we can be sure that forgiveness is granted when we ask with true repentance?

Prayer

Lord have mercy.
On your creation, on the world you have made,
    on every living creature, on me,
Christ have mercy.
On those who are lost, on those who stray, on me,
Christ have mercy.
Amen, Lord have mercy.
On the de-spirited, on the depressed,
    on the despairing, on me,
Christ have mercy. Amen.

From Tides and Seasons by David Adam

Norbury Parish Church, Hazel Grove, Stockport, Cheshire. Telephone: 0161-483 8640