Psalm 130 (129):8Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

For He possesses unfathomable goodness and boundless mercy, which we can all be made worthy of through the grace and compassion of our Lord Jesus Christ, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit, deserves glory forever and ever. Amen.

He who perceives himself lost in despair cries out, groaning and lamenting, until he is rescued from the depths and arrives at the One who reigns above all abysses. Those who dwell deep in the abyss often do not even utter a cry from their depths. Scriptures remind us, “When the wicked reaches the depths of wickedness, he scoffs” (Proverbs 18:3). Therefore, let us consider what a profound abyss it is where God is disregarded. When every person feels weighed down by daily transgressions, burdened by the immense loads of wickedness, if they are told to "Pray to God," they merely scoff. In what way? They might say, “If offenses displeased God, would I still be alive?” If God were concerned with humanity's affairs, considering the multitude of my transgressions, how could I still live or even prosper? This is the common sentiment among those deep in the abyss who thrive in their wickedness; for deceptive pleasures are, in reality, a grave misfortune.

O Lord, hear my voice; let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my cry (Psalm 129:2). Where does he cry out from? From the depths. Who is crying? The sinner. And what optimism fills his tears? Because He who came to forgive sins has granted hope even to the sinner in despair. What follows these words is, “If You, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?” (Psalm 129:3). Thus, he reveals the burdens under which he cries. He does not say, “I cannot endure it,” but rather, “who can endure it?” For he recognizes that nearly all of human existence is troubled on every side by sin, that every conscience is tormented by its own thoughts, making it impossible to discover a pure heart resting in its own righteousness.

But why then is there hope? Because with You there is forgiveness (Psalm 129:4). And what is forgiveness but a sacrifice? And what is sacrifice if not made on our behalf? The shedding of innocent blood has atoned for all the faults of the guilty; such a high price has redeemed all captives from their oppressor. Therefore, You possess a means of atonement. For had You not shown mercy, had You chosen only to judge and withheld Your compassion, You would have taken note of all our iniquities and sought them out. Who could withstand it? Who could stand before You and claim to be innocent? Who could resist Your judgment? Thus, there is but one hope: for the sake of Your law, I have given birth to You, O Lord. What law? The one that has made mankind guilty. A law, which is holy, just, and good (Romans 7:12), was given to the Jews, but ultimately led to their guilt. No law was granted to bestow life (Galatians 3:21) but rather to expose the sinner’s transgressions. The sinner, having lost sight of himself, must be awakened to his state; the law was provided for him to see himself anew. The law rendered him guilty, while the Lawgiver offers freedom; the Lawgiver embodies supreme authority.

Thus, there exists a law of God’s mercy, a law of God’s atonement. One manifests as a law of fear, the other as a law of love. The law of love grants forgiveness of sins, wipes away the past, and cautions about the future; it does not abandon its companion along the journey but accompanies those it guides. However, it remains essential to negotiate with the adversary while traversing his domain (Matthew 5:25). For the Word of God serves as your adversary until you come into agreement with Him. You find agreement when you take pleasure in fulfilling what the Word of God commands. Thus, your former adversary transforms into a friend, and when the journey concludes, no one will be there to lead you to the Judge. Therefore, for the sake of Your law, I have eagerly awaited You, O Lord, for You have chosen to establish the law of mercy, forgiving me my sins and providing me with a warning for the future so that I do not offend.

For this law, I trust in You, Lord. I have anticipated Your coming to rescue me from every necessity, for even in my need, You have not abandoned the law of mercy. My soul has longed for Your word.

Therefore, we trust without fear in the word of Him who cannot lie. My soul has hoped in the Lord from the morning watch until night (Psalm 129:5). This morning watch signifies the end of the night. We must grasp this to avoid assuming that we should depend on the Lord for only one day. What do these words signify, brethren? They assert that the Lord, through whom our sins are pardoned, rose from the dead at the dawn of day, instilling in us the hope that what was realized in the Lord shall also be realized in us. For our sins are already forgiven, yet we have not yet risen; if we have not risen, what occurred previously in our Head has not yet been manifested within us. What occurred previously in our Head? The flesh of that Head has been resurrected; did the Spirit of that Head die? That which died in Him has been restored to life. He rose on the third day as if the Lord were telling us, “What you have seen in Me, hope for in yourselves; that is, since I have risen from the dead, you too shall rise.”

Yet some may claim, “Look, the Lord has risen; but must I also hope for my own resurrection?” Indeed, that is precisely why; for the Lord rises with what He has received from you. He would not have resurrected unless He had first died, and He could not have died had He not taken on flesh. What did the Lord require of you? Flesh. What was the One who came? The Word of God, who existed before all creation and through whom all things were made. In order to obtain something from you, the Word became flesh and dwelled among us. He received from you all that He could offer you; as a priest receives from you what he can present on your behalf when you seek to appease God for your sins. This has already been accomplished in this manner. Our Priest accepted from us what He could present for our benefit: for He received from us flesh, in that very flesh He became a sacrifice, He was made a burnt offering, He was offered up. In His Passion, He was sacrificed; and in the Resurrection, He revived what was slain and presented it as His offspring to God, and He declares unto you, “All of yourselves are now consecrated, for such offspring have been offered to God; therefore, hope that the same events will occur in you as previously experienced in your offspring.”

Since He rose at the dawn of day, our souls began to hope from that point onward; but how far does this hope extend? Even until night; until our demise, for all our mortal death is akin to a sleep.

He returns to this, “From the morning watch let Israel hope in the Lord.” Let Israel not only hope, but do so from the morning watch. Do I then condemn the hope of the world when it is placed in the Lord? No; but there is another hope that belongs to Israel. Let Israel not hope for wealth as its greatest good, nor for good health, nor for the abundance of earthly possessions: indeed, he must endure tribulations here, if he is to face any misfortunes for the sake of truth.

For the Lord shows mercy, and great is His redemption (Psalm 129:7). This proclamation could not have been better articulated elsewhere than through the phrase, “From the morning watch.” Why? Because the Lord has risen at daybreak; thus the body should anticipate what was first realized in the Head. But lest such thoughts arise: the Head may rise since He was unburdened by sin, and He knew no sin; what shall we do? Shall we expect a resurrection like that of the Lord while we are weighed down by our sins? Look at what follows: “And He shall redeem Israel from all their iniquities” (Psalm 129:8). Even if he is troubled by his sins, the mercy of God is accessible to him. For this reason, He advanced ahead without sin to erase the sins of those who follow Him. Do not put your faith in yourselves, but instead hope in the morning watchman.

Who can relieve our poverty except the One who is incapable of poverty? Who can rectify all our failures? It is also suitable that the Prophet declared: “You, Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon You” (Psalm 85:5). Therefore, it is fitting to add: “And He has abundant deliverance;” for the mercy of God, which resolved to extend grace to humanity while upholding truth, fashioned a means to redeem all those in captivity. This means was found in the sacrifice of the blood of His only begotten Son. Humanity could succumb to sin and, by divine justice, be handed to the adversary as a tormentor, having consented to wrongdoing, yet could not redeem itself nor escape the hold of the devil. Hence, what humanity could not achieve, God's grace accomplished, redeeming us through the blood of the Only Begotten, as the Apostle Peter affirmed: “We were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:18, 19). This redemption was established with God when this psalm was composed, grounded in His eternal wisdom and sovereign decree; yet now the redemption of the captives is continually manifested. The liberation foretold by the Prophet was not from the dominion of earthly kings, as the carnal Jews believed, but from sin and transgressions. Therefore, it is appropriate to conclude, “And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.” The angel of the Lord, conveying to Joseph the message about Jesus Christ, affirmed this with the proclamation, “You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). This deliverance, having commenced, will be consummated more fully when we are liberated not only from our sins but also from the consequences of sin, ultimately freeing us from the very threat of sinning, in alignment with the words of the Prophet Daniel: “Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness” (Daniel 9:24).

However, this is not the full story (as suggested in v. 3); for the Lord is a God who purifies transgressions (Thou hast purification) and has bestowed upon His people the law, establishing a covenant that assures they will not be entirely forsaken, despite their sinfulness, but will be chastened with mercy. In light of this covenant (for Thy name's sake - ενεκεν του ονοματος σου, possibly derived from ενεκεν του νόμου σου, as rendered in the Vulgate: propter legem tuam), the Jews previously believed that God could not abandon them because His temple, their symbol, was in Jerusalem. However, with the destruction of the temple, the law became their sole advantage over the Gentiles; it is only natural that they placed their hopes in the possession of the law. Israel, therefore, confidently and patiently relies on the Lord, seeking the help requested; particularly since He has promised through His prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc.)—the word "your" in v. 4 signifies a promise—that He would show mercy to His people after their punishment. The people, in their current sorrowful condition, must not lose heart or cease to trust in the Lord from dawn until dusk (v. 5); for He is compassionate and abounding in ways to secure our salvation (He has much deliverance); He will surely remove their guilt from Israel and with it their affliction (v. 6).

The faithful endure hardships in the name of Christ, clinging to the promise of future blessings and the hope of salvation. The soul that places its trust in the Word of the Lord deserves the highest praise for its perseverance, demonstrated through faith, diligent work, fasting, detachment from possessions and loved ones, entry into tranquility, ongoing prayer, and the fulfillment of God's will. The ancients referred to the segments of the night as watches, dividing it into four parts, each lasting three hours; thus, the final watch before dawn was known as the morning watch. Therefore, trusting in the Lord from the morning to the night encapsulates the entirety of one’s day, emphasizing the necessity of faith throughout life. Inspired by the Spirit, Saint David urges that one should strive for salvation and trust in the Lord from the very dawn of youth until the end of life. By describing this cycle from morning to night and back again, the prophet underscores the importance of continuous trust in the Lord without any hour left unoccupied by faith. The grace of the Lord refers to the incarnation of Christ, which has provided abundant salvation to humanity. Those who believe in Christ receive redemption through His blood.