Tap any verse number for what that verse means.
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.
Understand This
Psalm 130, explained
What Psalm 130 is saying
Psalm 130, one of the seven Penitential Psalms (De Profundis), rises from the depths of guilt and despair to confident hope in divine redemption. The psalmist acknowledges that if God kept a record of sins, no one could stand, but with God there is forgiveness—'that You may be feared.' The psalm's structure moves from individual confession to corporate exhortation: 'O Israel, hope in the LORD.'
The background behind it
The psalm's Latin title 'De Profundis' ('Out of the Depths') has made it one of the most prominent texts in Christian liturgy, particularly in funeral and penitential rites. Martin Luther counted it among his 'Pauline psalms' for its emphasis on grace apart from works.
Themes running underneath
The psalm's most theologically provocative statement is that forgiveness exists 'that You may be feared'—not feared less, but feared more. True awareness of grace produces deeper reverence, not presumption. The watchman metaphor (waiting for morning) transforms hope from passive wish to confident expectation.
Why it still matters
This psalm demonstrates that the deepest prayer begins in honest acknowledgment of one's own spiritual bankruptcy. It teaches that forgiveness is not the end of the spiritual journey but its beginning—the ground from which genuine reverence grows.
Scripture text: King James Version — public domain.