I wait for Jehovah; my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.
The psalm has moved from a cry out of the depths to the discovery that forgiveness is with God. Now the whole soul turns to one posture: waiting. What kind of waiting is this, and what holds it steady?
This waiting does not begin in calm. It begins in distress over sin. It turns into waiting only because mercy has come into view.
Psalm 130 takes up another subject — the sins of Israel as between the people and God. It is not, however, merely legal distress now. Confidence in the LORD marks it, even though it comes with deep distress and humiliation. This is the effect of joining the sense of sin and the sense of mercy in the soul. Mere legal distress is more selfish in its terror. It is still excellent for destroying confidence in self and throwing us on mercy. But conviction joined to the sense of mercy feels more the wrong done to the God of goodness. It is a deeper work after all. Here there is forgiveness with the LORD, so that He may be feared. And the soul waits on the LORD, though it has cried out of the depths.
The verb is not vague. It carries a settled expectation that the thing hoped for will happen. The second half of the verse gives the reason it can hold on.
Such waiting on the Lord could only spring from the confidence of faith. The word translated "wait" means "to hope that a thing will be done, and to wait steadily and patiently until it is done." Everywhere in the Scriptures, and above all in the Gospels, perseverance marks genuine faith. He was sure that there was forgiveness with the Lord. So the psalmist waits on Him until he enjoys the blessing he longs for. And he tells us, besides, the ground of his expectation: "and in His word I hope." This is what encouraged him to keep waiting. The word of God was the foundation of his trust, so he knew he would not be put to shame.
Hope needs something outside itself to lean on and to point it in a direction. God's word does both. And mercy makes God Himself the one thing the soul looks for.
The soul sees in Him a holiness so great that, if He acted only in view of it, no one could stand. But with Him there is forgiveness as well. The mercy He shows is the very thing that produces reverent fear in those who receive it. And in that fear lies the beginning of all true wisdom. This makes Him the soul's one expectancy: it waits in hope on Him. His word sustains and directs this hope.
The psalmist repeats himself in the next verse, and that repetition signals more than resignation. It is longing, the alertness of someone straining for daybreak.
Meanwhile the soul waits for the Lord, and has placed his confidence in God's Word (v. 5). Yet this waiting is not passive. The psalm adds, "more than watchmen for the morning" (v. 6). That is, a longing expectancy is involved, and saying it twice underlines it.
If waiting belongs to faith, then prayer that stops at the words has stopped too soon. This verse tests that habit.
It is a day of much public and united prayer. Week after week God's people gather to pour out their hearts before Him, praying for themselves and for others. So ask yourself: is there this waiting on the Lord, in the confidence of faith, for the answers to those prayers? Is there not a danger that we rest content with having prayed, and give too little attention to waiting for the blessings we asked for?
The psalm ends in the future tense — He shall redeem. That is the difference between the waiting soul here and the believer who looks back at the cross.
The psalmist is in a waiting attitude, hoping in the word of the Lord. He calls on Israel to hope in the Lord, because there is mercy and plenteous redemption with Him; but he adds that He shall redeem, not that He has done so. Mercy, expressing itself in redemption, does lie at the basis of the forgiveness preached in the gospel today. But we know redemption by the blood of Christ as an accomplished fact. And the full forgiveness we have received produces in our souls that fear of God which is such a healthy thing. We fear to grieve the love that has brought us so full a forgiveness.
- Depths first. The waiting starts in real distress over sin. But it is distress joined to the sense of mercy, and that combination is the deeper work.
- Forgiveness frees. Because forgiveness is with God, the soul stops defending itself and turns to Him as its one expectancy.
- Word steadies. "Wait" means holding on until the thing is done; God's word is the foundation that keeps the waiting from shame.
- Longing, not lethargy. The doubled phrase shows eager expectancy, like watchers straining toward the dawn.
- Answer expected. Praying is not the finish line; the test is whether we then wait in confidence for what we asked.
My soul [waiteth] for the Lord more than the watchers [wait] for the morning, [more than] the watchers for the morning.
Psalm 130 begins with a cry out of deep trouble, and by this verse the psalmist has owned his sin and asked for forgiveness. Now he tells us how he waits — and he says it twice, because the longing is that strong.
The picture comes from men on duty through the night, watching the sky for the first grey light. One writer links it to the temple, where dawn brought the day's first sacrifice.
He has acknowledged his sins and asked for forgiveness. So he has waited for Jehovah more eagerly than the morning watchmen watch for the first light of day. Most take this as a reference to the priests and Levites on duty in the temple, watching for the moment to offer the morning burnt offering.
Waiting can mean doing nothing. The doubled line rules that out.
Meanwhile the soul waits for the Lord and has put his confidence in God's Word (v. 5). Yet this waiting is not merely passive. The psalm adds, "more than watchmen for the morning" — that is, a longing expectancy is involved (v. 6). Saying it twice emphasises it.
The word behind "wait" is not vague. It means expecting a definite outcome and staying steady until it comes. And that hope rests on something solid.
Such waiting on the Lord could only come from the confidence of faith. The word translated this way means "to hope that a thing will happen, and to wait steadily and patiently until it happens." ... He also tells us the ground of his expectation: "and in His word I hope." That is what encouraged him to keep waiting. He had the word of God as the foundation of his trust, so he knew he would not be put to shame.
The psalmist feels his sin deeply, yet he waits with confidence, not terror. One writer contrasts two kinds of distress over sin.
This is no longer only the distress of a soul under law. What marks it now is confidence in Jehovah, even though deep distress and humbling come with it. That is what happens when the sense of sin and the sense of mercy are joined in the soul. Distress under law alone is more selfish in its terror, though it does the good work of destroying confidence in self and throwing the soul on mercy. Conviction joined with a sense of mercy is more the sense of having wronged the God of goodness. It is a deeper work after all.
The mercy itself is what makes God the one thing the soul is looking for:
The mercy that He shows is the very thing that produces in the recipients of it that reverent fear in which lies the beginning of all true wisdom. This makes Him to the soul its one expectancy: it waits in hope on Him. His word sustains and directs this hope, waiting for the Lord more than the anxious watchers for the morning light.
A watchman who stops expecting sunrise has stopped watching. This verse puts a question to people who pray often.
So it was a waiting with all doubt cleared away, in which he already tasted the joy of his hope. ... Week after week God's people meet to pour out their hearts before Him in earnest prayer and pleading for others. So let this question be asked: do we wait on the Lord, with the confidence of faith, for the answers to those prayers? Is there not a danger that we are satisfied with having prayed, and care too little about waiting for the blessings we asked for?
The morning comes when it comes; the watchman does not set the hour. That is exactly the comfort here.
If our times were in our own hand, deliverance would come too soon. If they were in our enemy's hand, it would come too late. But my times are in Your hand, and God's time is always best. ... When His people are low enough, and the enemy high enough, then the Church's morning star appears. Leave God to His own time. "My soul waits for the Lord." ... Deliverance may be delayed beyond our time; but it will not be delayed beyond God's time.
One writer applies the verse to now: it is still night, and we are still watching for the light.
We know it is night now, because the "Sun of righteousness" is absent. His glory is hidden, and even the sharpest spiritual sight sees His rays only dimly. But are our desires turned with all their strength towards the returning light? Are we waiting for it "more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning"?
- Depths. The waiting starts low. A real sense of sin meets forgiveness with God, and terror turns into confidence.
- Word. Hope has a foundation. He waits because God has spoken, and a person resting on God's word will not be put to shame.
- Watchmen. The picture is the night guard, and many take it as the priests waiting to offer the morning sacrifice, straining for the first light.
- Twice. The psalmist says it twice to mark intensity. Waiting here is longing expectancy, not resignation.
- Morning. The hour belongs to God: never too soon, never too late. The test of our praying is whether we still watch for the answer after we have asked.