Psalm 130:5-7

New Catholic Bible

Footnotes

1. Psalm 130:5 After noting that God liberally dispenses pardon, the psalmist expresses in splendid phrases his desire (indeed his certitude) of seeing God come close to him soon to grant him pardon. The words I wait for the Lord indicate that the psalmist ardently desires God and seeks to draw near to him with all his might. In patient waiting, faith looks up to the Lord to grant his grace (see Lam 3:25f). In anxious expectation: literally, “My soul waits”: see note on Ps 6:4. His word: especially his covenant promises (see Pss 119:25, 28, 37, 42, 49, 65, 74, 81, 107, 114, 147) and his word of pardon.
2. Psalm 130:6 The psalmist waits for the Lord with much greater anticipation and certitude than watchmen wait for the dawn when they will be relieved of duty after guarding the city from night attacks (see Ps 127:1). More than watchmen wait for the dawn: by this twofold repetition after a fourfold expression of “hope” in the Lord, the psalmist succeeds in inculcating a true sense of longing, dependence, and assurance.
3. Psalm 130:7 Like the psalmist, crushed by miseries, Israel must also hope and wait for the Lord. Rich in grace (compassionate and saving love) and redemption (pardon), God will redeem Israel from all temporal and spiritual miseries; he will deliver the people from all their misfortunes and sins as he delivered them from Egypt once before. The word redemption, at first applied to the deliverance from slavery in Egypt (see Ex 12:27), later designates every type of liberation, every form of salvation (see Pss 25:20; 31:5; 44:27; Isa 43:14); here it signifies the profound liberation effected by the forgiveness of sins. The New Testament uses the word in the same sense—the redemption wrought by Christ (see Lk 2:38; Rom 3:24; Eph 1:7; Col 1:14; Rev 5:9). Kindness: see note on Ps 6:5.