Two decades on, former cabinet minister Jonathan Aitken still remembers the profound despair and loneliness of his first night in prison. Now a prison chaplain, he wants to help new inmates get through their first night inside—and discover real hope too.
During that first ghastly night, with prisoners in other cells shouting threats and abuse at him, Jonathan read Psalm 130. “As I studied its eight short verses, a warm and comforting wave of reassurance flooded over me,” he remembers. “Suddenly, I realised that I was not as lonely, scared, helpless or vulnerable as I had thought. The author of the psalm had been there before me.”
“Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord,” the psalmist begins Psalm 130. Clearly, he is longing for some kind of rescue from God: “I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits” (v. 5). Yet amid his groans, the psalmist clings to his hope: “If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness” (vv. 3-4). God’s mercy and faithfulness are the grounds of this hope.
“He had found a route to climb out of his depths, with God’s help,” Aitken explained. “He had signposted [it] in beautiful poetry.” This route out of the depths is found in the Lord’s unfailing love (v. 7). He hears our cries for mercy (v. 2), and he answers with “full redemption” (v. 7).
By Chris Wale
REFLECT & PRAY
What depths are you experiencing at the moment? What will it look like for you to put your hope in the Lord’s love, attentiveness and promise of redemption?
Heavenly Father, I cry out to You. Remind me of Your love and faithfulness today, even in my trials.
Find more biblical comfort and reassurance with Held by Hope
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Psalm 130 mentions both redemption and forgiveness: with God “there is forgiveness” and “full redemption” (vv. 4, 7). Do these words have the same meaning? According to the Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, the Hebrew root verb for redemption used in this psalm has a legal context and is used “when an animal substitutes (or redeems) a person or another animal.” In the theological context, it indicates “a freeing from the slavery of sin, the ransom or price paid for freedom.” Jesus provided this ransom through His death on the cross, giving His life “as a ransom for many” ( Matthew 20:28). We can be forgiven (or pardoned) for our sin because of Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross. When we come to God in repentance (sorrow for our sin), God forgives and releases us (sinners, wrongdoers) from judgment and the penalty for our sins, which is eternal separation from Him.
Alyson Kieda
Our mission is to make the life-changing wisdom of the Bible understandable and accessible to all.
