Psalm 130 (From the Depths of Woe)
One of the 94 hymns we sing together at Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church on the Gold Coast. Browse the full hymnbook.
Lyrics
Verse 1
From the depths of woe I raise to Thee
The voice of lamentation;
Lord, turn a gracious ear to me
And hear my supplication;
If Thou iniquities dost mark,
Our secret sins and misdeeds dark,
Chorus
(Men:) O who shall stand before Thee?
(Women:) Who shall stand before Thee?
(Men:) O who shall stand before Thee?
(Women:) Who shall stand before Thee?
Verse 2
To wash away the crimson stain,
Grace, grace alone availeth;
Our works, alas! Are all in vain;
In much the best life faileth;
No man can glory in Thy sight,
All must alike confess Thy might,
Chorus
(Men:) And live alone by mercy
(Women:) Live alone by mercy
(Men:) And live alone by mercy
(Women:) Live alone by mercy
Verse 3
Therefore my trust is in the Lord,
And not in mine own merit;
On Him my soul shall rest, His word
Upholds my fainting spirit;
His promised mercy is my fort,
My comfort and my sweet support;
Chorus
(Men:) I wait for it with patience
(Women:) Wait for it with patience
(Men:) I wait for it with patience
(Women:) Wait for it with patience
Verse 4
What though I wait the live-long night
Until the dawn appeareth,
My heart still trusteth in His might;
It doubteth not nor feareth;
Do thus, O ye of Israel’s seed,
Ye of the Spirit born indeed;
Chorus
(Men:) And wait til God appeareth
(Women:) Wait til God appeareth
(Men:) And wait til God appeareth
(Women:) Wait til God appeareth
Verse 5
Though great our sins and sore our woes
His grace much more aboundeth;
His helping love no limit knows,
Our utmost need it soundeth.
Our Shepherd good and true is He,
Who will at last His children free
Chorus
(Men:) From all their sin and sorrow
(Women:) All their sin and sorrow
(Men:) From all their sin and sorrow
(Women:) All their sin and sorrow
Behind the Hymn
"Psalm 130 (From the Depths of Woe)" is a versification of Psalm 130, one of the seven Penitential Psalms, adapted by the great Reformer Martin Luther around 1523 as "Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir." Luther wrote it during the early, turbulent years of the Protestant Reformation when he was challenging the Roman Catholic system of indulgences and penance with the biblical doctrine of justification by grace through faith alone. Psalm 130 was especially important to Luther because it expressed both the reality of human sinfulness and the sufficiency of God's mercy — the twin truths at the heart of his theology. The cry "from the depths" (De profundis in Latin) was a prayer that medieval Christians associated with purgatory, but Luther reinterpreted it as the cry of a sinner who has no hope except in God's free grace. Christopher Miner, a modern musician known for setting classic hymn texts to new melodies, created the adaptation used here, giving Luther's Reformation-era text a fresh musical setting for today's congregations. The hymn's raw honesty about sin and its confident trust in God's mercy make it a powerful expression of the Protestant understanding of salvation.