Many of us feel stuck in the miry pit of our guilt and shame, of a general sense of brokenness, failure, and unworthiness.
From the depths of our guilt and shame, the Psalms teach us to desperately cry out for God’s mercy. We are called to admit that our problem of guilt and shame comes from separating ourselves from God, and that God is the only solution to the problem. We are broken and powerless, and crying out to God for mercy is the only solution.
The Psalmist cried out to God for mercy because he placed his hope in God’s character of forgiving, but the Psalmist waited intently for the full redemption that was to come. He prophesied that God himself would be his redeemer. In Jesus Christ, the full redemption that the Psalmist was waiting for has come. God himself has become a man and redeemed us on the cross for our sins. He has paid our ransom to free us from bondage to sin. When we come to admit our guilt and shame and humbly cry out to God for mercy, and put our faith in the atoning work of Jesus on the cross, he forgives us and rescues us from the miry pit of guilt and shame.