Forgiven – Psalm 130

“A Song of Ascents.” [1]

“Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.” Psalm 130:1-2

No matter how difficult our circumstances are, we should continue to call on God. Even the most faithful believers can find themselves in “the depths.” [2] The Apostle Paul did!

In 2 Corinthians 1:8-10, Paul wrote, “For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of our trouble which came to us in Asia. We were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us. In whom we trust that He will still deliver us.”

Our prayers can reach heaven from the darkest places on earth. Jeremiah prayed from a dungeon, Daniel from the lions’ den, and Jonah from the belly of a great fish. No matter how deep our troubles are, God is able to hear us. [3]

Calling on God is the surest way to keep us from sinking deeper into despair and to lift us out of the “horrible pit and miry clay” that are mentioned in Psalms 40:1-2. [4]

In Philippians 4:6-7, God’s Word says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

As we pray, God listens. David prayed, “Lord, hear my voice... let Your ears be attentive.” [5] Our Lord is a good listener. In 2 Chronicles 7:14, God says, “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 will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

“If You, Lord [Adonai], should mark iniquities, O Lord [Yah], who could stand?” Psalm 130:3

By calling God “Lord” twice, using both Adonai and Yah, David expressed deep reverence for God’s position and power. Yah or Yahweh is God’s actual, personal name in Hebrew, while Adonai is the Hebrew word for a “lord” or “Master.” To call God “Adonai” is to acknowledge that He is your master and you are His servant. We then do God’s bidding even as the angels do.

If God judged us according to every sin we have committed, no one could stand before Him. Even the best person has enough sin to deserve condemnation. [6] For example, even if a person only sinned once per day and lived 70 years that would add up to over 25,000 crimes on his or her criminal record. A just judge could never let such an offender go free without consequence.

If God dealt with us according to strict justice, we would all go to hell. All sin is offensive to God. Proud people are easily offended when someone crosses a line with them, but our Lord taught us that forgiving offenders is vital to His forgiving OUR sins by which we have offended HIM.

In Matthew 6:12, Jesus taught us to pray, “And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us.” This is the only petition in the prayer that He immediately took the time to explain how important it is. In Matthew 6:14-15, Jesus said, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

In Matthew 18:21-22, Peter asked our Lord, “How often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?” Jesus replied, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”

Next, in Matthew 18:23-34, Jesus told a parable in which a king forgave his servant a debt that was way beyond what the servant could ever repay. That servant and his family were about to be sold as slaves to slave traffickers, but he begged for mercy and the king forgave him.

Sadly, after that servant was forgiven such a great debt, he located a fellow servant who owed him a very small debt. He grabbed the man by the throat, and demanded repayment. When the debtor begged him for mercy, he had him thrown into debtors’ prison. His vindictiveness was reported to the king. Afterwards, the king rebuked him for his lack of compassion and then, delivered him over to the torturers until his debt was paid in full.

“But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared.” Psalm 130:4

Why feared? Because God’s love for people is like a Mama bear’s protective love for her cubs. You don’t want to offend God by being a malicious unforgiving servant. You don’t want to be handed over to the torturers of hell and remain there until your debt is repaid, which is never.

Some translations read, “There is a propitiation with You.” This reminds us of Jesus Christ, who is the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He is always in the Father’s presence as our Advocate, and through Him we receive forgiveness. [7]

“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His Word I do hope.” Psalm 130:5

Our waiting on the Lord is not just an outward appearance. It is not passive. It is an active waiting. It is a ceasing of striving and of checking endless lists of options. It is realizing that unless God comes through for us, we will die. We are like a small group of soldiers surrounded by an overwhelming force. If reinforcements don’t show up, we will surely die.

“In His Word I do hope.” David’s hope was not based in his own ideas, wishes, or imaginations. His hope was based on what God said He would do. [8] God said it. He believed it. He had hope!

“My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning—yes, more than those who watch for the morning.” Psalm 130:6

Those who are on guard duty through the night wait for the first light of day. When the light appears, their job is done. They can relax. In the same way, those who wait upon the Lord continue to seek Him until we see “the light at the end of the tunnel,” that is, until the manifest answer to our prayers begins to appear. This is called, “praying through.”

“O Israel, hope in the Lord. For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption. And He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.” Psalm 130:7-8

In 2 Corinthians 1:3, Paul wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.” Mercy is not something God reluctantly gives. Mercy is a natural tendency of His. He delights in showing mercy. In Luke 6:36, Jesus urged us, “Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.”

God shows us mercy, and He redeems us. To illustrate this point, I have a story that I learned from evangelist Adrian Rogers.

There was a boy who made a wooden boat. One day, while floating the boat in a river, it got away from him and was lost. Many days later, he went into a pawn shop. There, on a shelf, he saw a battered little wooden boat. He picked it up and turned it over, and there were his initials carved into the wood. He paid the price for the boat. He carried the boat home. He carefully and lovingly restored the little boat to its former glory. Then, he held the boat up to its eyes and said to it, “First, I made you. Then, I redeemed you. Now, I have restored you. You are mine.”

Regardless of all our failures and wanderings, God made us. He loves us. He wants to restore us to the former glory that our first parents, Adam and Eve, had before they sinned.

When Israelites or Gentiles believe in Messiah, He redeems us from our sins. His atoning blood is applied to our sinful lives. Then, God sees us justified. It is “just-if-I’d” never sinned or betrayed His trust. He gives us a full pardon. He pronounces us, “Not guilty.” Then, the righteous judge descends from His judgment seat, and hugs us and adopts us into His family. He includes us as one of His family members just because we believe in and profess His Son as our Savior.


[1] “The Song of Ascents” (Psalms 120–134) are songs to sing as one journeys toward God.
[2-8] Material developed, added to and edited from Matthew Henry’s Commentary