Psalms
Chapter 130
1
From the Depths I Cry To You, Lord
Out of the depths, I cry to you, O Lord,
2
O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears pay attention to the voice of my supplication.
3
If you should mark our evil, O Lord, who could stand?
4
But with you, is forgiveness, and for that, you are revered.
5
I waited for the Lord, my soul waits; and I put my hope in his word.
6
My soul expects the Lord more than watchmen, the dawn.
7
O Israel, hope in the Lord, for with him, is unfailing love and with him full deliverance.
8
He will deliver Israel from all its sins.
Commentaries
130
The psalmist, aware of his people’s faithfulness, is equally confident of God’s response to repentance (cf. Neh 1:7-9). Israel was still waiting when Simeon took the child in his arms and said: ‘My eyes have seen your salvation’ (Lk 2:30). He held the infant Son of Man, who came to give his life for the redemption of many (Mk 10:45)—‘with the Lord, fullness of redemption.’ But since this has happened, how can we Christians still wait for it? How can we sing the psalm? For although we have been called, we are not yet chosen; although heirs, we have not yet received the inheritance. Out of these depths, our call must be constant; if it is continuous, it may also become our confidence. And some peoples’ waiting is a purifying fire. This, more than anything else, is their psalm.