Psalms 130:7

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?

When he penned this Psalm, the writer, David, was in deep distress, if not of circumstances, yet of conscience. He constantly mentions iniquities and begs forgiveness. He felt like a shipwrecked mariner, carried overboard into the raging sea. Thus he reviews the situation—"Out of the depths have I cried unto You, O Lord." Yet he lived to tell the tale of deliverance! His prayer from among the waves was a memory worth preserving and he preserves it. The mercy of God to him he weaves into a song for us—and in this our text is found. Two things the rescued sufferer tells us. First, that, as God delivered him from the power of sin, so He will deliver all His praying, wrestling, believing people. That is the last verse of the Psalm—"He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities." The argument is—He delivered me. What am I more than others? The gracious Lord who saved me will save all those who call upon Him in truth. He delivered me, though laden with iniquities, and His pardoning mercy is unfailing and, therefore, He can and will rescue others from their uttermost distresses. This is a good line of reasoning, for the Lord's ways are constant and He will do for all Believers what He has done for one of them. The other thing which the Psalmist sets before us is this—we are wise if we apply to God, alone, for help. He says, "I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait. My soul waits for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning." He incidentally tells us that it is vain to wait upon man and put our trust in any human support, for the way of deliverance only lies in reliance upon God, immediately and alone. We are not to depend upon outward means, but upon the God who lends efficacy to all means.

When he penned this Psalm, the writer, David, was in deep distress, if not of circumstances, yet of conscience. He constantly mentions iniquities and begs forgiveness. He felt like a shipwrecked mariner, carried overboard into the raging sea. Thus he reviews the situation—"Out of the depths have I cried unto You, O Lord." Yet he lived to tell the tale of deliverance! His prayer from among the waves was a memory worth preserving and he preserves it. The mercy of God to him he weaves into a song for us—and in this our text is found.

Let Israel hope in the Lord - This, to hope for salvation, is their duty and their interest. But what reason is there for this hope? A twofold reason: - 1. With the Lord there is mercy - החסד hachesed, That mercy, the fund, the essence of mercy. 2. And with him is plenteous redemption - והרבה עמו פדות veharabbah immo peduth; and that abundant redemption, that to which there is none like, the Fountain of redemption, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. The article ה, both in הרבה harabbah and החסד hachesed, is very emphatic.

Let Israel hope in the Lord - In such circumstances of affliction and distress, let not the people of God despair. In the darkest night, in calamities deep and prolonged, let not those who love God despair. The morning will dawn; the light will break in the east; deliverance and joy will come. The Hebrew here is, “Trust, O Israel, in the Lord.” The design of the Psalmist seems to be, from his own experience, to persuade others - the afflicted people of God - to put their trust in Him in whom he had himself hoped. From the very depths of affliction, guilt, and almost despair, he had looked to the Lord: encouraged and persuaded by his example, he would now entreat the people of God everywhere and always, in like manner, to trust him. For with the Lord there is mercy - He is merciful, and in his mercy we may trust. And with him is plenteous redemption - It is ample; it is full; it abounds. It is not limited; it is not exhausted; it cannot be exhausted. So we may always feel when we come before God, that his mercy is ample for all the needs of all the sinful and the suffering; that the provisions of his grace are unexhausted and inexhaustible. […]