Psalm 130 Hope in the Lord

by Krisan Marotta | Mar 16, 2017 | 01 Podcasts, Psalms

Psalm 130 English Standard Version

1 A Song of Ascents. Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!
2 O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!
3 If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.
5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.
7 O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.
8 And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

Study Questions

Psalm 130 is an individual lament and a repentance psalm. Read it several times, dividing it into sections, summarizing the main point of each section. Answer the 5W’s and H (who, what, when, where, why, how).
List the key words and repeated phrases; contrasts and comparisons; and parallelism.
What does the Psalm say about God?
In verse 1, the Psalmist is crying out to the Lord. What do you think his condition is and how do you know (hint verse 3)?
In verses 3-4, the Psalmist talks about iniquities and forgiveness. How are these connected? What is the condition for forgiveness?
In verse 4, there is a a connection with forgiveness/mercy and fear of the Lord. Look up “fear’ (H3372) in Strong’s Concordance. Explain how forgiveness would produce “fear” of the Lord. What would this look like in your life?
In verses 5-6, the Psalmist seems to be coming out of the depths. His is waiting, hoping and watching. For what is he waiting? Where is his hope? Why would he hope in God’s Word?
In verses 7-8, the Psalmist is no longer praying, but turns his attention to all the people of God and issues a command. What is the command and what are the reasons for the command?
Write your own personal lament or psalm of repentance.

For more detail and explanation, please listen to the podcast.

Teacher: Libby Taggart