Jesus throughout the Scriptures: Psalms 7 (5)
Pray Psalm 130.4, 5.
But there is forgiveness with You,
That You may be feared.
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
And in His word I do hope.
Sing Psalm 130.4, 5.
(Hamburg: When I Survey)
There is forgiveness, LORD, with You, that we may fear before Your face.
I wait for You; in Your Word most true I hope to find renewing grace.
Read Psalm 130.1-8; meditate on verses 5, 6.
Preparation
1. What was the psalmist seeking from the LORD?
2. How did he hope to attain to that?
Meditation
Simeon, a just and devout man, was described as “waiting for the Consolation of Israel”, that is, the Messiah (Lk. 2.25). He’d received a revelation from God telling him “that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (v. 26). But there was no indication precisely when that would be. Simeon’s way of waiting on the Lord was to live a just life—obeying the Law of God—and to pursue devotion to the Lord—by meditating in the temple, clinging to His Word and promises, and prayer. This is how all the faithful in Israel waited for the coming of the Messiah. It’s what we should do as well.
Waiting is a discipline God calls us to as a means of strengthening our soul. It begins in patient prayer, crying out to the Lord (vv. 1, 2). Waiting involves all the facets of the soul as a way of keeping us properly oriented. If we had to wait for nothing, but everything we desired was instantly ours, our soul would soon become corrupt by mere self-serving ways. We would take the Lord for granted and regard Him not as our exalted King and Lord (v. 3) but as a servant to meet all our needs and satisfy all our whims.
Waiting points the soul to God and His Word (v. 5) and strengthens faith and worship. Further, waiting is properly practiced in an attitude of hope (v. 7), based on the Word and promises of God. Waiting does not involve an attitude of mild irritation, as is so often associated with having to wait, but of eager and hopeful anticipation (v. 6). We trust in God’s reliability and love, and we hope and therefore wait for what He clearly reveals in His Word. Such waiting strengthens hope and hope shapes our character to know more of God’s redemption (v. 8), which is to be more like Jesus.
Wait on the Lord—to be more like Him and to be raised with Him in His coming—and hope in His Word. Like Simeon, You will not be disappointed.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162.
“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven…
But to you who fear My Name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings…” (Mal. 4.1, 2).
The Promise of JESUS.
And then there was silence, for four hundred years.
But God’s people, like Simeon, were waiting. Patiently. And they were not disappointed.
“So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations. Now the birth of JESUS CHRIST was as follows…And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His Name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins…Immanuel, which is translated, ‘God with us’…and he called His Name JESUS” (Matt. 1.17, 18, 21, 23, 25).
Active waiting is faith in action.
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11.1).
God made Sarah wait until she was physically unable to bear children, to bear her child Isaac.
And she was deemed faithful because she waited, and she “judged Him faithful Who had promised” (Heb. 11.11)
When we lack the ability to wait, we lack faith. When we can’t wait, we do not please God.
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11.6). By waiting.
If we understood everything…where would our faith be?
Every nook and cranny of the psalmist was waiting for God. And he made sure to point that out:
“I wait for the LORD,
My soul waits,
And in His Word I do hope.
My soul waits for the LORD” (Ps. 130.5, 6).
And while we, like the psalmist, actively wait, we work and do of God’s good pleasure (Phil. 2.12, 13).
“LORD, I hope for Your salvation, and I do Your commandments” (Ps. 119.166).
“…blessed are all who wait for Him” (Is. 30.18).
“And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,
so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.
To those who eagerly wait for Him
He will appear a second time,
apart from sin,
for salvation” (Heb. 9.27, 28).
Definitely worth the wait!
Reflection
1. What activities are involved in waiting on the Lord?
2. Why does the Lord choose to make us wait on Him for things He has clearly promised?
3. What can you do to help a fellow believer learn to wait on the Lord?
Let all that devote themselves to the Lord, cheerfully stay themselves on him. This redemption is redemption from all sin. Jesus Christ saves his people from their sins, both from the condemning and from the commanding power of sin. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Psalm 130.5-8
Pray Psalm 130.1-3, 6-8.
Call on the Lord to give you patience in waiting on Him. Mention the things you’re waiting for—a clearer and more compelling vision of Jesus, greater sanctification, strength for today, help for a friend. Then resolve before Him to wait and hope in Him.
Sing Psalm 130.1-3, 6-8).
(Hamburg: When I Survey)
Out of the depths I cry to You, LORD! LORD, hear my voice; have mercy on me!
Who can resist Your powerful Word if You should mark iniquity?
More than the watchmen wait for the day, eagerly seeking the morning light,
I wait for You and earnestly pray, hoping in You with all my might.
Hope in the LORD, with Jesus is love! Plenteous redemption abounds in His face.
He will redeem us, who rules from above; He will forgive us by His grace.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
For more teaching about the subject of this series, “Jesus throughout the Scriptures”, download our free ReVision study, “We Would See Jesus”, by clicking here.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
