Cry, Wait, Hope
Scripture Reading: Psalm 130 (NIV)
A song of ascents.
1Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord;
2Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.
3If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand?
4But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you.
5I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.
6I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.
7Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.
8He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.
Message: Cry, Wait, Hope
David and Psalm 130
Psalm 130 is thought by scholars to have been written by David
It comes out of great distress that David is experiencing
David did experience great distress before God in the time that he was persecuted by Saul and also in the time after his adultery with Bathsheba
The words David wrote in this Psalm became famous and was turned into a song - a song of ascents
Something like a chorus that was song going up to worship at the temple
These words were well known, and sang regularly among believers
I believe these words, in song, meant a great deal to God’s people… comforting them, but also strengthening their faith
Three themes emerge from this song: the cry out to God, the wait upon God and the hope in God
Today, God wants us to be comforted and our faith to be strengthened
Cry out to God
Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord;
It is what believers do, the cry out to God when they are in great distress
Crying out to God is a powerful release of tension that believers has
We cry out to God with different cries: Why? How long? I can’t take this anymore! Help! Intervene!
We cry out to God because we know that God is God - He is Almighty
We cry out to God out of the desperation of having no-one else to go to
We cry out to God because without Him we are lost
In the end, when all our other cries fails, it is our cry out to God that brings reprieve from our distress
Hear this song today as an invitation to cry out to God
Bring what you carry within to God when you cry out to Him!
Wait on God
I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning
Life as a believer is a life of waiting on God
Waiting for God is not waiting for IF God intervenes in my distress
Rather, it is a waiting for WHEN God intervenes in my distress
It is not a passive waiting on chance like holding a lottery ticket in your hand
It is an active waiting with the sure knowledge that God is actively involved in what happens in my life
Watchmen waiting in the night knows that the morning is coming, there’s no doubt in their minds that the sun will break the night
Whatever the night looks like, there is the deep knowing that the morning is coming
Waiting on God is actively praying to God
Waiting on God is actively trusting in God providing
Waiting on God is an act of faith
Look at your situation today and remind yourself that you are waiting, waiting on the Lord more than watchmen waiting on the morning
Hope in God
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
This beautiful song ends with the call to put your hope in the Lord
It is a choice, after we cry out to God and while we wait on God, to put our hope in Him
We put our hope in God because with Him there is unfailing love
We put our hope in God because with Him there is redemption for our sins
We put our hope in God because He sent his Son, Jesus, to bring us freedom
Hope is all about the freedom that comes from God
Hope is about freedom in our live as we overcome the consequences of our sins
The love of God overcomes our deepest distress
That is why we are able to make the choice to put our hope in the Lord
Cry, Wait, Hope
Cry out to God out of the depths of our despair
Wait on God with the sure knowing that day will break in your night
And put your hope in God, because He loves you deeply
Hear this song of ascension today:
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.
Comments
Add your comment