In our call to worship last Sunday, Quin reminded us that Psalm 134 is the last of the fifteen Psalms of Ascent—the psalms sung by God’s people as they made regular pilgrimage to Jerusalem. They are called Psalms of Ascent because Jerusalem is highly elevated aloft Mount Zion. Therefore, regardless of the geographic origin of the traveller, they would always be said to be going up to Jerusalem. But, of course, the pilgrimage to Jerusalem was not merely a geographical-elevating trip, it was also assumed to be a spiritual-ascendant trip, for the worshipper was approaching the earthly dwelling place of the triune God to worship him. This came home to me in a wonderful way this morning as I read Psalm 130. The psalm begins with the writer in a pit of despair and ends with him on a pinnacle of hope. It lives up to its placement among the psalms of ascent. It is the kind of psalm we all need.
After the superscription (“A Song of Ascents”), we read, “Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!” We are not provided the details of his dilemma, but it had something to do with sin (vv. 3–4) and it put the writer in some kind of pit of otherwise hopeless despair. The psalm may have been written in the context of Judah being exiled to Babylon for their sin and therefore he was burdened for their beleaguered condition (see v. 8). But perhaps the hopeless pit in which our brother found himself was a combination of both corporate and individual sin. Regardless, he was in a seemingly hopeless depth and so he cried out to the Lord.
Perhaps you can relate. Perhaps you are in a spiritual pit, despairing of your recent fall back into a former or all too familiar sin. Perhaps your eyes willingly looked at something they should have avoided or you spoke words of bitterness or gossip or verbally vomited some other ugliness. Perhaps you broke a promise or refused to speak up for the truth. Perhaps, as a result, you feel the weight of guilt. You’ve asked for forgiveness so many times that you feel sure you have exhausted your quota. Perhaps your sin has wreaked havoc on a relationship and you are heavy with discouragement.
On the other hand, perhaps your pit has nothing to do with your own sin, yet you are sinking emotionally because of the sins of others. Living in a sin-broken world exposes us to the heartache of the death of loved ones, to debilitating disease, and to various disasters. Whatever seemingly hopeless pit in which you find yourself, follow the example of the psalmist and “cry out to the LORD.”
I recently shared Joni Eareckson Tada’s account of living daily with chronic pain. She wakes up each morning crying out to God for his help, knowing that, without his aid, she is literally hopeless. She said that doing so is the Christian thing to do—whether in a wheelchair or not. That is so helpful. That is so hopeful!
As Christians find themselves having descended into God’s sovereignly ordained pits—perhaps questioning why—we call out to God, “O, LORD, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!” And it is wonderful to ponder that he is not far away but is in the pit with us. He has not abandoned us to hopeless despair. Having God’s word assures us that he is near (despite the devil’s doubt-filled assaults) and that he hears (despite our fleshly suspicion) and therefore our momentary hopelessness gives way to faith-filled pleading. Such pleading empowers us to begin our ascent to hope.
It is remarkable—and hence I remark!—that the psalmist does not write “post pit.” His cry is present tense. He writes with a posture of anticipation that the Lord will hear him. This assurance of being heard commences his ascent to hope. “Hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption” (v.7). The Christian knows that, regardless of circumstances, our eternal hope remains unchanged. As my pastor used to tell Christians, your present condition is not your final condition.
The Lord Jesus Christ descended into the pit of God’s judgement to release sinners from that judgement. And because he was sinless, he also ascended from that pit by his resurrection, followed by his ascension to the right hand of God. His descent to the grave, followed by his ascent to the throne, assures his believing people that we will ascend as well (Ephesians 4:10). In other words, by Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, those who believe in him experience his steadfast love and his redemption from an otherwise eternal pit.
Brothers and sisters, perhaps you feel as though you are in a pit of hopelessness. If so, remember the gospel, cry out to our God for his plentiful redemption, and join in the pilgrimage as we ascend to hope.
Doug