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In an introduction to the Psalms, Luther wrote the following: The Psalter ought to be a dear and beloved book, if only because it promises Christ’s death and resurrection so clearly and so depicts His kingdom and the condition and nature of all Christendom that we may call it a little Bible. Most beautifully and briefly it embraces everything in the entire Bible. The Psalter is the book of all saints, and everyone, whatever his situation may be, finds psalms and words in it that fit his situation and apply to his case so exactly that it seems they were put in this way only for his sake.

Psalm 130, which is the text for this sermon, fits our situation today. We are nearing the end of the Lenten season with Easter only two weeks away. Many of us are continuing to examining our sinful lives and working on repentance while we are beginning to plan and look forward to our Easter celebration. Psalm 130 evokes the emotions of the penitent heart and also the excitement and anticipation of a future important event.

Let me read verses 1 and 2. ¹A Song of Ascents. 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! The psalmist calls out to the Lord from the depths. These depths are the depths of sin, the psalmist realizes that his sin has created a large separation between himself and the Lord. From this separation he calls out to Lord and pleads with the Lord to hear his pleas for mercy. The psalmist cries out knowing that only the Lord can bridge this separation that sin has caused.

Unlike the psalmist, we don’t have to deal with being separated from the Lord. Jesus bridged that separation and has promised to be with us until the end of the age. When I examine my sinful life during Lent, I recognize the burden of sin that I have placed on the back of Jesus who took all of my sins and all of your sins to the cross where the Lamb of God was sacrificed for the forgiveness of sins. Like the psalmist, I plea for mercy because I know the extent of my sinful nature. The psalmist also knew the extent of his sins, which he describes in verse 3.

Verses 3 and 4 read as follows: ³If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? ⁴ But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. The psalmist states that if the Lord kept a record of sins then no one would be able to stand before the Lord. This is true for you and me also. Our sins are so numerous that we too would not be able to stand before the Lord. But the psalmist tells us that with the Lord there is forgiveness. This forgiveness which was earned by the sacrifice of the Lamb of God allows us to stand before the Lord. This is the very reason why all of our divine services have confession and absolution at the beginning of the service. With one’s sins forgiven, we are allowed to come into the presence of the Lord. The psalmist also tells us why the Lord has offered forgiveness to us; it is so the Lord would be feared. This doesn’t mean that we should be afraid of the Lord but rather that he is to be revered. This fear is a godly fear and awe. This reverence and godly fear also takes place in the divine services. After confession and absolution we come into the presence of the Lord and worship Him with hymns, prayers, and offerings. Godly fear doesn’t only take place in His house but also every day of our lives. Luther began every one of his explanations to the Ten Commandments with “we should fear and love God”. When we follow God’s commands we show Him reverence.

In verses 5 and 6, the psalmist writes about the anticipation of the coming of the Lord. This is what he writes: ⁵I 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. Not only does he wait for the Lord but he waits with his inmost being. He has put his hope in the word of the Lord; he eagerly waited for the day when he would experience forgiveness in the presence of the Lord. He likens his waiting to the watchmen who wait for the morning. Let me repaint the picture that the psalmist is trying to portray. It was the watchmen’s responsibility to protect the city from surprise attacks. Most of these attacks would occur at night because the invading force could use the cover of darkness to keep from being seen. The watchmen spent the night in a state of high allert which was very stressful. When the morning came, they were able to relax and their stress level was greatly diminished. It was with great anticipation that the watchmen waited for the morning. Then the psalmist repeats this phrase for even greater emphasis.

We also wait with great anticpipation. Many of us are preparing for Easter celebrations with family and friends. Some of us are planning menus for Easter dinner, coloring Easter eggs, shopping for new Easter outfits, and making other plans for Easter. All of this is being done with great anticipation and may for some be rather stressful but when Easter comes that stress level will diminish.

Like the psalmist, we also wait for the coming of the Lord, only we are anticipating His second coming. We long for the day when Jesus will return to take us to live in a new heaven and earth. We long for that day when we will no longer suffer from pain and illness, we won’t be hungry or thirsty, and all our cares of this life will be destroyed.

Let’s look at the last verses of the text: ⁷O 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. The psalmist makes an important move here in these verses. His prayer moves from a personal prayer to a prayer for all of Israel. He prays that all of Israel would put their hope in the Lord. This reminds us that we too should not only pray for ourselves but all Christians. He also states that with the Lord there is love and redemption. Remember that the psalmist is writing this psalm in anticipation of the coming of Christ, who would redeem the whole world.

We live today as people who have already seen the Christ, the redeemer. We know how strong the steadfast love of the Lord was. John 15:13 reads : Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends. That is exactly what Jesus did, He suffered the torture that we deserved when he was flogged by the soldiers. He was mocked and beaten in our stead. He was hung on the cross and suffered a most painful death, a death that we deserved. Jesus did all of this because of His steadfast love for us and all of mankind. His death on the cross and His resurrection secured for us the hope in eternal life.

Psalm 130 fits our situation today, the fifth Sunday in Lent. During this season of Lent we have examined our sinfulness. We have realized that our sins our too numerous to count and may have even felt like we were seperated from God. But we know that Jesus Christ has earned for us the forgiveness of all of our sins, the original sin that we were born with, the sins that we know in our hearts, the sins that we don’t know or recognize, the sins of commission, and the sins of omission, Christ forgives all of these sins. Because Christ has done this for us our response is to live a life of reverence for the Lord. We follow the commandments out of reverence for God and not because they are the right thing to do. We love and help our neighbor not because these things are commanded but out of reverence for the Lord. We do good works not because they are commanded or because we can earn salvation through them but out of reverence for the Lord.

As we gather here today, we know that we still live in a sinful world. This is why we wait and our souls wait for the second coming of the Lord. It is with great anticipation that we wait, for we know on that glorious day that this sinful world will disappear and along with it all of our sorrows and pains. Our hope is in the Lord who died for the forgiveness of all of our sins and has promised all believers eternal life. We have this hope because Jesus’ steadfast love for us was so great that it can never be taken from us. Paul wrote in Romans 8:35-39 ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” ³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

O people of Blessed Savior hope in the Lord. For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. Amen.

Go in peace and serve the Lord. Amen.