Day 29 - Out of the Pit

Well, good morning.

Hopefully your Saturday is off to a great slow start.

And uh we are excited for spring break this week for so many of us, but we're glad that you're joining us this morning as we're looking at Psalm chapter one hundred and thirty, which says this out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.

O Lord, hear my voice, let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy.

If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?

But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope.

My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.

O Israel, hope in the Lord, for with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption, and he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

Psalm one thirty is a psalm of ascent.

There are fifteen of these special psalms that were traditionally sang as pilgrims to Jerusalem climbed the steeped hill to the city up to the steps of the temple.

The person was physically, if we think of heaven being above us or referring to the Holy of Holies in the temple, and spiritually getting closer to God as he climbed.

Some of these psalms are attributed to David and one to Solomon, but the author of one hundred and thirty is unknown.

Its overall theme is repentance, but it is also about the character and the attributes of God.

In verse 1, the psalmist begins crying out to the Lord from a pit or abyss.

The word used for Lord is Yahweh, the God of the covenant with Israel.

How many times have you found yourself in a pit?

The pit could be loneliness, addiction, depression, financial problems.

We have all been in a pit.

The first pit was the one we were born in.

We were born in the depths of sin.

If we have accepted Christ as our Savior, we are no longer in that pit, but there are other valleys in life.

In verse two, the psalmist begs the Lord to hear his cries.

He is not asking with the idea that the Lord might not hear.

He is demanding because he knows that the Lord promises he will hear.

Isaiah 65 24 says, Before they call, I will answer.

While they are yet speaking, I will hear.

The psalmist knows the Lord has rescued him from the pit in the past, and that he can depend on him to do so again in the future.

Verses three through four.

The Psalmist notes that if the Lord kept track of our sins in order for us to be punished, no one would be found innocent.

Romans three twenty-three states, For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

While the Lord knows all of our sins, he does not keep a record of them.

In fact, he forgets them.

Hebrews ten seventeen says, I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.

The Psalmist believes this and says God should be revered.

Feared in the Psalms means to be in awe of, because he forgives and forgets.

What sin do you need the Lord to forgive and forget?

Verses five and six the Psalmist says he has hope because of what is said in the Word of God and because of his own relationship with God.

The psalmist trusts the Lord will come through in this circumstance, just as he has always done in the past, and his word promises.

Second Corinthians chapter one, verse ten states, He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us.

On him we have set our hope, and he will deliver us again.

The psalmist waits expectantly, just as the night watchman knows the sun will rise.

The Lord promises to be with us in the pit and to guide us out if we will follow him.

Isaiah forty one ten says, Do not fear, for I am with you.

Do not be afraid, for I am your God.

Verses seven and eight, the Psalm changes.

It was the personal cry of one man.

He has reminded himself of God's mercy, forgiveness, word, and promise.

Now he is ready to encourage others, Israel, to believe in God too.

Psalm one hundred thirty seven says, Hope in the Lord, for with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.

So our action this morning is this.

Easter is a time of remembering Jesus' work on the cross.

He took all the sins of the world, mine, yours, and everyone's, and paid the price for it with his own life.

Then he rose again and to prove he was God's Son and to show he has authority over sin and death.

If you have never believed this, you are in the same pit in which you were all born into, the pit of sin.

Cry out to God, He will hear you in the depths of your despair and rescue you.

If you're a believer and you still find yourself in a pit from time to time, all of us have found ourselves in a figurative pit as well.

The pit is a depth of human suffering.

Our lives are made up of peaks and valleys or pits.

The Christian life is rarely one of smooth sailing and easy walking.

The last time you found yourself in a pit, or if you are in one now, how did you react?

Determine how you will react the next time you find yourself in an abyss.

Will you, like the psalmist, claim God's mercy knowing that you are unworthy but he is trustworthy?

Will you remember that he hears you, forgives you, forgets your sins, and will rescue you?

Once you have reminded yourself of these truths, think of someone who needs to hear about them.

Make an appointment to meet this person for breakfast or a cup of coffee.

Tell them about your God.

Invite them to come to church with you on Easter.

Tell them you will pick them up.

And so we pray this morning.

Dear Lord, thank you for your word which allows us to know you.

Thank you that the Bible always agrees with itself so that I can find other verses to support and further explain the verses found in Psalm 130.

I thank you, Lord, for being a loving God who hears our cries and then joins us in the pit in order to lead us out again.

Thank you that you are merciful, that you forgive and forget our sins, even though we are unworthy.

You deserve our eternal worship.

Help me to tell someone this week about what you have done in my life, how you have rescued me from the pit time and again.

Thank you for joining us this morning.

We pray that you have a great Saturday, and we can't wait to see you tomorrow morning, um, either in person or online.