Psalm 130 – Waiting for the Redemption of the Lord:
A Song of Ascents.
“Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord; 2 Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. 3 If You, Lord, should mark (take note of) iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? 4 But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared. 5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope. 6 My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning—yes, more than those who watch for the morning. 7 O Israel, hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption. 8 And He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.”
When I was a Lead Pastor, I had the honor of officiating many a grave side funeral service for parishioners and other folks who had passed. I would use this psalm at the end of my comments if the deceased was a believer because I felt that it was very relevant to their situation; their waiting on the Lord for their resurrection. When a believer dies, while their body remains and is buried or burned, their soul and spirit are ushered into the presence of the Lord in paradise, a place of waiting in the kingdom of heaven until all things are ready. Then when the Lord returns for His Church in the blessed hope, the rapture/resurrection, the Bible says that the dead in Christ will rise first, then we who are alive and remain will be caught up with them where we will all meet the Lord in the air; and forever we will be with the Lord. A lot of people think that their Christian loved ones will pop out of their graves like daisies and shoot up into the sky at the Rapture. A greater truth is that they will be coming from paradise in the third heaven to meet Jesus in the air. We (believers) will be coming from the earth to meet Jesus in the air. If ever there were a psalm that depicted an ascension it would be this one.
I believe this psalm is also superimposed over the trib-saints and remnant Jews who will be sequestered in Petra during the second half of the tribulation; where they will be under God’s supernatural protection and provision.
These precious souls will be crying out for Jesus to return and looking for His return in His glorious Second Coming. They are going to realize that Jesus is their true Messiah and the only one who can forgive sin. This antichrist global leader who deceived them is a false messiah.
The psalmist depicts how believers have come to understand and proclaim that if the Lord were to count our iniquities, nobody would stand. God doesn’t count our sins, instead, He forgives them if we repent of them, confess them, and ask His forgiveness. In Petra, the protected Jewish remnant and many trib-saints like them there, and around the world, will be waiting for the Lord with great earnest. All of these remnant believers will be hoping in the Lord, longing for His return, and watching for the Messiah. They will be crying out, ‘blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna!’ The Lord will be coming to defeat the enemy, judge the nations, redeem Israel, and set up His millennial kingdom. This is what these folks are looking for as they watch and wait. Their hope is in the Lord, they are longing for His mercy; that is, NOT getting something that you deserve. They are looking for their redemption because with the Lord, there is an abundance of it. God is and will be faithful to redeem them.
Today, on this side of the Rapture, believers who are in tune with the nearness of the Lord’s return for His Church (His bride) are crying out now, ‘blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ The name of the Lord is Jesus; He is our Savior. While I don’t believe that I will ever die, but instead, be raptured with the rest of the NT Church who are alive and will be when the Lord returns, I have proclaimed the promises of this psalm many times at the head stones of those believes who have already passed. It’s a psalm of hope in our soon coming Lord and the redemption of our bodies; dead or alive. The closer I get to the moment when we are caught away, the more I separate from this world and anticipate what the Lord has prepared for me in glory. While I am not a perfect man, I am trying as best I can to live right in the sight of the Lord and I relay daily on God’s grace to get me through. I have become much more sensitive to those around me and I am keenly aware of the temporariness of everything on this earth. From the depths of my heart I cry out to the Lord as I watch and wait from my place of occupying and fatigue. I encourage you my brother (and sister), stay the course and keep your focus on what you know in your heart to be true in God’s Word about the many promises of Christ’ soon return and our gathering together with Him with all of those who have loved His appearing.
Maranatha!
Encouragemen is a blog written by Pastor Rob Lee, recently relocated to Northern Missouri. He lives with his wife of 33-years, near their three adult children, their spouses, and children (their grandchildren). Pastor Rob is an Ordained Assemblies of God minister, a former Lead Pastor (25 years), police chaplain, and community advocate. He continues to serve, consult, and disciple men of God, including those who are in the ministry.
Encourage Men 