Cries from the Depths

Psalm 130

Verse 1 Out of the depths I cry to You, LORD;

Today we start another song of praise for the journey. Though we don’t know who wrote this psalm it is obvious that they loved going up to the city of God to worship Him in festival.

This song for the journey is focused on God and who He is. We have so much to thank Him for. He is more than we deserve and more than we can fully understand. The psalmist starts this psalm with the perspective we all need to see God from, the depths.

“Out of the depths” speaks of where we find ourselves when we come to God. This isn’t saying that we only come to Him in our times of being down and out but does speak of the fact that we can’t be on the same level as He is no matter how good we feel. And if we are honest with ourselves we don’t come to Him at all until we understand the depth of our sinfulness. He is holy. Purely holy in fact and that is why we will always find ourselves looking up to Him.

What makes the difference is what we do when we see Him from our depths. The psalmist says that he called out to God from the depths. This is one of the things that we need to do from the depths. Calling out to God shows that we understand that He alone can save us from the depths we are in. Our sinful lives are the result of our fallen nature but we don’t have to stay in that nature. But first we have to acknowledge that we are in the depths and don’t want to stay there.

Things are dark in the depths. We can’t get ourselves out. When we are fighting a particular sin that seems to have a tight grip on us we may struggle to free ourselves from it but God is the only one that can truly free us from it. The sin may have even been our joy for a while. It is comfortable to us. But it may also be uncomfortable in the sense that know that it displeases God. When we look on His holiness we can’t help but see our need for His power to remove us from the depths of our sin. He is the God who sees us where we are and when we cry out to Him, sincerely desiring His help, He will never turn His back on us.

Making It Personal

Have you ever felt like you were in the depths? What sin is connected with the depths in your life? What are you doing to keep that sin in your past?

Making It Personal Kids

Have you ever felt like Jesus was far away because of a sin you committed? Why does Jesus seem far away when you sin? How can you make sure He never feels far away?

Closing Prayer

Father, thank You for hearing our cries. Help us see ourselves in light of Your holiness so we know how much we need to cry out to You. In Jesus’ name, amen.