I read the story of a young woman who had an abortion. Consumed with guilt, she confessed to her father. They went to a nursery and bought a small tree. They planted the tree, and her father said, “Life in the place of life.” Then he lit a fire and told his daughter to stand in the smoke to cleanse herself of her guilt. What a sad story—how futile and irrational it is to think that planting a tree or standing in smoke can bring forgiveness and take away sin. Only God can do that.

Many of the psalms describe the sufferings and struggles that God’s people face from external enemies. Psalm 130 describes an even more dangerous enemy, and that is the enemy within.

Like Jonah when he was thrown into a turbulent sea (Jonah 2:2), the psalmist cries to the Lord from the depths. Unconfessed sin can rob people of joy, life, energy, motivation, and health. Often, when we’re at our lowest point, we realise that only God can deal with our sin, guilt and shame. So, the psalmist cries out to Him for mercy (Psalm 130:2).

While the psalm begins on a note of despair, it’s really a song of hope and joy. The psalmist knows he is like a guilty man standing before a judge. There’s no point having a defence attorney, because his sins are many and obvious. But the wonderful news is that God loves forgiveness and mercy more than condemnation and judgment—something Christians too easily forget. We may become so disappointed with ourselves when we sin, particularly when we keep committing the same sin, that we begin to doubt that God can keep on forgiving us.
But remember, “with [God] there is forgiveness” (v. 4).

Knowing that God delights to forgive, the psalmist waits to hear the word that his sins have been taken away. He is like a guard longing for the morning and the end of the dangers that come with the night (v. 6). As certain as the dawn after the night is God’s promise of forgiveness after confession (1 John 1:9).

The psalm ends with the psalmist calling on all sinful people to have the same hope in God, because “with him is full redemption” (Psalm 130:7). The psalmist can be confident of forgiveness because he knows that the Lord is “the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin” (Exodus 34:6–7).

Reading Psalm 130 in light of what Christ has since done for us gives the Christian even greater confidence. Not only has God shown His commitment to forgive us, but He has also punished and conquered sin through the death of His Son (Romans 5:8; 1 John 1:9). And because Christ has risen from the dead, our victory with Him is guaranteed. We don’t even have to wait anymore for the morning.