Psalm 130

If we are honest, most of us are not good at waiting. Though we have microwaves that can cook a meal in a matter of minutes, we often watch the timer tick down and wonder why it is taking so long to cook. Though we can go through a drive thru at a restaurant and have our meal in a matter of minutes, we often complain that we have to wait too long. We order something on-line expecting it the next day and when it gets late in the day we are upset that our package hasn’t already arrived. Patience, no doubt, is not a virtue at which we excel. Because of our impatience, we can often become impatient with God. We lift up a quick prayer believing that God should answer our prayer just as we ask in a matter of moments. If any time passes at all, we accuse God of not listening or not caring. In Psalm 130 the Psalmist says some words that we struggle with, but that we should emulate. 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.  The Psalmist waited for Lord and waited with hope because of the promises found in God’s word. He stated that he waited more than the watchmen for the morning. The repeating of this phrase gave emphasis to what he was saying. As you think about watchmen waiting for the morning, there are two things they knew. First, they knew the morning was coming. The sun rises every morning and so they had certainty that the morning was coming. Second, they knew that with the morning came relief. The watchmen would be relieved us their duties when the morning watchmen arrived. What the Psalmist was saying was that he was certain that God would act on his behalf and that with God’s actions would come relief. As you read the Psalm, it appears that specifically the Psalmist is looking for relief for some sin that he or the nation had committed because what he is looking for is redemption and he places his hope in the steadfast love of the Lord and the plentifulness of the Lord’s redemption. We you are looking for forgiveness, there is no doubt that waiting for it is the worst kind of waiting. But the good news is that God is a God who readily forgives. If you will confess your sin to him, he will forgive you. We also need to remember that the waiting for God’s redemption has passed. For when Jesus came, died for our sins, and resurrected he made our redemption possible. If you will look to Jesus, the waiting for forgiveness is over and the relief that can come with forgiveness can be found.