Psalm 130. Psalm 130 is one of the most iconic Psalms to date- not because it is as widely

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1 1 Psalm 130 Introduction Psalm 130 is one of the most iconic Psalms to date- not because it is as widely repeated as 23, or as hotly debated as 22, but because all persons of Christian faith can relate to its heartfelt and anguished cry to the Lord for redemption. Like the Psalmist in this passage, every Christian recognizes their iniquities and realizes where those iniquities have put them; and, similar still to the Psalmist, we also realize that there is hope and redemption to be found in the Lord. Especially interesting in this Psalm is the fact that there is no concrete ascription or prescription of authorship or compilation to a specific person. This could be for one of three reasons, the first and second reasons being highly related. The Psalm, as it stands in its current placement in the Psalter, is the eleventh in the list of fifteen Songs of Ascent, meaning that it could have been one in a number of the songs that Pilgrims sang on the way up to Jerusalem (all tribes were required to go three times per year- see Deut. 16:16), or it could have been done in a ritualistic way as the Hebrew priests climbed steps to the temple. (McCann 1176) Both of those hypothesis are legitimate considerations, and in no way does the third possibility discount the first two, but I would like to return to the feelings that the text creates within us when we read it. We feel our hearts wrenched, we feel convicted, we feel longing, and finally we feel hope. The effectual use of pathos on the part of the Psalmist is brilliant, but I would like to remind the reader of this- God, in one fashion or another, is the author of all scripture, and is completely omnipotentmoreover, He exists outside of time. It is highly likely that God, when working with and through the author of this Psalm, whomever that might be, knows the cry of humanity s

2 2 heart extremely well, and had the authorship remain vague because He drew on the common cry of humanity for inspiration. Essentially, humanity as a whole is, if not a potential author, at least a contributor to this psalm. Regardless of the authorship, the tonality of this Psalm is penitent, and hopeful. The Psalmist is in a deep, dark place, with only his voice screaming for the Lord s attention. Though the psalmist knows he doesn t deserve to stand in the Lord s presence, He also knows that he can hope for God s mercy, and in that place of darkness he stands, looking for that mercy without ceasing. This was the author s purpose- to tell of his personal anguish, and his search for God s mercy, with the intention of causing the audience to realize just how much his struggle reflected their own, and thereby cause them to search for the Lord s mercy as he does. Outline I. 1-2 A Cry to the Lord a. 1- Out of the Depths I cry b. 2a- Hear my voice c. 2b- Hear with Your ears d. 2c- My voice calling for mercy II. 3-4 Who could stand, but for His forgiveness a. 3a- If God was to mark iniquity b. 3b- Who could stand in the face of that marking? c. 4a- But He is forgiving d. 4b- And should be feared III. 5-6 Vigilant Vigilance a. 5a- I m waiting for the Lord b. 5b- His word holds my hope c. 6a- My soul waits for him d. 6b&c- Like... i. 6b- watchmen in the morning ii. 6c- watchmen in the morning IV. 7-8 Hope and Redemption a. 7a- Hope in the Lord, Israel! b. 7b- The Lord s love is steadfast c. 7c- The Lord s redemption is plentiful d. 8a- He will redeem Israel e. 8b- From all its iniquities

3 3 Verse-by-Verse 1-2 The word depths, every time that it is used in the context of ma`amaq, refers to a deep place underwater. What is interesting about this is the decidedly negative mindset that comes with this word- being in the depths is never a good thing. However, it would be errant to suggest that ma`amaq is metaphorical for anything other than being in a sea of troubles, meaning that the Psalmist is not talking about the depths of despair or depths of sin. A broader image of deep waters would mean waters of death, or Sheol, indicating the Psalmist s prayer from beyond the grave. (Goldingay 525) In verse two, the Psalmist is begging for the Lord to hear his pleas for mercy, which presupposes two realistic possibilities; firstly, that God is close enough to hear these cries, and the Psalmist is taking advantage of this; and secondly, God is not close but the Psalmist believes Him to be, and attempts to take advantage of this. As Christians, our personal experience and our understanding of God tells us firstly that A) God is unchanging, and B) That God is everywhere, at all times, so we can safely say that the Psalmist is pleading for the Lord s attention because he hopes for God s forgiveness. The chiastic pattern of ideas (I cry, so that you hear me... hear me, because I cry for mercy), if anything, affirms the desperate and fervent attempts of Psalmist to gain the attention of the Lord. 3-4 While many other Psalms take the path of declaring their innocence from sin before the Lord, this one is timely about declaring that it is because of the Psalmist s own transgressions that he is in the depths. However, the element is not totally gone, because he does not say, If you kept marks, I could not stand, but instead begs the question, is there anyone who could stand? While not the usual prideful declaration of innocence, there is still confidence in the height of the Lord s standard in the tone of the

4 4 Psalmist. shamar, as the Psalmist puts it, gives a similar kind of imagery (and yes, the exact same verbiage stem) as the kind of watching that will be used in v. 6b-6c. (Alter 455) The idea that no one can possibly hope to stand up to that kind of watchfulness does not seem to perturb the author the way it would modern Christians, even though the Psalmist (and we) is aware of the forgiveness He offers. Rather, instead of the outrage that non-christians and young believers often react with to His standards, the Psalmist declares that the Lord s forgiveness is cause for reverence. yare', the word used in verse four, is the among one of the most used by the Septuagint, and its semantic usage covers everything from relative uncomfortability, to sheer terror, depending upon what the object was. Reverence and respect, especially when the Lord is the subject, is far and away the most common Biblical understanding of the word fear. (Elwell 248) 5-6 There is cause and effect in this verse by way of substantiation- because the Psalmist has hope in the Lord s word, he waits for Him. This is significant, because the belief, the hope, and the trust is what drives the Psalmists actions- though he is in the depths, and there is no hope of being able to stand in the face of the Lord s watchfulness, he still hangs onto what he believes to be true of the Lord. The Psalmist cannot have false hope, for he, in the literary sense, is beyond the grave- there isn t time or reason to put hope in something else. As someone who has nearly drowned knows, death is inevitable for one who stays submerged in water for too long- there is no reprieve from the oncoming death. Scuba gear may prolong the waiting period, but even that will run out eventually, and then death comes quickly and forcefully. The only escape is to reach the surface... and this Psalmist doesn t even have this. It s over for him, and he knows it; the odds are irrelevant because he calls out for the Lord from beyond the grave; and yet, he still has

5 5 hope. What does this say about the Lord? That even when the odds are irrefutably against the Psalmist, the fear of the Lord and the promise of forgiveness is enough to keep hope alive. Moreover, the fact that the Psalmist is waiting on that hope, even from in a place of utter despondency, and steadfastly watches for the Lord through the night and on into the morning. Consider- all a night watchman thinks about for the duration of his shift, is the rising of the sun. The sun promises relief to a man of the night s watch, and brings him strength to make it through; much in the same way that the promise of forgiveness brings hope to the Psalmist of the depths. 7-8 Here we see a shift in the addressee of the Psalm; the author is no longer speaking directly to God, but is instead speaking to Israel. This can be for one of two reasonseither the author is wistfully thinking and hoping that Israel will start to reflect the faith that he has in God s proclivity for providence, or he is actually addressing the nation of Israel to follow his exhortations. Given the context of the Psalm and the fact that he addresses God for the majority of it, it seems safe to assume that he is alone and crying out to the Lord- unless, as was mentioned in the introduction, the Psalmist is a priest who is singing this song with others as he makes his way up to Jerusalem or to the temple. Regardless of these things, the author is addressing Israel, and exhorting them to have hope in Him. It is interesting that the Psalmist does not use the same kind of language to mark the intensity of the emotion that he feels that they ought to have. Rather, in b & c of verse seven and all of verse eight, the author speaks about the Lord, his steadfast love, and plentiful redemption. Why would he do this? If the author wanted the audience to have knowledge of God and a few of His attributes, then he has gone about it the right way, and he calls the audience to have hope. He tells them of the Lord s attributes, albeit

6 6 with language that doesn t reflect the intensity of his passion, but makes sure that he doesn t leave out words that qualify those attributes, like steadfast and plentiful. It comes across as if his intent is to present his own fervent devotion to the Lord, and his unfailing belief that God is going to rescue him from the depths, then tell the people to hope in the Lord, and remind them why his hope is in Him. When we look at the word plentiful in the context of the phrase that it occurs in Psalm 130 (rabah) the overriding definitions used in the Bible are multiply, or increase. Given this, it would seem that when the Psalmist used this word, he did so with the understanding that redemption is something that God can give abundantly, and also that it is something that God gives in an expansive way- a way that covers at least all of Israel, were they to take it. Works Cited Alter, Robert. "Psalm 130." The Book of Psalms. 1st ed. New York: W.W. Norton &, Print. Blue Letter Bible. On-line. Internet. Available: Elwell, Walter A. Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, Print. Goldingay, John. "Psalm 130." Psalms. Vol. 3. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, Print. McCann, J. Clinton. "Psalm 130." The New Interpreter's Bible. The First Book of Maccabees, the Second Book of Maccabees, Introduction to Hebrew Poetry, the Book of Job, the Book of Psalms. Vol. IV. Nashvville, TN: Abingdon, Print.