Psalm 130: I Wait…

My soul waits for the Lord More than those who watch for the morning– Yes, more than those who watch for the morning. Psalm130:6

Until the Wait is Over

Psalm 130 is the 11th song of ascent.  It is a penitential psalm.  Its placement following a psalm of imprecation (act of calling down a curse/condemnation) is fitting.  After all, a person might take such joy in the destruction of the wicked that he no longer would consider his own heart before the Lord.

130:1 The poet shouts aloud to God from the depths of his own despair (Ps. 32:51).  In this case it was not enemies who were plowing his back (129:3), but his own sense of sin that was eating at the depths of his soul.

1  A Song of Ascents. Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord;

130:3, 4 God does not mark or keep count of our sins.  Through the sacrificial system and ultimately in the provision of Jesus Christ, God dismissed His people’s sins altogether (Mic. 7:19); He does not keep track – as an accountant would – of their sins.  The grace of God in His provision for forgiveness is not to be taken lightly (Rom 6:1, 2).  The truly forgiven sinner realizes the magnitude of God’s grace, remains grateful for Jesus’ sacrifice for sins, and lives in the fear or awe of God.

3  If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? 4  But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared.

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?  Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?  Romans 6:1, 2

130:5, 6 I wait… I do hope:  In these two verses, the poet repeats five times that his hope is in the Lord.  This was a confident expectation in the God who is always faithful to His promises.

5  I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, And in His word I do hope. 6  My soul waits for the Lord More than those who watch for the morning– Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.

130:7, 8 The psalm moves from the experience of an individual to that of the community.  After proclaiming his own hope, the psalmist exhorts the community of Israel to hope in the Lord.  God is not only capable of delivering the individual, He also delivers the community of believers who hope in Him (131:3).  He shall redeem:  In the Ot, the redemption of God’s people refers to God’s deliverance of His people from Egypt and from all other national foes, as well as to God’s forgiveness of sins through the sacrificial system.  The final redemption of all God’s people came only in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:13).

7  O Israel, hope in the Lord; For with the Lord there is mercy, And with Him is abundant redemption. 8  And He shall redeem Israel From all his iniquities.

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), Galatians 3:13

 

** Our hope is more than a hope.  It is waiting with confidence.  We still have to pass through the time set by God before our wait is over.  It is reaching out to the Lord in heaven to hold our hand.  And, He is more than willing.


130 1  A Song of Ascents. Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord; 2  Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive To the voice of my supplications. 3  If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? 4  But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared. 5  I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, And in His word I do hope. 6  My soul waits for the Lord More than those who watch for the morning– Yes, more than those who watch for the morning. 7  O Israel, hope in the Lord; For with the Lord there is mercy, And with Him is abundant redemption. 8  And He shall redeem Israel From all his iniquities.