Useful Bible Studies > Songs of Ascent Commentary
Last part: Psalm 130
In Psalm 130:3, we discover the nature of the poet’s troubles. And we see why the deep hole is a word picture. It is not a policeman or an enemy who has made the poet a prisoner. If another person had kept the poet as prisoner, that person could free the poet. But here, only God can free the poet. That is because the poet is like a prisoner because of his own evil deeds. The poet’s own evil deeds control him!
When the poet first did those wrong things, he probably thought himself to be a free man. But he did not realise how powerful evil forces are. He did not realise that he would be unable to stop his wrong behaviour. He thought that he could control it. But he discovered that it controlled him. It was ruining his life. And it was ruining his relationship with God. (Compare Romans 7:14-24).
This is – or it should be – everyone’s experience. The Bible teaches clearly that everyone is guilty of wrong deeds against God’s law (Romans 3:9-18). Nobody lives by God’s perfect standards (Romans 3:23). Our evil deeds have made it impossible for anyone to please God by means of their own efforts. Only God can save us.
Next part: How God can forgive us
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© 2015, Keith Simons.