FORGIVENESS AND HOPE
Psalms 130:3-6 CSB
3 Lord, if you kept an account of iniquities,
Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness,
so that you may be revered.
5 I wait for the Lord; I wait
and put my hope in his word.
6 I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning—
more than watchmen for the morning.
I was teaching on a recent Wednesday night and got over on the subject of forgiveness—God’s forgiveness of us. I recalled growing up in the 60s and 70s, where school personnel would remind me of my permanent record. Evidently, there is a file somewhere in a dusty room that contains my name and a permanent record of all my grades and transgressions from first through twelfth grade. It’s permanent. Never to be forgotten. Honestly, my file can’t be too thick. I was too concerned with what would happen at home if I got into trouble at school, so I kept a pretty low profile. My point was that God does not keep a permanent record of our sins and failures. He does not pull up our permanent record, and if He did, it would be covered over in the blood of Christ.
The psalmist had that very same revelation. The Lord does not keep account of inequities because if He did, none of us would be able to stand before Him. With the Lord, there is forgiveness. And if He is not keeping account, then the case against us is not being built by Him. With the Lord, there is forgiveness in such a complete way that our account is wiped clean. His forgiveness is based on His character and nature, not our efforts and attempts to be good.
There is forgiveness with the Lord, that He may be revered or feared. One of the reasons we carry such respect for the Lord is His forgiveness, His complete forgiveness. If anyone is qualified to remember our sins, it is the Lord. His forgiveness to us is motivation for us to give Him the respect and honor that is due to a gracious Creator.
The psalmist switches gears a bit and shifts to waiting on the Lord. The idea of waiting on the Lord is not passive, to see if something will happen. This is assertive waiting, believing something will happen. There is a difference. And in God’s Word is where we put our hope. God’s Word is similar to seed. Jesus referred to God’s Word in that manner. Peter talks of God’s Word being seed. What do we get if we plant God’s seed? One of the things we get is hope—an expectation of good. So when reading God’s Word, know that you are planting seeds of hope in your heart.
The psalmist then returns to the concept of waiting on the Lord, looking expectantly to the Lord. Even more than the ancient city watchmen would wait for the morning, we wait for the Lord. The watchmen did not wonder if morning was coming; they knew the morning was coming and waited expectantly. This is a great example of waiting on the Lord. Not if He does something valuable to help our lives, but when He does. So we wait and confidently expect.
I don’t know that forgiveness and waiting on the Lord are connected, but these are two important things in our walk with the Living God.
PRAYER
Thank You, Lord, for Your forgiveness, and You are not keeping a record to hold against me. Thank You, that You are worthy to be revered and trusted, and my hope is in You. I am looking forward to what You are doing with great expectations.