From Depths of Woe I Cry to Thee

This is a great old hymn written by Martin Luther. Reading it was just what I needed today. I hope it blesses you as well.

From depths of woe I cry to Thee, in trial and tribulation;
Bend down Thy gracious ear to me,
Lord, hear my supplication.
If Thou rememb'rest ev'ry sin,
Who then could heaven ever win or stand before Thy presence?

Thy love and grace alone avail to blot out my transgression;
The best and holiest deeds must fail to break sin's dread oppression.
Before Thee none can boasting stand,
But all must fear Thy strict demand
And live alone by mercy.

Therefore my hope is in the Lord and not in mine own merit;
It rests upon His faithful Word to them of contrite spirit
That He is merciful and just;
This is my comfort and my trust.
His help I wait with patience.

And though it tarry through the night and till the morning waken,
My heart shall never doubt His might nor count itself forsaken.
O Israel, trust in God your Lord.
Born of the Spirit and the Word,
Now wait for His appearing.

Though great our sins, yet greater still is God's abundant favor;
His hand of mercy never will abandon us, nor waver.
Our shepherd good and true is He,
Who will at last His Israel free
From all their sin and sorrow.

*This* is the day!

“I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord.”
Psalm 118:21-26, English Standard Version (ESV)

Reading these verses together today kind of shocked me. I don’t know if any of you grew up singing the chorus “This is the Day”. It’s basically verse 24 sung over and over again with little echoes for each phrase. I’ve sung it all my life and knew it was a verse of scripture but never looked up the context. I used to think that it just meant, “This is the day that God created and I’m going to be happy in it because….well….God made it.” It seemed a little trite and almost meaningless. It’s been quoted perhaps millions of times on little embroidered pillows and framed art, so many times that I think people (at least me) have no idea to what the verse is really referring. Now, I look at it through this “lens”:

First of all, you should know that the Hebrew word for “save us” here is “Hosanna”. Remember Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem before His crucifixion? (See Matthew 21) What did the crowds shout as He rode his donkey through the streets? Hosanna! Save us!

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.”
Ephesians 2: 19-21 (ESV)

When we see Jesus in these verses in the Psalm as the cornerstone, this all starts to make sense. “This day” referred to here is none other than… Easter! It follows that the “this” in, “This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes,” refers to the redemption of mankind through Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection. Don’t even get me started on how people use this particular verse on wedding invitations and such! The “this” is much greater than any human love story: It’s God’s ultimate “love story”-- that He loved us so much that He sent His Son to die in our place.