Love Never Fails

Intro:

What do you count on in your life? You count on the sun setting and rising. For that reason you plan to get things done before the day is over as in the same time you plan to do things tomorrow. You plan pay day. You have items on hold just until that day. The Grocery store loads up it shelf accordingly knowing when the 1st and the 15th of the month come and all shop that day.

Go further with this reflection who and or what do you depend on and believe it will never let you down?

Background of text

Thus understood, these psalms are songs which the pilgrims sang as they came to Jerusalem for one of the three major annual festivals (see gecl).

gecl German common language version

Robert G. Bratcher and William David Reyburn, A Translator’s Handbook on the Book of Psalms, UBS Handbook Series (New York: United Bible Societies, 1991), 1047.

Background of text

In Christian tradition the psalm became one of the seven penitential psalms, the others being , , , , , and 143 (see N. H. Snaith, Seven Psalms; Nasuti, Defining the Sacred Songs, 30–56). Nasuti (Defining the Sacred Songs, 37) has suggested that was incorporated into the group via the association of v 8 with Paul’s reference to ἀπολύτρωσις, “redemption,” in .

This Psalm is labeled as an Ascent psalm. “Thus understood, these psalms are songs which the pilgrims sang as they came to Jerusalem for one of the three major annual festivals (see gecl).”

gecl German common language version

Robert G. Bratcher and William David Reyburn, A Translator’s Handbook on the Book of Psalms, UBS Handbook Series (New York: United Bible Societies, 1991), 1047.

This psalm can be divided by the call for help; God will forgive; Waiting on God’s redemption; Hope in God’s redemption

Learn to Praise God in our issues

My troubles and problems are all around

Psalm 130:1–4 NLT

1 From the depths of despair, O Lord, I call for your help. 2 Hear my cry, O Lord. Pay attention to my prayer. 3 Lord, if you kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord, could ever survive? 4 But you offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear you.

Psalm 130:1

From the depths of despair symbolizes how his lowest moment of his life has him in despair.

Times like this can show us how much we need God.

Times like this remind us of God’s love is still good.

We have to be careful not to blame God for our issues.

God is good and does no evil.

So let this time be an opportunity to see where we have gone wrong and how God’s love can draw us back on the right path.

Lord hear my cry!

The Lord’s ears are not dull.

The Lord is mighty!

Isaiah 59:1 NLT

1 Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call.

Your Love gives me courage to stand and live.

Psalm 130:3–4 NLT

3 Lord, if you kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord, could ever survive? 4 But you offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear you.

Your are holy in all your ways and so good to us your children. We have fallen short in our lives and you still love us the same.

Thank our Lord, because he does not keep record of our sins.

Imagine if God wrote down all our sins to keep them filed to bring up anytime he would like to show you how bad your past has been.

Thank God he points to the future and our renewed relationship with him.

Thank God for the ‘but’

But you “God” offer forgiveness

You pardon us.

You release us of our debt.

Psalm 130:4 NLT

4 But you offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear you.

Forgiveness should teach us to fear God.

Fear God is to know that he is Good but also to be feared.

To fear God is to stand in God’s presence and your knees continue to knock.

To stand in his presence and to shake or tremble because of the Holiness of God.

God’s love should teach us to do better in view of his mercy.

We will seek to please God because he is so good.

We will look to live in obedience and embrace forgiveness.

Knowing God’s love never fails help us to wait.

Knowing the great character of God reminds us that God will come for his people and that our hope in the Lord is never in vain.

Therefore, I will wait for the Lord!

Psalm 130:5–6 NLT

5 I am counting on the Lord; yes, I am counting on him. I have put my hope in his word. 6 I long for the Lord more than sentries long for the dawn, yes, more than sentries long for the dawn.

Therefore, we can count on the Lord.

We can hope in his word.

God’s word is true and teaches us the character of God. God desires for us to repent and come into right relationship with God.

Long for the Coming of the Lord

Wait for the Lord like a tired watchman waiting for morning to come.

Is similar to a tired third shift worker looking to get off.

We are to hold on knowing that he will come.

There is joy in hope in the Lord because you know the Lord will come.

From the place of joy the psalmist encourages Israel to wait on the Lord.

Israel hope in the Lord!

Psalm 130:7–8 NLT

7 O Israel, hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is unfailing love. His redemption overflows. 8 He himself will redeem Israel from every kind of sin.

Wait for the Lord who has all that you need.

With the Lord there is lovingkindness

There is abundant redemption with the Lord.

The Lord will redeem Israel and you from all iniquities.

What are iniquities?

misdeed

sin

guilt caused by sin

punishment

Iniquities are our sin that include consequences. The consequences of sin are shame, guilt, and punishment. Sin does not allow us to stand before the living God. Therefore God provided provision for Israel to be redeemed before the Lord. Israel is grateful for God’s provision for them to be in right relationship with God.

God provided in Jesus a new covenant and pathway to redemption. God provided for Jesus to be born of the Virgin Mary to formed in human flesh to redeem the world of her sin. Christmas celebrates the moment in time that our redemption began and was completed by Christ’s work on the Cross.

Psalm 130:8 NLT

8 He himself will redeem Israel from every kind of sin.

But because God is forgiving we can stand in his presence because of Christ’s work on the Cross for our sins.

God Himself will redeem Israel from all iniquities.

All our sins are forgiven by the grace of God.

Romans 3:24 NLT

24 Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.