Psalm 130 v3-4
What made David a great king and, most importantly, a great servant of God was his humble understanding of our standing with the Lord of the universe.
At the time of Psalm 130’s writing David has been anointed as the King of Israel. This very anointing had caused a lesser man (Saul) to become corrupted by power.
Saul repeatedly went to the Lord for forgiveness before turning from his words. Saul even repeated those actions with David. Claiming to understand and respect his standing with the nation only to turn against him once more.
David shows his contrast to Saul in Psalm 130. Enjoying the fruits of God’s blessing David says, “If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord who could stand? / But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared.”
The foremost contrast between the Old and New testament of the Bible is Jesus’ repayment of the debt we create by being sinners rather than the sacrifice of animals in the Old Testament. Our sinful nature always remains though, as a result of Adam and Eve’s actions in the very beginning.
What David expresses in this psalm is an understanding of a concept which Jesus died trying to teach the world. It’s the same concept Christians try to impart on the people they meet today as well.
We are all sinners. As David expresses in Psalm 130, “who could stand?” But David knew that the fear of the Lord began with God’s ability to forgive. David may have lived long before Jesus, but his understanding and reverence for God’s power and will to forgive illustrates how we were meant to understand the life of Jesus.
As a sacrifice for us, because on our own “who could stand?”