p. 3 | Out of the Depths

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D.C. · Feb 23, 1905

Out of the Depths

THE psalmist's hope in the Lord's forgiving love is beautifully expressed in the one hundred and thirtieth psalm. “Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Jehovah. . . . There is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. . . . With Jehovah there is loving-kindness, and with him is plenteous redemption.” Who has not been at some time in his life in the depths of sorrow, in the depths of distress, in the depths of anguish? Who has not known the experience of being almost overwhelmed with the waves of trouble? David has pictured it with much clearness: “The cords of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodliness made me afraid. The cords of Sheol were round about me; the snares of death came upon me.” And he also points out the right course to pursue: “In my distress I called upon Jehovah, and cried unto my God.” The result is most encouraging: “He heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry before him came into his ears.” We may have brought all our trouble upon ourselves, and may richly deserve all the distress, but still when “out of the depths” we cry unto the Lord with a desire to turn unto him, he will send us help out of the sanctuary. So it was with Jonah, but his testimony is, “Out of the belly of Sheol cried I, and thou heardest my voice. . . . All thy waves and thy billows passed over me. And I said, I am cast out from before thine eyes; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. . . . When my soul fainted within me, I remembered Jehovah; and my prayer came in unto thee, into thy holy temple.” In spite of his wayward course, Jonah was delivered when, “out of the depths,” he cried unto God. In times of distress we may adopt the words of comfort which have been written for our learning: “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise him, who is the help of my countenance, and my God.”