Psalm 130

Psa 130:1

SUPERSCRIPTION: "A SONG OF ASCENTS": Or "degrees" (AV).

A psalm of Hezekiah: weeping (Isa 38:3; 2Ki 20:3); impending death (Isa 38:12,13).

(NT) The anointed king sharing in the sin of his people, and by his intercession (Jer 26:19), saving them from the judgment pronounced.

THE DEPTHS: Cp Israel, saved out of depths of Red Sea (Isa 51:10). The newly-freed slaves of Egypt were led by the fiery cloud through the depths of the sea, and no doubt many a prayer ascended to heaven during that awe-inspiring passage. The depths symbolized death and the grave, and thus the passage of the Red Sea was a "baptism" (1Co 10:2) -- there the Israelite died to his old way of life and was born again, being redeemed out of "Egypt".

The depths here mentioned are Hezekiah's sorrows at the specter of death, for himself and for his people. The impending disaster is obviously caused by sins (vv. 3,4), perhaps those of Hezekiah but certainly those of the nation, which in any case were far worse.

(NT) Christ, saved out of the depths of the grave (cp Psa 40:2; 69:2,14; Lam 3:53-55).

Psa 130:2

Hezekiah seems to be appropriating the formal language of Solomon in his prayer at the dedication of the Temple (1Ki 8). The salient features of that prayer were God's choice of David's house and of Jerusalem, the supremacy of Israel's God over any pretenders, and the forgiveness and redemption held out to those who repent. Hezekiah is now "calling in" the promise which has been outstanding for 300 years.

Psa 130:3

A RECORD OF SINS: All men are sinners: Ecc 7:20; Rom 3:23; Jam 3:2.

STAND: To be justified, or acquitted, in a legal proceeding. Ct "fall" in Psa 1:5; 18:38; 20:8; Mal 3:2; Rom 14:4.

Psa 130:5

Vv 5,6: Repetition: waiting patiently, continually... "Wait" = Heb "qavah": from rt sig 'to bind together'. Hope is a cord which binds in unity our hearts with God's. Our waiting is one of outward and inward qualities: 'I wait' as a public profession, for all to see; and 'my soul (my inner being) waits' in true sincerity which only God may see.

Psa 130:6

MORE THAN WATCHMEN WAIT FOR THE MORNING: Borrowing from Isa 21:5,6,8,11; 62:6,7. // to Psa 24: watchmen, gates, the glory of God in manifestation for His people's salvation.

(NT) The morning of resurrection!

Psa 130:7

PUT YOUR HOPE IN THE LORD: Hezekiah "trusted in the Lord... none like him" (2Ki 18:5). This trust caused Sennacherib's taunting (2Ki 18:28,31) and is mentioned again and again (Isa 36:18; 37:10). "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths" (Pro 3:5,6).

Psa 130:8

FROM ALL THEIR SINS: A comprehensive salvation to be manifested ultimately in the blessings of the Kingdom (cp Mic 7:18,19). With God there is plenteous redemption (v 7) -- it is more than enough for any possible difficulty. The Lord's arm is never shortened that it cannot save those who come unto Him.

In this psalm we set out minds firmly upon the forgiveness (v 4) and the redemption (vv 7,8) of God. The salvation He offers through Psa 130 is not that provided by the blood of animals. It is instead that salvation of which Paul speaks so eloquently to the Romans -- the free gift of the grace and lovingkindness of God. In the life of Hezekiah we have seen a beautiful parable and type of the other king who suffered for the sins of his people, and suffers yet as their intercessor. V 8 finds its grandest fulfillment, an echo for all eternity, in the words of Gabriel: "Thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins" (Mat 1:21).