When I was very young, perhaps about two, I fell into an in-ground swimming pool. Fortunately there was an adult around who noticed, and jumped in to pull me out. Since it was a deep swimming pool, I was in a sense, pulled “out of the depths”, which is the opening words of our psalm for this week. When someone who can’t swim falls into deep water, whether it’s a swimming pool or a deep river, they will cry out for help, cry from the depths of the water. They need someone to rescue them quickly, or else they risk drowning. There are other types of “depths” that we can find ourselves in, too. One can slide off the side of a hill or a cliff, down into a ravine. They may be injured, or not see an easy way out, so they cry for someone to rescue them. And there are the depths of problems which we sink into, and need someone to help pull us out. Our psalmist this week felt like he was sunk into some type of dilemma, and he needed help. Let’s take a look.
We don’t know who the author of Psalm 130 was, but whoever it was, they felt like they were sinking into some sort of problem. It was overwhelming, and they were at the bottom. Fortunately, though, our psalmist knew who to turn to. If we’re drowning, and cry out for help to someone on the shore, if they can’t swim they are of no help to us. Someone on top of the cliff we’ve fallen off of, who has no rope, is of no help, either. It’s important to get help from the right source. Whatever problem we find ourselves in, whatever depths we have fallen to, we need to know that the Lord God is the only real, true and sure help (vs. 1-2).
Sometimes the problems that we find ourselves in are of our own doing. We have brought them upon ourselves, often through our own sinful behavior. This may have been the case with our psalmist today (vs. 3-4). However, he knew that the Lord God is a loving and forgiving God. If we have accepted the Lord Jesus as our Savior, and are one of His children, then we do not need to fear coming to Him for help, no matter what depths we are in. He acknowledges that everyone has a record of sin, just as the Apostle Paul stated later that everyone has sinned (Romans 3:23). When we come to Him in repentance, though, God will forgive us. Because of His love and forgiveness, we are able to call to Him for help from the depths of our problems.
As Psalm 130 continues, our psalmist describes himself as eagerly waiting for the Lord’s answer to his cries (vs. 5-6). Most of us have had experiences when we prayed to God, and our answer did not immediately come. We had to wait, sometimes just a brief while, and sometimes for a much longer period of time. Waiting for deliverance can be a stressful time, but we must never lose hope. God’s Word is filled with His promises to us, and we can have a sure hope in them. His Word has never failed, and all who have trusted in Him have been rewarded (I Kings 8:56). We can have hope because God’s Word cannot fail.
Often when we are in the middle of some deep problem, we find it difficult to go to sleep. We lie awake, with all of our worries buzzing around in our head. No matter how hard we try, we cannot shake those worries loose and fall asleep. We lie in bed, frequently looking at the clock, and wishing that the morning would come so we could get up and go about our day. Our psalmist urges us to wait for the Lord’s answer to our problems, wait for Him more eagerly than anyone waiting for the morning to come (vs. 6). Waiting is the Lord’s training ground for building strong faith. God always waits for the best moment. His timing is not our timing. God never moves too soon, and He is never too late. God is always exactly on time.
In closing we are reminded in this psalm to put our hope and trust in the Lord God for deliverance from all of our problems (vs. 7-8). When we turn to Him, He will forgive us our sins. He will have mercy upon us, and bring us redemption and salvation.
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