Written by Tyler Bayless, senior MDiv student, and brought to you by the Continuing Education Office at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
Scripture
Psalm 130
1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD.
2 Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplications!
3 If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities,
Lord, who could stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with you,
so that you may be revered.
5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the Lord
more than those who watch for the morning,
more than those who watch for the morning.
7 O Israel, hope in the LORD!
For with the LORD there is steadfast love,
and with him is great power to redeem.
8 It is he who will redeem Israel
from all its iniquities.
Devotional
As we travel through this Lenten season and are going about our lives it is easy to be weighed down by the burdens that we each face. It is easy to get discouraged and in this Psalm we see that this is where the psalmist is crying from. He is crying “out of the depths” to the Lord that his voice may be heard. But yet at the same time we are also reminded that as we wait out this dark season of Lent that there is hope in the end, and that in hope there is forgiveness, love, and redemption. Our hope is found in no other but our Lord, Jesus Christ. When we come to the end of Lent as we celebrate the resurrection on Easter morning, there is no other that will hear our voice or “redeem Israel from all its iniquities” but the one who went to the cross on our behalf, Jesus Christ.
Prayer
Almighty God, we thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ who, as we cry out, is there to hear our voices, and that in hearing our cry’s responds with love, forgiveness, and redemption. We thank you for all the blessings of our lives and lift up our highest praises to You as our God. We do all of this in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.