“Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;

O Lord, hear my voice.

Let your ears be attentive

To my cry for mercy.

If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins,

O Lord, who could stand?

But with you there is forgiveness;

therefore you are feared.”

Psalm 130: 1-4

With each stumbling step, warm rivulets increasingly wet her face. Scanning the lakeshore, she finally found the right place, slowly dropping, and curling up like a baby. The cold, uneven hardness of the long, flat rock was little comfort, but the pain in her soul denied any. Lapping water sought to soothe, releasing the dam of taut muscles, churning stomach, confused thoughts and aching throat with wracking sobs.

“Why, Lord?”, she choked out.

“What is wrong with me? Why do I keep making the same mistake?”

The rock silently absorbed her tears until no more would come. And still she waited.

It is good to cry out to the Lord in the depths of our despair. The Bible is full of examples;

– the Israelites did it repeatedly

– the books of Job, Lamentations, and many of the Psalms

– Paul cried out for relief from his “thorn in the flesh”

– people cried out to be healed by Jesus in the Gospels

– Jesus Himself cried out to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross.

We are in good company when we cry out to the Lord for help, for mercy. Because there is no one else who can do it.

According to Psalm 130:4, this is the reason for fearing the LORD. My NKJV study Bible says that fear used here means both worship and terror.

The Lord is to be feared because He is the only one able to clear our stained souls. Without His unfailing love and redeeming sacrifice we have no chance of forgiveness. Without forgiveness, there is no hope of satisfying the deepest need of our soul–union with our Creator, our Father.

He is to be worshiped, in awe.

“Awe” is an overused word these days and is often in the wrong context. According to the Oxford Illustrated Dictionary, awe means reverential fear. “Awesome” means something that strikes you with reverential fear. The word “awe”, when used in the Bible means to shake, tremble, or quake with fear. Everything is not awesome. The LORD alone is.

“I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,

and in His word I put my hope.

My soul waits for the Lord

more than watchmen wait for the morning,

more than watchmen wait for the morning.”

Psalm 130:5-6

Waiting is hard.

Personally, I hate it. Waiting in lines, for people to answer texts, for a kettle to boil, etc. How about you? Do you start foot-tapping? Do you huff and puff, pace restlessly or search for something to occupy your mind?

Waiting is especially hard when we are hurting, confused, and helpless to change the situation.

What is your go-to during a hard time of waiting? Distraction through games, social media, busyness or streaming videos? Do you look for answers on the internet or YouTube? Is your hope found in other people, experts, friends and family?

Psalm 130 tells us we are to wait on the LORD. We find our hope in Him and His Word.

What does the Psalmist mean by waiting for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning?

Watchmen were the sentries guarding the walls surrounding the city. Their job was to look for the first sign of trouble and raise the alarm. But, as with anyone who has ever worked the night shift, their longing for the morning was out of fatigue, and a longing for rest. I clearly recall that yearning, especially around 5 a.m.; brain filling with cotton, pacing to force my drooping, burning eyes to stay open, and eagerly looking to the sky for the first signs of light that signalled the hope of rest.

This is how the Psalmist says we are to wait for our Lord. Eagerly, desperately, with a deep longing in our soul for Him and the rest only He can supply. Anything else is counterfeit and fleeting.

With this sense of yearning, the Lord asks us to read our Bibles, cry out in prayer and eagerly wait with confident hope for His response. His timing is perfect, and His Word and presence always bring rest and hope.

“for with the Lord is unfailing love

And with him is full redemption.”

Psalm 130:7 (emphasis mine)

Be well!

Patricia