Psalm 130:5-6 Now Available feat. Joel Limpic & Hannah Glavor

Dec 27

Psalm 130:5-6 is now available on all streaming platforms!

THE VERSE

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
    and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
    more than watchmen for the morning,
    more than watchmen for the morning

Waiting.

It’s an inevitable reality for the human being. In fact, to be human is to wait. Whether we like it or not, each of us was enrolled in the school of waiting the day we were born. Though the waiting takes on different forms throughout our lives and in different seasons, it’s waiting nonetheless. From waiting to be fed as a child, to waiting for the school bus, all the way to waiting for a diagnosis or biopsy, each us us must wait. Though we all do it, nearly none of us are all that great at it. All humans wait differently, some are better at it than others.

In the Christian calendar, the season of Advent is an invitation to wait, and in that waiting, to wait well.

In the Christian calendar, the season of Advent is an invitation to wait, and in that waiting, to wait well. Biblical waiting isn’t some passive white knuckled endeavor, but rather an intentionally surrendered heart that actively places its trust and hope in a Person, not a particular outcome. The psalmist who penned Psalm 130 tells us that like us, they’re waiting too. In their case, for God Himself. We’re not sure the exact details of what they were waiting and crying out for, but we know they’re crying “out of the depths” with “pleas for mercy” (see verses 1-2 of Psalm 130)!

The psalmist tells us in verse 5 that they’re waiting for God, but it’s a particular kind of waiting: while waiting, they were also hoping in His word. In today’s culture, “hope” is generally associated with someone who’s optimistic and says phrases like, “I hope everything works out” or “I’m trying to stay hopeful” but doesn’t give us the reason for this hope. Biblical hope is a form our faith takes that banks on God being Who He said He’d be and doing what He said He’d do in the future. Godly hope banks on the fact that though the night may be dark and seemingly never ending, the morning will eventually come!

This invites us into the final picture of verse 6. The psalmist tells us they’re waiting for God “more than watchmen for the morning.” So much so, the phrase is repeated twice! What is this watchmen language in reference to? At the time this was written, watchmen were sentinels of sorts for towns or military outposts, and their one job description was to stand post all night while keeping an eye out for possible dangers lurking in the darkness while also watching for the coming dawn. A few years ago, I helped organize an art show themed around Advent and I invited those participating to pull an all-nighter with me culminating in a “dawn watch” on a rooftop where we all gazed east and sat waiting. We sat in silence longing for the sun to finally rise, and rise it did. In a much smaller way, I learned what the longing of the watchmen may have felt like.

We sat in silence longing for the sun to finally rise, and rise it did.

More than watchmen wait for the morning, what are you eagerly waiting for? Whose word or words are you hoping in? May this season of Advent be one where we learn to wait well for God, hoping and banking on the promises of God and trusting that He will eventually come in glory. Until that day, may we wait for Him “more than watchmen”...

The Song & The Artist

Written by Joel Limpic, Hannah Glavor, and Aaron Strumpel. Sung by Joel Limpic and Hannah Glavor as the third installment for our Advent 2022 release where we’ll be memorizing the entirety of Psalm 130.

What was the writing process like?

I originally wrote the first half of the song just before Hannah came into town when we recorded this EP for Psalm 130. When we were doing our first writing session, she had me slow down some of the phrasing and make people “wait” for the full phrasing of the verses. This gave the song more of a patient feel and flow. We also intentionally built in time of waiting and meditating both with words but also instrumentally. While recording, we added a “selah” moment of sorts toward the end of the song with an almost Sigur Ros-y type vibe that invites us to do the very thing the psalmist was asking us to do: wait, hope, and long.

Anything else you’d want to share?

I hope Advent season cultivates in us a re-direction of what we’re waiting for as well as a hopefulness in our waiting. That we wait and hope in a God who’s perfect in all His ways and whose character is eternally consistent. While we wait in vain for some things or people, there’s never waiting in vain for God. In His word we hope! Because of that, may we be like watchmen and women waiting for the morning because He will come again.