Out of the Depths

Out of the Depths (De Profundis) Psalm 130 Psalm 130 has a long liturgical history, first in Israel and then in the church where it is has been put to many musical texts. It is known as “De Profundis” which is part of the Latin text of the first verse. We get the word “profound” from this word, which is a good description for the psalm as it is quite “deep.” This is a remarkable Psalm of repentance before the LORD both on an individual basis as well as for the People of God as a whole. Let us take a deeper look into this remarkable Psalm. There is no stated author of this Psalm, so it is hard to know when it was written in the history of Israel and what occasioned its’ writing. The good news is that it is not necessary to establish this context. The lack of context opens it for universal application for all times and places. The Psalmist cries out with the words “Out of the depths, have I cried unto thee, O LORD.” When we realize that the word for “deep” in Hebrew thought, one would think of the abyss or depths of the sea. To think this, then, is not to understand that the Psalmist is introducing a profound thought, but rather expressing deep fear and despair. The Psalmist is deeply troubled and cries out in desperation unto the LORD. He wants assurance from His fears and petitions the LORD for peace of soul. He wants to know that he has been heard. Verse 3 tells us what the source of His fear is. He fears that He has sinned and offended the LORD. He has done something He knows is wrong in the sight of the LORD. He feels alienated from the LORD. He confesses this fear. He knows that if God is zealous to scrupulously uphold the law and punih every transgression that the Psalmist has no hop at all. In fact, everyone would stand condemned before the LORD. He affirms this truth, but does not stop there. He knows something else about the LORD, that He is merciful. God had revealed His mercy to all Israel on many occasions, even in the midst of His judgments on them for their transgressions. He offered the bronze serpent in His judgment that everyone who believed on the LORD and would look upon the brazen serpent might be saved. This is just one example. The purpose of God’s mercy is that the LORD might be feared. One might think one should fear a god who shows no mercy and treat the merciful God lightly. This is the way the world thinks. They despise the merciful God of love. Even Christians fall into the trap of taking God’s mercy for granted. They assume there is no such thing as the God who judges. But the Psalmist asserts both. God is both the Judge and the one who shows mercy. This is one of the deep truths of who God is. To see God as just the judge of every transgression leads to hate and terror. Luther once saw God this way and said that He hated this God. The primary emotion of a god like this is hate, not fear. The balance of judgment and mercy allows us to properly fear God. We are deeply aware of how far short we are of God’s standards. This should drive us to our knees like the Psalmist here. We know we have offended Him. But when we think about the offense, we also are reminded of God’s mercy. We can petition God for forgiveness. This makes the fear of the LORD as a profound respect and awe of God. It is a healthy fear and not a terror. The LORD is one who can be waited on, a longing to feel the presence of the LORD again. We can not pray to a god who shows no mercy. This would be a god to run as far away from as possible. Like Adam and Eve, we run into the forest from the presence of the LORD and try to cover our transgression with fig leaves. But Adam and Eve in the midst of grievous judgment and curse also found a promise of mercy. Genesis 3:15 is a promise that the curse would one day be reversed by a son of a woman. He would suffer a bruised heel, but the serpent, the Devil, would receive a death wound. Indeed, this promise was fulfilled in Jesus Christ who suffered the feet to be wounded by the nails that fastened Him to the cursed cross. This is the ultimate act of mercy and proves that God is a God who is merciful. Sin was judged in Christ. Jesus from His cross cried out from the depths: “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me.” His deep cried were heard from the Father who raised Him on the third day. It is through the redemption we have in Jesus Christ that we can cry out in our anguish, even from our deep self-inflicted wounds and know that we are hears and forgiven. This promise is given throughout all the church, to every one who will cry out unto the LORD. This should give us all comfort. This, so far, is the individual application of the Psalm. But this Psalm applied first to Israel as a whole and then to the church. It says thet the LORD will redeem Israel from all her iniquities. The nation of Israel had sinned before the LORD on many occasions. Not only were individuals judged for sin, but also the nation. Israel and Judah were both sent into exile for their transgressions. In this exile were those who were relatively righteous before the LORD, yet suffered for the greater sins of the nation. The Old Testament is replete with examples of this. So this psalm can also be prayed as a public and common prayer as well. The same fear that applies to the individual supplicant also applies to the common prayer. God judges, but He also shows mercy to the nation. In the midst of the judgment of the nation as a whole, there is mercy. The relationship that the nation of Israel had with God is unique, so the application of this psalm to other nations is somewhat more general. But the Bible does say: “Blessed is the nation whose God is Yahweh.” If a nation were to embrace Yahweh, they would be blessed. So when it comes to America, for example, where I live, is it a Christian nation that fears God? Although I confess that there are many Christians in America, as there are Christians throughout the Earth, I find it hard to see a nation that confesses Christ at all. There might be some trust in a generic god which motto occurs on our coins and currency, it is quite a stretch to call it a “Christian Nation” anymore. Whether it ever was is a subject for debate, but it certainly is not now. This nation is therefore in deep trouble and is under the judgment of God. Unless revival comes to this nation, terror will increase. Many will have no god to pray to in the time of trouble, no less the LORD. It is time for the Christians to pray for this nation as we pray for all the nations on this Earth for the LORD to show mercy. We must certainly witness of this mercy which is found in Jesus Christ alone to the world. If the nation does not repent and cry out, at least some individuals will repent and find hope and healing from the LORD. Lastly, if we understand Israel in terms of the Christian church, we come to the sobering reality that the Church as a whole has deeply transgressed and forgotten the LORD. We no longer fear the LORD. We are presenting a compromise gospel to the Church. We only talk about a god of love. We are broken and not iniquitous sinners. The result is that as we have noted, God is despised and not feared. There are others who present the god of fire and brimstone which leads to hating God. We must be careful to present the full gospel of a God who takes offense at sin and still is willing to show mercy to the one who repents. The judgment has already inflicted the mainline churches, and as a result, they are dying. There are certainly individuals in these churches who remain faithful to the truth of the gospel. God will not destroy the righteous with the wicked. We who are saved by the grace and mercy of God when we believe in Jesus Christ will not perish. We are not righteous in ourselves. We are made righteous in Christ alone. It is not what we have done but what He has done for us. It is Jesus who allows us to fall to our knees in the depths of deep despair and rise again refreshed in the hope and mercy of God. The deep Christian knows the depth of his or her sin but also the depth of God’s mercy. The church that is deep does likewise.