Daily devotional · December 2
Waiting More Than Watchmen Wait
“Out of the depths I cry to You, O LORD! O Lord, hear my voice; let Your ears be attentive to my plea for mercy. If You, O LORD, kept track of iniquities, then who, O Lord, could stand? But with You there is forgiveness, so that You may be feared. I wait for the LORD; my soul does wait, and in His word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning— more than watchmen wait for the morning. O Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is loving devotion, and with Him is redemption in abundance. And He will redeem Israel from all iniquity.”
This psalm begins in the deepest place, a cry from the depths, and ends in confident hope. In between, the writer does two things: he confesses that no one could stand if God kept a strict record of wrongs, and he waits. He compares his waiting to that of night watchmen who stare at the horizon for the first gray of morning. They know dawn is certain; the only question is when. That is Advent waiting: not wishful thinking but expectant trust in a God who forgives and redeems. Notice that forgiveness comes before hope. We wait well when we are not dragging hidden guilt behind us. Today, name one thing you have been carrying quietly, bring it to God in plain words, and receive the mercy the psalm promises. Then choose one practical way to wait with hope, such as reading this psalm slowly tonight, and let your heart lean toward the morning.
Prayer
Father, I wait for You more than watchmen wait for dawn. Forgive me, and fill me with hope. Amen.