1A song of ascents. Out of the depths I cry to You, O LORD!2O Lord, hear my voice; let Your ears be attentive to my plea for mercy.3If You, O LORD, kept track of iniquities, then who, O Lord, could stand?4But with You there is forgiveness, so that You may be feared.5I wait for the LORD; my soul does wait, and in His word I put my hope.6My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning— more than watchmen wait for the morning.7O Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is loving devotion, and with Him is redemption in abundance.8And He will redeem Israel from all iniquity.
What’s happening. Another Song of Ascents, and one of the psalms of repentance. The writer is in “the depths”, overwhelmed by trouble and aware of his own sin.
What it means. If God kept a record of every sin, no one could stand. But with God there is forgiveness. So the psalmist waits for the Lord, more than night watchmen wait for morning. It is honest about guilt and full of hope.