Psalms 130:1-8

Psalms 107:150

Gordon Churchyard

Psalms 130

Psalms For Climbing;

Psalms 120:134

Jesus said, "We will go up to Jerusalem" (Luke 18:31).

The Story of Psalms 120:134

These 15 psalms are called "Songs of Ascent" in many Bibles. "Ascent" means "going up". This translation calls it "climbing". But what are we climbing? Bible students give us 4 answers:

• One line in the psalm "climbs" on the line in front of it. This means that it repeats the line. Read the start of Psalms 124 for an example.

• There were 15 steps from where the women stood to where the men stood outside the *temple. The *temple was God's house in Jerusalem. As the men climbed the steps, they sang one psalm on each step. This is why most of the psalms for climbing are short.

• Jerusalem was on the top of a hill called "Zion". The *Jews often went to Jerusalem to worship God at the *temple. "Worship" means "Tell God how *wonderful that he is. And tell him that you love him". The *Jews sang these psalms for climbing as they went up to Jerusalem.

• Hezekiah was a king of the *Jews. He was so ill that he thought he would soon die. He prayed for a longer life. God made the clock "climb" back 10 degrees. This was about an hour. It was a sign that Hezekiah would live another 15 years. Hezekiah made a book of 15 psalms, 10 of them new, the other 5 by David and Solomon. The story is in Isaiah chapter 38.

We do not know which of these is the true answer. It may be something else! Perhaps answers 3 and 4 are the true answers.

Who wrote the psalms for climbing? Some are by David, and one or two are by Solomon. Solomon was David’s son. The other psalms for climbing may be by Hezekiah or one of his friends like Isaiah; or by Ezra or Nehemiah. Ezra and Nehemiah were leaders of the *Jews 500 years after Solomon built the *temple, or 250 years after Hezekiah was king. This was when the *Jews made the Book of Psalms. The psalms for climbing were part of this Book of Psalms.

Psalms 130

(This is) a song for climbing.

v1 *LORD, I am crying to you because I am in great (trouble).

v2 *Lord, listen to my voice.
Turn your ears to hear what I am saying to you.

v3 *LORD, if you make a note of *sins, who will stand?

v4 But you *forgive (people) so that they are *in awe of you.

v5 I will wait for the *LORD.
I will wait for him and *hope in his word.

v6 I want the *Lord more than people want the morning to come,
more than people want the morning.

v7 Israel, hope in the *LORD,
because with the *LORD there is kind love and a lot of *redeeming.

v8 He will *redeem Israel from all his *sins.

What Psalms 130 means

This is one of the "repentance psalms". "Repentance" means telling God that you are sorry for your *sins. And you will try not to do them again. You do "*sins" when you "break God’s rules". The other "repentance psalms" are Psalms 6; Psalms 32; Psalms 38; Psalms 51; Psalms 102 and 143. Christians often use them at the beginning of Lent. Lent is the 40 days before *Easter.

In verses 1 and 2 are the words *LORD and *Lord. They are not the same in the Hebrew Bible. The *Jews wrote the psalms in the Hebrew language. "*LORD" is a name for God that his people use. The notes in Psalms 120 explain it. It is Yahweh in Hebrew. "*Lord" means "master" or "someone with authority". It is Adonai in Hebrew.

Four important words in this psalm are:

• *forgive: this does not only mean that God excuses us. He also put our *sins on to Jesus when Jesus died at Calvary.

• redeem: this means to "buy back". When Jesus died at Calvary, he bought us back (or redeemed us) from *Satan. *Satan is God’s enemy. He is not as powerful or strong as God is. *Satan is not a god.

• stand: this means that when God *forgives us, we can stand in front of him. He will not *punish (hurt) us because of our *sins.

• in awe: this means "a bit afraid of someone that you love". We are "in awe" of God because he is so great and powerful. But he does not frighten us, because we know that he loves us.

Verse 1 says, "I am in great trouble". A better translation is "I am in a deep place". This deep place is like a hole in the ground. The *psalmist (the person that wrote the psalm) could not get out of the hole. The hole was not really a hole, but it was the trouble all round him. Our *sins mean great trouble for us. We should tell God that we are sorry. And we should ask him to *forgive us.

Something to do

Ask God to *forgive you. Then you will be sure that you will stand with all God’s people in *heaven. *Heaven is the home of God.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke; they wrote the Psalms in Hebrew.
temple ~ a place where people meet to worship God.
Jew ~ a person who is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children; a person who has the faith of the Jews, called Judaism.
faith ~ belief in someone or something; in the Psalms, belief in God.
wonderful ~ great and surprising.
Lord ~ a name for God; it means he has authority, or "master"; It is the word "Adonai" in Hebrew. Look also at LORD below.
LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. It is the covenant name of God. In Hebrew it is Yahweh or Jehovah. Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the names of God.
lord ~ someone with authority.
LORD ~ the covenant name for God (in a covenant you agree with someone).
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke; they wrote the Psalms in Hebrew.
covenant ~ two people have agreed what each should do (here, God and his people). Look in Psalm 120 about the covenant.
Yahweh ~ the covenant name for God. Most Bibles translate it LORD with 4 capital letters. It means something like "I am" or "always alive".
Jehovah ~ how some languages say Yahweh, one of the names of God in Hebrew.
Lord ~ a name for God; it means he has authority, or "master"; It is the word "Adonai" in Hebrew. Look also at LORD below.
LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. It is the covenant name of God. In Hebrew it is Yahweh or Jehovah. Look after Psalm 25 in Book 1 of the Psalms of David for more about the names of God.
lord ~ someone with authority.
LORD ~ the covenant name for God (in a covenant you agree with someone).
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke; they wrote the Psalms in Hebrew.
covenant ~ two people have agreed what each should do (here, God and his people). Look in Psalm 120 about the covenant.
Yahweh ~ the covenant name for God. Most Bibles translate it LORD with 4 capital letters. It means something like "I am" or "always alive".
Jehovah ~ how some languages say Yahweh, one of the names of God in Hebrew.
sin ~ not obeying God; or what you do when you do not obey God.
forgive ~ take away the results of sin. (But look in the notes on Psalm 85:2.)
sin ~ not obeying God; or what you do when you do not obey God.
hope ~ what you want to happen.
Easter ~ Christians remember when Jesus died and became alive again at Easter.
Satan ~ the leader of the bad spirits. He is also called the Devil and Lucifer.
spirits ~ they are alive, but we cannot see them. Good spirits are usually called angels. Bad spirits do not live in heaven now, but in the air round us. Satan is their leader. They are also called evil spirits, or demons.
angel ~ spirit that lives in heaven with God.
heaven ~ the home of God.
spirit ~ this part of us lives when our body dies.
punish ~ hurt someone because they have not obeyed the rules.
psalmist ~ the person that wrote a psalm (or psalms).
heaven ~ the home of God.
heaven ~ the home of God.