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Thursday, March 6, 2014

Psalm 130

Psalm 130: A song of ascents

Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord;
Lord, hear my voice.
Let Your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy.

If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,
Lord, who could stand?
But with You, there is forgiveness,
so that we can, with reverence, serve You.

I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
and in His word I put my hope.
I wait for the Lord,
more than the watchmen wait for the morning,
more than the watchmen wait for the morning.

Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
for with the Lord is unfailing love
and with Him is full redemption.
He Himself will redeem Israel
from all their sins.

When I was little, I used to skim through the Psalms because they often seemed so similar. You have a first-person narrative, some desperation and ultimately a lot of hope. I recognized the truth in it, but it never seemed relevant to my cushy, first-world life as a young girl whose most insurmountable problems were in the realm of time-consuming homework and facial blemishes.

Fast-forward a few years and many bigger problems, and suddenly (or not-so-suddenly) I understand the vast despair that can lead to the penning of the phrase "out of the depths" and the yearning implied in "my whole being waits". I have a new appreciation for the idea of waiting for the Lord as watchmen wait for the morning. I am overwhelmed by the reminder that God--the vast, incomprehensible Creator of ALL--takes a personal interest in my life. WOW.

I love that this psalm (among others) is called "A song of ascents". Most of us are aware that to ascend means to rise or travel up. I love the imagery the author gives us with that: we are in the depths of our sinful natures, hopeless and useless, and our Jesus personally raises us up with Him. But did you also know the other meaning of the word ascent? Take a look at number five:

 Ascent Definition

A movement or return toward a source or beginning. We are not simply being lifted out of our sin to higher ground (though that alone has the power to stop my breath!). We are being moved to our Savior and our Redeemer. By crying out to God and by accepting Jesus's hand, we are returning to our Creator and Father. And all we have to do is ask!

The challenge embedded in this psalm is simple, and is an echo of the gospel of a whole:
   Recognize (not once, but each day!) that we are stuck in our sin.
   Cry out to our God for his unfailing mercy (not because we can earn it, but because He's waiting to pour it on us).
   Accept His forgiveness and grace with humility and gratefulness.
   And THEN, with reverence, serve Him, however we can and in everything we do--not just because it's our duty (although it definitely is), but because He chooses to work through us, and because that is our God-appointed purpose.

P.S. Thanks to #SheReadsTruth for the challenge! If you're looking for daily devotionals, reading plans and/or a community of women digging into the word, please check them out!


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