Day 19 - February 5/09

Psalm 130

This psalm is so humble and full of praise and awe. The author is crying out for mercy from the depths...of despair? of depression? of possible death? There is thanksgiving for God's grace and forgiveness of sins, because otherwise no one on earth would ever be able to stand before the Lord. The psalmist's soul is waiting on God, and in the meantime putting his hope in the Word. Israel is told to put all her hope in God, because He is the only one who can redeem her from her sins.

So many of the words and phrases are interesting, in choice and in placement. Verses three and four state that BECAUSE God is forgiving, He is feared. At first this didn't make sense to me, but the best I can gather is that because He is the forgiving One, we should live in holy awe of Him because He has the power to give and withhold forgiveness. Verse six is about the soul waiting for God "more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning." My guess is that these watchmen would probably be exhausted from lack of sleep and waiting desperately for the sun to rise; yet, we are called to wait on God with even more fervor than those who have nothing to live for except the morning sunlight spilling over the mountain tops.

I need to ask God for a desire to wait on Him. I need the holy fear of God put inside of me. When did I stop waiting on Him for every decision, even down to the smallest choice? There is a lot missing when I stop living my life for Him. Breathing for myself is doing nothing but wasting air.