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Psalm One
Hundred Thirty
Psalm 130
Chapter Contents
The psalmist's hope in prayer. (1-4) His patience in
hope. (5-8)
Commentary on Psalm 130:1-4
(Read Psalm 130:1-4)
The only way of relief for a sin-entangled soul, is by
applying to God alone. Many things present themselves as diversions, many things
offer themselves as remedies, but the soul finds that the Lord alone can heal.
And until men are sensible of the guilt of sin, and quit all to come at once to
God, it is in vain for them to expect any relief. The Holy Ghost gives to such
poor souls a fresh sense of their deep necessity, to stir them up in earnest
applications, by the prayer of faith, by crying to God. And as they love their
souls, as they are concerned for the glory of the Lord, they are not to be
wanting in this duty. Why is it that these matters are so long uncertain with
them? Is it not from sloth and despondency that they content themselves with
common and customary applications to God? Then let us up and be doing; it must
be done, and it is attended with safety. We are to humble ourselves before God,
as guilty in his sight. Let us acknowledge our sinfulness; we cannot justify
ourselves, or plead not guilty. It is our unspeakable comfort that there is
forgiveness with him, for that is what we need. Jesus Christ is the great
Ransom; he is ever an Advocate for us, and through him we hope to obtain
forgiveness. There is forgiveness with thee, not that thou mayest be presumed
upon, but that thou mayest be feared. The fear of God often is put for the
whole worship of God. The only motive and encouragement for sinners is this,
that there is forgiveness with the Lord.
Commentary on Psalm 130:5-8
(Read Psalm 130:5-8)
It is for the Lord that my soul waits, for the gifts of
his grace, and the working of his power. We must hope for that only which he
has promised in his word. Like those who wish to see the dawn, being very
desirous that light would come long before day; but still more earnestly does a
good man long for the tokens of God's favour, and the visits of his grace. Let
all that devote themselves to the Lord, cheerfully stay themselves on him. This
redemption is redemption from all sin. Jesus Christ saves his people from their
sins, both from the condemning and from the commanding power of sin. It is
plenteous redemption; there is an all-sufficient fulness in the Redeemer,
enough for all, enough for each; therefore enough for me, says the believer.
Redemption from sin includes redemption from all other evils, therefore it is a
plenteous redemption, through the atoning blood of Jesus, who shall redeem his
people from all their sins. All that wait on God for mercy and grace, are sure
to have peace.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Psalms》
Psalm 130
Verse 3
[3] If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who
shall stand?
Mark — Observe them accurately and punish them as they
deserve.
Stand — At thy tribunal.
Verse 4
[4] But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be
feared.
Forgiveness — Thou art able and ready to
forgive repenting sinners.
Feared — Not with a slavish, but with a childlike fear. This
mercy of thine is the foundation of all religion, without which men would desperately
proceed in their impious courses.
Verse 5
[5] I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word
do I hope.
I wait — That he would pardon my sins.
Verse 6
[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.
They — Whether soldiers that keep the night-watches in an
army, or the priests or Levites who did so in the temple.
Verse 7
[7] Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is
mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.
Israel — Every true Israelite.
Plenteous — Abundantly sufficient for all
persons who accept it upon God's terms.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Psalms》
Exposition
Explanatory Notes and Quaint Sayings
Hints to the Village Preacher
Other Works
TITLE. A Song of
Degrees. It would be hard to see any upward step from the preceding to the
present Psalm, and therefore it is possible that the steps or ascents are in
the song itself: certainly it does rise rapidly out of the depths of anguish to
the heights of assurance. It follows well upon 129: when we have overcome the
trials which arise from man we are the better prepared to meet those sharper
sorrows which arise out of our matters towards God. He who has borne the
scourges of the wicked is trained in all patience to wait the dealings of the
Holy Lord. We name this the DE PROFUNDIS PSALM: "Out of the depths"
is the leading word of it: out of those depths we cry, wait, watch, and hope.
In this Psalm we hear of the pearl of redemption, Ps 130:7-8: perhaps the sweet
singer would never have found that precious thing had he not been cast into the
depths. "Pearls lie deep."
DIVISION. The first two
verses (Ps 130:1-2) reveal an intense desire; and the next two are a humble
confession of repentance and faith, Ps 130:3-4. In Ps 130:5-6 waiting
watchfulness is declared and resolved upon; and in Ps 130:7-8 joyful
expectation, both for himself and all Israel, finds expression.
EXPOSITION
Verse
1. Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD. This is
the Psalmist's statement and plea: he had never ceased to pray even when
brought into the lowest state. The depths usually silence all they engulf, but
they could not close the mouth of this servant of the Lord; on the contrary, it
was in the abyss itself that he cried unto Jehovah. Beneath the floods prayer
lived and struggled; yea, above the roar of the billows rose the cry of faith.
It little matters where we are if we can pray; but prayer is never more real
and acceptable than when it rises out of the worst places. Deep places beget
deep devotion. Depths of earnestness are stirred by depths of tribulation.
Diamonds sparkle most amid the darkness. Prayer de profundis gives to
God gloria in excelsis. The more distressed we are, the more excellent
is the faith which trusts bravely in the Lord, and therefore appeals to him,
and to him alone. Good men may be in the depths of temporal and spiritual
trouble; but good men in such cases look only to their God, and they stir
themselves up to be more instant and earnest in prayer than at other times. The
depth of their distress moves the depths of their being; and from the bottom of
their hearts an exceeding great and bitter cry rises unto the one living and
true God. David had often been in the deep, and as often had he pleaded with
Jehovah, his God, in whose hand are all deep places. He prayed, and remembered
that he had prayed, and pleaded that he had prayed; hoping ere long to receive
an answer. It would be dreadful to look back on trouble and feel forced to own
that we did not cry unto the Lord in it; but it is most comforting to know that
whatever we did not do, or could not do, yet we did pray, even in our worst
times. He that prays in the depth will not sink out of his depth. He that cries
out of the depths shall soon sing in the heights.
Verse
2. Lord, hear my voice. It is all we ask; but nothing less will
content us. If the Lord will but hear us we will leave it to his superior
wisdom to decide whether he will answer us or no. It is better for our prayer
to be heard than answered. If the Lord were to make an absolute promise to
answer all our requests it might be rather a curse than a blessing, for it
would be casting the responsibility of our lives upon ourselves, and we should
be placed in a very anxious position: but now the Lord hears our desires, and
that is enough; we only wish him to grant them if his infinite wisdom sees that
it would be for our good and for his glory. Note that the Psalmist spoke
audibly in prayer: this is not at all needful, but it is exceedingly helpful;
for the use of the voice assists the thoughts. Still, there is a voice in
silent supplication, a voice in our weeping, a voice in that sorrow which
cannot find a tongue: that voice the Lord will hear if its cry is meant for his
ear. Let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication. The
Psalmist's cry is a beggar's petition; he begs the great King and Lord to lend
an ear to it. He has supplicated many times, but always with one voice, or for
one purpose; and he begs to be noticed in the one matter which he has pressed
with so much importunity. He would have the King hearken, consider, remember,
and weigh his request. He is confused, and his prayer may therefore be broken,
and difficult to understand; he begs therefore that his Lord will give the more
earnest and compassionate heed to the voice of his many and painful pleadings.
When we have already prayed over our troubles it is well to pray over our
prayers. If we can find no more words, let us entreat the Lord to hear those
petitions which we have already presented. If we have faithfully obeyed the
precept by praying without ceasing, we may be confident that the Lord will
faithfully fulfil the promise by helping us without fall. Though the Psalmist
was under a painful sense of sin, and so was in the depth, his faith pleaded in
the teeth of conscious unworthiness; for well he knew that the Lord's keeping
his promise depends upon his own character and not upon that of his erring
creatures.
Verse
3. If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall
stand. If JAH, the all seeing, should in strict justice call every man to
account for every want of conformity to righteousness, where would any one of
us be? Truly, he does record all our transgressions; but as yet he does not act
upon the record, but lays it aside till another day. If men were to be judged
upon no system but that of works, who among us could answer for himself at the
Lord's bar, and hope to stand clear and accepted? This verse shows that the
Psalmist was Under a sense of sin, and felt it imperative upon him not only to
cry as a suppliant but to confess as a sinner. Here he owns that he cannot
stand before the great King in his own righteousness, and he is so struck with
a sense of the holiness of God, and the rectitude of the law that he is
convinced that no man of mortal race can answer for himself before a Judge so
perfect, concerning a law so divine. Well does he cry, "O Lord, who shall
stand?" None can do so: there is none that doeth good; no, not one.
Iniquities are matters which are not according to equity: what a multitude we
have of these! Jehovah, who sees all, and is also our Adonai, or Lord,
will assuredly bring us into judgment concerning those thoughts, and words, and
works which are not in exact conformity to his law. Were it not for the Lord
Jesus, could we hope to stand? Dare we meet him in the dread day of account on
the footing of law and equity? What a mercy it is that we need not do so, for
the next verse sets forth another way of acceptance to which we flee.
Verse
4. But there is forgiveness with thee. Blessed but. Free,
full, sovereign pardon is in the hand of the great King: it is his prerogative
to forgive, and he delights to exercise it. Because his nature is mercy, and
because he has provided a sacrifice for sin, therefore forgiveness is with him
for all that come to him confessing their sins. The power of pardon is
permanently resident with God: he has forgiveness ready to his hand at this
instant. "That thou mayest be feared." This is the fruitful root of
piety. None fear the Lord like those who have experienced his forgiving love.
Gratitude for pardon produces far more fear and reverence of God than all the
dread which is inspired by punishment. If the Lord were to execute justice upon
all, there would be none left to fear him; if all were under apprehension of
his deserved wrath, despair would harden them against fearing him: it is grace
which leads the way to a holy regard of God, and a fear of grieving him.
Verse
5. I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait. Expecting him to
come to me in love, I quietly wait for his appearing; I wait upon him in
service, and for him in faith. For God I wait and for him only: if he
will manifest himself I shall have nothing more to wait for; but until he shall
appear for my help I must wait on, hoping even in the depths. This waiting of
mine is no mere formal act, my very soul is in it,—"my soul doth
wait." I wait and I wait—mark the repetition! "My soul waits",
and then again, "My soul waits"; to make sure work of the waiting. It
is well to deal with the Lord intensely. Such repetitions are the reverse of
vain repetitions. If the Lord Jehovah makes us wait, let us do so with our
whole hearts; for blessed are all they that wait for him. He is worth waiting
for. The waiting itself is beneficial to us: it tries faith, exercises
patience, trains submission, and endears the blessing when it comes. The Lord's
people have always been a waiting people: they waited for the First Advent, and
now they wait for the Second. They waited for a sense of pardon, and now they
wait for perfect sanctification. They waited in the depths, and they are not
now wearied with waiting in a happier condition. They have cried and they do
wait; probably their past prayer sustains their present patience. And in his
word do I hope. This is the source, strength, and sweetness of waiting. Those
who do not hope cannot wait; but if we hope for that we see not, then do we
with patience wait for it. God's word is a true word, but at times it tarries;
if ours is true faith it will wait the Lord's time. A word from the Lord is as
bread to the soul of the believer; and, refreshed thereby, it holds out through
the night of sorrow expecting the dawn of deliverance and delight. Waiting, we
study the word, believe the word, hope in the word, and live on the word; and
all because it is "his word, "—the word of him who never
speaks in vain. Jehovah's word is a firm ground for a waiting soul to rest
upon.
Verse
6. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the
morning. Men who guard a city, and women who wait by the sick, long for daylight.
Worshippers tarrying for the morning sacrifice, the kindling of the incense and
the lighting of the lamps, mingle fervent prayers with their holy vigils, and
pine for the hour when the lamb shall smoke upon the altar. David, however,
waited more than these, waited longer, waited more longingly, waited more
expectantly. He was not afraid of the great Adonai before whom none can stand
in their own righteousness, for he had put on the righteousness of faith, and
therefore longed for gracious audience with the Holy One. God was no more
dreaded by him than light is dreaded by those engaged in a lawful calling. He
pined and yearned after his God. I say, more than they that watch for the
morning. The figure was not strong enough, though one can hardly think of
anything more vigorous: he felt that his own eagerness was unique and
unrivalled. Oh to be thus hungry and thirsty after God! Our version spoils the
abruptness of the language; the original runs thus—"My soul for the Lord
more than those watching for the morning—watching for the morning." This
is a fine poetical repeat. We long for the favour of the Lord more than weary
sentinels long for the morning light which will release them from their tedious
watch. Indeed this is true. He that has once rejoiced in communion with God is
sore tried by the hidings of his face, and grows faint with strong desire for
the Lord's appearing,
"When
wilt thou come unto me, Lord?
Until thou dost appear,
I count each moment for a day,
Each minute for a year."
Verse
7. Let Israel hope in the LORD. Or, "Hope thou, Israel,
in Jehovah." Jehovah is Israel's God; therefore, let Israel hope in him.
What one Israelite does he wishes all Israel to do. That man has a just right
to exhort others who is himself setting the example. Israel of old waited upon
Jehovah and wrestled all the night long, and at last he went his way succoured
by the Hope of Israel: the like shall happen to all his seed. God has great
things in store for his people, they ought to have large expectations. For
with the LORD there is mercy. This is in his very nature, and by the light
of nature it may be seen. But we have also the light of grace, and therefore we
see still more of his mercy. With us there is sin; but hope is ours, because
"with the Lord there is mercy." Our comfort lies not in that which is
with us, but in that which is with our God. Let us look out of self and its
poverty to Jehovah and his riches of mercy. And with him is plenteous
redemption. He can and will redeem all his people out of their many and
great troubles; nay, their redemption is already wrought out and laid up with
him, so that he can at any time give his waiting ones the full benefit thereof.
The attribute of mercy, and the fact of redemption, are two most sufficient
reasons for hoping in Jehovah; and the fact that there is no mercy or
deliverance elsewhere should effectually wean the soul from all idolatry. Are
not these deep things of God a grand comfort for those who are crying out of
the depths? Is it not better to be in the deeps with David, hoping in God's
mercy, than up on the mountain tops, boasting in our own fancied righteousness?
Verse
8. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. Our
iniquities are our worst dangers: if saved from these, we are saved altogether;
but there is no salvation from them except by redemption. What a blessing that
this is here promised in terms which remove it out of the region of question:
the Lord shall certainly redeem his believing people from all their sins. Well
may the redemption be plenteous since it concerns all Israel and all
iniquities! Truly, our Psalm has ascended to a great height in this verse: this
is no cry out of the depths, but a chorale in the heights. Redemption is the
top of covenant blessings. When it shall be experienced by all Israel, the
latter day glory shall have come, and the Lord's people shall say, "Now,
Lord, what wait we for?" Is not this a clear prophecy of the coming of our
Lord Jesus the first time? and may we not now regard it as the promise of his
second and more glorious coming for the redemption of the body? For this our
soul doth wait: yea, our heart and our flesh cry out for it with joyful
expectation.
EXPLANATORY
NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Whole
Psalm. The Psalm is the eleventh in the order of the gradual Psalms, and
treats of the eleventh step in the spiritual ascent, viz., penitential prayer.—H.
T. Armfield.
Whole
Psalm. Of the Psalms which are called Penitential this is the chiefest.
But, as it is the most excellent, so it has been perverted to the most
disgraceful abuse in the Popedom: e.g., that it should be mumbled in the lowest
voice by slow bellies, in the sepulchral vigils for their liberation of souls
from purgatory: as if David were here treating of the dead, when he has not
even spoken a word about them; but says that he himself, a living man, was
calling upon God; and exhorts the Israelites, living men also, to do the same.
But leaving the buffooneries of the Papists we will rather consider the true
meaning and use of the Psalm. It contains the most ardent prayer of a man
grievously distressed by a sense of the Divine anger against sin: by earnest
turning to God and penitence, he is seeking the forgiveness of his iniquities.—Solomon
Gesner.
Whole
Psalm. The Holy Ghost layeth out here two opposite passions most
plainly—fear, in respect of evil deserving sins, and hope, in
regard of undeserved mercies.—Alexander Roberts. 1610.
Whole
Psalm. The passionate earnestness of the Psalm is enhanced by the
repetition eight times in it of the Divine Name.—The Speaker's Commentary,
1873.
Whole
Psalm. This Psalm, perhaps more than any other, is marked by its
mountains: depth; prayer; conviction; light; hope; waiting; watching; longing;
confidence; assurance; universal happiness and joy...Just as the barometer
marks the rising of the weather, so does this Psalm, sentence by sentence,
record the progress of the soul. And you may test yourself by it, as by a rule
or measure, and ask yourself at each line, "Have I reached to this? Have I
reached to this?" and so take your spiritual gauge.—James Vaughan, in
"Steps to Heaven," 1878.
Whole
Psalm. Whosoever he was that wrote this Psalm, he maketh mention and
rehearsal of that prayer that he made to his God in the time of his great
danger, and this he doth to the fifth verse; then finding in experience a
comfortable answer, and how good a thing it was to pray to God, and to wait on
him, he professes, that, as before, he had awaited on him, so still in time
coming he would await on him, and this he doeth to the seventh verse. In the
third and last part, he turneth him to Israel, to the church, and exhorteth
them to await on God, as he had done, promising them mercy and redemption from
all their iniquities if they would await on him.—Robert Rollock,
1555-1599.
Whole
Psalm. Luther being once asked which were the best Psalms, replied, Psalmi
Paulini;and when his companions at table pressed him to say which these
were, he answered: Psalms 32, 51, 130, and 143.—Franz Delitzsch.
Whole
Psalm. Luther, when he was buffeted by the devil at Coburg, and in great
affliction, said to those about him, Venite, in conternptum Disboll,
Psalmnum, De Profundis, quatuor vocibus cantemus;"Come, let us sing
that Psalm, `Out of the depths, ' etc., in derision of the devil."—John
Trapp.
Whole
Psalm. The circumstances in which Dr. John Owen's Exposition of Psalm
130 originated are peculiarly interesting. Dr. Owen himself, in a statement
made to Mr. Richard Davis, who ultimately became pastor of a church in Rowel,
Northamptonshire, explains the occasion which led him to a very careful
examination of the fourth verse in the Psalm. Mr. Davis, being under religious
impressions, had sought a conference with Owen. In the course of the
conversation, Dr. Owen put the question, "Young man, pray in what manner
do you think to go to God?" "Through the Mediator, sir",
answered Mr. Davis. "That is easily said", replied the doctor,
"but I assure you it is another thing to go to God through the Mediator
than many who make use of the expression are aware of. I myself preached
Christ", he continued, "some years, when I had but very little, if
any, experimental acquaintance with access to God through Christ; until the
Lord was pleased to visit me with sore affliction, whereby I was brought to the
mouth of the grave, and under which my soul was oppressed with horror and
darkness; but God graciously relieved my spirit by a powerful application of Ps
130:4, But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared,
from whence I received special instruction, peace and comfort, in drawing near
to God through the Mediator, and preached thereupon immediately after my
recovery."—William H. Goold, editor of Owen's Collected Works,
1851.
Verse
1. Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord. Is there
not a depth of sin, and a depth of misery by reason Of sin, and a depth of
sorrow by reason of misery? In all which, both David was, and I, God help me,
am deeply plunged; and are not these depths enough out of which to cry? And
vet, perhaps, none of these depths is that which David means; but there are
depths of danger—a danger of body and a danger of soul, and out of these it
seems that David cried; for the danger of his body was so deep that it had
brought him to death's door, and the danger of his soul so deep that it had
almost brought him to the gates of despair; and had he not just cause then to
say, "Out of the depths have cried to thee, O God"? And yet
there is a depth besides these that must help to lift us out of these—a depth
of devotion, without which depth our crying out of other depths will never be
heard. For devotion is a fire that puts a heat into out' crying, and carries it
up into coelum empyroeum—the heaven of fire, where God himself is. And
now join all these depths together—the depth of sin, of misery, of sorrow, the
depth of danger, and the depth of devotion,—and then tell me if David had not,
if I have not, as just cause as ever Jonah had to say, "Out of the depths
have I cried to thee, O God." Indeed, to cry out of the depths hath many
considerable circumstances to move God to hear: it acknowledgeth his infinite
power when no distance can hinder his assistance; it presents our own faith
when no extremity can weaken our hope; it magnifies God's goodness when he, the
Most High, regards the most low; it expresses our own earnestness, seeing
crying out of depths must needs be a deep cry; and if each of these singly, and
by itself, be motive sufficient to move God to hear, how strong must the motive
needs be when they are all united? and united they are all in crying out of the
depths; and therefore now that I cry to thee out of the depths, be moved, O
God, in thy great mercy to "hear my voice." It is cause enough
for God not to hear some because they do not cry—cause enough not to hear some
that cry because not out of the depths; but when crying and out of the depths
are joined together, it was never known that God refused to hear; and therefore
now that I cry to thee out of the depths, be pleased, O God, in thy great mercy
to hear my voice.—Sir Richard Baker, in "Meditations and Disquisitions
upon the Three last Psalmes of David", 1639.
Verse
1. Out of the depths. By the deep places (as all the ancients
consent) is meant the deep places of afflictions, and the deep places of the
heart troubled for sin. Afflictions are compared to deep waters. Ps 18:16:
"He drew me out of many waters." "Save me, O God, for the waters
are come in unto my soul." And surely God's children are often cast into
very desperate cases, and plunged into deep miseries, to the end that they may
send out of a contrite and feeling heart such prayers as may mount aloft and
pierce the heavens. When we are in prosperity our prayers come from our lips;
and therefore the Lord is forced to cast us down, that our prayers may come
from our hearts, and that our senses may be wakened from the security in which
they are lying. Albeit the throne of God be most high, yet he delighteth to
hear the petition of hearts that are most low, that are most cast down by the
sight of sin. There is no affliction, neither any place so low (yea, if as low
as the belly of the whale wherein Jonah lay) which can separate us from the
love of the Lord, or stay our prayers from coming before him. Those that are
farthest cast down are not farthest from God, but are nearest unto him. God is
near to a contrite heart, and it is the proper seat where his Spirit dwelleth:
Isa 66:2. And thus God dealeth with us, as men do with such houses that they
are minded to build sumptuously and on high; for then they dig deep grounds for
the foundation. Thus God purposing to make a fair show of Daniel, and the three
children in Babel; of Joseph in Egypt; of David in Israel; he first threw them
into the deep waters of affliction. Daniel is cast into the den of lions; the
three children are thrown into the fiery furnace; Joseph is imprisoned; David
exiled. Yet all those he exalted and made glorious temples to himself. Mark
hereby the dulness of our nature, that is such, that God is forced to use sharp
remedies to awaken us. Jonah lay sleeping in the ship, when the tempest of
God's wrath was pursuing him: God therefore threw him irate the belly of the
whale, and the bottom of the deep, that from those deep places he might cry to
him. When, therefore, we are troubled by heavy sickness, or poverty, or
oppressed by the tyranny of men, let us make profit and use thereof,
considering that God hath cast his best children into such dangers for their
profit; and that it is better to be in deep dangers praying, than on the high
mountains of vanity playing.—Archibald Symson, in "A Sacred
Septenarie," 1638.
Verse
1. Out of the depths. "Depths!" oh! into what "depths"
men can sink! How far from happiness, glory, and goodness men can fall. There
is the depth of poverty. A man can become utterly stripped of all
earthly possessions and worldly friends! Sometimes we come upon a man, still
living, but in such abject circumstances, that it strikes us as a marvel that a
human being can sink lower than the beasts of the field. Then there is the
depth of sorrow. Billow after billow breaks over the man, friend after friend
departs, lover and friend are put into darkness. All the fountains of his
nature are broken up. He is like a water logged ship, from the top waves
plunging down as if into the bottom of the sea. So often in such depths,
sometimes like Jonah in the whale's belly, the monster carrying him down, down,
down, into darkness. There are depths after depths of mental darkness, when the
soul becomes more and more sorrowful, down to that very depth which is just this
side of despair. Earth hollow, heaven empty, the air heavy, every form a
deformity, all sounds discord, the past a gloom, the present a puzzle, the
future a horror. One more step down, and the man will stand in the chamber of
despair, the floor of which is blistering hot, while the air is biting cold as
the polar atmosphere. To what depths the spirit of a man may fall!
But
the most horrible depth into which a man's soul can descend is sin.
Sometimes we begin on gradual slopes, and slide so swiftly that we soon reach
great depths; depths in which there are horrors that are neither in poverty,
nor sorrow, nor mental depression. It is sin, it is an outrage against God and
ourselves. We feel that there is no bottom. Each opening depth reveals a
greater deep. This is really the bottomless pit, with everlasting accumulations
of speed, and perpetual lacerations as we descend. Oh, depths below depths! Oh,
falls from light to gloom, from gloom to darkness! Oh, the hell of sin! What
can we do? We can simply cry, CRY, CRY! But, let us cry to God. Useless,
injurious are other cries. They are mere expressions of impotency, or protests
against imaginary fate. But the cry of the spirit to the Most High is a manful
cry. Out of the depths of all poverty, all sorrow, all mental depression, all
sin, cry unto God!—From "The Study and the Pulpit",
1877.
Verse
1. Out of the depths have I cried.
Up
from the deeps, O God, I cry to thee!
Hear my soul's prayer, hear thou her litany,
O thou who sayest, "Come, wanderer, home to me."
Up from the deeps of sorrow, wherein lie
Dark secrets veil'd from earth's unpitying eye,
My prayers, like star crown'd angels, Godward fly.
From the calm bosom when in quiet hour
God's Holy Spirit reigns with largest power,
Then shall each thought in prayer's white blossom flower.
Not from life's shallows, where the waters sleep,
A dull, low marsh where stagnant vapours creep,
But ocean voiced, deep calling unto deep.
As he of old, King David, call'd to thee,
As cries the heart of poor humanity,
"Clamavi, Domine, exaudi me!"—C. S. Fenner.
Verse
1. But when he crieth from the deep, he riseth from the deep, and
his very cry suffereth him not to be long at the bottom.—Augustine.
Verse
1. It has been well said that the verse puts before us six
conditions of true prayer: it is lowly, "out of the deep";
fervent, "have I called"; direct to God himself, "unto
thee"; reverent, "O LORD"; awed, "LORD", a solemn
title, is again used; one's very own, "hear my voice."—Neale
and Littledale.
Verse
1. Have I cried. There are many kinds and degrees of prayer
in the world; from the coldest form to the most intense agony. Every one prays;
but very few "cry." But of those who do "cry to God", the
majority would say,—"I owe it to the depths. I learnt it there. I
often prayed before; but never—till I was carried down very deep—did I cry."
"Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord." It is well
worth while to go down into any "depth" to be taught to
"cry." It is not too much to say that we do not know what prayer may
be till we have "cried." And we seldom rise till we have gone
very deep. "I die! I perish! I am lost! Help, Lord! Help me! Save me now!
Do it now, Lord, or I am lost. O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hearken
and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God!" In mid day, if you are
taken from the bright and sunny scenes of light, and go down into the bottom of
a pit you may see the stars, which were invisible to you in the upper air. And
how many could say that things they knew not in life's noon, they have found in
life's midnight, and that they owe their glimpses of glory, and their best
avenues of thought, and the importunacy of prayer, and the victories of faith,
to seasons when they walked in very dark places. "Out of the depths
have I cried unto thee, O Lord."—James Vaughan.
Verse
1. Have I cried unto thee, Jehovah. God gave out that name
Jehovah to his people to confirm their faith in the stability of his promises:
Ex 3:1-22 He who is Being himself will assuredly give being and subsistence to
his promises. Being to deal with God about the promises of grace, he makes his
application to him under this name: "I call upon thee, Jehovah."—John
Owen, in "A Practical Exposition upon Psalm 130."
Verse
2. Lord, hear my voice, etc. Every prayer should have its reverent
invocation, as every temple its porch. The two greatest prayers in the Old
Testament—Solomon's prayer and Daniel's prayer—both have it very emphatically.
And it is a very distinct part of our own perfect model: "Our Father,
which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name." On our part it is deferential,
and puts the mind into its proper form; while it places the great God, whom it
addresses, where he ought to be,—in the awe of his glory; in the magnitude of
his power; in the infinitude of his wisdom and love. Never think little of that
part of your prayer: never omit, never hurry over the opening address. Do not
go into his presence without a pause, or some devout ascription. Lord, hear
my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
True, he is always listening and waiting for his children's
"cry",—far more prepared to answer, than we are to ask. And the very
fact that we are praying is a proof of his attention,—for who but he put it
into our hearts to make that prayer? Nevertheless, it becomes us, and honours
him, to establish, at the outset, the right relationship between a creature and
his Creator; between a child and his Father: "Lord, hear my voice: let
thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication."—James
Vaughan.
Verse
2. Lord. Hebrew, Adonai. As Jehovah marks his
unchangeable faithfulness to his promises of delivering his people, so Adonai
his Lordship over all hindrances in the way of his delivering them.—Andrew
Robert Fausset, in "A Commentary, Critical, Experimental and
Practical", 1866.
Verse
2. Lord, hear my voice, etc. The expressions are
metaphorical, and borrowed from the carriage of a parent to a child, and upon
the matter his suit is this,—Lord, notice me when I pray, as a parent will
notice his distressed child's cry when he is like to ruin. Let thine ears be
attentive to the voice of my supplications; that goes a little further;
that as a parent knowing a child to be in hazard, he will listen and hearken
attentively if he can hear him cry, and notice and ponder that cry, and what he
cries for; so he pleaded with God, that he would be waiting on and attentive,
to see and hear if a cry should come from him, and that he would affectionately
ponder and notice it when he hears it.—George Hutcheson, 1678.
Verse
3. If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, etc. But doth
not the Lord mark iniquity? Doth not he take notice of every sin acted by any
of the children of men, especially by his own children? Why, then, doth the
Psalmist put it upon an if? "If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquity."
'Tis true, the Lord marks all iniquity to know it, but he doth not mark any
iniquity in his children to condemn them for it: so the meaning of the Psalm
is, that if the Lord should mark sin with a strict and severe eye, as a judge,
to charge it upon the person sinning, no man could bear it.
The
word rendered to mark notes, first, to watch, or to observe with
strictest diligence, and is therefore in the noun rendered a watch tower,
upon which a man is placed to take observation of all things that are done, and
of all persons that pass by, or approach and come near. A watchman placed upon
a high tower is bound industriously and critically to observe all passengers
and passages, all that his eye can reach. So saith the text,—If thou shouldest
mark as a watchman, and eye with rigour everything that passeth from us, "who
shall stand?" that is, make good his cause in the day of his judgment
and trial before thee.
Secondly,
the word signifieth to keep in mind, to lay up, to have, as it were, a store
and stock, a memorial or record, of such and such things by us. In that sense
it is said (Ge 37:11), "Joseph's brethren envied him; but his father
observed the saying": he marked what Joseph spake about his dreams, he
laid it up, and did not let it pass away as a dream, or as a vision of the
night. Thus, by "If the Lord should mark iniquity", we
understand—if he should treasure up our sins in his memory, and keep them by
him, "who were able to stand when accounted with?" The Lord,
in a way of grace, seeth as if he saw, not, and winks at us oftentimes when we
do amiss.—Joseph Caryl.
Verse
3. Let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication, but
let not thine eyes be intentive to the stains of my sin; for If thou, LORD,
shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? or who shall be able to
abide it? Did not the angels fall when thou markest their follies? Can flesh,
which is but dust, be clean before thee, when the stars, which are of a far
purer substance, are not? Can anything be clean in thy sight which is not as
clean as thy sight? and can any cleanness be equal to thine! Alas! O Lord, we
are neither angels nor stars, and how then can we stand when those fell? how
can we be clean when these be impure? If thou shouldest mark what is done
amiss, there would be marking work enough for thee as long as the world lasts;
for what action of man is free from stain of sin, or from defect of
righteousness? Therefore, mark not anything in me, O God, that I have done, but
mark that only in me which thou hast done thyself. Mark in me thine own image;
and then thou mayest look upon me, and yet say still, as once thou saidst, Et
erant omnia valde bona "And all things were very good".—Sir
Richard Baker.
Verse
3 (whole verse). We are introduced at once into all the
solemnities of a criminal court. The judge is seated on the bench: the culprit
is standing at the bar, charged with a capital offence, the witnesses are
giving their evidence against him. The judge is listening attentively to
everything which is said; and in order to assist his memory, he takes notes of
the more important parts. If the Lord were to try us after this fashion, what
would be the result? Suppose him seated on his throne of inflexible
righteousness, taking notes, with a pen in his hand, of the transgressions
which are proven against us. Nothing is omitted. Every sin is marked down with
its peculiar aggravations. There is no possibility of escape from the deserved
condemnation. The evidence against us is clear, and copious, and overwhelming.
A thousandth part of it is sufficient to determine our doom. The Judge has no
alternative but to pronounce the awful sentence. We must die a felon's death. If
thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?—M.
M'Michael.
Verse
3. If thou, LORD, shouldest mark. If thou shouldest inquire
and scrutinize, and then shouldest retain and impute: (for the Hebrew word
imports both:) if thou shouldest inquire, thou wouldst find something of
iniquity in the most righteous of mankind; and when thou hast found it, if thou
shouldest retain it, and call him to an account for it, he could by no means
free himself of the charge, or expiate the crime. Inquiring, thou wouldst
easily find iniquity; but the sinner by the most diligent inquiry will not be
able to discover a ransom, and therefore will be unable to stand, will have no
place on which to rest his foot, but will fall by the irresistible judgments of
thy law, and the sentence of thy justice.—Robert Leighton.
Verse
3. If thou, LORD. He here fixes on another name of God, which
is Jah: a name, though from the same root as the former, yet seldom used but to
intimate and express the terrible majesty of God. "He rideth on the
heavens, and is extolled by his name Jail": Ps 68:4. He is to deal now
with God about the guilt of sin: and God is represented to the soul as great
and terrible, that he may know what to expect and look for, if the matter must
be tried out according to the demerit of sin.—John Owen.
Verse
3. If thou, LORD...O Lord. Mark here that in this third verse
he two times nameth God by the Lord (as he doth also in the ninth
verse), showing to us hereby his earnest desire to take hold of God with both
his hands. He nameth him not only Adonai, but also Jah (which two
signify his nature and power); all the qualities of God must be conjoined and
concur together for us: although he be Adonai, yet if he be not also Jah
we are undone.—Archibald Symson.
Verse
3. LORD...Lord. If God should show himself as JAH, no
creature would be able to stand before him, who is Adonai, and can
therefore carry out his judicial will or purpose.—Franz Delitzsch.
Verse
3. Iniquities. The literal meaning of the word "iniquity"
is "a thing which is not equal", or "not fair." Whatever
breaks a command of God is "not equal." It does not match with what
man is, nor with what God is. It does not keep the high level of the law. It is
altogether out of proportion to all that God has done. It destroys the harmony
of creation. It does not rise even to the height of conscience. Still more, it
mars and makes a flaw in the divine government. Therefore sin is an unequal
thing, fitting nothing, disarranging everything. And it is not fair. It
is not fair to that God upon whose empire it is a trespass. It is not fair to
your fellow creatures, to whom it may be a very great injury. It is not fair to
yourself, for your happiness lies in obedience. Therefore we call sin "iniquity."
Or, as the Prayer Book Version expresses the same idea, "a thing
amiss", missing its proper mark. "If thou shouldest be extreme to
mark what is done amiss."—James Vaughan.
Verse
3. O Lord, who shall stand? As soon as God manifests signs of
anger, even those who appear to bc the most holy adopt this language. If God
should determine to deal with them according to justice, and call them to his
tribunal, not one would be able to stand; but would be compelled to fly for
refuge to the mercy of God. See the confessions of Moses, Job, David, Nehemiah,
Isaiah, Daniel, Paul, and others of the apostles. Hear Christ teaching his
disciples to cry to the Father who is in heaven, "Forgive us our
trespasses!" If before God the Patriarchs, Prophets, and Apostles,
although possessing unusual holiness, nevertheless fell down, and as suppliants
prayed for forgiveness, what shall be done with those who add sin to sin?—D.
H. Mollerus.
Verses
3-4. These two verses contain the sum of all the Scriptures. In the
third is the form of repentance, and in the fourth the mercies of the Lord.
These are the two mountains, Gerizim and Ebal, mentioned in De 27:12-13. These
are the pillars in Solomon's temple (1Ki 7:21), called Jachin and Boaz. We
must, with Paul, persuade ourselves that we are come from Mount Sinai to Mount
Zion, where mercy is, although some sour grapes must be eaten by the way.
Jeremy tasted in his vision first a bitter fig out of one basket, then a sweet
fig out of the other. In the days of Moses the waters were first bitter, then
sweetened by the sweet wood. And Elisha cast in salt into the pottage of the
sons of the prophets, then it became wholesome.—Archibald Symson.
Verses
3-4. As I was thus in musing and in my studies, considering how to
love the LORD, and to express my love to him, that saying came in upon me: If
thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is
forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. These were good words to
me, especially the latter part thereof; to wit, that there is forgiveness with
thee that thou mayest be feared; that is, as then I understood it, that he might
be loved and had in reverence; for it was thus made out to me, that the great
God did set so high an esteem upon the love of his poor creatures, that rather
than he would go without their love he would pardon their transgressions.—John
Bunyan.
Verse
4. But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be
feared. One would think that punishment should procure fear, and
forgiveness love; but nemo majus diligit, quam qui maxime veretur offendere—no
man more truly loves God than he that is most fearful to offend him. "Thy
mercy reacheth to the heavens, and thy faithfulness to the clouds"—that
is, above all sublimities. God is glorious in all his works, but most glorious
in his works of mercy; and this may be one reason why St. Paul calls the gospel
of Christ a "glorious gospel": 1Ti 1:11. Solomon tells us, "It
lathe glory of a man to pass by an offence." Herein is God most glorious,
in that he passeth by all the offences of his children. Lord, who can know thee
and not love thee, know thee and not fear thee? We fear thee for thy justice,
and love thee for thy mercy; yea, fear thee for thy mercy, and love thee for
thy justice; for thou art infinitely good in both.—Thomas Adams.
Verse
4. But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be
feared. But is this not a mistaking in David to say, There is mercy with
God, that he may be feared; all as one to say, There is severity with him, that
he may be loved for if we cannot love one for being severe, how should we fear
him for being merciful I Should it not, therefore, have been rather said, There
is justice with thee, that thou mayest be feared? seeing it is justice that
strikes a terror and keeps in awe; mercy breeds a boldness, and boldness cannot
stand with fear, and therefore not fear with mercy. But is there not, I may
say, an active fear, not to offend God, as well as a passive fear for having
offended him? and with God's mercy may well stand the active fear, though not
so well, perhaps, the passive fear which is incident properly to his justice.
There is a common error in the world, to think we may be the bolder to sin
because God is merciful; but, O my soul, take heed of this error, for God's
mercy is to no such purpose; it is not to make us bold, but to make us fear:
the greater his mercy is, the greater ought our fear to be, for there is mercy
with him that he may be feared. Unless we fear, he may choose whether he will
be merciful or no; or rather, we maybe sure he will not be merciful, seeing he
hath mercy for none but for them that fear him; and there is great reason for
this, for to whom should mercy show itself but to them that need it? and if we
think we need it we will certainly fear. Oh, therefore, most gracious God, make
me to fear thee; for as thou wilt not be merciful to me unless I fear thee, so
I cannot fear thee unless thou first be merciful unto me.—Sir Richard Baker.
Verse
4. But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be
feared. Even Saul himself will lift up his voice and weep when he seeth a
clear testimony of the love and undeserved kindness of David. Hast thou never
beheld a condemned prisoner dissolved in tears upon the unexpected and
unmerited receipt of a pardon, who all the time before was as hard as a flint?
The hammer of the law may break the icy heart of man with terrors and horrors,
and yet it may remain ice still, unchanged; but when the fire of love kindly
thaws its ice, it is changed and dissolved into water—it is no longer ice, but
of another nature.—George Swinnock.
Verse
4. But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be
feared. The Evangelical doctrine of the gratuitous forgiveness of sins does
not of itself beget carelessness, as the Papists falsely allege; but rather a
true and genuine fear of God; like as the Psalmist here shows that this is the
final cause and effect of the doctrine.—Solomon Gesner.
Verse
4. But there is forgiveness with thee, etc. His judgments and
his wrath may make us astonished and stupefied; but, if there be no more they
will never make us to come to God. Then if this be not sufficient, what more is
requisite? Even a sight of the Lord's mercy, for that is most forcible to
allure, as the prophet saith here, and as the church of God says (So 1:3),
"Because of the savour of thy good ointments, therefore the virgins love
thee." This only is forcible to allure the sinner: for all the judgments
of God, and curses of the law, will never allure him. What was the chief thing
that moved the prodigal son to return home to his father? Was it chiefly the
distress, the disgrace and poverty where with he was burdened, or the famine
that almost caused him to starve? No, but the chief thing was this, he
remembered that he had a loving father. That maketh him to resolve with an
humble confession to go home Lu 15:1-32 Even so is it with the sinner; it is
not terrors and threatenings that chiefly will move him to come to God, but the
consideration of his manifold and great mercies.—Robert Rollock.
Verse
4. But. How significant is that word "but"
As if you heard justice clamouring, "Let the sinner die", and the
fiends in hell howling, "Cast him down into the fires", and
conscience shrieking, : "Let him perish", and nature itself groaning
beneath his weight, the earth weary with carrying him, and the sun tired with
shining upon the traitor, the very air sick with finding breath for one who
only spends it in disobedience to God. The man is about to be destroyed, to be
swallowed up quick, when suddenly there comes this thrice blessed "but",
which stops the reckless course of ruin, puts forth its strong arm bearing a
golden shield between the sinner and destruction, and pronounces these words, "But
there is forgiveness with God, that he may be feared."—C. H. S.
Verse
4. There is a propitiation with thee, so some read it: Jesus
Christ is the great propitiation, the ransom which God has found; he is ever
with him, as advocate for us, and through him we hope to obtain forgiveness.—Matthew
Henry.
Verse
4. Forgiveness. Hebrew, selichah, a word used only
here and by Daniel once (Da 9:9), and by Nehemiah (Ne 9:17).—Christopher
Wordsworth.
Verse
4. That thou mayest be feared. This forgiveness, this smile
of God, binds the soul to God with a beautiful fear. Fear to lose one glance of
love. Fear to lose one work of kindness. Fear to be carried away from the
heaven of his presence by an insidious current of worldliness. Fear of slumber.
Fear of error. Fear of not enough pleasing him. Our duty, then, is to drink
deep of God's forgiving love. To be filled with it is to be filled with purity,
fervency, and faith. Our sins have to hide their diminished heads, and slink
away through crevices, when forgiveness—when Christ—enters the soul.—George
Bowen, in "Daily Meditations," 1873.
Verses
4-5, 7-8. David puts his soul out of all fear of God's taking this course reckoning
strictly with poor penitent souls, by laying down this comfortable
conclusion, as an indubitable truth: "But there is forgiveness with
thee, that thou mayest be feared." That is, there is forgiveness in
thy nature, thou carriest a pardoning heart in thy bosom; yea, there is
forgiveness in thy promise; thy merciful heart doth not only incline thee to
thoughts of forgiving; but thy faithful promise binds thee to draw forth the
same unto all that humbly and seasonably lay claim thereunto. Now, this
foundation laid, see what superstructure this holy man raiseth (Ps 130:5): "I
wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope." As
if he had said, Lord, I take thee at thy word, and am resolved by thy grace to
wait at the door of thy promise, never to stir thence till I have my promised
dole (forgiveness of my sins) sent out unto me. And this is so sweet a morsel,
that he is loath to eat it alone, and therefore he sends down the dish, even to
the lower end of the table, that every godly person may taste with him of it
(Ps 130:7-8): "Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is
mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from
all his iniquities." As if he had said, That which is a ground of hope
to me, notwithstanding the clamour of my sins, affords as solid and firm a
bottom to any true Israelite or sincere soul in the world, did he but rightly
understand himself, and the mind of God in his promise. Yea, I have as strong a
faith for such as for my own soul, and I durst pawn the eternity of my
happiness upon this principle,—that God should redeem every sincere Israelite
from all his iniquities.—William Gurnall.
Verse
5. I wait for the LORD, etc. We pronounce this a most blessed
posture of the believer. It runs counter to everything that is natural, and,
therefore, it is all the more a supernatural grace of the gracious soul. In the
first place it is the posture of faith. Here is the gracious soul
hanging in faith upon God in Christ Jesus; upon the veracity of God to fulfil
his promise, upon the power of God to help him in difficulty, upon the wisdom
of God to counsel him in perplexity, upon the love of God to shield him in
danger, upon the omniscience of God to guide him with his eye, and upon the
omnipresence of God to cheer him with his presence, at all times and in all
places, his sun and shield. Oh, have faith in God.
It
is also a prayerful posture. The soul waiting for God, is the
soul waiting upon God. The Lord often shuts us up to this waiting for his
interposition on our behalf, that he may keep us waiting and watching at the
foot of his cross, in earnest, believing, importunate prayer. Oh, it is the
waiting for the Lord that keeps the soul waiting upon the Lord!
It
is also the posture of a patient waiting for the Lord. There is not a
more God honouring grace of the Christian character than patience—a
patient waiting on and for the Lord. It is that Christian grace, the fruit of
the Spirit, which will enable you to bear with dignity, calmness, and
submission the afflictive dealings of your Heavenly Father, the rebuke of the
world, and the wounding of the saints.
It
is the posture of rest. A soul waiting for the Lord is a soul resting in
the Lord. Waiting and resting! Wearied with traversing in vain the wide circle of
human expedients; coming to the end of all your own wisdom, strength, and
resources; your uneasy, jaded spirit is brought into this resting posture of
waiting on, and waiting for, the Lord; and thus folds its drooping wings upon
the very bosom of God. Oh, how real and instant is the rest found in Jesus!
Reposing in him, however profound the depth of the soul, however dark the
clouds that drape it, or surging the waters that overwhelm it, all is sunshine
and serenity within.—Condensed from "Soul Depths and Soul
Heights", by Octavius Winslow, 1874.
Verse
5. I wait for the LORD. Waiting is a great part of life's
discipline, and therefore God often exercises the grace of waiting. Waiting
has four purposes. It practises the patience of faith. It gives time for
preparation for the coming gift. It makes the blessing the sweeter when it
arrives. And it shows the sovereignty of God,—to give just when and just as he
pleases. It may be difficult to define exactly what the Psalmist had in his
mind when he said, "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." It may have been the Messiah, whose coming was a
thing close at hand to the mind of the ancient Jews, just as the Second Advent
is to us. It may have been some special interposition of Divine Providence. But
more probably, looking at the place which it occupies, and at the whole tenor
of the Psalm, and its line of thought, "The Lord" he waited for so
intently was that full sense of safety, peace, and love which God's felt
presence gives, and which is, indeed, nothing else but the coming of the Lord
most sensibly and palpably into an anxious and longing heart. The picture of
the waiting man is a striking one. It is as of one on the ridge of a journey,
looking onward on his way, standing on tiptoe, and therefore needing something
to lean on, and to support him. "I wait for the Lord",—spiritually,
with my deepest thoughts—in the very centre of my being—"I wait for the
Lord, my soul doth wait." And I rest, I stay myself on what
thou, O Lord, hast said. "My soul doth wait, and in his word do I
hope." In all your waitings remember two things: Let it not be so
much the event which you wait for, as the Lord of the event; the Lord in
the event. And take care that you have a promise underneath you,—"In his
word do I hope",—else "waiting" will be too much for you, and
after all it may be in vain.—James Vaughan.
Verse
5. I wait...I hope. Waiting and hoping ever attend the same
thing. No man will wait at all for that which he hath no hope of, and he who
hath hope will wait always. He gives not over waiting, till he gives over
hoping. The object of hope is some future good, but the act of hoping is at
present good, and that is present pay to bear our charges in waiting. The word
implies both a patient waiting and a hopeful trusting. So Christ expounds it
(Mt 12:21), rendering that of the prophet (Isa 42:1-4), "The isles shall
wait for his law", thus, "In his name shall the Gentiles
trust."—Joseph Caryl.
Verses
5-6. In these two verses he doth four times make mention of his hope,
and attendance upon God and his word, to let us see how sure a hold we should
take on God, and with how many temptations our faith is assaulted, when we can
see no reason thereof. Nothing will bear us up but hope. Spero meliora.
What encourages husbandmen and mariners against the surges and waves of the
sea, and evil weather, but hope of better times? What comforteth a sick man in
time of sickness, but hope of health? or a poor man in his distress, but hope
of riches? or a prisoner, but hope of liberty? or a banished man, but hope to
come home? All these hopes may fail, as oftentimes wanting a warrant. Albeit a
physician may encourage a sick man by his fair words, yet he cannot give him an
assurance of his recovery, for his health depends on God: friends and courtiers
may promise poor men relief, but all men are liars; only God is faithful who
hath promised. Therefore let us fix our faith on God, and our hope in God; for
he will stand by his promise. No man hath hoped in him in vain, neither was
ever any disappointed of his hope.—Archibald Symson.
Verses
5, 7. Faith doth ultimately centre in the Deity. God himself in his
glorious nature, is the ultimate object where unto our faith is resolved. The
promise, simply considered, is not the object of trust, but God in the promise;
and from the consideration of that we ascend to the Deity, and cast our anchor
there. "Hope in the word" is the first act, but succeeded by hoping in
the Lord: "In his word do I hope": that is not all; but, "Let
Israel hope in the Lord." That is the ultimate object of faith,
wherein the essence of our happiness consists, and that is God. God himself is
the true and full portion of the soul.—Stephen Charnock, 1628-1680.
Verse
6. My soul waiteth for the LORD. And now, my soul, what do I
live for but only to wait upon God, and to wait for God? To wait upon him, to
do him service, to wait for him, to be enabled to do him better service; to
wait upon him, as being Lord of all; and to wait for him, as being the rewarder
of all; to wait upon him whose service is better than any other command, and to
wait for him whose expectation is better than any other possession. Let others,
therefore, wait upon the world, wait for the world; I, O God, will wait upon
thee, for thee, seeing I find more true contentment in this waiting than all
the world can give me in enjoying; for how can I doubt of receiving reward by
my waiting for thee when my waiting for thee is itself the reward of my waiting
upon thee? And therefore my soul waiteth; for if my soul did not wait, what
were my waiting worth no more than I were worth myself, if I had not a soul;
but my soul puts a life into my waiting, and makes it become a living sacrifice.
Alas, my frail body is very unfit to make a waiter: it rather needs to be
waited upon itself: it must have so much resting, so often leave to be excused
from waiting, that if God should have no other waiters than bodies, he would be
left oftentimes to wait upon himself; but my soul is Divinoe particula auroe
a portion of the Divine breath, endued with all qualities fit for a waiter;
and hath it not received its abilities, O God, from thee?] And therefore my
soul waiteth, and is so intent in the service that it waits "more than
they that watch for the morning."—Sir Richard Baker.
Verse
6. Hammond thus renders the verse:—"My soul hasteneth to
the Lord from the guards in the morning, the guards in the morning."
Verse
6. More than they that watch for the morning. Look, as the
weary sentinel that is wet and stiff with cold and the dews of the night, or as
the porters that watched in the Temple, the Levites, were waiting for the
daylight, so "more than they that watch for the morning" was he
waiting for some glimpse of God's favour. Though he do not presently ease us of
our smart or gratify our desires, yet we are to wait upon God. In time we shall
have a good answer. God's delays are not denials. Day will come at length,
though the weary sentinel or watchman counts it long first; so God will come at
length; he will not be at our beck. We have deserved nothing, but must wait for
him in the diligent use of means; as Benhadad's servants watched for the word
"brother", or anything of kindness to drop from the king of Israel.—Thomas
Manton.
Verse
6. More than they that watch for the morning. How many in the
hallowed precincts of the Temple turned with anxious eye to the east, for the
first red streak over Moab's mountains that gave intimation of approaching day;
yet it was not for deliverance they waited, but for the accustomed hour when
the morning sacrifice could be offered, and the soul be relieved of its
gratitude in the hymn of thanksgiving, and of the burden of its sorrows and
sins by prayer, and could draw that strength from renewed intercourse with
heaven, that would enable it in this world to breathe the spirit and engage in
the beneficent and holy deeds of a better.—Robert Nisbet.
Verse
6. I say, more than they that watch for the morning, for must
there not be a proportion between the cause and effect? If my cause of watching
be more than theirs, should not my watching be more than theirs? They that
watch for the morning have good cause, no doubt, to watch for it, that it may
bring them the light of day; but have not I more cause to watch, who wait for
the light that lighteth every one that comes into the world? They that watch
for the morning wait but for the rising of the sun to free them from darkness,
that hinders their sight; but I wait for the rising of the Sun of righteousness
to dispel the horrors of darkness that affright my soul. They watch for the
morning that they may have light to walk by; but I wait for the Dayspring from
on High to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace. But though there may be question
made of the intentness of our watching, yet of the extensiveness there can be
none, for they that watch for the morning watch at most but a piece of the
night; but I have watched whole days and whole nights, and may I not then
justly say, I wait more than they that watch for the morning?—Sir
Richard Baker.
Verse
6. Holy men like Simeon, and devout priests like Zacharias, there
were, amidst this seething people, who, brooding, longing, waiting, chanted to
themselves day by day the words of the Psalmist, "My soul waiteth for
the Lord more than they that watch for the morning." As lovers that
watch for the appointed coming, and start at the quivering of a leaf, the
flight of a bird, or the humming of a bee, and grow weary of the tense strain,
so did the Jews watch for their Deliverer. It is one of the most piteous sights
of history, especially when we reflect that he came,—and they knew him not.—Henry
Ward Beechef, in his "Life of Jesus the Christ."
Verse
6. Watch. We do injustice to that good and happy word, "watch",
when we take it as watching against; against a danger; against a coming evil.
It will bear that interpretation; but it is a far higher, and better, and more
filial thing to watch for a coming good than to watch against an approaching
evil. So, "watching for", we send up our arrows of prayer, and
then look trustingly to see where they are coming down again. So, "watching
for", we listen, in silence, for the familiar voice we love. So, "watching
for", we expect the Bridegroom! Take care, that as one always standing
on the eve,—not of danger, but of happiness,—your "watch" be
the "watch" of love, and confidence, and cheerful hope.—James
Vaughan.
Verse
6. In the year 1830, on the night preceding the first of August, the
day the slaves in our West Indian Colonies were to come into possession of the
freedom promised them, many of them, we are told, never went to bed at all.
Thousands, and tens of thousands of them, assembled in their places of worship,
engaging in devotional duties, and singing praises to God, waiting for the
first streak of the light of the morning of that day on which they were to be
made free. Some of their number were sent to the hills, from which they might
obtain the first view of the coming day, and, by a signal, intimate to their
brethren down in the valley the dawn of the day that was to make them men, and
no longer, as they had hitherto been, mere goods and chattels,—men with souls
that God had created to live forever. How eagerly must these men have watched
for the morning!—T. W. Aveling, in "The Biblical Museum,"
1872.
Verse
7. Let Israel hope in the LORD. This title is applied to all
the Lord's people; it sets forth their dignity—they are PRINCES; it
refers to their experience—they wrestle with God in prayer, and they
prevail. Despondency does not become a prince, much less a Christian. Our God
is "THE GOD OF HOPE"; and we should hope in him. Israel should hope
in his mercy, in his patience, in his provision, in his plenteous redemption.
They should hope for light in darkness; for strength in weakness; for direction
in perplexity; for deliverance in danger; for victory in conflict; and for
triumph in death. They should hope in God confidently, because he hath
promised; prayerfully, for he loves to hear from us; obediently, for his
precepts are to be observed by us; and constantly, for he is always the same.—James
Smith (1802-1862), in "The Believer's Daily Remembrancer."
Verse
7. Let Israel hope in the LORD. Whereas, in all preceding
verses of the Psalm, the thoughts, the sorrows, the prayer, the penitence, the
awe, the waiting, the watching, were all personal and confined to himself; here
a great change has taken place, and it is no longer "I", but "Israel";
all Israel. "Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there
is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel
from all his iniquities." This is as it always ought to be...It is the
genius of our religion to go forth to multitudes.—James Vaughan.
Verse
7. For with the LORD there is mercy. Mercy has been shown to
us, but it dwells in God. It is one of his perfections. The exercise of it is
his delight. There is mercy with the Lord in all its fulness;he never
was more merciful than now, neither will he ever be. There is mercy with the
Lord in all its tenderness, he is full of compassion, his bowels are
troubled for us, his tender mercies are over us. There is mercy with him in all
its variety, it suits every case. Here is mercy that receives sinners,
mercy that restores backsliders, mercy that keeps believers. Here is the mercy
that pardons sin, that introduces to the enjoyment of all gospel privileges,
and that blesses the praying soul far beyond its expectations. With the Lord
there is mercy, and he loves to display it, he is ready to impart it, he has
determined to exalt and glorify it. There is mercy with the Lord; this should
encourage the miserable to approach him; this informs the fearful that they
need bring nothing to induce him to bless them; this calls upon backsliders to
return to him; and this is calculated to cheer the tried Christian, under all
his troubles and distresses. Remember, mercy is like God, it is infinite and
eternal. Mercy is always on the throne. Mercy may be obtained by any sinner.—James
Smith.
Verse
7. With him is plenteous redemption. This plenteous
redemption leaves behind it no more relies of sin than Moses left hoofs of
beasts behind him in Egypt. It redeems not only from the fault, but from the
punishment; not only a tanto, but a toto not only from such, but also
from all sin and penalty; not only from the sense but from the fear of
pain; and in the fault, not only from the guilt, but front the stain; not only
from being censured, but from being questioned. Or is it meant by a plenteous
redemption that not only he leads captivity captive, but gives gifts unto men?
For what good is it to a prisoner to have his pardon, if he be kept in prison
still for not paying his fees? but if the prince, together with the pardon,
sends also a largess that may maintain him when he is set at liberty, this,
indeed, is a plenteous redemption; and such is the redemption that God's mercy
procures unto us. It not only delivers us from a dungeon, but puts us in possession
of a palace; it not only frees us from eating bread in the sweat of our brows,
but it restores us to Paradise, where all fruits are growing of their own
accord; it not only clears us from being captives, but endears us to be
children; and not only children, but heirs; and not only heirs, but co-heirs
with Christ; and who can deny this to be a plenteous redemption Or is it said a
plenteous redemption in regard of the price that was paid to redeem us? for we
are redeemed with a price, not of gold or precious stones, but with the
precious blood of the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. For God so
loved the world that he gave his only Son to be a ransom for us, and this I am
sure is a plenteous redemption.—Sir Richard Baker.
Verse
7. Plenteous redemption, or more literally, "redemption
plenteously." He calls it plenteous, as Luther says, because such is the
straitness of our heart, the slenderness of our hopes, the weakness of our
faith, that it far exceeds all our capacity, all our petitions and all our
desires.—J. J. Stewart Perowne.
Verses
7-8. This Psalm containeth an evident prophecy of the Messias; in
setting forth his plentiful redemption, and that he should redeem Israel, that
is, the Church, from all their sins. Which words in their full sense were used
by an angel to Joseph, in telling him that the child's name should be JESUS,
"because he should save his people from their sins": Mt 1:21.—Sir
John Hayward (1560-1627), in "David's Tears," 1623.
Verse
8. He will redeem. "HE" emphatic, He alone, for
none other can.—J. J. Stewart Perowne.
Verse
8. From his iniquities. Not only from the punishment (as
Ewald and Hupfeld). The redemption includes the forgiveness of sins, the
breaking of the power and dominion of sin, and the setting free from all the
consequences of sin.—J. J. Stewart Perowne.
Verse
8. Iniquities. Iniquities of eye—has conscience no
voice there? Is no iniquity ever practised by your eye? Let conscience speak.
Iniquity of ear—is there no iniquity that enters into your heart through
the ear? You cannot listen to a conversation in the street without iniquity
entering into your heart through what Bunyan calls "Ear gate."
Iniquity of lip—do you always keep your tongue as with a bridle? Do your
lips never drop anything unbecoming the gospel? Is there no carnal
conversation, no angry word at home, no expression that you would not like the
saints of God to hear? What! your lips always kept so strictly that there is
never a single expression dropped from them which you would be ashamed to utter
before an assembly of God's people? Iniquity of thought—if your eyes,
ears, and lips are clean, is there no iniquity of thought? What! in that
workshop within, no iniquitous suggestions, no evil workings? Oh, how ignorant
must we be of ourselves, if we feel that we have no iniquity of thought!
Iniquity of imagination—does not fancy sometimes bring before you scenes
of sensuality in which your carnal nature is vile enough to revel? Iniquity of memory—does
not memory sometimes bring back sins you formerly committed, and your evil
nature is perhaps base enough to desire they had been greater Iniquity of feeling—no
enmity against God's people ever working? no pride of heart? no covetousness?
no hypocrisy? no self righteousness? no sensuality? no base thought that you
cannot disclose even to your bosom friend? But here is the blessed promise—a
promise only suited to Israel: for all but Israel lose sight of their
iniquities, and justify themselves in self righteousness. None but Israel feel
and confess their iniquities, and therefore to Israel is the promise of
redemption limited: "He shall redeem Israel from all his
iniquities." What! all? Yes, Not one left? No, not a trace,
not a shade, not the shadow of a shade; all buried, all gone, all swallowed up,
all blotted out, all freely pardoned, all cast behind God's back.—Joseph C.
Philpot, 1802-1869.
Verse
8. What a graceful and appropriate conclusion of this comprehensive
and instructive Psalm! Like the sun, it dawns veiled in cloud, it sets bathed
in splendour; it opens with soul depth, it closes with soul height. Redemption
from all iniquity! It baffles the most descriptive language, and distances the
highest measurement. The most vivid imagination faints in conceiving it, the
most glowing image fails in portraying it, and faith droops her wing in the
bold attempt to scale its summit. "He shall redeem Israel from all his
iniquities." The verse is a word painting of man restored, and of
Paradise regained.—Octavius Winslow.
HINTS TO THE
VILLAGE PREACHER
Verse
1. The assertion of an experienced believer.
1.
I have cried—that is, I have earnestly, constantly, truthfully prayed.
2.
I have cried only unto thee. Nothing could draw me to other confidences, or
make me despair of thee.
3.
I have cried in distress. At my worst, temporally or spiritually, I have cried
out of the depths.
4.
I therefore infer—that I am thy child, no hypocrite, no apostate; and that thou
hast heard and wilt hear me evermore.
Verse
1.
1.
What we are to understand by "the depths." Great misery and distress.
2.
How men get into "the depths." By sin and unbelief.
3.
What gracious souls do when in "the depths." Cry unto the Lord.
4.
How the Lord lifts praying souls out of "the depths"; "He shall
redeem, "etc., Ps 130:8.—W. H. J. P.
Verse
1.
1.
In the pit.
2. The morning star seen: "Thee, O Lord."
3. Prayer flutters up "out of the depths."—W. B. H.
Verses
1-2.
1.
The depths from which prayer may rise.
a)
Of affliction.
b) Of conviction.
c) Of desertion.
2.
The height to which it may ascend.
a)
To the hearing of God.
b) To a patient hearing. "Hear my voice."
c) To an attentive hearing.
Or,
1.
We should pray at all times.
2.
We should pray that our prayers may be heard.
3.
We should pray until we know we are heard.
4.
We should pray in faith that when heard we have the thing we have asked.
"That which thou hast prayed to me against the King of Assyria I have
heard." God had heard. That was enough. It was the death of Sennacherib
and the overthrow of his host.—G. R.
Verses
1-2. Consider,
1.
The Psalmist's condition in the light of a warning. Evidently, through sin, he
came into the depths; see Ps 130:3-4. Learn,
a)
The need of watchfulness on the part of all.
b) That backsliding will, sooner or later, bring great trouble of soul.
2.
His sometime continuance in that condition, in the light of a Divine judgment:
"I have cried." Certainly his first cry had not brought deliverance.
a)
The realization of pardon is a Divine work, dependent upon God's pleasure. Ps
85:8.
b)
But he will not always nor often speak pardon at the first asking; for He will
make His people reverence his holiness, feel the bitterness of sinning, learn
caution, etc.
3.
His conduct while in that condition in the light of a direction. He,
a)
Seeks deliverance only of God.
b) Is intensely earnest in his application: "I cried."
c) Is inopportunate in his pleading: "Hear my voice, "etc.—J. F.
Verse
2. Attention from God to us—how to gain it.
1.
Let us plead the name which commands attention.
2. Let us ourselves pay attention to God's word.
3. Let us give earnest attention to what we ask, and how we ask.
4. Let us attentively watch for a reply.
Verse
2. Lord, hear my voice.
1.
Though it be faint by reason of distance—hear it.
2. Though it be broken because of my distress—hear it.
3. Though it be unworthy on account of my iniquities—hear it.—W. H. J. P.
Verse
3.
1.
The supposition: "If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities"
a)
It is scriptural.
b)
It is reasonable. If God is not indifferent towards men, he must observe their
sins. If he is holy, he must manifest indignation against sin. If he is the
Creator of conscience, he must certainly uphold its verdict against sin. If he
is not wholly on the side of sin, how can he fail to avenge the mischiefs and miseries
sin has caused?
2.
The question it suggests: "Who shall stand?" A question,
a)
Not difficult to answer.
b) Of solemn import to all.
c) Which ought to be seriously pondered without delay.
3.
The possibility it hints at. "If thou, Lord." The "if" hints
at the possibility that God may not mark sin. The possibility,
a)
Is reasonable, providing it can be without damage to God's righteousness; for
the Creator and Preserver of men cannot delight in condemning and punishing.
b)
Is a God honouring reality, through the blood of Christ, Ro 3:21-26.
c)
Becomes a glorious certainty in the experience of penitent and believing
souls.—J. F.
Verses
3-4.
1.
The Confession. He could not stand.
2. The Confidence. "There is forgiveness."
3. The Consequence. "That thou mayest be feared."
Verses
3-4.
1.
The fearful supposition.
2. The solemn interrogation.
3. The Divine consolation.—W. J.
Verse
4. Forgiveness with God.
1.
The proofs of it.
a)
Divine declarations.
b)
Invitations and promises, Isa 1:18.
c)
The bestowment of pardon so effectually as to give assurance and joy. 2Sa 12:13
Ps 32:5 Lu 7:47-8. 1Jo 2:12.
2.
The reason of it.
a)
In God's nature there is the desire to forgive; the gift of Christ is
sufficient evidence for it.
b)
But, the text speaks not so much of a desire as it asserts the existence of a
forgiveness being "with" God, therefore ready to be dispensed. The
blood of Christ is the reason (Col 1:14); by it the disposition to forgive
righteously manifests itself in the forgiving act: Ro 3:25-26.
c)
Hence, forgiveness for all who believe is sure: Ro 3:25 1Jo 2:1-2.
3.
The result of its realization: "That thou mayest be feared": with a
reverential fear, and spiritual worship.
a)
The possibility of forgiveness begets in an anxious soul true penitence, as
opposed to terror and despair.
b)
The hope of receiving it begets earnest seeking and prayerfulness.
c)
A believing reception of it gives peace and rest, and, exciting grateful love,
leads to spiritual worship and filial service.—J. F.
Verse
4. There is forgiveness.
1.
It is needed.
2. God alone can give it.
3. It may be had.
4. We may know that we have it.
Verse
4.
1.
A most cheering announcement: "There is forgiveness with thee."
a)
A fact certain.
b) A fact in the present tense.
c) A fact which arises out of God himself.
d) A fact stated in general terms.
e) A fact to be meditated upon with delight.
2.
A most admirable design: "That thou mayest be feared."
a)
Very contrary to the abuse made of it by rebels, triflers, and procrastinators.
b)
Very different from the pretended fears of legalists.
c)
No pardon, no fear of God—devils, reprobates.
d)
No pardon, none survive to fear him.
e)
But the means of pardon encourage faith, repentance, prayer; and the receipt of
pardon creates love, suggests obedience, inflames zeal.
Verse
4. See "Spurgeon's Sermons", No. 351: "Plenteous
Redemption."
Verse
4. Tender Light.
1.
The Angel by the Throne: "Forgiveness with Thee."
2.
The shadow that enhances his sweet majesty: "If", "But."
3.
The homage resultant from his ministry; universal from highest to least.—W.B.
H.
Verses
5-6. Three postures: Waiting, Hoping, Watching.
Verses
5-6.
1.
The seeking sinner.
2. The Christian mourner.
3. The loving intercessor.
4. The spiritual labourer.
5. The dying believer.—W. J.
Verses
5-6.
1.
We are to wait on God.
a)
By faith: "In his word do I hope."
b) By prayer. Prayer can wait when it has a promise to rest upon.
2.
We are to wait for God: "I wait for the Lord." "My soul waiteth
for the Lord more", etc.
a)
Because he has his own time for giving.
b) Because what he gives is worth waiting for.—G. R.
Verse
6. More than they.
1.
For the darker sorrow his absence causes.
2. For the richer splendour Iris coming must bring.
3. For the greater might of our indwelling love.—W. B. H.
Verse
6.
1.
A long, dark night: The Lord absent.
2. An eager, hopeful watcher: Waiting the Lord's return.
3. A bright, blessed morning: The time of the Lord's appearing.—W. H. J. P.
Verse
7. Redeeming grace the sole hope of the holiest.—W. B. H.
Verse
7.
1.
A divine exhortation: "Let Israel hope in the LORD."
2. A spiritual reason: "For with the LORD there is mercy", etc.
3. A gracious promise: "He shall redeem Israel from, all his
iniquities."—J. C. Philpot.
Verses
7-8. It is our wisdom to have personal dealings with God.
1.
The first exercise of faith must be upon the Lord himself. This is the natural
order, the necessary order, easiest, wisest, and most profitable order. Begin
where all begins.
2.
Exercises of faith about other things must still be in connection with the
Lord. Mercy—"with the Lord." Plenteous redemption "with
him."
3.
Exercises of faith, whatever their object, must all settle on him. "He
shall redeem", etc.
Verse
8.
1.
The Redemption: "From all iniquities."
2. The Redeemer: "The Lord." See Tit 2:14.
3. The Redeemed: "Israel."—W. H. J. P.
WORKS UPON THE
HUNDRED AND THIRTIETH PSALM
A
Treatise concerning the fruitful Sayings of David, The King and Prophet, in The
Seven Penitential Psalms. . . . By the Right Reverend Father in God Ions
Fisher, DD. and Bp. of Rochester. Printed in the Year 1714. This is a
reprint in 12mo. of the Black Letter 4to. described on page 114 of Vol. 2. of
"The Treasury of David." The work is more curious than useful.
"An
Exposition upon some select Psalms of David." . . . Written by
that faithful servant of God M. Robert Rollok. . . . And translated out of
Latine into English by Charles Lumisden . . . Edinborgh . . . 1600, 8vo.
contains a short exposition on Psalm 130.
In
"Select Works of Robert Rollock," edited for the Wodrow Society by
William M. Gunn, Esq., Vol. 1 pp. 451-481, there are two expository Sermons on
Psalm 130.
A
Exposition On The Hundred And Thirtieth Psalm. Gathered out of some of
the Ancient Fathers and later writers by Alexander Roberts. Bachelor of
Divinity and Preacher of the Word of God at Kings Lind in Norfolk.
London...1610. 4to.
David's
Tears. By Sir John Hayward, Knight, Doctor of Lawe. London. Printed by
John Bell, 1623. 4to. On Psalms 6, 32, and 130.
The
Saints' Comforts. Being the substance of diverse Sermons. Preached on Psalm 130,
the beginning Ps 130:1-5 ...By a Reverend Divine now with God. Richard
Sibbes. London...1638. 18mo. Reprinted in Vol. 6 of Sibbes' Works,
Nichol's edition, 1863.
A
Godly and Fruitful Exposition on the 130 Psalme, the sixth of the
Penitentials, in A Sacred Septenarie or, A Godly And Fruitful Exposition On The
Seven Psalms Of Repentance...By Mr. Archibald Symson, late Pastor of the church
at Dalkeeth in Scotland. London... 1638. 4to.
In
"Meditations And Disquisitions upon The Three last Psalmes of David. By
Sir Richard Baker, Knight"4to. 1639, there is an Exposition
of Psalm 130. It will be found in Higham's reprint 1882 of Sir R.
Baker's Expositions of the Psalms, pp. 257-271.
A
Practical Exposition upon Psalm 130; wherein the Nature of
the Forgiveness of Sin is declared; the Truth and Reality of it asserted; and
the case of a Soul Distressed with the Guilt of Sin, and Relieved by a
Discovery of Forgiveness with God, is at large Discoursed By John Owen, D.D.,
4to.], 1668, 1669, 1680. There are modern reprints of this Exposition; and it
is in Vol. 6 of Owen's Works, edited by W. H. Goold, 1881.
In "The
Whole Works of Robert Leighton, D.D., Archbishop of Glasgow, 4 vols., 8yD.,
1725", there are "Meditations on Psalm 130." Vol. 2. pp.
510-540.
Forty
Five Sermons upon The 130 Psalme. Preached at IRWIN. By that Eminent Servant
of Jesus Christ, Mr. George Hutcheson—1678, Minister of the Gospel. Edinburgh,
1691. 8vo.
In
"Sermons preached in Christ Church," Brighton, from October, 1877, to
July, 1878, by the Rev. James Vaughan, M.A. London, 1878, there is a Course of
Lenten Sermons on the 130th Psalm, entitled "Steps to Heaven."
── C.H. Spurgeon《The Treasury of David》