Title: Repentance, Crying, and Waiting
repent and cry out and wait
Text: Psalm 130 1-8
“From the depths, O LORD, I have cried to You. Hear my voice, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; if You, O LORD, see iniquity, who can stand, O Lord? I, my soul, wait for the LORD, and I wait for your word. My soul waits for you more than a watchman waits for the morning; yea, more than a watchman waits for the morning. Hope in the LORD, Israel. For there is a rich redemption, and he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.”
In fact, there are times when we realize our sins and feel ashamed and lament, saying, “I am a sinner.” But we need to know that when God sees us, we are sinners worse than we think. Therefore, like a poet, we must repent of our sins, cry out for forgiveness, and long for the light of light and wait.
The text is the sixth of the seven repentance psalms (6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143). The poet, who realized his sin in the midst of suffering, repents of his sin and earnestly pleads for God's forgiveness and salvation. The poet's attitude like this shows his trust in God's love and salvation, and shows that the grace of forgiveness is only in God. Through this fact, we reaffirm the true view of salvation that we can come to God only through the grace of God and not through our own righteousness, and that we can overcome or overcome all evil.
Let's look at verses 1 and 2.
“From the depths, O LORD, I have cried to You. Hear my voice, O Lord, and give ear to my cry.”
The poet calls out to God for forgiveness and rescues him from the depths of suffering and sin. The poet asks for his hope by relying on the Almighty God, who hears even the most secret and smallest voice.
We, like poets, must realize how terrible and destructive sin is, and cry out for forgiveness with sorrow. You cannot face God by embracing sin. Many Christians today boast of the salvation of their souls, but forget the seriousness of sin. Our sins are not simply solved. We must not forget Jesus, who shed His precious blood on the cross to forgive our sins, and the tears of God who looked at it. I need to reflect on myself and stand in front of the cross of the Lord at this time of how much my heart aches and mourns for my sins.
Let's sing hymn 363 (old 479) together.
1. I called from the depths of the depths and cried out to you. Lord, I went out before the throne in hope that you would hear my prayer, and grant me your grace.
2. If the Lord examines sins, who can stand? Only the Lord forgives all sins. I tremble before the Lord. Forgive me.
3. As a watchman waits for the dawn, I long for the Lord, my soul. People of Israel, hope for the Lord.
4. People of Israel, trust and hope only in the Lord, for we are saved by your careful grace; trust and wait only on the Lord who does not change.
Let's look at verse 3.
“If you, O LORD, see iniquity, who will stand, O LORD?”
A Roman emperor forced a Christian who refused to worship the emperor to choose between giving up his life or his faith. Hearing this, the servant next to him said: ‘Killing does not solve the problem. They rather wish to be martyred because there is a heaven to return to when they die.’ The emperor, angry, then ordered not to kill him, but to torture him so that he betrayed Jesus. Then the god spoke again. ‘It doesn’t get any better. The torturers will be delighted because they believe that if they suffer for Jesus on this earth, they will receive a reward in heaven.’ Then the emperor urged his servants how to subdue the Christians. God said. ‘No matter what you do, only let them sin and fall. Then you will renounce your faith.’
There are many cases among Christians who, even if they lead a devoted life of obedience to God, commit a crime in an instant and fall into spiritual ruin. Moreover, there is no Christian who can stand proudly in the presence of a God who examines iniquity in detail. However, God forgives the saints when they repent and creates an opportunity to fear the Lord even more.
“The eyes of the Lord are everywhere to see the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3).
Let's read verse 4 of the text.
“But you have forgiveness, because you are in fear.”
“Forgiveness” refers to the power to forgive sins. This ultimately represents the mercy of God realized through the Atonement of Christ. In this way, the reason God forgives the sins of human life is so that human beings can realize the grace and mercy of God and fear God.
“What god is like you? You forgive iniquity and the transgression of those who remain in their inheritance, and you delight in kindness, and you do not cherish wrath for long” (Micah 7:18).
“If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).
The phrase “my soul waits for the Lord” in verse 5 means to wait for the time of salvation, confident that God will forgive the poet’s own sins and deliver them. By “my soul” I mean the faith and conviction that I feel with all my heart in my heart. It comes from the conviction of believing in the word of the covenant, ‘God will never forsake his people’ (Deuteronomy 31:6, 1 Samuel 12:22).
Let's look at verse 6.
“My soul waits for the Lord more than the watchman waits for the morning; yea, more than the watchman waits for the morning.”
Let's sing hymn 61 together.
We wait for our spouse to appear, for our prayers to be answered, for our rebellious children to mature, for jobs to appear, for our health to improve, for our conflicts to end, and for our release from economic pressures. Waiting is part of God's plan for us. Waiting for God's timing is patience. We learn patience through waiting. If you look at the list of heroes of faith, it is full of people who have waited well. King David fled Saul and waited in the cave of Adullam. Moses waited 40 years in the wilderness before bringing the Israelites out of Egypt, and then spent another 40 years wandering in the wilderness. Even after losing everything he valued, Job waited for God. After waiting until old age, Elizabeth and Zacharias gave birth to a special child, John the Baptist. The apostle Paul wrote letters awaiting release from prison, which today form part of the New Testament. God also waited “until the time was fulfilled” to send Jesus Christ to atone for the sins of the world.
“But the LORD waits, that it may be gracious to you, and he will rise up to have mercy on you; for the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all who wait for him” (Isaiah 30:18).
The land of Israel is so calcareous that it hardens like cement without rain. It is the rainy season and the early rains make the hard soil soft so that farmers can plow their fields and sow seeds. No matter how hard the farmer works, the crop will not bear fruit unless it rains. So the farmer learns patience by waiting for the early rain and the latter rain. Real patience is knowing that it is God's grace to bear fruit despite our hard work, realizing that it is not possible in our own strength and waiting with the faith that God will solve it. There are times when your heart is shaken when you wait. However, those who look to the Lord and believe in Him can endure before the Lord without being shaken to the end with a strong and firm heart. We know that there will be blessings if we keep our faith and persevere in the presence of the Lord no matter how unjust or difficult we face. So we can rest assured now. Life is easy when you know the end.
“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently; let his way prosper, and let him not complain about him who works out his evil schemes” (Psalm 37:7).
Let's read verses 7 and 8 of the text.
“Hope in the Lord, O Israel; for in the Lord is mercy and abundant redemption, and he will redeem Israel from all her iniquities.”
It happened in a family with two children. While the high school daughter was away from home, the house caught on fire, and the father, mother, and brother were all seriously injured and taken to the hospital. Upon hearing the news, the daughter inquired about her brother before her father and mother. It was so strange that my relatives and neighbors asked me why I was only looking for my brother. Then the sister said, My parents believed in Jesus well, so there is no problem going to heaven.
The psalmist longs for the redemption of Israel. Even in today's time, we must pray for the salvation of the nation and have an earnest desire for world missions. And above all else, you must be able to ask for the salvation of your loved ones. Helping the souls of the family to be saved and praying is an important and great love. God wants to extend the abundant grace of salvation to our loved ones as well.
Those who repent of their sins and cry out and pray earnestly will never perish. It is because God's infinite mercy sustains the saints forever.
* Prayer: Lord of love and forgiveness, I lay my sins before you. I see that there are many times when I make a mistake in words or actions without realizing it and sin against the Lord. Give me the courage to immediately confess to you about my wrongdoings, and give me a heart of contrite mourning for my sins. I earnestly cry and wait for the Lord to forgive me of my sins. Help me to live in the grace of Your forgiveness and boundless love. Serve God with sincerity, and love your neighbor but love to the end. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen