Four hundred years pass between Malachi and the New Testament. Four hundred years of eagerly waiting for the Messiah.
Meditate and Read Psalm 130:
My Soul Waits for the Lord
A Song of Ascents.
1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!
2 O Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleas for mercy!
3 If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness,
that you may be feared.
5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.
7 O Israel, hope in the LORD!
For with the LORD there is steadfast love,
and with him is plentiful redemption.
8 And he will redeem Israel
from all his iniquities.
There is a well-known story about John Wesley’s conversion after reading Martin Luther’s preface to Romans. What is often not discussed is what happened that morning Wesley came to know Christ. The story goes that Wesley was deeply moved by the singing of Psalm 130 at St. Paul’s Cathedral. From his journal, we know he had been struggling with a longing to know God. By this point he was ordained, preaching, teaching, composing hymns and doing missionary work. And yet he still longed to know God more. There is a well-known quote from him during this time about a missionary trip he took to Georgia, “I went to America to convert the Indians, but, oh, who shall convert me?”
Much like the Psalmist, Wesley found himself desiring to be right with God and finally found that righteousness in Christ. For Israel it was 400 years of waiting for Christ. Almost 4,000 years since the fall in the garden, the Israelites were waiting, longing, eagerly expecting, “more than watchmen for the morning,” for the Christ child to be born!
Like the Psalmist, we also cry out for forgiveness, knowing that we are already forgiven through the blood of Christ! For we have tasted the goodness of the LORD, we have felt his steadfast love in coming to earth as a baby for our iniquities! We know the ending of the song! Our souls wait for the coming of the LORD! We can have hope for a new future with Christ–where there is no sin, no crying out and forgiveness flows endlessly throughout us all!
Here is song to sing based on Psalm 130:
Family Discussion Questions
What do you think it will be like when Jesus comes back? Do you eagerly wait his return?
What is something you tend to put your hope in that isn’t Christ? (people, things, etc)
What do you look forward to the most this Christmas?
How can we pray for you right now?
