Introduction: 5 year old Darin waiting and waiting until the plastic light-saber came on sale was painful in the moment but a great lesson later on. Is there anything in your life you desperately wanted to happen immediately but looking back you see the value in the waiting?

We can all relate to the writer of Psalm 130 when he says, “out of the depths I cry to you Lord, hear my voice.”

The trap we fall into sometimes is thinking that our depth is too far from a holy & perfect God and therefore he won’t listen to our prayers. Both Psalm 130 and Jesus’ parable about the Tax Collector and the Pharisee praying remind us that what really matters is a humble and repentant heart – the ears of the Triune God are specially attuned to that heart attitude.

The psalm writer says he is waiting for the Lord like a Watchman waits for the morning. Watchman in the 10th Century patrolled the top of the city walls keeping an eye out for any enemies sneaking up at night. Modern Day watchman keep an eye out for thieves or those doing vandalism. We heard the story of pastor, professor and author Eugene Peterson working in a building in NYC in his 20’s. His big insight was stated in his incredible quote.

Psalm 130:8 turns out to be a prophecy of Jesus, the coming Messiah. After defining “Redemption” as
1. Buy back 2. Release by the payment of a price

We finished by hearing C.H. Spurgeon’s brilliant observation of the connection between Psalm 130:8 and Matthew 1:21. Advent highlights the waiting and anticipation of Jesus’ first arrival but it also points us towards his second arrival.