I saw that Psalm 130 is coming up as a lectionary reading for July 1. What a beautiful, heartbreaking piece of poetry! I just posted a sermon I wrote on Psalm 130 back in 2006. (Hard to believe I’ve been preaching that long!)

And here is a simple responsive reading from Psalm 130 that can be used as a prayer of confession and assurance of pardon:

PRAYER OF CONFESSION (From Psalm 130)
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD.
Lord, hear my voice! 
Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleading! 
If you, O LORD, if you took our faults and wrong actions into account,
Lord, who could stand before you?
But in you there is a deep well of forgiveness,
so that you may be held in holy awe. 
I wait for you, O LORD, I wait with deep longing,
and in your word I stand, waiting in hope.
My deep longing for the Lord 
is more than those who watch for the morning, 
more than those who wait for an end to the night.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON (from Psalm 130)
Our hope is in you, O LORD!
For with you there is steadfast love,
and great power to save.
It is the LORD God who will save us from all our wrongdoing. 
Thanks be to God.