Commentary on Psalms Volume 3 John Calvin (continued)
Psalm 130
PSALM 130
Whether the Prophet in this Psalm prays in his own name in particular, or represents the whole Church, it is manifest, that finding himself overwhelmed with adversities, he supplicates deliverance with passionate ardor. And while acknowledging that he is justly chastised by the hand of God, he encourages himself and all genuine believers to cherish good hope, since God is the everlasting deliverer of his people, and has always in readiness the means of effecting their rescue from death.
A Song of Degrees.
Psalm 130:1-4
1. Out of the deep places have I cried to thee, O Jehovah 2. O Lord hear my voice; let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my prayers 3. If thou, O God shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord who shall stand? 4. But with thee there is forgiveness that thou mayest be feared.
1. Out of the deep places have I cried to thee, O Jehovah! It is to be noticed that the Prophet speaks of himself as sending forth his voice, as it were from out of a deep gulf, 559 feeling himself overwhelmed with calamities. As the miseries to which there is no prospect of a termination commonly
The depths or deep gulfs are used in Scripture as an emblem of extreme danger or calamity, whether of body or of mind. See Psalm 69:2, 15. "The Papists, taking the deep as a type of purgatory, recite this Psalm in the persons of those who have died in their communion." — Cresswell. To this Calvin afterwards adverts.