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Lenten Season · Fifth Sunday of Lent · Year A

If Third Scrutiny of the Elect: Psalm 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 (7)

Out of the Depths

March 22, 2026

Two Men Contemplating the Moon, Caspar David Friedrich
Two Men Contemplating the Moon, Caspar David Friedrich, ca. 1825–30The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Two figures with their backs turned stand on a path under a dead oak looking at a crescent moon. Friedrich said the two were engaged in demagogic nonsense, which was a joke about their old German coats.When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established, what are human beings that you are mindful of them?Caspar David FriedrichThe German Romantic who painted figures with their backs to us looking at something, and made that the subject.The Metropolitan Museum of ArtThe largest art museum in the Americas, founded in 1870 by a group of New Yorkers who wanted one and had no collection to start from.The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Roman Lectionary
GospelJohn 11:1-45Jn 11:1-45 orJohn 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45Jn 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45Alt. GospelIf Third Scrutiny of the Elect: John 11:1-45If Third Scrutiny of the Elect: Jn 11:1-45 orJohn 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45Jn 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45
Second ReadingRom. 8:8-11Rom 8:8-11Alt. 2nd ReadingIf Third Scrutiny of the Elect: Romans 8:8-11If Third Scrutiny of the Elect: Rom 8:8-11
First ReadingEzek. 37:12-14Ez 37:12-14Alt. 1st ReadingIf Third Scrutiny of the Elect: Ezekiel 37:12-14If Third Scrutiny of the Elect: Ez 37:12-14
Responsorial PsalmPs. 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 (7)Ps 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 (7)Alt. PsalmIf Third Scrutiny of the Elect: Psalm 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 (7)If Third Scrutiny of the Elect: Ps 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 (7)

Overview & Insights

"My soul waits for the Lord more than sentinels wait for the dawn." (Psalm 130:6)

The psalmist cries to God out of the depths, confesses that no one could stand if the Lord counted sins, and waits through the night for the Lord the way a watchman waits for daybreak. Set beside Ezekiel's dry bones and Lazarus's tomb, the psalm's long wait in the dark and its trust in forgiveness become this Sunday's own note of hope.

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Take it further: If Third Scrutiny of the Elect: Psalm 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 (7)

Commentary

Commentary on Psalm 130Commentary on Ps 130 Working Preacher

Working Preacher reads the psalm's depths as the many shapes of grief, illness, or abuse that can feel almost like death.

Psalm 130 CommentaryPs 130 Commentary CEP

CEP connects the psalm's waiting through the night directly to the Sunday's Ezekiel and Lazarus readings.

Psalm 130 CommentaryPs 130 Commentary Enduring Word

David Guzik's notes work through the psalm's movement from crying out of the depths to hoping in God's word.

Psalm 130:1 CommentariesPs 130:1 Commentaries BibleHub

BibleHub stacks classic commentaries on the opening cry out of the depths.

Psalm 130 - Haydock's Catholic Bible CommentaryPs 130 - Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary New Advent / Haydock

Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary reads the psalm's forgiveness of iniquities as the ground for its hope.

Background & Word Study

Psalms 130 (Hebrew/English)Ps 130 (Hebrew/English) Sefaria

Sefaria gives the Hebrew text alongside English for the psalm's language of waiting and watching for the dawn.

The Church Fathers

Psalm 130 - Catena Aurea / Church FathersPs 130 - Catena Aurea / Church Fathers Catena

Catena gathers patristic comment on the psalm's penitential language and its hope in the Lord's word.

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