1Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord.
2Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
3If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?
4But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.
5I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.
6My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.
7Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.
8And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
📖 Chapter study
Summary
One of the seven 'penitential psalms': 'out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD' — a confession that no one could stand if God marked every sin, followed by a declaration of patient hope, 'like they that watch for the morning.'
Explanation
This eleventh 'Song of Degrees' is one of the most profound and widely used prayers of repentance in the Bible, acknowledging both the seriousness of sin and the certainty of forgiveness available in God ('there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared' — a forgiveness that produces reverence, not contempt). The comparison of waiting for God to night watchmen waiting for the dawn (v.6) conveys both the intensity of the wait and the certainty that it will end. The application for today is that honestly acknowledging our failures before God, without despair, opens the way to renewed hope.
Fun facts
- This is one of the seven traditional 'penitential psalms' of Christian liturgy (along with Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, and 143), historically used during seasons of repentance such as Lent.
- The phrase 'out of the depths' (De Profundis, in Latin) gave its name to an entire musical and literary tradition throughout history, including works by composers such as Bach and Handel.