Psalms 130:5
in Psalms 130I wait for the LORD; my soul does wait, and in His word I put my hope.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I wait for Jehovah, my soul doth wait, And in his word do I hope.
KJV
I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.
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This verse in Psalms 130
Commentary
10 notes on this verseI 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!
This site's exposition
I wait for the LORD
on Psalms 130:5-6
The soul waits twice over in verse 5, and its hope rests on His word. The watchman line of verse 6 is repeated whole. Spurgeon read the watchmen as men guarding a city and as worshippers waiting for the morning sacrifice.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
We therefore trust without fear on the word of Him who cannot deceive. "My soul has trusted in the Lord, from the morning watch even unto night" [Psalm 130:5]. This morning watch is the end of night. We must therefore understand it so that we may not suppose we are to trust in the Lord for one day only. What do you conceive to be the sense, then, brethren? The words mean this: that the Lord, through whom our sins have been remitted, arose from the dead at the morning watch, so that we may hope that what went before in the Lord will take place in us. For our sins have been already forgiven: but we have not yet risen again: if we have not risen again, not as yet has that taken place in us which went before in our Head. What went before in our Head? Because the flesh of that Head rose again; did the Spirit of that Head die? What had died in Him, rose again. Now He arose on the third day; and the Lord as it were thus speaks to us: What you have seen in Me, hope for in yourselves; that is, because I have risen from the dead, you also shall rise again.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The degree of that dependence--" more than those that watch for the morning, who are, (1.) Well-assured that the morning will come; and so am I that God will return in mercy to me, according to his promise; for God's covenant is more firm than the ordinances of day and night, for they shall come to an end, but that is everlasting." (2.) Very desirous that it would come.
I wait for the Lord,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
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.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2579: “Waiting, Hoping, Watching” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
As we read this Psalm, we noticed, from the opening verses of it, that David was in the depths. He is not the only one of God's people who has been there. If we imagine that the experience of true saints is always a happy, high level of peace, we make a great mistake. They have their rising and their falling, their days and their nights, their summers and their winters. Where there is life, there are pretty sure to be changes. The statues in St.
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2579: “Waiting, Hoping, Watching” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
As we read this Psalm, we noticed, from the opening verses of it, that David was in the depths. He is not the only one of God's people who has been there. If we imagine that the experience of true saints is always a happy, high level of peace, we make a great mistake. They have their rising and their falling, their days and their nights, their summers and their winters. Where there is life, there are pretty sure to be changes. The statues in St. Paul's Cathedral are, I suppose, always cold, but living men are sometimes ready to faint in the heat—and sometimes they are well-near frozen with the cold. If you are a living child of God, expect that you will have many variations in your experience and that sometimes you will be in the depths as others have been. Was not your Lord there? This Psalm is called, in the Latin version, De profundi's, and I am sure that our Lord, though He is now in excelsis—in the very heights—yet had on earth times when He could sing this De profundis Psalm—"Out of the depths have I cried unto You, O Lord." Then, how could we have fellowship with Him in His suffering if we were not, sometimes, in the depths, too? How could we know what He felt, how could we be made like unto our Lord if we were not also cast down? The best of godly men will be, occasionally or even often, in the depths of temporal trouble. David was hunted by Saul, hated by the Philistines, grieved by his son Absalom—he had many trials—and the best of God's people will have their trials, too. Though faith often lifts us up above them, yet there are times when the iron enters into our soul, when, "for a season, if necessary, we are in heaviness through manifold trials." God's people, too, are sometimes in the depths of spiritual sorrow. They do not always live upon the mountain with their transfigured Master.
I wait for the Lord - The word קוה kavah, which we translate to wait, properly signifies the extension of a cord from one point to another. This is a fine metaphor: God is one point, the human heart is the other; and the extended cord between both is the earnest believing desire of the soul. This desire, strongly extended from the heart to God, in every mean of grace, and when there is none, is the active, energetic waiting which God requires, and which will be successful.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
I wait for the Lord - That is, in this state of distress and trouble - from these “depths” of woe, and sorrow, and conviction of sin. This implies two things: (1) that he had no other dependence; (2) that his soul was actually in a waiting posture, or that he actually looked to the Lord for his interposition. My soul doth wait - I wait, with all my soul and heart. And in his word do I hope - In his promise. I believe that he will fulfill that promise, and that I shall find a gracious answer to my prayers. Under conviction for sin, under deep sorrow and distress of any kind, this is the only hope of man. If God does not interpose, there is no deliverer; that he will interpose we may feel assured, if we come to him with a humble, a believing, and a penitent heart.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
I hoped, O Lord; yea, my soul hoped one hope after another hope, similar to (above:14): “Hope for the Lord, be strong and He will give your heart courage, and hope,” and similar to “among those who await the morning, those who await the morning.”
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
For forgiveness is with You You did not give permission to an agent to forgive, as it is said (Exod.:21): “for he will not forgive your transgression.”
My soul is to the Lord among those who await the morning I am among those who look forward to the redemption.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| קִוִּ֣יתִי | kiviti | I wait for | H6960 → | 49 times |
| יְ֭הוָה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| קִוְּתָ֣ה | kivetah | it waits | H6960 → | 49 times |
| נַפְשִׁ֑י | nafshi | self my | H5315 → | 754 times |
| וְֽלִדְבָר֥וֹ | velidvaro | and for word his | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הוֹחָֽלְתִּי׃ | hochalti | I hope | H3176 → | 41 times |
קִוִּ֣יתִיI wait for
kivitiH6960 →49 times
יְ֭הוָהYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
קִוְּתָ֣הit waits
kivetahH6960 →49 times
נַפְשִׁ֑יself my
nafshiH5315 →754 times
וְֽלִדְבָר֥וֹand for word his
velidvaroH1697 →1440 times
הוֹחָֽלְתִּי׃I hope
hochaltiH3176 →41 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 30:18Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore He rises to show you compassion, for the LORD is a just God. Blessed are all who wait for Him.
it leads to
- Lamentations 3:25–26
The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.
- Proverbs 16:20
Whoever heeds instruction will find success, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.
- Lamentations 3:25–26
Through
Isaiah 8:17I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob. I will put my trust in Him.
it leads to
- Isaiah 25:9
And in that day it will be said, “Surely this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He has saved us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited. Let us…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hebrews 10:36–39
You need to persevere, so that after you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.
- Habakkuk 2:3
For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end and does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and will not delay.
- Isaiah 25:9
Through
Psalms 62:5Rest in God alone, O my soul, for my hope comes from Him.
it leads to
- Micah 7:7
But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.
- Psalms 27:13–14
Still I am certain to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
- Micah 7:7
Where this verse is studied
By subject
Hope34 verses
On this page
Studies4
About Psalms
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 130; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 7; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2579: “Waiting, Hoping, Watching” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.