SERIES: Songs of Ascents
TEXT: PSALM 130:1-8
MESSAGE: “How to heal”
“We are the most in debt, obese, addicted, medicated adult cohort in US history.” – Brene Brown
TEXT: PSALM 130:1-8
What do these verses tell us about healing from our guilt and shame? It tells us…(1. The Depths 2. The Lifeline 3. The Process)
1. The Depths (v. 1-3)
“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! 3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?”
Derek Kidner says…“What is clear in all such passages is that self-help is no answer to the depths of distress, however useful in may be in the shallows of self-pity.”
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” Romans 1:18-20
“Is no one any longer guilty of anything? Guilty perhaps of a sin that could be repented of or atoned for?…Anxiety and depression we all acknowledge, and even vague guilt feelings; but has no one committed any sins? Where, indeed, did sin go? What became of it? “I believe there is ‘sin’ which is expressed in ways which cannot be subsumed under verbal artifacts such as ‘crime,’ ‘disease,’ ‘delinquency,’ ‘deviancy.’ There IS immorality; there IS unethical behavior; there IS wrongdoing. And I hope to show that there is usefulness in retaining the concept, and indeed the word, SIN…” – Karl Menninger (“Whatever became of sin?”)
2. The Lifeline (v. 4)
“But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared…”
“To make it quite practical I have a very simple test. After I have explained the way of Christ to somebody I say “Now, are you ready to say that you are a Christian?” And they hesitate. And then I say, “What’s the matter? Why are you hesitating?” And so often people say, “I don’t feel like I’m good enough yet. I don’t think I’m ready to say I’m a Christian now.” And at once I know that I have been wasting my breath. They are still thinking in terms of themselves. They have to do it. It sounds very modest to say, “Well, I don’t think I’m good enough,” but it’s a very denial of the faith. The very essence of the Christian faith is to say that He is good enough and I am in Him. As long as you go on thinking about yourself like that and saying, “I’m not good enough; Oh, I’m not good enough,” you are denying God – you are denying the gospel – you are denying the very essence of the faith and you will never be happy.” – Martin Lloyd Jones (Spiritual Depression)
3. The Process (v. 5-7)
“I 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. 7 O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.”
TAKEAWAYS: What does it look like to heal from our guilt?
1. It takes time
v. 6 “…my soul waits for the LORD…”
2. It’s living expectantly
v. 6 “…my soul waits for the Lord, more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.”
3. It takes others
v. 7 “O Israel, hope in the Lord!”
4. It humbles you
v. 4 “But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.”
‘Now did my chains fall off my legs indeed. I was loosed from my afflictions and irons; my temptations also fled away. Now I went home rejoicing for the grace and love of God. I lived for some time very sweetly at peace with God through Christ. Oh! Christ! Christ! There was nothing but Christ that was before my eyes.’ – John Bunyan
“I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” — Isa. 43:25