stephen R Harrison

In the eleventh psalm in the Songs of Ascent (Psalm 120-134), the psalmist expresses his heart and the necessity for repentance in Psalm 130. This penitential psalm serves as a reminder that if we are going to grow closer to the Lord, we must be a penitent people. Unrepentance will halt the activity and presence of the Lord in one’s life. The psalmist began where repentance should begin by saying, “Out of the depths I cry to You, Lord” (v. 1). He knows God is a holy God of justice, but One of great mercy and forgiveness as well. He truly wanted the Lord to hear his voice (v. 2), which conveyed the seriousness of his soul towards sin. He wasn’t giving lip-service to the Lord. He actually wanted to be cleansed, forgiven, and set free! Sometimes the mechanics of my false repentance wanted more not to get caught by others than to truly be set free from sin by God. Other times, I was simply performing a ritual I had learned as a kid with no heartfelt conviction over sin. The only way I found repentance to be genuine in me was through humility, submission, transparency, and obedience to the Lord. It was in those actions that stemmed from the heart that the Lord met me with forgiveness, mercy, and restoration. I have found confessing my sins to God and others helps me to stay close to the Lord. That’s where I most want to be!

The psalmist gives us a great truth about repentance of sin in verse 3. The Lord not only forgives sin, but forgets it! think about that incredible truth for a moment! Unlike people, He does not “keep a record of sins” (v. 3) because “who could stand?”. We all fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The conjunction “but” begins verse 4 and declares “with You there is forgiveness”! The response the psalmist gives at the end of verse 4 for this forgiveness is serving the Lord. How could we not serve the One who forgives us! It is Him that we wait for with our whole being and place our hope (v. 5). This waiting the psalmist is referring to isn’t impatient and unhopeful of anything happening. It isn’t waiting in a long and daunting line. It is relational, more like spending time with the Lord as He forgives in continued relationship knowing and trusting He will do great things in and through one’s life. To wait on the Lord is to spend intimate and trusting time with Him!

Repentance is the breeding ground for the activity of the Holy Spirit. He describes the anticipation of daylight by watchmen over a city in verse 6. Watchmen waited for the sun to rise as they felt safer being able to see the enemy approaching. The radiance of the Spirit’s presence in our lives gives us full hope and assurance of the move of God. The darkness of sin keeps His presence, hope, and assurance distant. Repentance shines the light of the Lord in all the dark places of our hearts and rescues us from the destruction of sin. Repentance is not a bad word – it is a freeing truth!

The psalmist moves from the personal effects of repentance to pleading with all of God’s people to put their hope through repentance in the Lord (v. 7a). He reminds them “with the Lord’s is unfailing love and full redemption” (v. 7b). Where else would anyone want to be than in the middle of that kind of hope, forgiveness, love, and redemption? Hopefully nowhere! The temptation from the devil is to hide our sins. If we keep our sins secret, then we won’t be shamed or condemned. The lie the devil still falsely spreads is what Adam and Eve felt as they hid from God when they sinned while before sin they walked with Him. God’s going to get me when He finds out. Truth be told, He already knows and His Holy Spirit is drawing you back to Him. The truth is unrepentance separates us from God. Truth is through repentance God forgives, restores, redeems, and cleanses. Repentance brings hope, not more hurt. It ushers in redemption, not condemnation. Repentance gives redemption that reunites what sin breaks. He forgives us from all of our sins when we repent (v. 8).

Questions:

1. What sins have you tried to hide from God and others?
2. What has kept you from repenting?
3. Will you repent of your sin right now and receive the fullness of God’s mercy, forgiveness, and redemption?

Prayer:
Lord, I repent of sin instead of trying to hide it. You already know my sins and still love me enough to draw me back to You. Thank You for full forgiveness, mercy, and redemption. I will serve You with reverence and wait on You with my whole being. I place my full hope in Your word and am thankful for Your unfailing love. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.