Ep. 118. Psalm 130,137 | I wait for the Lord

EPISODE 118

I WAIT FOR THE LORD: PSALM 130, 137

"If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you, there is forgiveness, that you may be feared." This is such a wonderful couple of lines. I think we all readily agree with the first part; if God were marking all our sins, none of us would come forth clean. However, the second phrase presents a problem for us because we are not used to thinking this way about "fear." There is forgiveness with God that he may be "feared." As I pointed out in the video, this is not terror. We know that we who are in Christ are considered righteous and holy and that there is no condemnation for us, nor is there any punishment. But consider these two statements together; if God marked all our sins, we would be utterly scorned, but God has graciously lavished on us forgiveness so that he might be rightly reverenced. He is the one who knows our hearts fully and knows every sin we have ever committed or will commit, and he casts them into the sea and washes us in the saving blood of Jesus, his son. If someone did not know the depth of our depravity but offered us forgiveness, we might say something along the lines of, "You don't know how bad I've been" or "If you knew how many mistakes I'd made, you would not want to forgive me." But God knows the reaches of our sinfulness, loves us, and forgives us. This is what triggers in us the response of waiting for the return of the Lord more than the watchmen wait for the morning.

When Christ returns, he will deal with spiritual Babylon, the ancient enemy of God and his chosen people. Babylon was a physical enemy of the Israelites and is a spiritual enemy of the saints. Jeremiah prophesies the destruction of physical Babylon but also forecasts the downfall of spiritual Babylon. Compare the references of Jeremiah and Revelation below.

ADDITIONAL READING: Hebrews 12:28-29; Romans 2:4; 1 John 4:19; Jeremiah 51:61-64; Revelation 18: 21; Romans 8:1; Romans 5:8