relationships (Psalm 130:1-8) Forgiveness and Reverence

(Psalm 130:1-8)

1   Out of the depths I have cried to You, Lord.
2   Lord, hear my voice!
     Let Your ears be attentive 
     To the sound of my pleadings.
3   If You, Lord, were to keep account of guilty deeds,
     Lord, who could stand?
4   But there is forgiveness with You,
     So that You may be revered.

5   I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
     And I wait for His word.
6   My soul waits in hope for the Lord 
     More than the watchmen for the morning;
     Yes, more than the watchmen for the morning.
7   Israel, wait for the Lord;
     For with the Lord there is mercy,
     And with Him is abundant redemption.
8   And He will redeem Israel
     From all his guilty deeds.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

This chapter is in part prophetic regarding Israel and their covenants being fulfilled one day.  During the Tribulation, Israel as a nation will realize that Jesus was and is their Messiah and they as a nation will believe in the Lord after seeing the signs of Jesus' second coming.  Then, along with anyone else who becomes a believer during the Tribulation, Jesus will bring them into the Millennial kingdom and fulfill all covenants, and establish peace and justice here on earth for a thousand years.  

As for right now, in the church age, we all have the same decision to make: to reject or accept the Lord Jesus as their personal Savior.  It is not about do's and don'ts, but about having a personal relationship with the Lord.  The only way this is possible is through the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, when we humble our hearts and realize that we are sinners in need of a Savior and go to Him.

Verse 4 is telling.  In the Lord's forgiveness, we can and will revere Him, because it is life-changing!  Those who have not yet become true believers, who have heard the gospel message and reject it, certainly do not revere the Lord.  In fact, if they are honest about it, they hate the gospel message, and will brag about how irreverent they can be.  And those who are just going through the motions of looking like a believer, they will have some mild respect to "the institution", the ethics and the structure, but the deep thankfulness and reverence won't be there because they still cannot understand it... because they still have not yet experienced the power of God's Holy Spirit dwelling and working within them. 

The Lord's forgiveness is everything!  The redemption we receive through His salvation is because of His mercy and grace.  When we go to Jesus and confess our sins, no matter how sinful we are, He is merciful to forgive.  And because of His grace, He does not keep an account of our sins that we commit (past, present or future), otherwise no one would be able to have eternal security. 

God cares and keeps His promises.  He is there to help us with every step along the way.  And He is most certainly worthy of all reverence!