Cashing In Or Forgiving Debt?

Psalm 130: 7 - 8 Cashing In or Forgiving Debt?

[7] O Israel, hope in the LORD!
For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem.
[8] It is he who will redeem Israel
from all its iniquities.

What is happening in this scripture?

According to the Encarta dictionary, the word redeem: a transitive verb, means any or all of the following: make something acceptable despite its negative qualities or aspects;
restore to favor or someone’s good opinion;buy something back (as in a pawnbroker);
to keep a promise, fulfill a pledge; exchange something for money (like redeeming a coupon or rebate); pay something off; atone (make up for a mistake) for sin (transgression or estrangement)

It's interesting how many of these definitions are economical in nature. But most of the meanings are about restoration, setting right, and the one that catches me the most is to keep a promise. Have you ever thought of what God owed you? Sounds arrogant to even say that, doesn't it. God doesn't owe me anyting, you might say. It is his will that I am even alive. True, all true. But the Hebrew scriptures tell us that God made some covenants. He made a covenant to Noah, that never again would he destroy the world with water, and in that covenant he said that destroying the earth because of sin was not right, since it was man's nature to be sinful from the get-go. He made a covenant with Abram, who became Abraham, blessing him and saying he and his offspring would be a blessing to all nations.
What could entice an all knowing being to make deals with human beings? He knows we will break them. Whey does he keep trusting us again, over and over? We always fail to keep them. Maybe even God can't go back on his own promises. Maybe he's sort of stuck with us. Has there ever been anyone in your life whom you would like to stop caring about, but you can't, no matter what they do. You love them, and no matter what they do, you can't stop loving them, so you can't stop caring about them, and wishing, hoping and praying that they will turn from their ways. This is the pain of love, and the risk of love. It's a messy business for sure, but every once in a while, someone really repents, really turns in a new direction. At that moment new life is born. I've seen it happen, not often, but I have seen it happen. And when it does, we rejoice like the father in the Prodigal Son story. God doesn't give up on us. We might give up on God, or on ourselves, and sometimes on each other. But God's love for us is so strong that it seems to stop even him from giving up on us.
The other thing is this: Since he made the covenant with us, only he can redeem us. He didn't break the covenant, we did. We do. So we aren't the wronged party, he is. And the only one who can redeem that, restore that, is God. He could choose not to, and that is miracle. He doesn't. He gives us yet another chance. And when he does, and we, as Paul Tillich said, accept acceptance, new life is born. Thanks be to God for new life, new chances. Thanks be to God, for redemption.