Trinity 22 2020
Psalm 130
November 8, 2020
Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID
As we approach the end of the church year, the Scripture readings we hear in church turn our thoughts more and more to the end of all things, the end of human life, the end of the world. We are constantly urged to watch and be ready for the return of Christ. We are also led to consider the grace of God needed for the end of the Christian life. Today, we consider the prayer of the Christian from Psalm 130 in light of patience and mercy of the King who comes to settle accounts with his servants.
The Psalmist begins, “Out of the depths I cry to you O Lord.” We speak of depression nowadays or of “being down in the dumps.” The Hebrew word in this psalm is even more graphic. It refers to deep waters, of being utterly surrounded and swallowed up, completely isolated and overwhelmed and sinking into the depths of the sea.
It’s possible that this Psalm was written by David when he was being persecuted by Saul. Others think it may have been written by him after the account with Bathsheba, and therefore, part of why it is numbered among the penitential psalms. We know that by the time of the Babylonian captivity, God’s people were praying it. There they were, exiles in a foreign country. They were serving those who had killed or done worse to they friends and family at home. They had been part of the losing side and now they suffered for it. They were living under a pagan ruler, in a country that did not operate with biblical values nor make accommodations for God’s people in any way. The Psalmist cries out from terrible pain, out of the depths, but not from bitterness or hatred or being a sore loser. This Psalmist doesn’t cry for vengeance against those who had wronged. He cried for redemption in repentance and faith. He cried for a Savior, for the Messiah, an eternal king and just ruler.
We may not be in such dire straits, but we certainly know sorrow, loss, helplessness, of being overwhelmed. You are reminded daily that you continue to live in a sin-sick world, full of evil and pain, suffering and sadness. You still have battles raging in your lives. The battle against a deadly illness, the battle against the guilt and shame of a sin or addiction that continues to haunt you and beat you down, the battle of sadness over a broken relationship in your marriage or with your children, financial challenges. You are struggling with life, and you feel hopeless and helpless. Uncertainty, concern, over the future of our country, our families, our church, our lives. Sometimes it even feels like we are living in a foreign land, different way of talking about things, a different view of the world, a different faith and God.
This is not unique to your situation, nor in the history of the world. The deep that we find ourselves in is the foreign land of this mortal life, overwhelmed by the sin and the brokenness of this world as well as of ourselves. For this very reason, and for its eloquent and faithful expression of sorrow and hope, Psalm 130 has been one of the most frequently prayed psalms throughout Christian history, a cry borne out of the depths of pain and sin. A cry for redemption in repentance. A prayer for the Messiah, a Savior.
You can turn to “princes,” to the son of man, but you’ll quickly find there is no salvation there. You find only more pain, suffering, guilt, and hopelessness. You realize that those humans you put your trust in don’t have salvation, and when their breath departs, to dust they shall return. It is all too clear that you shouldn’t put your trust in princes, yet it happens repeatedly. We continue to look to ourselves for answers to self-medicate; we just want the pain to end. Or we use others to get happiness. The psalmist calls us to repent of that idolatry, to turn to the Lord in faith and hope.
So we started out the Service this morning in our opening verses. “If you O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand. But with You there is forgiveness, that You may be feared.” Most of us are aware at the various ways in which, during the course of the day, we have failed and fallen into sin, maybe permitting the root of bitterness to rise up and cause trouble, of panic, of feeling isolated in the depths of our sin. We humbly confess that if the Lord should mark iniquities, we could not stand, but we also confess that there is forgiveness with God. If there wasn’t, we could not stand. We could not endure the Lord’s wrath nor face our shame. We couldn’t walk through this would with any kind of lasting comfort or hope or peace. We would have no excuse or escape. We would be condemned. But there is forgiveness with the Lord. And so it is that we fear Him, that is, we revere, honor, love, and worship Him alone.
The Psalmist then turns to his fellow believers. He turns to you. He says, “O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with Him is plentiful redemption.” St. Paul reflects this in his letter to the Ephesians, 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us.”
Brothers and sisters in Christ, you have been redeemed by the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who sent His one and only Son into the world, who is the Prince of Peace, the King of Kings, the Balm of Gilead. Jesus comes to fulfill all righteousness for you. Jesus comes to conquer sin and death for you. Jesus comes to die for you. Jesus was raised again on the third day for you. Jesus, the Prince of Peace, lived, suffered, died and rose again — for you.
For some reason, I’m not sure why, the Introit does not include the following verse, “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchman for the morning, more than watchman for the morning.” We are more eager than watchmen for the morning, more excited and expectant that children on Christmas Eve. The coming of Christ is the great day of accounting. God is plentiful in His forgiveness. “Those who wait for the Lord ask… for mercy; but they leave it to God’s gracious will when, how, where, and by what means He helps them.” (Luther, AE 14:192). Be patient until that time, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise and God (Philippians 1:11).