Psalm 130 — Out of the Depths

Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD.

Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.

If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.

I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.

My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.

Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

— Psalm 130 (KJV)

About This Prayer

Psalm 130 is one of the Songs of Ascents, prayed by pilgrims on the road to Jerusalem, and it begins where many prayers really begin — in the depths. It does not pretend the depths away. It simply cries out, trusts that God forgives, and then waits, repeating that quiet image of a watchman longing for morning: the night is real, and so is the dawn. For centuries the church has prayed it in times of sorrow, known by its old Latin name, De profundis — "out of the depths."

When to Pray This

Pray Psalm 130 in grief, in regret, or in any long night of waiting when you cannot see the way forward yet. There is no need to feel hopeful before you pray it; the psalm carries the hope for you, one repeated line at a time. It is also a gentle psalm to pray for someone else who is in the depths and has no words of their own.