Psalms 130:1 - Meaning and Application

In these verses, we are taught to keep calling on God, whatever our condition may be, even if it is very dark and painful (Psalm 130:1). The best people can sometimes be in deep trouble and affliction, with no clear idea what to do. They may feel almost sunk in despair, with their spirits low, heavy, and troubled. Yet even in the deepest trouble, it is still our privilege to cry out to God and be heard.

A prayer can reach the highest heaven, even if it comes from the deepest trouble on earth. It may not come out of the depths of hell, but it can rise from the deepest sorrow we face in this life. Jeremiah was heard from the dungeon, Daniel from the lions’ den, and Jonah from the belly of the fish. It is both our duty and our good, then, to cry out to God, because this is the most likely way to keep us from sinking lower and to lift us out of the pit and the slippery clay (Psalm 40:1, Psalm 40:2).

We are also taught to keep asking God with confidence that he will answer in peace, for this is what David prays for by faith (Psalm 130:2). “Lord, hear my voice,” he says, “my complaint and my prayer, and let your ears pay attention to the voice of both my troubles and my pleas.” The suffering believer may not be able to explain everything clearly, but God hears both the groaning and the prayer.

We are next taught to humble ourselves before God’s justice, because we are guilty before him and cannot answer for even one of our many sins (Psalm 130:3). “If you, Lord, should keep track of sins, Lord, who could stand?” David’s repeated use of God’s name shows deep reverence and fear of God’s majesty and wrath. We should learn from this to admit our sins honestly, and not try to excuse ourselves before God. There is something in our sins that is worthy of notice and judgment, and God’s eye can see enough in the best person to bring a just sentence.

If God dealt with us by strict justice, we would be ruined. He would find our sins to be many, great, heavily made worse by our choices, and very offensive to him. If he acted against us according to that record, he would shut us out from his favor and leave us under his wrath. Then what could we do to help ourselves? We could not escape, resist, or bear up under his avenging hand. So we should admire God’s patience and restraint. We would be destroyed if he marked our sins as we deserve, and he knows that. That is why he bears with us. It is pure mercy that we are not consumed by his wrath.

We are also taught to throw ourselves on God’s forgiving mercy and to comfort ourselves with it when we see that justice has every reason to condemn us (Psalm 130:4). The penitent sinner says, “But there is forgiveness with you.” This is our great comfort whenever we come to God, because forgiveness is exactly what we need. God has made himself ready to pardon sin. He has declared himself gracious and merciful, and ready to forgive (Exodus 34:6, Exodus 34:7). He has promised to forgive those who truly repent. No one has ever come to him and found him unwilling to show mercy.

With us there is sin, and that is why it is such a comfort that with him there is forgiveness. Some read this as, “There is propitiation with you,” meaning a sacrifice that turns away wrath. Jesus Christ is the great propitiation, the ransom God has provided. He is always with the Father as our advocate, and through him we hope to receive forgiveness. This mercy is not meant to make us careless or presumptuous. It is meant to lead us to fear and worship God. Since sinners could have no dealings with God unless he were willing to overlook many faults, his forgiving mercy invites us into his service, because he will not cast off those who truly repent for every failure, or even for any sin they truly turn from.

This especially calls sinners to repent and return to the fear of God, because he is gracious and merciful and will receive them when they turn back to him (Joel 2:13; Matthew 3:2). We are also to hold God’s pardoning mercy in holy reverence, as those who fear the Lord and his goodness (Hosea 3:5). Then we may look for the benefit of the forgiveness that is with God, when we make that forgiveness the object of our holy fear.