Psalm 130
A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.
1 From the depths of despair, O Lord,
I call for your help.
2 Hear my cry, O Lord.
Pay attention to my prayer.
3 Lord, if you kept a record of our sins,
who, O Lord, could ever survive?
4 But you offer forgiveness,
that we might learn to fear you.
5 I am counting on the Lord;
yes, I am counting on him.
I have put my hope in his word.
6 I long for the Lord
more than sentries long for the dawn,
yes, more than sentries long for the dawn.
7 O Israel, hope in the Lord;
for with the Lord there is unfailing love.
His redemption overflows.
8 He himself will redeem Israel
from every kind of sin.
I wish I hadn’t …. I’ve messed up so much …. I try to do good things, go to church regularly, give money to worthy causes, but have I done enough for God to forgive me ….
When this psalm was written, Jesus hadn’t come to earth, died and risen from the dead. Yet even back then, this psalmist realized that God was a forgiving God. Today we know for sure that God listens when we call on him for forgiveness. The Book of Hebrews was written for Jewish believers who still were trying to figure out what had happened to the Temple sacrifices for sin. What exactly did they need to be sure their sin was forgiven?
Hebrews 10: 19 – 23 NLT
19 And so, dear brothers and sisters,[a] we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By his death,[b] Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. 21 And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.
“God can be trusted to keep his promise.” Or the psalmist says,
O Israel, hope in the Lord;
for with the Lord there is unfailing love.
His redemption overflows.
Romans 8: 1 – 2 NLT
So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.
If you struggle with wondering if you are good enough for God to accept you, you need to understand that He is a forgiving God. His love was so great that Jesus was willing to leave Heaven and come to earth to pay the penalty for what each one of us has done wrong. In accepting Jesus’ sacrifice for you, you are forgiven. A new day begins.
Our song for today is Forgiven by Crowder