Psalm 130 A Psalm 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 watchmen wait for the morning,
more than 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.
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to visit Israel. Though I went on my own, it was a trip of
a lifetime. I ended up on a tour bus with a large group of people from an inner city AME Church. On our visit to the Jordan River, the AME pastor invited the “pilgrims” to consider baptism. The response was so overwhelming he grabbed me and pulled me into the river to help him. A 97- year-old woman came forward to be baptized. When I asked her why she wanted to be baptized, she said, “It’s time.”
Our tour began in Galilee and then on to Jerusalem. As we traveled from Galilee up toward
Jerusalem, our guide talked about the Psalms of Ascent (Psalm 120-134). He explained these
Psalms were meant to be prayed and sung corporately. God’s people were to sing these songs
together as they traveled up the path to Jerusalem for sacred feasts like Passover or Pentecost. As we stood across the Kidron Valley and began to walk the dirt path toward Jerusalem our guide started to sing these same songs. Just before walking through the gates into the city we sang Psalm 130.
Every Psalm in the Psalter is honest, and Psalm 130 is brutally honest. One commentator noted,
“There are no empty assurances, no shortcuts around the valley of the shadow of death, no
avoidance of grief, pain, and sorrow.” Yet this lament is grounded in hope.
We sang, “Israel, put your hope in the LORD for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him
is full redemption.” Then the extremely personal refrain, “I wait…my whole being waits…I
wait.”
You’re familiar with waiting. You may wait with worry, fear, or maybe with a lack of
understanding. The night watchman waits in the darkest night with great expectancy, knowing
that with the LORD is unfailing love. The night watchman waits in rest.
Soul rest and waiting are not incompatible. They may actually be inextricably linked.
Soul rest is both a seed and a fruit of acceptance. It is not the solution to mystery but rather the
wonder and awe of embracing mystery. It is a hope against hope that God will make all things
new one day.
The people of God were waiting for personal and national healing, an ultimate redemption. Jesus
does come and declares, I am the resurrection and the life for those who live with hope and those
who have become hopeless.
A friend recently encouraged me to check out The Healing Path: A Memoir and an Invitation by
James Finley. It is one of the most arduous and beautiful books I’ve read. It’s a story of
devastating heartbreak, brutality, and a bond of love forged in mutuality.
I’ve read this line at least ten times. Each time I sink deeper into its truth.
Finding our way along the healing path does not consist of mastering some method of
meditation, but rather consists of learning not to do violence to the fragility of our
waiting.
Read it again.
Here’s the thing: I didn’t read this book alone. My friend read alongside me. If I’d read it alone, I
would have never considered the truth of that last line so deeply. I would have rushed to the next
page of the story, hoping for a solution that didn’t require waiting. I would have missed healing,
which included naming and owning my own “violence.”
We can’t hustle healing. There are times when God says a word and healing instantly happens,
all of a sudden the sickness is gone, the grief is passed, the season of singing arrives. And there
are times when we wait.
The people of Israel eventually recognized that they were not in control of their relationship with
God. Their call was to be faithful in the waiting and the walking. God’s job is the
destination—ultimate healing and rest.
Like the people of Israel making their way in hope through mystery, exile, and suffering, they
never walked or waited alone. You and I are not created to either. Let’s wait in rest together.
Questions to Consider:
What happens when you choose not to wait?
How have you experienced rest in the fragility of your waiting?
Who waits with you?
Let’s sing along with our brothers and sisters. We’ll use the Message as our lyric sheet:
Help, GOD—I’ve hit rock bottom!
Master, hear my cry for help!
Listen hard! Open your ears!
Listen to my cries for mercy.
If you, GOD, kept records on wrongdoings,
who would stand a chance?
As it turns out, forgiveness is your habit,
and that’s why you’re worshiped.
I pray to GOD—my life a prayer—
and wait for what he’ll say and do.
My life’s on the line before God, my Lord,
waiting and watching till morning,
waiting and watching till morning.
O Israel, wait and watch for GOD—
with GOD’s arrival comes love,
with GOD’s arrival comes generous redemption.
No doubt about it—he’ll redeem Israel,
buy back Israel from captivity to sin.
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