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Psalm 130

An Available God

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Psalm 130

An Available God

Dr. Randy L. Hyde

If I were to ask you which of the psalms is your favorite, we all know which one you would choose, don’t we? Just this week Janet and I were behind a vehicle with a vanity tag. It read “PSALM34.” Later, I looked it up. O-o-kay. To each his own, I suppose. I mean, it’s a good psalm and all that, but if were to take a poll the winner would be the Twenty-Third Psalm hands down. One reason for that is the wonderful imagery. It is rich beyond measure, with word pictures of what it means to walk in the presence of a loving and guiding God both now and in the hereafter. Many of us memorized it a long time ago, and every time we hear it, it almost brings tears to the eyes.

Which is why, if we were to take a poll and ask you to list your favorite psalm, I doubt any of us would choose Psalm 130. It is one of the simplest and clearest of the psalms, to be true. But there is no imagery found here. The language is straightforward and direct, gets to the point quickly, says what it needs to say, and then is ended. It’s strictly a blue-collar psalm and doesn’t do much to stir our imaginations.

But then again, when you’re hurting, when you’re grieving, when your world has fallen in… you don’t think poetically. Your mind-set, not to mention your heart-set, is strictly prose. You’re not concerned with your imagination. So, you bring your petition directly to God and state your case. No frills, no fancy language, no poetry.

That is what the psalmist has done here. We need to understand that whatever has happened in the life of the psalmist – and we are not told what it is – he is in a world of hurt. His circumstances are dire and stressful, and when he talks to God he speaks directly and with great force.

Have you ever been there? Of course you have. Whatever the crisis may be… the death of a loved one, financial difficulty, the loss of a close, personal relationship, job insecurity or joblessness… Think of some of the worst things that can happen, and chances are each of them are represented by someone in this room this morning.

When in those situations, our natural and best response is to get rid of all the frills, cut to the chase, and deal only with the most significant issues of life. We don’t have time or resources or the heart for dealing with unnecessary things. Reduce life to its most basic common denominators and hang on.

Mae and Earl Brown were members of our church in Florida, and once they returned from snowbirding in Wisconsin became two of our dearest friends in the congregation. One thing that linked us together was our mutual love of Volkswagens.

Earl was the first-ever Volkswagen dealer in Florida. He loved the fact that at the age of 14 I learned to drive on a ’58 Beetle and have owned a couple of ’67 Beetles. But my real love is the Karmann Ghia, esp. the convertible. I’ve owned a ’66 model, a ’71, and currently have a ’72.

Earl died when we were in Dunedin, and I officiated his funeral. A couple of years later, just before we left Florida, I sold my ’83 Volvo (one of those boxy models), which I had had eight years. I put 108,000 miles on it, and quite frankly got tired of it before I wore it out. With the proceeds of that sale I bought a one-owner ’71 Karmann Ghia convertible that had originally come from Earl’s dealership. It still had the owner’s manual with Earl’s signature inside. My plan was to keep it and restore it, drive it a little bit here, a little bit there for the rest of my life.

We moved from Florida to the Atlanta area. I was out of work and trying to start a small business. We found ourselves in a situation in which we needed cash to pay the rent. Reluctantly, I sold the Ghia. I hated to do it since it carried such personal meaning for me, not only for what it was, but for where it came from. But, we were at a point in life in which I had to deal with basics. As important as that Ghia was to me, it was a frill. I couldn’t afford frills, and it had to go.

During those two difficult years Janet and I had a saying. We got sick of saying it, but it often pulled us through… “We gotta do what we gotta do.”

That is the spirit of the psalmist…

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.

You may recognize this plaintive cry from the funeral services I have conducted the last ten years. I use it often because the psalmist speaks for all of us who grieve.

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.

Lord, hear my voice!

Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!

Direct, isn’t it? No imagery, no poetry, just cut to the chase. I’m hurting here, Lord! Listen to what I have to say!

Nevertheless, there are some subtleties here that reveal the psalmist’s sense of desperation. Did you notice?

When a person is trying to get your attention – a salesman, for example – notice how many times he or she will call you by name. That isn’t by chance. It is a method they have been taught. People like to hear their own names, so sales people learn to call prospects’ names over and over in an effort to establish something of a personal relationship. If you’re a salesperson and I’ve given away one of your trade secrets, please forgive me. But look for it the next time you go to buy… say a car or a household appliance… or maybe vinyl siding.

Or, when someone is really wanting a person’s attention for another reason. He or she will call that person’s name. I’ve even had people use that technique with me when coming here to ask for financial help. The first thing they do is ask my name, and I hear it often for the next few minutes. I can’t help but think they’ve done this before.

The psalmist does it here…

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.

Lord, hear my voice!

If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,

Lord, who could stand?

Another hint of his desperation is that he doesn’t bother with niceties when he addresses his Lord. He gets right to it.

Generally, when we address someone, or God in prayer, we refer to that person or to God and give them the honor we feel they deserve. Even Jesus, in teaching his disciples to pray, started his model prayer by saying, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name…” It’s virtually impossible to say those words without bowing your head. Not here. Quite frankly, the psalmist isn’t focusing on God in this psalm; he’s thinking primarily of himself. Immediately, the psalmist goes to the heart of the situation and lets the Lord know he is in trouble…

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.

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Walter Brueggemann says, “The psalm thereby strikes one of the most poignant evangelical notes in all the Psalter.”1 The psalmist goes on to call God the ruler of reality. It raises the question… If you are going to address the ruler of reality, the Lord of all, how do you do it? Brueggemann says, “One might think it should be from a posture of obedience, or at least from a situation of prosperity and success… One ought to address the king suitably dressed, properly positioned, with a disciplined, well-modulated voice. But this psalm is the miserable cry of a nobody from nowhere.”2

Jesus makes it quite clear that cries from the depths – the miserable cries “…of a nobody from nowhere” – are the voices to which God is particularly attuned. He did not respond to Jairus’ request because he was the leader of the local synagogue. To Jesus, this man was a person in need. The psalmist is hoping for the same spirit of compassion and is crying out to an available God.

This says a great deal… about God and about the psalmist. God, that he would be so available to this “nobody from nowhere,” and the psalmist that he would have so much faith in an available God who would listen and then respond.

It is when God and believer connect on this intimate level that real faith is formed, that real relationship is given meaning, that real life as God created it comes into being. If there are levels of scripture in regard to quality, this is one of the highest and holiest moments in God’s word. This is where the stuff of life and faith reaches its best level.

The psalmist is confessional, yet somewhat shrewdly he says…

If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,

(in other words, “keep a register of things I do wrong”)

Lord, who could stand?

May I translate? “If you hold my sins against me, Lord, I don’t have a chance! But…” (and this is the shrewd part) “I believe you don’t hold my sins against me.” Why? Because…

…there is forgiveness with you,

so that you may be revered.

Why bother with a God who doesn’t forgive us our sins? What good does it do to promote a relationship with a God who holds grudges? Would you want to have a significant relationship with another person who constantly held every disagreeable thing you said or did against you? No. Some of you may be thinking, “I’ve been in that kind of relationship.” It’s not any fun, is it? Well, the same is true with a relationship with God. The psalmist may be desperate, but he is still shrewd in his deliberations with God, seeking every advantage with God he can get. After all, I sold my Karmann Ghia. I didn’t give it away!

The psalmist has another thing going for him. Patience. Patience, in this case, is synonymous with faith and hope.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,

and in his word I hope;

my soul waits for the Lord

more than those who watch for the morning,

more than those who watch for the morning.

Forgive me, if you will, for being overly personal. But when we were in those difficult times in Georgia, those times marked by “you gotta do what you gotta do,” we were able to keep on keeping on because we believed fervently that our situation would not be for always. We didn’t know at times what was around the next corner, but we felt constantly that things would get better. And they did.

Have you ever had a sleepless night? Your mind is racing, you pound the pillow, but sleep won’t come. You can’t wait for the break of sun in the morning. Or, perhaps you are in the hospital or you’re sick at home. Night brings a certain low-level frenzy. It’s a real condition called “sundowners,” but you know that morning will usher in another day and a new opportunity for coming closer to health. That’s the testimony of the psalmist.

…my soul waits for the Lord

more than those who watch for the morning,

more than those who watch for the morning.

That is patience and hope!

When a person comes to a significant understanding in the relationship with God, it is unnatural to keep it to one’s self. The story, the experience, must be shared. It is like when you are with a good friend you haven’t seen in a long time. There is little in your conversation that does not have significance all the way through it. It is the way of the psalmist…

O Israel, hope in the Lord!

For with the Lord there is steadfast love,

and with him is great power to redeem.

It is he who will redeem Israel

from all its iniquities.

The psalmist may have been patient in waiting for the Lord, but his patience is not to be found when it comes to sharing his story. Let’s make note. We should be willing to speak openly of our faith, and do it often. Sometimes we must wait on the Lord to listen to our plaintive cries, but when contact is established and the relationship of faith and eternal life moves forward significantly, the waiting is over. It is time to tell others that God is indeed available, for if God has been available to us, that is news worth sharing.

Don’t you think?

Lord, some of us come to you this morning out of the depths, just like the psalmist. Others of us have been there, and for some it is yet to come. Regardless of where we are in life, find us patient to follow you but eager to share our testimony with others. In Jesus’ saving name we pray, Amen.

Notes

1Walter Brueggemann, The Message of the Psalms (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1984), p. 104.

2Ibid.

––Copyright 2006, Randy L. Hyde. Used by permission.