September 30, 2023: Psalm 130:6 - My Soul Waits for the Lord

“My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning - yes, more than those who watch for the morning.” - Psalm 130:6

Like many others, I have gone through many a night when I was in deep despair and the darkness of the night was all around me, and not only darkness of the night, but the darkness of my sin. The darkness had enveloped me and not only me but also my family, and I longed for the morning light to shine once again. Praying to God, calling out to Him, I longed for the light of day, when the morning sun would finally rise, splitting the darkness and causing it to fade, giving me hope, and giving me strength to face another day in Him. It was through many nights like this that I finally learned to trust in the Lord in all things and that He is my hope. He is the light of the world, and He is our only hope, for He is our salvation.

Let us read in full this psalm that acknowledges the depth of our sin but also the fullness of the mercy and grace of God:

“Out of the depths I have cried to You, O LORD: Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? 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. My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning - yes, more than those who watch for the morning. O Israel, hope in the LORD; for with the LORD there is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption. And He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.” (Psalm 130)

The Bible speaks of watchmen who sat on an exterior wall or in the tower of a town, watching and guarding it, ready to warn the people by blowing a trumpet in the event of an invading army:

“I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they shall never hold their peace day or night…” (Isaiah 62:6)

In the book of Ezekiel, God told the prophet Ezekiel that if the watchman did not do his job to warn the people and they died, then He would hold the watchman responsible for their death:

“Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: “When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.” So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me. When I say to the wicked, “O wicked man, you shall surely die!” and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul. Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: “Thus you say, ‘If our transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we pine away in them, how can we then live?’ Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’”’” (Ezekiel 33:1-11)

As this passage of Scripture tells us, it is the watchman’s job to warn the people of approaching danger, and specifically for Ezekiel, he was to warn the people to turn from their wicked ways and live. If a watchman warns them and they do not heed his words, then their blood is on themselves and not the watchman. If they do heed the warning, they will be saved. However, if the watchman does not warn them and they die, then they die in their sin and God will put their blood on the watchman, God will hold him accountable for their death.

Similarly, we, who have been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ and believe on Him for our salvation from our sins, are watchmen and women and are to warn unbelievers of approaching danger. That danger is if they don’t heed the warnings of the Bible to turn from their wicked ways and if they reject Jesus’ free gift of salvation, then they will surely die in their iniquity, in their sins, and will be cast into the lake of fire forever. While I know of no Scripture that speaks of Christians being held to account for people who reject the gospel, salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, we should have a desire in us to tell people about Jesus, to warn them and to tell them how He can save them and they won't die in their iniquity.

The Bible and Jesus Himself tells us to watch and be ready:

“Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Matthew 24:42-44)

“Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love.” (1 Corinthians 16:13-14)

“Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.” (1 Thessalonians 5:6)

Rather than being distracted and deceived by all that the world offers, with all of its sin that is concealed and dressed up as good but what the word of God, the Bible, reveals as evil, we as believers in Christ are to keep our focus on Jesus. As the psalmist wrote in this psalm, we are to wait on the Lord. God’s word is true, and has been proven to be true based on the many prophecies that were foretold hundreds and even thousands of years beforehand that were fulfilled with stunning accuracy.

As the passages of Ezekiel 33:1-11 told about, there truly is a sword coming upon the land that will take away all who refuse to heed the warnings of the trumpet sound. In this case, the trumpet sound is the warning of the word of God that salvation from sins is found alone in His Son Jesus Christ. This truth will bring division in the world, even in our homes, as each of us must decide if we are with Jesus Christ or against Him:

“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Jesus Christ; Matthew 10:34-39)

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:12-13)

“His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, ‘Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.’” (Revelation 1:14-18)

“Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:

KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” (Revelation 19:11-16)

“And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.” (Revelation 19:21)

As the watchmen on the wall who looked out for and warned the people of incoming danger may have grown weary and tired at the end of their watch, in the darkest of night as they waited for the sun to rise, so too may be many of us, who are believers in Christ, may be growing weary in these last days and hours before Jesus returns and executes His righteous judgment upon a wicked and evil world. We are sickened by all the wickedness that surrounds us and sorrowful at the same time, because we know those who ignore the watchmen’s call and who choose evil will live in it for all eternity. But let us remember, again and again, that as believers in Christ who are called children of God and whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, our hope is not in this world but in Him, the true Light:

“Woe is me! For I am like those who gather summer fruits, like those who glean vintage grapes; there is no cluster to eat of the first-ripe fruit which my soul desires, The faithful man has perished from the earth, and there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; every man hunts his brother with a net. That they may successfully do evil with both hands - the prince asks for gifts, the judge seeks a bribe, and the great man utters his evil desire; so they scheme together. The best of them is like a brier; the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge; the day of your watchman and your punishment comes; now shall be their perplexity. Do not trust in a friend; do not put your confidence in a companion; guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your bosom. For son dishonors father, daughter rises against her mother, daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own household. Therefore I will look to the LORD: I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.” (Micah 7:1-7)

“Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, just as we hope in You.” (Psalm 33:20-22)

“Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’” (John 8:12)

“But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” (Revelation 21:22-23)

“Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you; and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him.” (Isaiah 30:18) ✝️