Psalms 130:0 ¶ A Song of degrees.
Three times each year the men of Israel were to come to the temple and present themselves before the Lord.
Deuteronomy 16:16 “Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty….”
Many believe that these fifteen Psalms that are called the songs of degrees (elevation, journey to a higher place, go up) because they were to be sung as they ascended the temple mount.
Guzik: “Psalm 130 begins with a personal testimony of God’s rescue from the depths of guilt and awareness of sin, and ascends step by step up to giving confidence to others in their trust in God.”
Psalms 130:1 ¶ Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD.
The psalmist was inspired to write this psalm during a time of deep sorrow and depression. Context indicates that he is suffering from the guilt of sin but is confident that he will find forgiveness.
Spurgeon: “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.”
Psalms 130:2 Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.
He calls out for the LORD to pay attention to his cries for help.
Psalms 130:3 If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?
Psalms 130:4 But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.
As he prays, the psalmist recognizes that without God’s forgiveness, man has no hope. To be able to receive God’s forgiveness is a strong motivation to fear and reverence the LORD.
Psalms 130:5 ¶ I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.
Psalms 130:6 My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.
The psalmist is determined to wait for the LORD’s forgiveness based on the truth of His word. While he is waiting, he is eagerly anticipating the peace that comes with forgiveness.
These verses made me think of the words of Jeremiah:
Lamentations 3:22–23 “It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”
Spurgeon: “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.”
Wiersbe: “This is not the waiting of hopeless resignation but of hopeful anticipation for each new day brings new blessings from His hand.”
Psalms 130:7 Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.
Psalms 130:8 And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
He closes with a prayer that the people of Israel continue to place their faith in the LORD, knowing that such faith will result in His mercy and “plenteous” redemption. The Hebrew for “plenteous” makes reference to “exceeding… continuous…the process of time.” This implies that such mercy and redemption will be needed since man and nation can expect to fall into sin over and over again. The psalmist was well aware of this truth. Under the sacrificial system, the need for continued forgiveness was vividly impressed upon the people every time they brought the sacrificial animal to the priest in repentance of their sin.
We are so blessed to know that we are permanently declared righteous in Jesus when we accept Him as our Savior by faith. I fear we often take that privilege for granted. We need to have an acute of awareness of Jesus on the cross suffering the judgment we deserve for each and every sin we commit—big or small.
Interesting historical note from McGee: “Martin Luther was asked what were the best psalms. He answered by saying ‘Psalmi Paulini,’ the Pauline psalms. When they wanted to know what the Pauline psalms were, he replied, ‘The thirty-second, the fifty-first, the one hundred and thirtieth, and the one hundred and forty-third.’ He explained that these psalms teach us that the forgiveness of sins is vouchsafed to all who believe without having any works of the law to offer. Therefore, they are Pauline psalms."
Psa. 131:0 A Song of degrees of David.
Three times each year the men of Israel were to come to the temple and present themselves before the Lord.
Deuteronomy 16:16 “Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty….”
Many believe that these fifteen Psalms that are called the songs of degrees (elevation, journey to a higher place, go up) because they were to be sung as they ascended the temple mount.
Psa. 131:1 LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me.
Again, as most often in the psalms, this psalm is addressed to the LORD, YHWH, the self-existent eternal God.
David positions himself in humility before God. He is guarding his heart and his eyes. Pride is most apt to rear its ugly head if we begin to think of ourselves as more worthy than others or allow ourselves to become tempted through a desire for recognition or a desire for something that appeals to us through our eyes. Isn’t that what happened to Eve? The Psalmist is recognizing his limitations and not pretending to know more than he does.
David’s recognition of God’s hatred of pride and its harmful consequences in one’s life is evidently an area in which he trained Solomon well. The Proverbs are full of this truth.
Proverbs 6:16-17 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look….”
Proverbs 11:2 “When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.
Proverbs 16:5 “Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD….”
Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”
In my opinion, pride is the root of all sin. Any decision or choice we make that goes against God’s revealed will in His word is a sin of pride; we are in essence saying that we know better than God what is right.
I couldn’t help but think of the words of the prophet Micah.
Micah 6:8 “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
Psa. 131:2 Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.
David goes on to describe himself as a quiet, contented little child. The Hebrew for the word “behaved” also included the idea of being submissive.
Courson: “Babies cry for attention—for constant feeding and soothing. But the weaned child learns to trust that at the right time, he’ll be fed. So too, David is saying, ‘I know that the Lord will provide, bless, and work. So I’m just going to trust my Father that at the right time, He’ll minister to my need.’”
Psa. 131:3 Let Israel hope in the LORD from henceforth and for ever.
The connection seems to be that David’s desire is that Israel will imitate his attitude before YHWH, their heavenly Father. His desire is that they are as submissive, contented children before God forever. Sad to say, this desire of David’s was not to be fulfilled.