Psalm 130

The poet urges people to ask God to save them

In Psalm 130:1-6, the poet described his own experiences. He wrote in a very personal manner. His personal relationship with God was important to him.

But in Psalm 130:7-8, the poet speaks to the people in his own nation, called Israel. He knew those people well. He knew about the wrong things that were in their lives, too. They had not loved God with all their hearts. They had not obeyed God’s law. They were guilty of wrong thoughts, words and deeds. Their behaviour was not as the behaviour of God’s people should be. They had come to Jerusalem to *worship God at his house. But their prayers and their *sacrifices were not enough. God wanted them to have hearts that obeyed him (Micah 6:6-8).

So the poet urged the people in Israel to do as he had done. They too must confess their evil deeds to God. They too should cry out to him to rescue them from the evil powers that controlled their lives.

Because of God’s great love, they could have hope. He wanted to forgive them. He himself would pay the price so that they would be free. God would rescue them too.

As the poet waited for God, he (the poet) had hope and confidence. Because of God’s promise, he was confident that God would rescue him from every wrong thing. So the poet was sure that God forgave him, personally.

And the poet was also confident that God would rescue the people in his nation. He knew the promises that God had given to the people in Israel. So evil forces would not always control them. In the future, God will rule their lives completely. Paul, too, felt confident about this matter (Romans 11:26-27). God will certainly free his *Jewish people from all the wrong things in their lives. And he himself will be their king.

God himself would act to rescue his people from the evil deeds in their lives. Nobody else was good enough to pay that price. He took the punishment for their evil deeds. That happened when Jesus died. God had entered the world. And he did it so that people from every nation could have a right relationship with him (2 Corinthians 5:17-19). Only God could do it.

Next part: Psalm 130 as poetry

See the word list for explanation of words with a *

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