Psalm 130 from the Scottish Psalter

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Tom Hart

Puritan Board Senior
Psalm 130
A Song of degrees.

Lord, from the depths to thee I cry'd.
My voice, Lord, do thou hear:
Unto my supplication's voice
give an attentive ear.

Lord, who shall stand, if thou, O Lord,
shoulds't mark iniquity?
But yet with thee forgiveness is,
that fear'd thou mayest be.

I wait for God, my soul doth wait,
my hope is in his word.
More than they that for morning watch.
my soul waits for the Lord;

I say, more than they that do watch
the morning light to see.
Let Israel hope in the Lord,
for with him mercies be;

And plenteous redemption
is ever found with him.
And from all his iniquities
he Isr'el shall redeem.


(Tune: Martyrdom)
 
But yet with thee forgiveness is,
that fear'd thou mayest be.

Psalm 130 was my theme song for many years of hard times. Owen's excellent treatise on the Psalm was my second Bible.
For me, there is one word that the whole Psalm pivots on. The first word of verse 4, "But."

"But -- there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared."

Owen goes into great detail on the rare discovery that there is such a thing as "forgiveness" with God that precious few in the world discover.
It is enough to make one quake in holy fear at the amazement that such a glorious perfection of beauty could devise such a fantastic thing--Forgiveness.
This discovery of which always leads one to tremble with Godly fear at the very thought. God does forgive fallen man. Amazing.
 
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Psalm 130
A Song of degrees.

Lord, from the depths to thee I cry'd.
My voice, Lord, do thou hear:
Unto my supplication's voice
give an attentive ear.

Lord, who shall stand, if thou, O Lord,
shoulds't mark iniquity?
But yet with thee forgiveness is,
that fear'd thou mayest be.

I wait for God, my soul doth wait,
my hope is in his word.
More than they that for morning watch.
my soul waits for the Lord;

I say, more than they that do watch
the morning light to see.
Let Israel hope in the Lord,
for with him mercies be;

And plenteous redemption
is ever found with him.
And from all his iniquities
he Isr'el shall redeem.


(Tune: Martyrdom)
This Psalm is certainly one of my favorites. Planning to request this one at our monthly Psalm-sing at church tomorrow!
 
Here's an a capella recording...
https://soundcloud.com/connorq/psalm-130-tune-martyrdom-1

Psalm 130
A Song of degrees.

Lord, from the depths to thee I cry'd.
My voice, Lord, do thou hear:
Unto my supplication's voice
give an attentive ear.

Lord, who shall stand, if thou, O Lord,
shoulds't mark iniquity?
But yet with thee forgiveness is,
that fear'd thou mayest be.

I wait for God, my soul doth wait,
my hope is in his word.
More than they that for morning watch.
my soul waits for the Lord;

I say, more than they that do watch
the morning light to see.
Let Israel hope in the Lord,
for with him mercies be;

And plenteous redemption
is ever found with him.
And from all his iniquities
he Isr'el shall redeem.


(Tune: Martyrdom)
 
Psalm 130 was my theme song for many years of hard times. Owen's excellent treatise on the Psalm was my second Bible.
For me, there is one word that the whole Psalm pivots on. The first word of verse 4, "But."

"But -- there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared."

Owen goes into great detail on the rare discovery that there is such a thing as "forgiveness" with God that precious few in the world discover.
It is enough to make one quake in holy fear at the amazement that such a glorious perfection of beauty could devise such a fantastic thing--Forgiveness.
This discovery of which always leads one to tremble with Godly fear at the very thought. God does forgive fallen man. Amazing.
Thanks for sharing this, Mr. Walsh. The 130th is without doubt among my favourite psalms.
 
This Psalm is certainly one of my favorites. Planning to request this one at our monthly Psalm-sing at church tomorrow!
Psalm 130 was one of the first psalms I learned to sing by heart! We'll be doing it in Korean to the same tune, Martyrdom, in family worship tonight.
 
I also highly recommend John Owen's work on Psalm 130.

I couldn't agree more.

I don't know the details, but this work came from deep within Owen's soul while in those depths of which verse one speaks. He doesn't talk about it much, but he related that he was very sick in body and soul so that he despaired even of life. At such a time, the ghosts of the soul and the taunting of Satan make those depths dreadful indeed. The Logos™ version is 325 pages long, but for Owen, verse 4 is the heart of the Psalm, comprising some 226 pages or nearly 70% of the entire exposition. If not currently in those depths, know for sure that someday you will be. From out of those depths, Owen skillfully helps you to look up and say, "Help me O Lord for thou art my only hope."

I think this exposition could help especially those considering suicide or other dark sins, and in the hands of the Holy Spirit, foster real hope. The good doctor was used by God's grace to help me back from the very edge of death itself.
 
I don't know the details, but this work came from deep within Owen's soul while in those depths of which verse one speaks. He doesn't talk about it much, but he related that he was very sick in body and soul so that he despaired even of life. At such a time, the ghosts of the soul and the taunting of Satan make those depths dreadful indeed. The Logos™ version is 325 pages long, but for Owen, verse 4 is the heart of the Psalm, comprising some 226 pages or nearly 70% of the entire exposition. If not currently in those depths, know for sure that someday you will be. From out of those depths, Owen skillfully helps you to look up and say, "Help me O Lord for thou art my only hope."
Fully agree. In the Christian Heritage print edition I mentioned above, Sinclair Ferguson writes an edifying introduction and mentions these things.
I think this exposition could help especially those considering suicide or other dark sins, and in the hands of the Holy Spirit, foster real hope. The good doctor was used by God's grace to help me back from the very edge of death itself.
I agree that distressed persons would find this book very very edifying, but it may be too long for someone who is battling with thoughts of suicide. If their minds are clouded with despair they may want to read something shorter and easier. That said, if Owen could edify such persons, I would be the first person to recommend him.

In some respects Owen's work on Psalm 130 would go nicely with Owen's book "Spiritual Mindedness" (A Banner of Truth classic).
 
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