Psalms 130:1

Psalms 130:1 says, A Song of degrees.  Once more this is called a song of degrees, then verse one says, Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD.  When we are in the depths of despair or trouble, like the psalmist, we as followers of Christ must cry out to God.  Verse two adds,  Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.  The psalmist asked for God to hear his voice and to be attentive to his supplications, or prayers.  We can be certain that God hears the prayers of Christians, and that He not only is attentive to our prayers, but that He recognizes our voice as well.  Verse three asks, If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? I believe that this means that if God judged everyone by their iniquities, no one could stand before Him, and if anyone doesn't accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, then they will not be able to stand before God in judgment.  Verse four adds, But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.  As the psalmist said, there is forgiveness with God and as I just stated that is only available by accepting the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.  Those who lived before He came put their faith in His coming, and those since put their faith in the fact that He has come and in His second coming to claim those who are His.  Verse five states, I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.  The psalmist was waiting for the coming of Jesus Christ, and we are waiting for His return, because we put our faith in His word.  Verse six adds, My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.  The psalmist said his soul waited for the Lord more than others waited for the sun to rise in the morning.  Just as certain as the sun rising in the morning is the second coming of Christ, and we should put our faith in that fact.  Verse seven declares, Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.  Isreal, God's chosen people, were called on to put their hope in the mercy of God.  The psalmist stated that the was plenty of mercy for redemption in God.  Though some may claim that only a specified number of people will be redeemed by God, His salvation is abundant enough to redeem all people who put their faith in Jesus Christ.  God's love, mercy, and redemption are not limited.  Verse eight adds, And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.  As God would redeem Israel, those who were His chosen people then, if they put their faith in Him, He has redeemed all who put their faith in Him today.  Not everyone born into the nation of Israel was redeemed simply by being born into the nation, but only those who put their faith in God and the coming Messiah were.  Today, we cannot be redeemed by being born in a certain place or into a certain family, but can only be redeemed individually by putting our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.