On the church’s facebook page you can watch a video of songs, prayer and the preaching of this message.
Faithful One, so unchanging. Ageless One, You're my Rock of Peace.
Lord of all I depend on You, I call out to You, again and again.
I call out to You, again and again.
You are my Rock in times of trouble; You lift me up when I fall down.
All through the storm, Your love is the anchor, my hope is in You alone
Brian Doerksen © 1989 Mercy Publishing Thankyou Music
Think about how the reliability and dependability of God has helped you when you were facing difficult and worrying times in your life.
Read Psalm 130
This psalm is in a section of the psalms called the ‘songs of ascent’ and this Psalm clearly does this as we climb from the depths of despair (v 1-2) to the high ground of a sure and certain hope in God (v 5-8). The path the psalmist travels to get from despair to hope involves him acknowledging God’s grace (v 3-4).
Psalm 130 is anonymous, but tradition says it was written by Israel’s King Hezekiah when Jerusalem was surrounded by its enemies - the Assyrians. They laid siege to Jerusalem for a very long time, far longer than the four weeks of siege which we are experiencing.
There are a number of psalms which start in the depths of despondency, and often it is not until we reach rock bottom, that we realise only God can offer us any real hope. It is then that God is able to speak into our situation or perhaps more correctly - it is then that we finally listen to what God has already been saying to us. We then begin to see our circumstances as God sees them and in this psalm the writer clearly sees that his own efforts aren’t going to be enough change his situation, but that doesn’t increase his despair – rather it helped him to remember something important about who God is.
He remembers that God is full of grace. He doesn’t use that word, but he recognises that God gives us good things (he mentions forgiveness v.4) which we don’t deserve and haven’t earned – this is the meaning of grace.
So, the psalmist’s hope isn’t based on wishful thinking – that the good things he has done might outweighs all the bad thoughts and actions, and so give him enough points to claim God’s help. The psalmist’s hope is based on what he knows about God - that it is God’s grace – God forgiving him which will give him assurance and hope.
The psalm also tells us that such undeserved goodness from God should cause us to… fear God! Newer translations of this psalm often use the word respect rather than fear– it isn’t the fear of being beaten up and mugged, it is the respect with which we treat potentially dangerous electricity (& Iain wrote about fearing God in Friday’s article).
When we truly recognise the cost of God’s forgiveness - the cross - we are broken and humbled, and we bow in respectful reverence before God. But the psalmist doesn’t leave us there! He’s taken us from despair, into remembering God’s grace and now he points us forward (v.5-7) using 2 words: ‘wait’ and ‘hope’.
For us to be prepared to wait and hope, we need to be sure that God is full of love and grace and so wants to fill our lives with good things we haven’t earned and don’t deserve. The psalmist has steadfast hope in the goodness of God. He is resolute, unwavering, persistent in waiting and hoping because he is sure of God’s love for him. He doesn’t give up.
The bible teaches us time and again that hope in God will never disappoint us. This hope does not involve us denying our circumstances or problems, hope in God means having confidence in his care for each of us – trusting that God is our ‘Father in heaven’ and wants to take care of us.
Perhaps you can spend some time thinking about what it means for you to ‘wait’ and ‘hope’ in the Lord. Some of you may feel able to write a poem around these themes.
Finish this time pf worship by reading more about God’s love and care for you. Read: Psalm 23.
I will write again on Wednesday – Stephen