Psalm 130
"Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplications!
If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with you,
so that you may be revered.
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
more than those who watch for the morning,
more than those who watch for the morning.
O Israel, hope in the Lord!
For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
and with him is great power to redeem.
It is he who will redeem Israel
from all its iniquities."
Again, our scripture passage touches upon the Advent theme of waiting and hoping. In this Psalm, the Psalmist is keenly aware of his own sinfulness and how his sinful ways have separated him from God. Yet, he is bold enough to cry from the depths of his soul, confident that God will hear his pleading. His trust is in the God who does not count our iniquities against us, but who casts our sin as far as the east is from the west. Sure of God's steadfast love, the Psalmist is content to wait for God's forgiving grace, which, like the morning's sunrise, he knows will come. Our journey through life, and perhaps even our journey through this Advent season, will inevitably present us with times of despair and anguish when there is nothing we can do but to cry out, as did the Psalmist, from the depths of our souls. And while those times may be difficult, we can take comfort in the sure and certain knowledge that our loving and ever-faithful God will hear our cry and shower us with his forgiving and empowering grace. That fact is as sure as tomorrow's sunrise.
Prayer:
Loving and Forgiving God, we praise you that there is no event in our lives from which you are absent. Help us to always remember that there is no situation in our lives, no depths too great, no struggle we may confront, no sin too egregious to keep us from experiencing your presence and your forgiving grace. Amen.
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