Tag Archives: sins

Unknown's avatar

OUT OF THE DEPTHS, INDEED!

Featured by

OUT OF THE DEPTHS, INDEED!

A Reflection on Psalm 130 for Thursday, March 19, 2026 by Rev. Elizabeth Jones

Lectionary reading for 03/19/2026:

Psalm 130

READ 

Psalm 130 New Revised Standard Version

 A Song of Ascents.

1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
2     Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
    to the voice of my supplications!

3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
    Lord, who could stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with you,
    so that you may be revered.

5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
    and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the Lord
    more than those who watch for the morning,
    more than those who watch for the morning.

7 O Israel, hope in the Lord!
    For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
    and with him is great power to redeem.
8 It is he who will redeem Israel
    from all its iniquities.

REFLECT

There’s nothing like an emergency room or a critical care unit in a hospital to give a person a kind of perspective, a window into suffering and pain—on all different levels.

            In the depths. Overwhelmed by the chaotic waters. It’s real. It hits home. This is where some people are regularly at, more often than any of us would like to admit.

            When we read Psalm 130, we aren’t sure whether it’s the depths of sorrow or grief, or the depths of emotional frustration or psychological pain, or a combination of all of the above. This psalm is a window onto the psalmist’s soul, which is about to split in two.

            Have you ever felt like that? Have you ever cried to God from the depths of suffering and pain? I know I have, and it is painful. Horrible. I don’t care to remember it, most of the time, so I pack it away and submerge what unpleasant memories I have in some inner part of my mind.

            Sometimes, life stinks. Some might ask, how can it get worse?

The psalmist tells us how, in verse three. Just when we thought life was really rotten, sin can take center stage and make matters even worse. Sometimes, I can let the sins I commit every day really get under my skin. It isn’t always the huge sins; it can be the little ones, too. The white lies, losing my temper, ignoring people. These little slips of thought, word and deed. Oh, and the bigger sins, too.

What would happen if God were to keep a balance sheet, with all of the good, pleasing deeds I’ve done in one column, and all the bad, evil, nasty things I’m guilty of in the other? I’d imagine I would keep some angelic bookkeeper pretty busy, keeping track of all the petty little bad things I do each and every day, as well as the occasional good things.

            Thank God that God does not keep balance sheets, and weigh the good versus the bad in my life. Thank God I am forgiven! Did you hear that declaration? “But there is forgiveness with You, so that You may be revered.” God loves this psalm writer so much that God is willing to forgive.

            Then, there is a shift. The psalm writer changes from up close and personal to the corporate body. It’s like the psalmist says, “Hey, Israel!! If God can forgive me of my iniquities, surely God can forgive all y’all, too!” See, the LORD does have steadfast love. It isn’t just wishful thinking. God is ready to redeem all God’s people from all their iniquities, to embrace them in God’s everlasting arms.

            This is good news for us, today. Not only will God forgive our sins and iniquities, but God will be there to help us through the rough places, the difficult things, the frustrating circumstances, the painful heartaches. God has promised to be there for us, indeed.

            What a promise. What assurance. What a God. Amen!

RESPOND 

Just as God does not keep heavenly balance sheets on me or on you, so we do not need to keep track of good deeds versus bad deeds done to us. How freeing, and how wonderful! Who can you help through difficult times? Who needs a hand to travel through rough places today? Please, be that helping hand. And, if you can be kind and merciful to others, do that, too! 

REST 

Dear Lord, sometimes life is hard. Sometmes, life downright stinks. But Lord, You are right there in the middle of things! You come through, and can walk beside us, sit right next to us, even, going through the darkest valleys, You are right by our side.Thank You, God, for never leaving us nor forsaking us. What a God You are, indeed! I know it hardly seems adequate in the least, but – thanks. Thanks so much. Amen.

About the Author 

The Rev. Elizabeth Jones is a full-time hospice chaplain in Chicago, is a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (IAODAPCA), and is working on a DMin in spiritual direction. Elizabeth has a loving husband who is a senior editor, four curious and strong-minded adult children and two adorable grandchildren.

Unknown's avatar

God’s Constant Love and Goodness

by

“God’s Constant Love and Goodness”

Psalm 25:4-10 (25:7) – February 24, 2021 (Midweek Lenten Service, Week 1)

            I fondly remember a dear older pastor who died several years ago. Pastor Lou often used to spread his arms wide and say at the beginning of worship, “God is good, all the time!” And the congregation in his church would respond, “All the time, God is good!”

            Sometimes, the goodness of God can be difficult to experience. Isn’t that the truth? Sometimes, with all the falls and missteps, the sins and shortcomings that people commit, the goodness and faithfulness of God can be so distant. It even seems like that goodness and faithfulness is never to be reached, never to be felt, disappearing like smoke.

            Do you sometimes feel the lack of relationship in your life, just disappearing like smoke, too? Many of us feel lonely, closed in, even isolated. The missteps, sins and shortcomings can amplify those feelings, and cause further separation from God.  

            As we read this psalm over again, we can see the view “of the landscape of the soul that experiences pain and difficulty, even at times a sense of abandonment, yet which longs wholeheartedly for God. Waiting for God to draw near, for God to be felt and discovered is in the cry of the faithful who wish only to be remembered by God.” [1]

            Feeling especially lonely and isolated yet? I think that abandonment is what our psalm writer is reaching for here. Yet – all is not lost! This psalm is a deeply personal psalm about relationship – the relationship between the psalm writer and God. Even though our writer does talk about the sins and errors of his youth (and some of us are guilty of sins and errors when we get older, too), hope is certainly not lost!

            Yet, there is a bedrock of truth in what my friend Pastor Lou said: “God is good, all the time! All the time, God is good!” We can see that repeated several times in this psalm. Our writer repeats the fabulous Hebrew word chesed, here translated steadfast or constant love. It has an even richer and fuller meaning than that, but that translation is a huge concept on its own!

“Remember, O Lord, your kindness and constant love which you have shown from long ago. 7 Forgive the sins and errors of my youth. In your constant love and goodness, remember me, Lord!” This wonderful petition, “Remember me!” is coupled with the Lord remembering all the kindness and constant/steadfast love which has been abundantly shown, already!

The request is for relationship. And, we know God is in relationship with us, already! It does not matter that we do sin, for we know a forgiving, merciful God. The capper is the constant, steadfast love extended not once in a while, not sometimes, but all the time. For – that is exactly what “constant and steadfast” mean.

             Dr. Nancy Koestr has a superb illustration of this idea: “My dog has the right idea. She takes the leash in her mouth when I take her for a walk, so that she can lead me. It is an endearing gesture and always makes me laugh. If this give and take happens between animals and humans, surely it happens between us and God. And as we live in that relationship, we wait, and receive, and lift our souls.” [2]

            Praise God, we are offered a deep relationship with God. We are loved by God! And, this is a good God. Not sometimes, not most of the time, but all the time. I can indeed say with Pastor Lou, God is good, all the time! And, all the time, God is good. Amen, amen.

[1] https://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/73719/21-February-1-of-Lent.pdf

Thanks to Rev. Marjorie McPherson, Edinburgh Presbytery Clerk, for her thoughts about the 1st week of Lent.

[2] https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-26/commentary-on-psalm-251-9-4

Commentary, Psalm 25:1-9, Nancy Koestr, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2014.

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my other blogs: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!