Tehillim 130 | “From the Depths I have Called out to You, O Lord”

This psalm is one of the most well-known psalms of distress. It is recited during the Ten Days of Repentance, and also in nearly every instance when trouble befalls the community and a collective chapter of Tehillim is read out. From the very first words, we are placed within a deep emotional crisis — “From the depths.” Chazal learned from this (Berakhot 10a) that one should stand in a low place when he prays. Chazal instruct us to apply this principle of standing in low place, and drawn it from the poet’s own authentic cry, even to our simplest prayers. But in the case of the poet, no instruction was needed – he calls out to God from a sincere experience of being in the depths.

At the beginning of the psalm, the speaker addresses God directly (“Lord, hear my voice”(v.2)), but in the second half, the language shifts to third person (“I wait for the Lord – my soul waits”(v.5)). The first half is a cry and a plea to God — this is a call for closeness and so the language is personal and very direct. But in the second half, the poet is already waiting, watching for his prayer to be answered. This part speaks from a place of distance from God and the yearning to return to Him, and so it refers to God in the third person. until the end of the psalm God never responds, but in the end of the psalm there is a conclusion that declares: “It is He who will redeem Israel from all their sins.” (v. 8)

This is not only a prayer for salvation, but above all, a prayer for forgiveness. From a religious perspective grounded in reward and punishment, every prayer carries an inner paradox — If God has sent hardship upon us, perhaps we deserve it. So what do we have to pray for? The psalm answers this question by framing the request not only as a plea for rescue, but also as a plea for atonement: “If You, Lord, keep account of sins, who could stand?” (v. 3) With the forgiveness of sins comes closeness to God, and with that closeness to God comes redemption. This is one of the reasons this psalm is chosen as the community’s voice in times of crisis — the prayer is accompanied by introspection. As Rambam writes (Fasts 1:2): “This practice is one of the paths of repentance, for when a difficulty arises, and the people cry out to God and sound the trumpets, everyone will realize that the difficulty occurred because of their evil conduct.”