The trouble with wandering is that after a bit a man looks around and the horizons are still there. There are nameless canyons and rivers still unknown to man. But a moral man is suddenly old. The dream is there still, but rheumatism and weakening strength rob him of the chance to go further.”
–Louis L’Amour (Over on the Dry Side)
“He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.”
–Isaiah 40:29 (KJV)
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The end is near, the trip is almost over. You think there would be joy and excitement, but then after climbing one hill you discover there’s still another to climb. The knees get weak and buckle. The same is trying to walk this journey of life bearing the burden of sin. Oh, what a burden reliever is Christ. Look at Psalm 130 and gain hope and renewed vigor for the rest of the trek.
1 — Out of the depths I have cried to You, O LORD;
2 — Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
3 — If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?
4 — But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared.
5 — I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in His word do I hope.
6 — My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning–yes, more than those who watch for the morning.
7 — O Israel, hope in the LORD; for with the LORD there is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption.
8 — And He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. (NKJV)
Remember that this is a song of ascent, not descent. Woe to the one who quits now and begins to walk back down the trail. Continue on, hearken to God’s word, rely upon His mercy. During the day and at night when the traveling is over take time to repent and confess your sins. It will help your soul get back on the right track. Strength is gone, but there is the hope in Christ that He will forgive and lift you up. Notice the psalmist is desperate–“hear my voice!”
Sometimes you find yourself in a situation not of your making. You are tripped, you get caught in a snare, you fall over a rock or root in the path. Other times you just plain have given into temptation. Your sinful desires took you astray. However, “At all times you must take responsibility for your feelings no matter how you crashed.” (George Wood) If not, we could fall into sin, but reacting wrongly to the situation not of our creation. Now get this–God is with you and is fully willing to forgive! As Steven Lawson said, “If God kept a record of sins, never to forgive them, no one could stand with acceptance before Him.” Aren’t you glad He doesn’t keep score? It is His nature to forgive if we come to Him humbly. “The result of true forgiveness is never a lackadaisical attitude but holy fear toward God. Divine pardon, rightly understood and humbly received, will always lead to deep reverence for God.” (Lawson)
What a psalm for this Thanksgiving season. God forgives! If we ask, He is ready and willing. I like what George Wood says, “The Lord does not offer empty words or incomplete solutions to your need.” There is full forgiveness, full restoration, full reconciliation. “He brought me out of the miry clay. He set my feet on the Rock to stay; He puts a song in my soul today, A song of praise, hallelujah.” (H.L. Gilmour)
Notice that the psalmist waits as eagerly as the watchman waits for the dawn. That was the time when they would be relieved of the burden of the night. They looked forward to that respite just as we can when we call upon the Lord. We put our hope in Him. We rest in His love and He brings peace to our soul. There is another side-note at the end of this psalm: the redemption of Israel. There will come a day when those of the covenant will finally receive Jesus as the Messiah and then God will restore them. “He himself will free Israel from every kind of sin.” (NLT)
“In tenderness he sought me, weary and sick with sin,
And on his shoulders brought me back to his fold again.
While angels in his presence sang
Until the courts of heaven rang.”
–W. Spencer Walton
———————————
The end is near, the trip is almost over. You think there would be joy and excitement, but then after climbing one hill you discover there’s still another to climb. The knees get weak and buckle. The same is trying to walk this journey of life bearing the burden of sin. Oh, what a burden reliever is Christ. Look at Psalm 130 and gain hope and renewed vigor for the rest of the trek.
1 — Out of the depths I have cried to You, O LORD;
2 — Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
3 — If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?
4 — But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared.
5 — I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in His word do I hope.
6 — My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning–yes, more than those who watch for the morning.
7 — O Israel, hope in the LORD; for with the LORD there is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption.
8 — And He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. (NKJV)
Remember that this is a song of ascent, not descent. Woe to the one who quits now and begins to walk back down the trail. Continue on, hearken to God’s word, rely upon His mercy. During the day and at night when the traveling is over take time to repent and confess your sins. It will help your soul get back on the right track. Strength is gone, but there is the hope in Christ that He will forgive and lift you up. Notice the psalmist is desperate–“hear my voice!”
Sometimes you find yourself in a situation not of your making. You are tripped, you get caught in a snare, you fall over a rock or root in the path. Other times you just plain have given into temptation. Your sinful desires took you astray. However, “At all times you must take responsibility for your feelings no matter how you crashed.” (George Wood) If not, we could fall into sin, but reacting wrongly to the situation not of our creation. Now get this–God is with you and is fully willing to forgive! As Steven Lawson said, “If God kept a record of sins, never to forgive them, no one could stand with acceptance before Him.” Aren’t you glad He doesn’t keep score? It is His nature to forgive if we come to Him humbly. “The result of true forgiveness is never a lackadaisical attitude but holy fear toward God. Divine pardon, rightly understood and humbly received, will always lead to deep reverence for God.” (Lawson)
What a psalm for this Thanksgiving season. God forgives! If we ask, He is ready and willing. I like what George Wood says, “The Lord does not offer empty words or incomplete solutions to your need.” There is full forgiveness, full restoration, full reconciliation. “He brought me out of the miry clay. He set my feet on the Rock to stay; He puts a song in my soul today, A song of praise, hallelujah.” (H.L. Gilmour)
Notice that the psalmist waits as eagerly as the watchman waits for the dawn. That was the time when they would be relieved of the burden of the night. They looked forward to that respite just as we can when we call upon the Lord. We put our hope in Him. We rest in His love and He brings peace to our soul. There is another side-note at the end of this psalm: the redemption of Israel. There will come a day when those of the covenant will finally receive Jesus as the Messiah and then God will restore them. “He himself will free Israel from every kind of sin.” (NLT)
“In tenderness he sought me, weary and sick with sin,
And on his shoulders brought me back to his fold again.
While angels in his presence sang
Until the courts of heaven rang.”
–W. Spencer Walton