OUR DESPAIR DEMANDS DEPENDENCE ON HIM

Blessed Is Everyone Who Fears the LORD

A Song of Ascents.

1 Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD,
who walks in his ways!
2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;
you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.

3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
    within your house;
your children will be like olive shoots
    around your table.
4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
    who fears the LORD.

5 The LORD bless you from Zion!
    May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
    all the days of your life!
6 May you see your children's children!
    Peace be upon Israel!

They Have Afflicted Me from My Youth

A Song of Ascents.

1 “Greatly^{1

129:1
Or Often; also verse 2} have they afflicted me from my youth”—
    let Israel now say—
2 “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth,
    yet they have not prevailed against me.
3 The plowers plowed upon my back;
    they made long their furrows.”
4 The LORD is righteous;
    he has cut the cords of the wicked.
5 May all who hate Zion
    be put to shame and turned backward!
6 Let them be like the grass on the housetops,
    which withers before it grows up,
7 with which the reaper does not fill his hand
    nor the binder of sheaves his arms,
8 nor do those who pass by say,
    “The blessing of the LORD be upon you!
    We bless you in the name of the LORD!”

My Soul Waits for the Lord

A Song of Ascents.

1 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.

I Have Calmed and Quieted My Soul

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

1 O LORD, my heart is not lifted up;
    my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
    too great and too marvelous for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
    like a weaned child with its mother;
    like a weaned child is my soul within me.

3 O Israel, hope in the LORD
from this time forth and forevermore.

The LORD Has Chosen Zion

A Song of Ascents.

1 Remember, O LORD, in David's favor,
    all the hardships he endured,
2 how he swore to the LORD
    and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
3 “I will not enter my house
    or get into my bed,
4 I will not give sleep to my eyes
    or slumber to my eyelids,
5 until I find a place for the LORD,
    a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

6 Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;
we found it in the fields of Jaar.
7 “Let us go to his dwelling place;
let us worship at his footstool!”

8 Arise, O LORD, and go to your resting place,
    you and the ark of your might.
9 Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,
    and let your saints shout for joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
    do not turn away the face of your anointed one.

11 The LORD swore to David a sure oath
    from which he will not turn back:
“One of the sons of your body^{2

132:11
Hebrew of your fruit of the womb}
    I will set on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant
    and my testimonies that I shall teach them,
their sons also forever
    shall sit on your throne.”

13 For the LORD has chosen Zion;
    he has desired it for his dwelling place:
14 “This is my resting place forever;
    here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
15 I will abundantly bless her provisions;
    I will satisfy her poor with bread.
16 Her priests I will clothe with salvation,
    and her saints will shout for joy.
17 There I will make a horn to sprout for David;
    I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.
18 His enemies I will clothe with shame,
    but on him his crown will shine.”

When Brothers Dwell in Unity

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

1 Behold, how good and pleasant it is
    when brothers dwell in unity!^{3

133:1
Or dwell together}
2 It is like the precious oil on the head,
    running down on the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
    running down on the collar of his robes!
3 It is like the dew of Hermon,
    which falls on the mountains of Zion!
For there the LORD has commanded the blessing,
    life forevermore.

Come, Bless the LORD

A Song of Ascents.

1 Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD,
who stand by night in the house of the LORD!
2 Lift up your hands to the holy place
and bless the LORD!

3 May the LORD bless you from Zion,
he who made heaven and earth!

Footnotes

[1] 129:1 Or Often; also verse 2
[2] 132:11 Hebrew of your fruit of the womb
[3] 133:1 Or dwell together

Desperation is usually not desirable. Being in desperate need or desperately desiring something is not a place we want to find ourselves. As I read Psalm 130, though, I was drawn to the tone of desperation as the psalmist cried out to the Lord. There is a tone in his voice that I desire to have—not because I want to be deep in despair, but because I know that I am in desperate need of Him. I recently heard a speaker say, “Prayer is an act of discipline, but it should also be an act of desperation.” You don’t have to get past the first verse of this psalm to understand that this prayer is rooted in desperation.

To the Lord, a voice of desperation is a voice He desires to hear. Out of our hopelessness, as we cry out to Him, we acknowledge our need for Him. Our despair demands that we depend on His hope alone. As I read this psalm, the worship song “Lord, I Need You” came to mind. The words are simple, yet convicting. The simple verse of “Every hour I need You” calls me to remember the hours I went without recognizing my need for Him while also reminding me of my need for Him in the hours to come.

The song continues with a line that says, “Where sin runs deep, your grace is more,” followed by, “Where grace is found is where You are.” Both the song and the psalm recognize the depth of our sin and our need for grace. Our sins are numerous (130:3), but we can find forgiveness through Him (130:4) and put our hope in His Word (130:5). The greater our understanding of the depth of our sin, the greater our understanding of His unfailing love and overflowing redemption will be (130:7).

Whether you are prone to forget your need for Him (as I am) or you think your sin is too much, the Lord desires for you to cry out to Him in dependence. He is ready. His hope awaits.

1. When was the last time you acknowledged your desperate need for the Lord? Was it an hour ago or hours upon hours ago?

2. We are called to confess our sins, not so that He can keep record of our sins (130:3), but so that we may receive forgiveness (130:4). Is there sin in your life that you need to confess?

3. Worship songs often remind us of truth. Have you ever taken your favorite worship song and found the Scripture that corresponds to it? If not, consider the lyrics of a song that stirs your heart and look for Scripture that has the same heartbeat. I promise you'll be encouraged!