CXXX. It is the soul of the people which here throws itself on the Divine forgiveness, waiting for deliverance as one waiteth for the dawn. Psalms 130:7, which are evidently taken up by the full choir, leave no doubt of the national character of the psalm. But the strong _personal_ feeling breathed... [ Continue Reading ]
OUT OF THE DEPTHS. — A recurrent image for overwhelming distress (Psalms 18:16; Psalms 88:7; also Psalms 69:2, where the same Hebrew word occurs). It is used literally in Isaiah 51:10 for the sea.... [ Continue Reading ]
IF THOU. — The word rendered “mark” is “watch” in Psalms 130:6. If “Jah” were to watch for men’s lapses, as one watches for the dawn, nothing but signal punishment could follow. So Job (Job 10:14; Job 14:16) actually believed God did watch; while the prophets Jeremiah (Jeremiah 3:5) and Amos (Amos 1... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT. — Rather, _for,_ marking an ellipse easily supplied. Israel’s sense of Jehovah’s readiness to forgive was too deep to need expression, it was understood; “Thou wilt not mark, &c, for...” FORGIVENESS. — The article in the original may be more than that common with abstract nouns. “The forgivene... [ Continue Reading ]
I WAIT. — The Hebrew expresses, _I have been waiting, and still wait._ Mark the earnestness in the repetition, _I wait, my soul waits. _... [ Continue Reading ]
WATCH FOR THE MORNING. — Comp. Psalms 123:2 for another figure of the same earnest upward gaze. In the “watcher for the dawn” there may be an allusion to the Levite-sentinel whose duty it was to signal the first ray of dawn, and the moment for commencing the sacred rites of the Temple (Psalms 134:1)... [ Continue Reading ]
LET ISRAEL. — Rather (as in Prayer-Book), _Hope Israel in Jehovah._ It is the watchword of faith addressed to the nation. (Comp. Psalms 131:3 for a rarer form of it.)... [ Continue Reading ]
HE. — Emphatic. He and only He. The redemption must not be limited to the _consequences_ of _iniquity,_ though including these. The psalm belongs to the age of true national contrition, when nothing would satisfy but deliverance from sin, as well as from its punishment. This appears decisively from... [ Continue Reading ]