He Is My REDEMPTION

Psalm 130 NIV

A song of ascents. 1 Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord; 2 Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. 3 If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? 4 But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you. 5 I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. 6 I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. 7 Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. 8 He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.

waiting rooms

Waiting rooms are usually not fun. Doctors and dentist offices have waiting areas. In hospitals there are surgical waiting areas. Although these places try their best to make waiting rooms comfortable and welcoming, it is still just a place of waiting. And doesn’t it always seem like someone else has already circled all the hidden pictures in every Highlights magazine? And now during this time of global pandemic, our homes have become waiting places. Many of us are heeding the advice of health officials to minimize face-to-face social contact, stay at home, and wait it out. Waiting. Just waiting.

Today’s passage taken from the Psalms of Ascent looks at what it means for us to be people who are waiting. Psalm 130 gives us some insight today for how we are to go about this seemingly mundane task of just waiting. If you have access to a Bible, I encourage you to open it up and find Psalm 130 as we take a few moments to look at this Old Testament Hebrew poem together. I will be working through some details of this passage that might be helpful for you to note and follow along in your own Bible as we study God’s word.

Direct Address – Personal

Verses 1-2

first section: verses 1 & 2 — direct address to God (prayer) - personal petition from the one praying

First, let’s take a look at the way this Psalm is put together. Notice that there are eight verses and it is separated into four sections—verses 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, and 7-8. Each of these four sections makes a progression. Look at the movement that takes place in each section. Verses 1-2 are a direct address to God—it is a prayer. And it is personal; the Psalmist is giving us a glimpse into his own life and his own circumstances. This is a rather dramatic turn from what we had seen previously in these Psalms of Ascent. So many of the other Psalms in this collection are joyous celebrations of pilgrimage to the holy city of Jerusalem. Psalm 130 begins by striking a completely different tone. This time it is crying from the depths. It is a raw honesty that is expressed to God.

two names for God: LORD (all caps) = YAHWEH - covenant faithfulness; Lord (lower case) = Adonai - master, one upon whom we are dependent

The author clues us in to this expression to God by the way he addresses God. In particular, the Psalmist uses two different names for God that repeat. In fact, God is named twice in each of the four sections in this Psalm. In our English Bibles, we translate it as lord. But look closer, because there is a difference. In verse 1 LORD is spelled with all capital letters. In verse 2 only the first letter of Lord is capitalized. These are two completely different words in Hebrew. LORD with all capital letters is the Hebrew name YAHWEH. It is the name of God that was revealed to Moses at the burning bush on Mount Sinai. It is the name of God that Exodus 3 translates as “I am.” YAHWEH is God’s name of covenant faithfulness. It is the name that God reveals which stands for his eternal promise to the God of his chosen people. Lord without all capital letters in the Hebrew name Adonai. This is a generic title that simply means master. It is the kind of title we mean in a medieval expression like, “lord of the manner.” It signifies a relationship in which one is dependent upon another for protection and provision.

Psalm 130 bounces back and forth between both of these names for God because the author makes his plea to God from a place where both of these names highlight the relationship God has with his people. This is a cry from the Psalmist which goes up to a God who is YAHWEH – the God of covenant faithfulness to his chosen people. And it is also a cry which goes up the a God who is Adonai – the God who is master and to whom we are dependent for protection and provision.

Verses 1-2 make up a section that is a personal direct address to God. It is more than a plea for help. It is more than a cry for God to listen. It is also a personal confession from the writer that he is personally bound and committed to the God of covenant faithfulness; and he is acknowledging his dependence upon this God as the master of his life.

Direct Address – General

Verses 3-4

second section: verses 3 & 4 — direct address to God (prayer) - general petition on behalf of all

Verses 3-4 make up the second section of Psalm 130. It is still a direct address to God. But now the poem moves to a general confession rather than a personal confession. It is now moving to a place in which God not only hears the voice of the Psalmist, but that God is attentive to the needs of all his chosen people. It is not just an assurance of the grace and forgiveness that God has promised for me. It is also an invitation for others to know and receive that same grace and forgiveness.

verse 4 turns from depths of despair to the rescuing forgiveness of God

“fear” of the LORD = humble, reverent service

acknowledgement of both names - YAHWEH is my God who faithfully keeps his covenant; Adonai is my God who is my master upon whom I remain dependent

This is where Psalm 130 turns. Verses 1, 2, and 3 place the Psalmist in the deepest depths of hopeless despair. Verse 4 turns our attention upward again. This is where the Psalm points to the faithful and everlasting forgiveness of God. And this is where the author names the first result of this forgiveness. Those who know how deep their sins bury them, also respond to God’s salvation with reverence. If you are looking at the older NIV translation verse 4 ends, “therefore you are feared.” The newer NIV translation (which I am using) ends verse 4, “so that we can, with reverence, serve you.” I like that wording better. It better captures the nuance happening in the two names of God placed in this Psalm. It is as though the author is reminding us, because he is YAHWEH—the covenant faithful God who forgives—we will also reverently and humbly call him Adonai—our master whom we serve. That’s right, did you notice that both of those names for God showed up again in this section; this time, not just a personal expression of the Psalmist, but a general expression of the one who is our God as well.

Indirect Address – Personal

Verses 5-6

third section: verses 5 & 6 — indirect address about God - personal petition from the one praying

Verses 5-6 make the third section of the Psalm. Now the voice begins to shift. It is no longer a prayer which is a direct address to God. Now it is an indirect address. The Psalmist is no longer speaking directly to God, but is now speaking about God. But at the same time, the expression is once again personal. And what is this personal response that the author gives to us following the prayer he cries out in the first half of Psalm 130? It is a response of waiting and hoping. I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, my whole being waits. And how do I wait? I wait as one who hopes. It is not a blind hope that is just made up out of thin air. It is not an empty hope that is little more than a wish. It is a hope that comes from the very word of God. It is a hope that is fastened to a strong foundation of what God has already said and promised through his covenant word.

waiting and hoping are tied together as one activity

These two actions of waiting and hoping which we see in verses 5-6 are tied together. They build upon one another. It is a waiting which is characterized by the way in which we hope. And at the same time it is a hoping that is characterized by the way in which we wait. We find ourselves as a civilization doing an awful lot of waiting these days, don’t we? Some of us cannot go to work any longer; some of us cannot go to school at the moment; some of us cannot be getting together with friends right now. We are waiting for a health crisis to pass so that we can get back to doing all those normal activities again. We are waiting.

hope that comes from the Word of God

What does your waiting look like? Psalm 130 reminds us today that there is a way to wait in hope. But it is not just any hope. It is a hope in God’s word. It is a hope that is directly connected to what God has revealed about his covenant promise to his people. Sure, there may be a lot of things I am hoping for right now. I am hoping I do not get sick. I am hoping the number of people infected by coronavirus goes down. I am hoping people can get back to work soon. I am hoping students will be able to get back together with their friends soon. But Psalm 130 is exclusively pointing toward a hope that is directly tied to the word of God.

“morning” is contrast as opposite of “depths” (verse 1) - it is certain to come, but requires waiting

The Psalmist waits for this sure and certain hope from God as a watchman waits for morning. This line is so emphatic that the poem says it twice. Morning is the contrasted opposite of the depths from verse 1. It is a hope which sees our way out of those depths. It is a bright new dawn which has not yet arrived, but is on its way. The watchmen who were stationed upon the city walls in Bible times to guard and protect the city through the night knew for certain morning would come. It was not a question of if morning would arrive. It was a question of when morning would arrive. It was a certainty. This is the kind of hope which the Psalmist carries even in times of waiting.

Direct Address – General

Verses 7-8

fourth section: verses 7 & 8 — direct address to people of Israel (church) - general petition on behalf of all

Verses 7-8 tell us about what this hope looks like. Now the voice shifts again to a direct address. But this time it is not a direct address to God as in a prayer. Now the Psalmist is directly addressing the people of Israel. He is speaking directly to the audience of God’s chosen people. These are words of application which take everything from the first six verses of this Psalm and apply it to the general audience of church.

YAHWEH named twice - special emphasis on the covenant faithfulness of God

There is another shift here in this fourth section. In the first three sections the Psalmist names God as both YAHWEH and Adonai in each section. In this last section God is still named twice, but both times it is YAHWEH, the covenant name of God. He is drawing special attention now to the covenant promise of God which is the foundation of our hope.

unfailing love = Hebrew chesed - characterized by fierce and unshakable loyalty

There are two things in particular which the Psalmist names about the nature of this covenant faithful God: his unfailing love, and his full redemption. Unfailing love is the Hebrew word chesed. It is a love which is characterized by a fierce and unshakable loyalty. It is this chesed love of God which gives such a strong backbone to our Calvinist doctrine of Perseverance of the Saints. It is the reason why we baptize babies into the covenant of God before they even know or have any idea who God is. It is a deep-rooted assurance that the love God has for his people can never be shaken or diminished. It is this chesed love of God which the apostle Paul talks about in Romans 8:38–39

Romans 8:38–39 NIV

38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

redemption - not just that God provides redemption, he himself is our redemption (Jesus)

And God himself is our redemption. Jesus himself has taken upon himself the guilt of our broken sinfulness and has fully paid the price for our sin. Redemption means that we now have new life in Jesus. This new life into which we are redeemed is certain and sure. But today we are reminded along with Psalm 130 that the complete fulfilment of this redemption is something for which we are waiting in hope. We wait for that morning to come; and it will come. So, in these days right now which seem to be filled with so much waiting, may it be a reminder to us that we also wait upon the LORD, full of an assured hope that his will for our world and our lives will certainly remain held in his unshakable love for us.