Psalm 130 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 130 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
Verse 2Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!
Verse 3If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand?
Verse 4But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered.
Verse 5I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;
Verse 6my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning.
Verse 7O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem.
Verse 8It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
Devotion
Depression can be deep and dark, coupled with the overwhelming feeling that escape is impossible. This touching psalm goes with us into the "dark night of the soul."
Psalm 130, "Out of the depths I cry unto you," goes far deeper into life's sorrows than a bout with the blues or a depressed feeling. For many folks, the pit is so deep and dark that they can't climb out. Those feelings of deep sorrow, grief, or profound sadness will assail all of us at one time or another.
Maybe that's why the author of this psalm doesn't ask for anything beyond God's attention. The writer doesn't know what to ask for, or how to imagine anything besides the present depths and darkness. That's a despair that can surround us and pull us down, and trap us in a "Slough of Despond" as described in Pilgrims Progress, a classic image of hopelessness.
So, we and the psalmist hold fast and wait; that’s all we can do. We wait for the Lord who loves us, and we hope that God knows the way out—because we don’t. We cry out from the depths and hold fast to God’s promises.
Prayer
Hear me, O God, when I am too confused, depressed, and sorrowful to know what to do or say. Hear me and show me your steadfast love! Amen.