Psalm 130:6














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 w 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 very first moment of breaking dawn. They "watched for the morning." The kind of watching that comes home to us is the anxious watching by the sick-beds of loved friends. Night-work is especially trying. Sentinel-watching may be also in mind.

I. A WAITING THAT IS A WEARY COMPULSION. We do not want to wait. We are made to wait. And the watching for the end of the waiting-time is simply a prolonged agony. Man often deals with his fellow-man thus; and God sometimes finds it needful to put his people into this hard discipline. Whether we like it or not, we must wait. Active man who would do something - must do nothing. Illust.: waiting for openings in life.

II. A WAITING THAT IS A HOPELESS ENDURANCE. The kind of waiting that belongs to times of uncertainty. We watch vainly, at last almost hopelessly, for the daily post. Tennyson pictures this condition in his 'Mariana' -

"She only said, 'My life is dreary:
He cometh not,' she said;
She said, 'I'm aweary, aweary;
I would that I were dead!'" Even at such times the hopelessness would pass, though the enduring had to remain, if only the watching had its uplook as well as its onlook. Its calm resting in the infinite wisdom and love that permits, as well as its peering away into the distant east for the first glimpse of morning.

III. A WAITING THAT IS A LOVING EXPECTANCY. And that our waiting may always be if we see it to be our Father-God's call to wait. There is his thought in it, his purpose in it. We may be sure of the "end of the Lord." It is well altogether to dismiss from our minds all such ideas of Divine sovereignty as even suggest that he ever "afflicts willingly." We seem to be waiting for some change in our earthly circumstances, but we are really waiting for God to change our circumstances; and we may wait with the calm, and even joyous, expectancy that he will. - R.T.

More than they that watch for the morning.
I. THIS WORLD IS A NIGHT, The morning presupposes the night, and this world most properly is compared to a long winter's night which is very uncomfortable. The night also is cold, wanting the sun which warmeth the earth; so is the world a shadow of death, a dark dungeon.

II. CHRISTIANS ARE WATCHMEN. Every particular Christian ought to be a watchman; for he hath enemies both spiritual and corporal, continually assaulting him, to destroy both his soul and his body, for which cause our Saviour often exhorted his hearers to watch and pray, and by nature we fall asleep, as the apostles did in the garden, and Jonas in the ship. Therefore it is good we should be careful to watch over our ways. The watch looks to the enemy without, but we have more need to watch over our domestic and inward enemies, lest they surprise us, even our lusts and concupiscences, our pride, our avarice, our malice, all which are like to overthrow our soul. Let us, therefore, watch, lest we be surprised.

III. COMFORT AND LIGHT MUST COME FROM ABOVE. The watchman waiteth for the day, and he is very glad when he seeth it break, for then he knoweth the sun is rising upon the earth, which will enlighten all the world. No comfort is to be found on earth for a Christian soul in this dark night; we must look to the day dawning, when Christ in that day of His glorious appearing shall come to deliver His Church from all miseries: which all Christians should earnestly attend, and fervently pray with the spouse, Come, Lord Jesus. The watchman looketh about to see the sun spread out his beams; he knoweth that light doth not come from below. We should turn our eyes from the world, because here is no comfort, and look unto Christ Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father, from whom only we may expect a comfortable deliverance out of all our miseries.

IV. THE LIGHT COMETH IN THE MORNING. Before break of day is greatest darkness, and then the sun ariseth, and by his beams expelleth the same; the light cometh not till the morning. The apostles rowed all night, till they were become weary, and out of all hope, and then Christ came in the fourth watch and relieved them, being then in a most desperate ease. So the Lord, although he tarrieth to let us see our own weakness, yet no doubt He will come: He dealt thus with Jacob, he wrestled all night with him till the break of day, and then blessed him; David, after he was long pursued and persecuted by Saul, yet at last got rest and ease. The Jews were nearly destroyed by their enemies, but God raised up saviours to defend them. Despair not, then, and disquiet not yourselves; be not discouraged, howsoever ye see the Church, which is, as the disciples' boat, tossed to and fro by the waves of persecuting tyrants. Look to heaven, for the day of her deliverance is at hand; yea, that everlasting deliverance, When the Sun of Righteousness shall arise and shine on her for ever.

(A. Symson.)

Homilist.
I. THE OBJECT OF HIS HOPE IN HIS SORROWS — "I wait for the Lord." This implies two things —

1. A belief that the Lord would appear for him. He seemed as if He was hidden from him now. The clouds of his sorrow concealed Him, as the mists of the earth conceal the sun, but he knew that He would come, and he waited.

2. A belief that at His appearance he should have relief. He would not wait if he felt there would come no deliverance, still less if he felt that his sorrows would be aggravated by the event. God will come to deliver His people out of their sorrows. "I know that my Redeemer liveth," etc.

II. THE GROUND OF HIS HOPE IN HIS SORROW. "In His Word do I hope."

1. His Word promises deliverance to the good in sorrow.

2. His Word is infallibly true. What He has promised must be fulfilled.

III. THE EARNESTNESS OF HIS HOPE IN HIS SORROW. "My soul waiteth for the Lord more," etc. This implies —

1. The intensity of his distress. His soul is in the midnight of sadness, and he looks with stronger solicitude for relief than they that watch for the morning. In a suffering world there are thousands every night who watch earnestly for the morning. The man tossed on the bed of agony watches for the morning; the prisoner in his cell watches for the morning; the mariner in the storm watches for the morning; the general who has to decide on the coming day the destiny of his campaign, watches for the morning. None, however, watch more anxiously for the morning than the soul in anguish watches for its God.

2. The certainty of his deliverance. The night always appears long to the sufferer; still the morning comes at last. The sun comes mounting the steeps of heaven, chasing the darkness away, brightening the landscape, and pouring gladness into the world. Even so deliverance will come to the good.

(Homilist.)

Great Thoughts.
Day will soon break to those who long for it in the gloom or shadows of night. God's world never stands still. From the creation, when "the evening and the morning were the first day," light has followed darkness, and dawn has come from dusk. This is a thought for every weary soul to whom it seems as if daylight would never come. If there is no dawn here, there is dawn not far ahead, and we shall see it before long.

"Out of the darkness of night

The world rolls into light;

It is daybreak everywhere."

(Great Thoughts.)

In the year 1830, on the night preceding the 1st 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 for ever. How eagerly must these men have watched for the morning.

(F. W. Aveling.)

People
David, Psalmist
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Indeed, Longs, Morning, Soul, Wait, Waiteth, Waits, Watch, Watchers, Watching, Watchmen, Yea, Yes
Outline
1. The psalmist professes his hope in prayer
5. And his patience in hope
7. He exhorts Israel to trust in God

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 130:6

     4918   dawn
     4954   morning
     5418   monotony
     5611   watchman

Psalm 130:1-6

     8613   prayer, persistence

Psalm 130:5-6

     8318   patience

Library
November the Thirtieth the Spring and the River
"With the Lord there is mercy." --PSALM cxxx. That is the ultimate spring. All the pilgrims of the night may meet at that fountain. We have no other common meeting-place. If we make any other appointment we shall lose one another on the way. But we can meet one another at the fountain, men of all colours, and of all denominations, and of all creeds. "By Thy mercy, O deliver us, good Lord!" "There is forgiveness with Thee." That is the quickening river. Sin and guilt scorch the fair garden of
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

Israel's Hope; Or, the Centre of the Target
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 thee, O Lord." Yet he lived to tell the tale of deliverance. His prayer from among the waves was a memory worth preserving, and he does preserve it. The mercy of God to him he weaves into a
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 37: 1891

'de Profundis'
PSALM cxxx. 1. Out of the deep have I cried unto thee, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice. What is this deep of which David speaks so often? He knew it well, for he had been in it often and long. He was just the sort of man to be in it often. A man with great good in him, and great evil; with very strong passions and feelings, dragging him down into the deep, and great light and understanding to show him the dark secrets of that horrible pit when he was in it; and with great love of God too, and of
Charles Kingsley—The Good News of God

My Savior, on the Word of Truth
"I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in His word do I hope." -- Psalm 130:5. My Savior, on the word of truth In earnest hope I live; I ask for all the precious things Thy boundless love can give. I look for many a lesser light About my path to shine; But chiefly long to walk with Thee, And only trust in Thine. In holy expectation held, Thy strength my heart shall stay, For Thy right hand will never let My trust be cast away. Yea, Thou hast kept me near Thy feet, In many a deadly strife,
Miss A. L. Waring—Hymns and Meditations

The Night Watch
Heinrich Suso Ps. cxxx. 6 Oh when shall the fair day break, and the hour of gladness come, When I to my heart's Beloved, to Thee, O my Lord, go home? O Lord, the ages are long, and weary my heart for Thee, For Thee, O my one Beloved, whose Voice shall call for me. I would see Thee face to face, Thou Light of my weary eyes, I wait and I watch till morning shall open the gate of the skies; The morn when I rise aloft, to my one, my only bliss, To know the smile of Thy welcome, the mystery of Thy kiss.
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others

Fervent Supplication. --Ps. cxxx.
Fervent Supplication.--Ps. cxxx. Out of the depths of woe, To Thee, O Lord! I cry; Darkness surrounds me, but I know That Thou art ever nigh. Then hearken to my voice, Give ear to my complaint; Thou bidst the mourning soul rejoice, Thou comfortest the faint. I cast my hope on Thee, Thou canst, Thou wilt forgive; Wert Thou to mark iniquity, Who in thy sight could live? Humbly on Thee I wait, Confessing all my sin; Lord, I am knocking at thy gate, Open and take me in. Like them, whose longing
James Montgomery—Sacred Poems and Hymns

My Soul with Patience Waits
[1192]Festal Song: William H. Walter, 1894 [1193]Swabia: Johann M. Spiess, 1745 Psalm 130 Tate and Brady, 1698 DOXOLOGY My soul with patience waits For thee, the living Lord: My hopes are on thy promise built, Thy never-failing word. My longing eyes look out For thy enlivening ray, More duly than the morning watch To spy the dawning day. Let Israel trust in God; No bounds his mercy knows; The plenteous source and spring from whence Eternal succour flows; Whose friendly streams to us Supplies
Various—The Hymnal of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the USA

On Perfection
"Let us go on to perfection." Heb. 6:1. The whole sentence runs thus: "Therefore, leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection: Not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God;" which he had just before termed, "the first principles of the oracles of God," and "meat fit for babes," for such as have just tasted that the Lord is gracious. That the doing of this is a point of the utmost importance the Apostle intimates in the next
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

"There is Therefore Now no Condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,
Rom. viii. 1.--"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, &c." All the promises are yea and amen in Christ Jesus; they meet all in him and from him are derived unto us. When man was in integrity, he was with God, and in God, and that immediately, without the intervention of a Mediator. But our falling from God hath made us without God, and the distance is so great, as Abraham speaks to the rich man, that neither can those above go down to him, nor he come up to them.
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Christian's Hope
Scripture references: 1 Timothy 1:1; Colossians 1:27; Psalm 130:5; 43:5; Proverbs 10:8; Acts 24:15; Psalm 71:5; Romans 5:1-5; 12:12; 15:4; 1 Corinthians 9:10; Galatians 5:5; Ephesians 1:18; Philippians 1:20; Colossians 1:5; 1 Thessalonians 1:3; 2:19; Titus 1:2; 2:13; 3:7; Psalm 31:24; 71:14,15. HOPE IN THE PRESENT LIFE That which a man ardently hopes for he strives to realize. If he desires fame, office or wealth he will seek to set forces in motion, here and now, which will bring him that which
Henry T. Sell—Studies in the Life of the Christian

Regeneration by Faith. Of Repentance.
1. Connection of this chapter with the previous one and the subsequent chapters. Repentance follows faith, and is produced by it. Reason. Error of those who take a contrary view. 2. Their First Objection. Answer. In what sense the origin of Repentance ascribed to Faith. Cause of the erroneous idea that faith is produced by repentance. Refutation of it. The hypocrisy of Monks and Anabaptists in assigning limits to repentance exposed. 3. A second opinion concerning repentance considered. 4. A third
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

Israel's Hope Encouraged;
OR, WHAT HOPE IS, AND HOW DISTINGUISHED FROM FAITH: WITH ENCOURAGEMENTS FOR A HOPING PEOPLE. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. 'Auspicious hope! in thy sweet garden grow Wreaths for each toil, a charm for every woe.' Christian hope is a firm expectation of all promised good, but especially of eternal salvation and happiness in heaven, where we shall be like the Son of God. This hope is founded on the grace, blood, righteousness, and intercession of Christ--the earnest of the Holy Spirit in our hearts,
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Out of the Deep of Sin.
Innumerable troubles are come about me. My sins have taken such hold upon me, that I am not able to look up; yea, they are more in number than the hairs of my head, and my heart hath failed me.--Ps. xl. 15. I acknowledge my faults, and my sin is ever before me. Against Thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight.--Ps. li. 3. I said, I will confess my sins unto the Lord; and so Thou forgavest the wickedness of my sin.--Ps. xxxii. 6. Blessed is the man whose iniquity is forgiven, and
Charles Kingsley—Out of the Deep

"That the Righteousness of the Law Might be Fulfilled in Us,"
Rom. viii. 4.--"That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us," &c. "Think not," saith our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, "that I am come to destroy the law,--I am come to fulfil it," Matt. v. 17. It was a needful caveat, and a very timeous advertisement, because of the natural misapprehensions in men's minds of the gospel. When free forgiveness of sins, and life everlasting, is preached in Jesus Christ, without our works; when the mercy of God is proclaimed in its freedom and fulness,
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Essence of Prayer.
"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints."--Ephes. vi. 18. In the last place we consider the work of the Holy Spirit in prayer. It appears from Scripture, more than has been emphasized, that in the holy act of prayer there is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit working both in us and with us. And yet this appears clearly from the apostolic word: "Likewise the Spirit helpeth also our infirmities: for
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Its Meaning
Deliverance from the condemning sentence of the Divine Law is the fundamental blessing in Divine salvation: so long as we continue under the curse, we can neither be holy nor happy. But as to the precise nature of that deliverance, as to exactly what it consists of, as to the ground on which it is obtained, and as to the means whereby it is secured, much confusion now obtains. Most of the errors which have been prevalent on this subject arose from the lack of a clear view of the thing itself, and
Arthur W. Pink—The Doctrine of Justification

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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