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Psalm 130:1

A Song of Ascents. Out of the depths I have cried to you, LORD.

1A Song of Ascents. Out of the depths I have cried to you, LORD.
2Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my petitions.
3If you, LORD, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand?
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Psalm 130:2 →
Notice

The depths remain unnamed, leaving room for distress that is hard to explain, while the cry has a clear direction: to YHWH.

Questions to write on. Each one opens a new entry with this verse already attached.

What would you name as the depths from which you are crying today?

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How does addressing YHWH change the way you put your distress into words?

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Connect

Where else Scripture says this

9 passages readers most often link with this verse, and the thread each one shares with it.

This verse's connections, by chapterThe Bible's strongest chapter linksHover or tap a book to trace it
Hebrews 5:7He, in the days of his flesh, having offered up prayers and petitions with strong crying and tears to him who was able to save him from death, and having been …Both passages describe prayer through crying, directed to God from a place of distress.
Psalm 120:1A Song of Ascents. In my distress, I cried to the LORD. He answered me.Both Songs of Ascents describe crying to the LORD in distress; Psalm 120 also names his answer.
Psalm 42:7Deep calls to deep at the noise of your waterfalls. All your waves and your billows have swept over me.The depths of Psalm 130 and the sweeping waves of Psalm 42 express distress through the language of overwhelming water.
Psalm 124:1A Song of Ascents. By David. If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, let Israel now say,Both are Songs of Ascents centered on the LORD, one through a personal cry and the other through Israel's shared testimony.
2 Samuel 22:17He sent from on high and he took me. He drew me out of many waters.Psalm 130 speaks of crying from the depths; Samuel speaks of God drawing someone out of many waters.
Psalm 123:1A Song of Ascents. I lift up my eyes to you, you who sit in the heavens.Both Songs of Ascents address God, one crying from the depths and the other lifting eyes toward him in heaven.
Jonah 2:2–4He said, “I called because of my affliction to the LORD. He answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol I cried. You heard my voice.Both speakers cry to the LORD from depths of distress; Jonah also declares that God heard his voice.
Lamentations 3:53–55They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and have cast a stone on me.Both portray distress through a low place, though Lamentations names a dungeon and Psalm 130 leaves the depths unspecified.
Nehemiah 9:4Then Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani of the Levites stood up on the stairs, and cried with a loud voice to the LORD their …Both describe crying to the LORD, with Nehemiah naming the Levites who raise their voices together.
Where this verse fits

Grief. feeling distant from God. anxiety or panic.

What the Bible says about grief →What the Bible says about doubt →What the Bible says about anxiety →
One step

Something small to carry out of this verse

Speak one sentence of distress to YHWH

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Encouragement

You do not have to reach firmer ground before you pray. The speaker cries while still in the depths, and YHWH is the one addressed.

Now put it in your words.

Start an entry on Psalm 130:1. Write what it stirs. Psalmlog sets your words beside Scripture and gives you one next step. Your first entry is free, no account needed.

Keep goingPsalm 130 · the whole chapter with its connection mapPsalms · every chapterBuild a reading plan through Psalms

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).