Dangers in the Depths and Deliverance in the Divine
Good Morning Friends,
Suffering is real, but so is God and if we are honest and wait then good things will come even if the bottom has fallen out of one’s life. There is a resolution of chords at the end. Along this theme today we focus on Psalm 130 and it is one of the 15 Songs of Ascents found in Psalms 120- 134. With the other Songs of Ascents it holds a special place in the Psalter for they were sung on the pilgrimages up to Jerusalem during Passover and the harvest festivals of Weeks and Booths. Imagine singing it with Jesus in the Kidron Valley as he and the disciples walk toward Jerusalem for the Passover…for the cross. Experience its dramatic beginning boiling out with an anguished plea. Friends at some deep level we already know the reason behind the plea even though it is never stated. We have been there in its feeling regardless of reasons and the amazing thing is that because it is presented in such an honest way it does not strip the dignity from the writer nor the singer or reader. There is a comforting structure in it because God is in the conversation and God is in the song. It is here we approach God empty handed and with a penitent heart, lamenting our sins and confessing our faults with the lingering whisper of a voice. It is here in a tone and rhythm defined by God that we experience Dangers in the Depths and Deliverance in the Divine.
Scripture: Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord; Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you. I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.
Psalm 130 (NIV)
Message: Today for morning worship at Moorings we sing with orchestra, under the direction of the composer, Mark Hayes, The Gloria as a Master Works. It is an interesting and rare fusion of focus for the 5th Sunday of Lent but when combined with today’s scripture which was also sung, I think it will be a good way to worship. What connects the Gloria and the Psalm to Lent is the sung Latin phrase “qui tollis peccata mundi miserere nobis nobis” which translates as, “who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy on us, have mercy on us.” Jesus may very well have sung Psalm 130 and so too the disciples. I hope we too can imagine walking up the hills to Jerusalem out of the Kidron Valley in its message. The beauty is that sometimes a walk in the valley of the shadow of death, in the wretchedness of world for a time will help us to discover God in a new way. It is here as we crawl out of our own hole of self-centeredness, God teaches us how to show compassion to others in new ways. Here we find that Jesus is with us in the darkest valleys of our lives and wants us to be a light for others in their valleys. Here we discover that God first loved us so that we too might love, not just God, but our neighbors as ourselves as well. Here we realize that as our long list of iniquities are put behind us…as Satan gets behind us, we too can walk through the valley on to an even greater purpose towards a shining city on a hill.
Pray that we experience God’s unfailing love… that we share in His compassion and become tools of steadfast hope for others. Pray that when faced with the father of all lies that tells us there is no option but death, we cry out in the truth of God’s grace and discover we have hope. Pray we discover how the Great Shepherd raises us up out of the darkness. Pray we realize that as our long list of iniquities are put behind us…as Satan gets behind us, we can walk on through the valley on to an even greater purpose in Jerusalem. Pray we are touched by the Holy Spirit in acknowledgement of God’s purpose in us for all those in the trenches of life.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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