Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 130:5
I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.
5. I wait my soul doth wait do I hope ] The perfect tense of the original denotes what long has been, as well as what still is, the attitude of the Psalmist’s mind.
in his word ] Of promise (Psa 119:74; Psa 119:81) to pardon and deliver: e.g. such prophecies as those in Jer 31:31-34; Jer 33:8; &c.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
5 8. In this confidence that Jehovah is a God of forgiveness the Psalmist can wait with patience and hope, and bid Israel wait, for the redemption that will surely come.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
I wait for the Lord – That is, in this state of distress and trouble – from these depths of woe, and sorrow, and conviction of sin. This implies two things:
(1) that he had no other dependence;
(2) that his soul was actually in a waiting posture, or that he actually looked to the Lord for his interposition.
My soul doth wait – I wait, with all my soul and heart.
And in his word do I hope – In his promise. I believe that he will fulfill that promise, and that I shall find a gracious answer to my prayers. Under conviction for sin, under deep sorrow and distress of any kind, this is the only hope of man. If God does not interpose, there is no deliverer; that he will interpose we may feel assured, if we come to him with a humble, a believing, and a penitent heart.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 130:5-6
I wait for the Lord.
Waiting, hoping, watching
I. Waiting.
1. This is the constant posture of all the saints of God. Fancy not that in heaven they have no emotion but that of joy; we know that all their emotions are joyous, but among them is this one,–that they, too, are waiting until the Lord shall again manifest Himself, for, in the day of His appearing, those disembodied spirits shall put on their resurrection bodies.
2. The children of God, on earth, are frequently in the posture of waiting as individuals. Do you not wait to be able to serve God better? Are not some of you waiting to have your tongues unloosed,–waiting to have your hearts enlarged,–waiting for better opportunities of doing Gods work, or for more grace to use the opportunities you have,–and waiting for the Divine seal upon the efforts which you have put forth? I know that is so; and if we could get all that, we should still be waiting,–waiting to see all our families saved,–waiting to see all our neighbours saved.
3. It is a very blessed posture, for waiting tries faith, and that is a good thing, because faith grows by trial. Waiting exercises patience, and that is also a good thing, for patience is one of the choice gifts of God. Waling endears every blessing when it comes; and thus we get two joys,–the joy of waiting for the joy, as well as the joy of enjoying the joy when it comes.
II. Hoping.
1. Hope is the reason for waiting.
2. Hope is the strength of waiting.
3. Hope is the sweetener of waiting. But make sure that your hope is a good hope, that it is a well-founded hope, that it is a happy hope, that it is a hope that maketh not ashamed, that it is a hope that fixes itself on Christ alone; for if you have not that hope, you will not wait; and if you do not wait, you will not receive. It is the waiting soul that gets the blessing.
III. Watching. He that waits, and he that hopes, learns to watch. First notice the figure here used, and then observe that the figure is exceeded: My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.
1. First, what is the figure here used? With steady and weary tramp, the watchman has gone from one tower to another speaking to his brother sentinel as he has met him, keeping to his beat all through the dreary, cold, rainy, windy night; and he says to himself, I wish it were morning. As he exchanges the watchword with his companion, he says, I wish it were morning. My eyelids are heavy; my head begins to ache with this constant watching for the enemy; I wish it were morning. Have you never been in that posture?
2. But the figure is exceeded by the fact, for the text says, My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning. We have been watching longer than they who guard the city towers. The sentinel has only a few hours night-watch; but some of us have been watching for these thirty years, some of you for these fifty years; ah, some of you for sixty years! I do not wonder that you have a stronger desire for the morning than they have wire have only watched for one night. Besides, you expect so much more than they do, for when the day comes, what does it bring to them? A little ease for the sentinel, a little rest for the nurse; but they will have to go back to the nursing or the watching as soon as the shades of night return. You and I are waiting for a daylight that will bring us endless rest and perfect joy; well may we watch more than they that watch for the morning, for theirs is but the morning of a day, but ours is the morning of an eternity which shall know no end. They do but watch for the sun with his passing beams; we watch for the Sun of Righteousness whose glory makes heaven itself. Well may we grow eager when we think of what is yet to be revealed in us. Well may our hunger increase as we think of the sweets that are reserved for us. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The quiet life in its dependence
There is a true dependence and a false dependence. The one is the fatalistic faith of the Arabs and those Easterns who have become stolid in character, and who denude death of its horrors, to some extent, by the idea of fate. But faith and fate are different things. There always runs through the Psalms the golden thread of the personality of God. True dependence is in a person, a living God, upon whom weariness can lean, and in whom weakness is made strong.
I. True dependence is restful in God. There are two beings hers–God and the soul. If I am to depend upon God, I must look within upon my own life and see whether I so live that I can fairly lean on the great Father and depend upon Him. It is here that the beautiful question of a childs relationship to the Father comes in. May a wicked man say, I depend upon God; He will bring all things right? Look at this matter fairly. Is our dependence such as ought to characterize one who seeks the help and favour of God? Are our objects His objects? Are our aims His aims? Is the life we are living only an edifice to worldly ambition, or is it a temple fitted for the skies? I am to wait for the Lord. But while I am waiting, what am I? Is it the dependence of a child, seeking to do Gods will; looking thoughtfully around to know how the life may glorify Him? It is waiting that is so difficult. But in our hours of waiting, painful as I deem them to be, God comes very near to us. We pray more at such times. I think that these long trials make the hungry eyes look longingly over the sea to earth sight of the sails of the vessel in which Gods angels are coming! I think the long night makes us hopeful for the dawn of the day. I think that whilst we wait, we learn more of that purifying consciousness of dependence that slays our pride, and feeds our humility. There is much that is disciplinary in this, I wait for the Lord.
II. True dependence is watchful. In this world, when we are dependent upon anything, we always get ready. If houses of business think there is to be a spring trade in something that appertains to artistic beauty or modes of dress, and men are dependent upon this for revival of trade, they watch for every sign of plenty. They can do nothing until the wave comes. But the wave would be no use to them if they had not stocked their warehouses. My soul waiteth for the Lord, more than they that watch for the morning. You like to be watched for. You like the little children in the summer-time to say, Father is coming. The fisherman likes to see his wife and daughter on that old pier watching for him. God likes us to watch for Him.
III. True dependence is hopeful. In His Word do I hope; for God is not a man that He should lie, or the Son of man that He should repent. And in that Word the true believer does hope continually. It is not the testimony of the past only, it is the experience of the children of God to-day, that the promises–and they are greater in number than the stars–all the promises of God in Christ Jesus are yea and amen.
IV. True dependence is complete. He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities. I like to follow that thought out, and to feel that quiet dependence upon God is personal in regard to ones own life of sin and transgression. I like to follow it out in regard to ones family life, and to feel how God will work if we only trust Him. (W. M. Statham.)
Waiting
I. The object of the Christians waiting. He waits for the development of Gods purposes, for the accomplishment of Gods will, for the coming of the Lord to his soul, in all the fulness of His grace to scatter the clouds of ignorance, be overpower the strength of temptation, to silence the upbraidings of conscience, to purge his soul of corruption, to confirm his faith and holy resolutions, and so to deliver him from the dangers of sin, the sharp pang of sorrow, and the misgivings of unbelief.
II. The spirit of the Christians waiting.
1. Patience. To wait for the Lord is to rest in Him, to abide in Him.
2. But this patience is not a mere passive submission, as the slave bows his head under the yoke he cannot throw off. All the active qualities of the Christian life are associated with that waiting for the Lord, which the spirit of patience invests with peace.
3. While he waits for the Lord, he does so with an earnest expectation and desire.
4. With loins girt and lamps burning.
III. The encouragement by which the spirit of waiting is sustained. The faith of man is built upon the faithfulness of God. There is a promise for every need, and certainty in every promise. (A. J. Macleane, M. A.)
The soul waiting for God
I. By whom can this language be appropriated?
1. By the penitent.
2. By the backslider.
3. By the afflicted Christian.
4. By the Christian about to die. As the long absent child, arrived at the door of his fathers house, pants for admittance there, so does the soul of the believer, on the threshold of eternity, wait for its God.
II. On what ground may the language of the text be appropriated with confident expectation.
1. The Word of the Lord, it should never be forgotten, is a tried Word. It has cheered the gloomy, and strengthened the feeble, and animated the dying.
2. The extent of a Christians privileges no mind can embrace. Take him at his worst state, in the difficulties of his first approach to God; in subsequent darkness; or in death; having still an interest in the promises of God, he claims an inheritance which monarchs might envy, and which angels delight to share. (O. A. Jeary.)
The estate and disposition of the holy man after his prayer
Though he had formerly sense of mercy and pardon, yet he waits for more full and sweet apprehension thereof. In them we may observe, first, though God be exceeding gracious, yet there is matter of waiting, so long as we live hero on earth, for He gives not all the fulness of His blessing at once. Though He may give taste of pardon of sin in present, yet not presently deliverance out of danger (Pro 4:18). There is no day that is perfected in an instant; and the reasons hereof may be–
1. To force us be search our souls, whether we be fit for blessing; whether we be thoroughly humbled, and have thoroughly repented or not. Thus dealt he with Jonas, and thus with the children of Israel for Achans cause.
2. It may be a means to stir us up to more earnestness in seeking: to make us like the woman of Canaan, more earnest the more she was repelled.
3. He gives us occasion of waiting, to show the truth and soundness of His graces in us; otherwise should we have no means to try how the grace in us would serve us in time of need.
4. Hereby God doth endear those favours that we want, that it may come the more welcome to us, and we be the more thankful for it. Thus God dealt with this holy man; and thus doth He with His Church. For while we live here we are always children of hope; not miserable, because we have a sweet taste of what we hope for, and not perfectly happy, because we want fulness. Before Christ, they hoped for His coming in the flesh; since Christ, we look for His second coming in glory; in grace we look for glory; and when our souls are in glory, they look for the redemption of the bodies, and for the day of restoring of all things.
5. This should whet in us our desires and prayers for our heavenly estate; and not make our heaven here on earth, but desire earnestly the full harvest, by considering how excellent the first-fruits of glory in this life are; and with the creature (Rom 8:19), wait, and expect, and long, and groan for the time of the dissolution of all things; and make this a note to discern of our estate; for it is a certain infallible token of a good frame of spirit in us, if we can long for that better life in the fulness that we have here; that we can desire to be with Christ. Furthermore, note this as a difference between the estates of the wicked and the godly. The wicked must look for worse and worse continually. His best is here, and while he hath this world; but the godly, their worst is here, their best is to come. (R. Sibbes.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 5. I wait for the Lord] The word kavah, which we translate to wait, properly signifies the extension of a cord from one point to another. This is a fine metaphor: God is one point, the human heart is the other; and the extended cord between both is the earnest believing desire of the soul. This desire, strongly extended from the heart to God, in every mean of grace, and when there is none, is the active, energetic waiting which God requires, and which will be successful.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
I wait for the Lord, that he would manifest his favour to me in the pardon of my sins.
In his word; wherein he hath declared his merciful nature, Exo 34:6,7, and his gracious purpose and promises for the pardoning of sinners.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
5, 6. wait for the Lordinexpectation (Ps 27:14).
watch for, &c.inearnestness and anxiety.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
I wait for the Lord,…. For his gracious presence and the light of his countenance, being in darkness, as well as in the deep; for his salvation and deliverance out of the depths of distress; for an answer of prayer, having cried unto him for application of pardoning grace he had some view and hopes of; and for the performance of promises the Lord had made to him; and for eternal glory and happiness: all which are to be patiently and quietly waited for, God having his set time to do them; and may be confidently expected, since he is gracious and merciful, wise and powerful, faithful and immutable. David might also be waiting for the coming of Christ, as all the Old Testament saints did; through whom all the above are enjoyed;
my soul doth wait; which shows that this was not mere bodily service or waiting upon God and for him in an external way; but expresses the intenseness of his mind, the earnest desires of his heart after God, his affection for him, and the exercise of all other graces on him; his whole soul, and all the powers of it, were engaged in this work;
and in his word do I hope: both in his essential Word the Messiah, who was the Hope of Israel as well as the Saviour of them; the object, ground, and foundation of hope, of all blessings, of grace and of glory: and in his word of promise concerning the coming of Christ, and salvation by him; concerning the pardon of sin through him, and eternal life by him; as well as in many other special and particular promises made to David, concerning himself, his family, and his kingdom. Arama and Kimchi interpret it of the promise of deliverance from captivity made to the Jews.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Therefore the sinner need not, therefore too the poet will not, despair. He hopes in Jahve ( acc. obj. as in Psa 25:5, Psa 25:21; Psa 40:2), his soul hopes; hoping in and waiting upon God is the mood of his inmost and of his whole being. He waits upon God’s word, the word of His salvation (Psa 119:81), which, if it penetrates into the soul and cleaves there, calms all unrest, and by the appropriated consolation of forgiveness transforms and enlightens for it everything in it and outside of it. His soul is , i.e., stedfastly and continually directed towards Him; as Chr. A. Crusius when on his death-bed, with hands and eyes uplifted to heaven, joyfully exclaimed: “My soul is full of the mercy of Jesus Christ. My whole soul is towards God. ” The meaning of becomes at once clear in itself from Psa 143:6, and is defined moreover, without supplying (Hitzig), according to the following . Towards the Lord he is expectantly turned, like those who in the night-time wait for the morning. The repetition of the expression “those who watch for the morning” (cf. Isa 21:11) gives the impression of protracted, painful waiting. The wrath, in the sphere of which the poet now finds himself, is a nightly darkness, out of which he wishes to be removed into the sunny realm of love (Mal 4:2); not he alone, however, but at the same time all Israel, whose need is the same, and for whom therefore believing waiting is likewise the way to salvation. With Jahve, and with Him exclusively, with Him, however, also in all its fulness, is (contrary to Ps 62:13, without any pausal change in accordance with the varying of the segolates), the mercy, which removes the guilt of sin and its consequences, and puts freedom, peace, and joy into the heart. And plenteous ( , an adverbial infin. absol., used here, as in Eze 21:20, as an adjective) is with Him redemption; i.e., He possesses in the richest measure the willingness, the power, and the wisdom, which are needed to procure redemption, which rises up as a wall of partition (Exo 8:19) between destruction and those imperilled. To Him, therefore, must the individual, if he will obtain mercy, to Him must His people, look up hopingly; and this hope directed to Him shall not be put to shame: He, in the fulness of the might of His free grace (Isa 43:25), will redeem Israel from all its iniquities, by forgiving them and removing their unhappy inward and outward consequences. With this promise (cf. Psa 25:22) the poet comforts himself. He means complete and final redemption, above all, in the genuinely New Testament manner, spiritual redemption.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Encouragement to Trust in and Depend upon God. | |
5 I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. 6 My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning. 7 Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. 8 And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
Here, I. The psalmist engages himself to trust in God and to wait for him, Psa 130:5; Psa 130:6. Observe, 1. His dependence upon God, expressed in a climax, it being a a song of degrees, or ascents: “I wait for the Lord; from him I expect relief and comfort, believing it will come, longing till it does come, but patiently bearing the delay of it, and resolving to look for it from no other hand. My soul doth wait; I wait for him in sincerity, and not in profession only. I am an expectant, and it is for the Lord that my soul waits, for the gifts of his grace and the operations of his power.” 2. The ground of that dependence: In his word do I hope. We must hope for that only which he has promised in his word, and not for the creatures of our own fancy and imagination; we must hope for it because he has promised it, and not from any opinion of our own merit. 3. The degree of that dependence–“more than those that watch for the morning, who are, (1.) Well-assured that the morning will come; and so am I that God will return in mercy to me, according to his promise; for God’s covenant is more firm than the ordinances of day and night, for they shall come to an end, but that is everlasting.” (2.) Very desirous that it would come. Sentinels that keep guard upon the walls, those that watch with sick people, and travellers that are abroad upon their journey, long before day wish to see the dawning of the day; but more earnestly does this good man long for the tokens of God’s favour and the visits of his grace, and more readily will he be aware of his first appearances than they are of day. Dr. Hammond reads it thus, My soul hastens to the Lord, from the guards in the morning, the guards in the morning, and gives this sense of it, “To thee I daily betake myself, early in the morning, addressing my prayers, and my very soul, before thee, at the time that the priests offer their morning sacrifice.”
II. He encourages all the people of God in like manner to depend upon him and trust in him: Let Israel hope in the Lord and wait for him; not only the body of the people, but every good man, who surnames himself by the name of Israel, Isa. xliv. 5. Let all that devote themselves to God cheerfully stay themselves upon him (Psa 130:7; Psa 130:8), for two reasons:– 1. Because the light of nature discovers to us that there is mercy with him, that the God of Israel is a merciful God and the Father of mercies. Mercy is with him; not only inherent in his nature, but it is his delight, it is his darling attribute; it is with him in all his works, in all his counsels. 2. Because the light of the gospel discovers to us that there is redemption with him, contrived by him, and to be wrought out in the fulness of time; it was in the beginning hidden in God. See here, (1.) The nature of this redemption; it is redemption from sin, from all sin, and therefore can be no other than that eternal redemption which Jesus Christ became the author of; for it is he that saves his people from their sins (Matt. i. 21), that redeems them from all iniquity (Tit. ii. 14), and turns away ungodliness from Jacob, Rom. xi. 26. It is he that redeems us both from the condemning and from the commanding power of sin. (2.) The riches of this redemption; it is plenteous redemption; there is an all-sufficient fulness of merit and grace in the Redeemer, enough for all, enough for each; enough for me, says the believer. Redemption from sin includes redemption from all other evils, and therefore is a plenteous redemption. (3.) The persons to whom the benefits of this redemption belong: He shall redeem Israel, Israel according to the spirit, all those who are in covenant with God, as Israel was, and who are Israelites indeed, in whom is no guile.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
5. I have waited for Jehovah. After having testified in general that God is ready to show mercy to poor sinners who betake themselves to him, the Psalmist concludes that he is thereby encouraged to entertain good hope. The past tense in the verbs wait and trust is put for the present. I have waited for I wait; I have hoped for I hope. The repetition occurring in the first part of the verse is emphatic; and the word soul gives additional emphasis, implying, as it does, that the Prophet trusted in God even with the deepest affections of his heart. From this we also gather that he was not only patient and constant in the sight of men, but that even in the inward feelings of his heart he had maintained quietness and patience before God, which is a very evident proof of faith. Many, no doubt, are restrained by vain glory from openly murmuring against God or betraying their distrust, but there is hardly one in ten who, when removed from the inspection of his fellow-men, and in his own heart, waits for God with a quiet mind. The Psalmist adds, in the concluding clause, that what supported his patience was the confidence which he reposed in the divine promises. Were these promises taken away, the grace of God would necessarily vanish from our sight, and thus our hearts would fail and be overwhelmed with despair. Besides, he teaches us, that our being contented with the word of God alone affords a genuine proof of our hope. When a man, embracing the word, becomes assured of having his welfare attended to by God, this assurance will be the mother of waiting or patience. Although the Prophet here speaks to himself for the purpose of confirming his faith, yet there is no doubt that he suggests to all the children of God like matter of confidence in reference to themselves. In the first place he sets before them the word, that they may depend entirely upon it; and next he warns them that faith is vain and ineffectual unless it frame us to patience.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(5) I wait.The Hebrew expresses, I have been waiting, and still wait. Mark the earnestness in the repetition, I wait, my soul waits.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
5. I wait for the Lord Both for his time and method of deliverance, leaving all to his sovereign will. Nothing else could be called waiting for him. From his complaint and his confession of sin and of divine grace, the psalmist now proceeds to declare his confidence and patient waiting for help.
In his word do I hope God never leaves his people in affliction without a word of promise for their comfort and hope. Psa 119:92
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
DISCOURSE: 723
WAITING UPON GOD
Psa 130:5-6. I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in His word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning; I say, more than they that watch for the morning.
MANY of Gods people are at times reduced to great straits, either through the violence of persecution or the force of temptation: and, under such circumstances, what refuge have they, but in God? It is in vain for them to look to the creature: and it sometimes appears to them to no purpose to wait even upon God, because the desired relief is so long delayed. David, under delays of this kind, was sometimes discouraged: but, whatever were the depths into which he had fallen on the present occasion, it is manifest that he cast himself upon the mercy of his God, and determined to hold fast by God, and to maintain his confidence in him even to the end. I will,
I.
Unfold to you the experience of David
He declares it to us in few words: he waited upon God. And the comparison by which he illustrates the frame of his mind, will serve us as a clew, whereby to find the full import of his words. He may possibly refer to watchmen in general, who, during a long and tedious night, wait for the morning, when they shall be released from their fatigues, and retire to their rest. But I rather think that he refers to the Priests and Levites, whom he had appointed to watch nightly in the Tabernacle [Note: Psa 134:1.], and who, if they were not filled with a spirit of devotion, by which they might enjoy communion with their God, would long earnestly for the morning, when they might terminate their irksome task. But more than they did David long for the return of God to his soul; waiting for him,
1.
With earnest desire
[No temporal distress will bear any comparison with that which is spiritual. The troubles of an awakened or tempted soul are very heavy; and the depths into which it is plunged, by an apprehension of Gods wrath, are very terrible. No wonder that David panted after the Lord, as the hart after the water-brooks [Note: Psa 42:1-3.]: no wonder that, when Gods answers to his prayers were delayed, he cried, How long, O Lord! how long [Note: Psa 6:3; Psa 13:1-2. four times.]? Nor is such importunity disapproved of God: on the contrary, he would have us cry day and night to him [Note: Luk 18:7.], and give him no rest, till he arise, and come to our relief [Note: Isa 62:6-7.].]
2.
With patient hope
[Though earnest in prayer, he was willing to tarry the Lords leisure; and would not attempt to use any unbecoming means for his own relief. Repeatedly had he it in his power to slay Saul: but he would neither perpetrate the act himself, nor suffer it to be perpetrated by others. He committed his cause to God, to whom alone vengeance belongeth. So, in reference to the mercies he desired at Gods hands, he was willing to wait. His earnestness appears in that he says repeatedly, My soul doth wait. It was not a mere wish that he entertained for relief, but a most eager desire: yet was he as far from impatience as from indifference. He rested on the word of God: In his word, saith he, do I hope. It was quite sufficient for him that God had promised to succour his tempted people: and, whatever apparent contrarieties there might be between his dispensations and his word, he had no doubt but that they would all be cleared up in due season, and that not a jot or tittle of Gods word would pass away, till all were fulfilled.]
3.
With assured expectation
[A watchman knows that the morning will at last appear; and therefore, instead of abandoning his post, he waits till the destined hour for his relief arrive. Thus David assured himself that God would come to him at last, and reveal himself to him out of the abundance of his grace and love. The verses following my text shew this to have been the real experience of his soul, and afford me occasion to,]
II.
Commend it to your imitation
Not in the context only, but in other places, does David call upon us to imitate his example, and to avail ourselves of his experience for the comfort and direction of our own souls. I had fainted, says he, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say on the Lord [Note: Psa 27:13-14.]. Thus would I now entreat you to mark the posture of Davids soul in this season of trial. Consider,
1.
How suited it is to every one of you
[You may not have committed Davids sins, or be subjected to Davids trials: but where is there one of you that is not a sinner before God? Who amongst you does not stand in need of mercy? Who must not find his consolation altogether in the contemplation of God; saying with David, If thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared [Note: ver. 3, 4.]? Then it is plain that the same waiting spirit becomes you also. Yes, in a spirit of penitence should you be crying to God, Lord, hear my voice; let thine ear be attentive to the voice of my supplications [Note: ver. 2.]! And, however long God may defer his answer to your prayers, you should wait with meekness and patience. If the eyes of a servant are to the hand of his master, and the eyes of a maiden to the hand of her mistress, should not your eyes be unto the Lord your God until he have mercy upon you [Note: Psa 123:2.]? Surely you may well be as observant of God as you expect your fellow-creature to be of you. And think how long God has waited upon you; calling, but ye would not hear; entreating, but ye would not regard him. Shall you then be impatient, if he come not at the first moment that you call; and that too when you are urged by nothing but a fear of his wrath, which you have so richly merited? Know, every one of you, that it becomes you to wait his appointed time; and to be satisfied if the morning never arrive till the very moment of your departure from this world of woe.]
2.
What honour it does to God
[A meek, patient, and submissive spirit honours every perfection of the Deity. It expresses a confidence in his wisdom, as alone discerning the fittest time to appear in your behalf. It shews a persuasion of his goodness, that does not willingly afflict you, but orders every thing for your greatest good, even to humble you the more deeply, and thereby to prepare you for a richer improvement of his mercy whensoever it shall be vouchsafed unto you. It honours also his power, as able to impart relief, whensoever his wisdom and goodness shall judge it expedient to confer the blessing. Above all, it glorifies Gods truth and faithfulness, in that it makes the written word a ground of hope, yea, and of an assured hope, that whatsoever God has promised he will perform.
I ask then, Is it not desirable that you should be found in a posture by which God is so honoured, and with which he cannot but be pleased? Let every one of you, therefore, be able to make that appeal to God, I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord [Note: Gen 49:18.].]
3.
What benefit it ensures to the waiting soul
[Justly is it said, The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord [Note: Lam 3:25-26.]. But let us hear the Psalmists own experience: I waited patiently for the Lord, and he inclined unto me and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings: and he hath put a new song into my mouth, even praise unto our God [Note: Psa 40:1-3.]. And who is there, even though he should not have been delivered to the same extent, that must not yet say, It is good for me to draw near to God [Note: Psa 73:28.]? I entreat you, then, to adopt the resolution of the Psalmist, I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints [Note: Psa 52:9.]. If at any time your mind be disquieted by reason of delay, check and chide your soul even as David did: Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God [Note: Psa 42:11.]. You must never forget that appeal which God himself makes to the whole universe, I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain [Note: Isa 45:19.]. Even in this world you may be sure that God will accept and bless you: for he has said, They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint [Note: Isa 40:31.]. But in the world to come, can any one doubt the acceptance of a penitent, contrite, and believing soul? You might as well doubt the existence of God himself: for he has said, that we shall reap if we faint not [Note: Gal 6:9.]: and to all his believing Israel he has engaged, that they shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation, and shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end [Note: Isa 45:17.].]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
How very beautiful in language, as well as delightful in doctrine, are these expressions! When a soul looking by faith to the man at God’s right hand, whom the Lord hath set forth as a propitiation through faith in his blood; he waits with earnest, but patient expectation. He that believeth (saith the Prophet) shall not make haste, Isa 28:15 . He need not; for in believing he stayeth upon God’s Christ, he knows that the mercy is sure; and therefore he waits the Lord’s time for bestowing it. He that prepared the mercy, is preparing the heart for the proper reception of it. In believing this, he already by faith enjoys it; and therefore cries out, I look for the Lord: my soul doth wait; but while I wait, his word is my warrant, my security, my sure confidence. Oh! blessed frame! Reader, may the Lord give it to you, to me, and to all his people. Lord! increase our faith! The figures and similitudes in this verse, to show how the soul of a true believer waits, are uncommonly beautiful and expressive. What is it to wait for the morning? Let those speak who lie in agonies of pain through a long night, or those who sit up in the dying chamber of a dear departing friend; or those who travelling in a dark dreary night, are hardly conscious of their way. Such cases as these may afford some idea, of a soul in darkness, until Jesus makes it light: waiting for the first dawn of mercy: longing to hear that voice, Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee. My soul, I would press the thought upon thee; dost thou so wait for Jesus, and for the renewings of his love?
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 130:5 I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.
Ver. 5. I wait for the Lord ] I wait, and wait, viz. for deliverance out of misery, Psa 130:1 , being assured of pardoning mercy. Feri, Domine, feri; a peccatis enim absolutus sum, said Luther, Strike, Lord, while thou wilt, so long as my sins are forgiven; I can be of good comfort; I can wait, or want for a need.
And in his word
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 130:5-8
5I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait,
And in His word do I hope.
6My soul waits for the Lord
More than the watchmen for the morning;
Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.
7O Israel, hope in the Lord;
For with the Lord there is lovingkindness,
And with Him is abundant redemption.
8And He will redeem Israel
From all his iniquities.
Psa 130:5-8 This strophe emphasizes the theme of the patience of faithful followers in God and trust in His word (cf. Psa 130:5). The concept of waiting in faith is expressed in this strophe by two words.
1. BDB 875, KB 1082 – Psa 130:5 (twice) and assumed in Psa 130:6, cf. Psa 25:3; Psa 25:21; Psa 27:14; Psa 40:1; Psa 56:7
2. BDB 403, KB 407 – Psa 130:5; Psa 130:7, cf. Psa 38:15; Psa 42:5; Psa 43:5
This is the place where the sovereignty of God intercedes the required volitional response of fallen mankind. Faithful followers choose to wait, hope, trust in God and His promises, even when circumstances and feeling scream to take a different path!
Psa 130:6 This metaphor of longing anticipation is similar to Psa 42:1-2. God’s people long for Him!
soul See full note at Gen 35:18 online at www.freebiblecommentary.org .
Psa 130:7 As the psalmist longs, waits, hopes, and trusts in YHWH, he now calls on God’s people collectively to do the same.
Notice how YHWH is characterized.
1. in Him is lovingkindness (i.e., covenant, loyal love, see Special Topic: Lovingkindness [hesed] )
2. in Him is abundant redemption (Psa 130:7 c)
3. in Him (and no other, cf. REB) is redemption (noun in Psa 130:7 and verb in Psa 130:8, see SPECIAL TOPIC: RANSOM/REDEEM ) for all those who trust in Him (i.e., the covenant people, see SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT and Special Topic: YHWH’s Eternal Redemptive Plan)
Remember biblical faith is corporate. It is a family! Be careful of the modern western over-emphasis on the individual. Salvation has a corporate focus! We are saved to serve. The goal of individual salvation is the health and growth of the body of believers!
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought provoking, not definitive.
1. What feelings come to your mind/heart after reading Psa 130:1-4?
2. What do you think depths means?
3. Does God keep a record of sins?
4. Does Psa 130:5-6 describe how you feel about God and His word?
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
soul. Hebrew. nephesh. App-13.
His word: as sent to Hezekiah by Jehovah through Isaiah.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 130:5-6
Psa 130:5-6
“I wait for Jehovah, my soul doth wait,
And in his word do I hope.
My soul waiteth for the Lord
More than watchmen wait for the morning;
Yea, more than watchmen for the morning.”
See the chapter introduction for a discussion of these lines. The picture here is one of hopeful and patient trust in God. No assurance of his forgiveness is registered here, but his hope encourages and sustains him. Somehow, he knows that God will “pass over” his sins for which he has truly repented and petitioned the Father in heaven.
“Wait … wait … I hope” (Psa 130:5-6). The psalmist is waiting for the consolation of Israel, for the kingdom of God, and for the Advent of Christ the redeemer. Yes, death over took him before that “morning” came; but praise be to God forever, the healing mercies of the Cross of Christ flowed in both directions, all the way back to the blood of Abel and all the way forward till the Second Advent.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 130:5. Wait and hope are used In the same sense here. This first is from a word which Strong defines partly, “to expect,” and we know that is also a part of the definition of hope, the second word in the verse.
Psa 130:6. Waiteth is not in the original as a separate word. The thought is justified by the previous verse which does have the word in the original text. David means that his longing for the favor of God is more intense than that of man generally in wishing for the morning to come to relieve him from the shadows of night.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
I wait: Psa 27:14, Psa 33:20, Psa 40:1, Psa 62:1, Psa 62:5, Gen 49:18, Isa 8:17, Isa 26:8, Isa 30:18, Luk 2:25, Luk 2:38
and in his: Psa 119:42, Psa 119:49, Psa 119:81, Psa 119:114, Heb 6:18
Reciprocal: Gen 8:12 – And he Psa 39:7 – what wait Psa 52:9 – wait Psa 119:147 – hoped Psa 119:166 – Lord Psa 123:2 – so our eyes Isa 64:4 – waiteth Jer 14:22 – wait Lam 3:25 – good Lam 3:26 – quietly Hos 12:6 – wait Hab 2:3 – wait Zep 3:8 – wait Rom 8:25 – with patience Gal 5:5 – wait 2Th 3:5 – and into Jam 5:8 – ye also
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 130:5. I wait for the Lord That he would manifest his favour to me in the pardon of my sins, and thereby give me relief and comfort. My soul doth wait I wait for him in sincerity, and not in profession only; with fervency, and not in a spirit of lukewarmness and indifference. And in his word do I hope Wherein he hath declared his merciful nature, Exo 34:6-7, and his gracious purpose and promises for the pardoning of sinners.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
3. A deliberate decision to hope 130:5-8
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The writer purposed to continue to wait for the Lord to deliver him while he reflected on God’s forgiveness. He compared himself to a guard on duty late at night. He could only wait for the morning light when someone else would relieve him, and when all that was now dark would then be clear.