TOPIC:"From Total Despair to Full Deliverance"
"Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord" (130:1)
"Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord," exclaims the Psalmist. The New Living Translation renders it this way: "From the depths of despair, O Lord, I call for your help." As I grow older I am fully convinced that, when all is said and done, there comes to each one of us a time in which we feel a sense of deep need. It is the cry deep within our souls for help. We petition God to intervene. Much like Jonah in the Old Testament when he was cast into the sea and the waves were pounding him downward. Much like Peter in the New Testament when he began to sink beneath the water. You see, when the soul is in deep trouble it cries out to the infinite God who alone can bring help and healing to mankind.
This is what we find in the Psalm before us. It has been called the "Psalm of the Depths". For the author of this Psalm, whether it was Hezekiah, David, or another, it is about a man who has known both the depths of human ruin and the heights of divine rescue. He has gone from total despair to full deliverance. Let us now begin our study of this beautiful hymn of brokenness and eventual blessedness.
Consider, to begin with, that in this Psalm we behold a DESPERATE SITUATION that was REALIZED. The writer declares in verse 1: "Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord." "Out of the depths" is a figure of speech that describes a situation of great despair and the need of urgent help. The situation is so dangerous and the servant is so desperate, that he can't do anything himself to solve it. It is out of his control. It is beyond him.
Let me try my hand at this point by mentioning some of the depths from which people cry out to God for help. Sometimes it is because of DISEASE. Never shall I forget the day when my sister, Joyce, was told that she had cancer. How quickly life seemed to lose its brightness and meaningfulness. At that moment her world started to fall apart.