Psalm 130: hope in the Lord, for with Him there is unfailing love

Here is one faithful man’s appeal to all people. It was written in Old Testament times, so the writer appeals to Israel: put your hope in the Lord for with the Lord there is unfailing love, plenteous redemption from all our wrong-doings, for the Lord is a God of forgiveness. However, like all the Old Testament, these words to Israel, are also for us. As Paul says, God wants all people to be saved.

What is it to be saved? There are times we all cry out for help. The writer has hit rock bottom. Imagine you are swimming along in the sea and then suddenly you get cramp. You cant stay afloat. You’re sinking; you are drowning. But the life boats are out. You are rescued. Hurrah. You have been saved from death, you are alive - yet death is still there, waiting for you.

What the Bible wants all the world to know, is that God’s salvation goes deeper than a life boat rescue. The Lord rescues from death itself. His salvation is not a temporary improvement in our lives. It is an utter transformation of our lives. We will not perish in death, like an autumn leaf discarded by a tree. We will enter into His presence, and come into new life in Him – a life of utter well-being, that we’ve been seeking all our days.

It’s a free gift. As Paul writes: everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. It is an absolute promise; but it requires a step of hope on our part.

Some Christians show a wonderful, unworried hope in Christ. But some worry if their hope is sufficient. Their hearts are full of doubts and fears. I seem more lacking than sure; more afraid than brave; more hopeless than hopeful. They may wonder: do I measure up to God’s expectations. Here are two assurances should it be that you have this worry.

Firstly, God made you to be you. And He knows that you are not perfect. Apart from Christ Jesus there is no one whose life is has never been burdened by all sorts of hurts, pains, and guilt. God sees your sorrows, your wrongdoings and your guilt and He still wants you to live with Him forever.

Secondly God is not making an exam of your life. He doesn’t keep assessment records of your wrong-doings to grade your life from first class to failure. God is not signing off end of year life reports saying: could do better.. We do not have an angel on one shoulder marking up our good actions, and another, on the other, marking up our less than good and our definitely wrong actions, so God can judge us according to the balance.

He is not putting us to a life test; rather He seeks a life-forever relationship. He invites us to turn to Him in hope, as a child to a mother; He promises to be there for us, as a life guard to a drowning swimmer. He will rescue us - as a faulty human - seeking release from guilt; He is ever willing to forgive us.

When we place our hope in Him, we immediately cease to be a child of the old creation, doomed to die in our faults and wrongs and perish in death. We straightaway become a new creation, an adopted child of God, a citizen of His heavenly Israel, people saved for eternal life in His very presence and with all who put their hope in Him. Praise and glory to Him for this gift of His plenteous redemption. Amen.