Waiting Upon the Lord with Hope and Expectation
Waiting Upon the Lord with Hope and Expectation
The psalmist declares, "I am waiting for the Lord, my soul is waiting for him, and my hope is in his word" [1]. This posture of waiting—active, expectant, grounded in divine promise—runs throughout Scripture as a defining mark of faith. It is not passive resignation but a disciplined orientation toward God as the source of all provision, deliverance, and ultimate fulfillment.
The Object of Waiting
Scripture identifies God in multiple aspects as the proper object of this waiting. Believers wait upon him "as the God of providence" and "as the God of salvation," as well as "the Giver of all temporal blessings" [4]. The scope is comprehensive: mercy, pardon, guidance, protection, the fulfillment of his word and promises [4]. The patriarchs and prophets waited for the coming Messiah and the salvation he would bring [9], while New Testament believers wait "for the blessed hope and manifestation of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ" [2]. This eschatological dimension—waiting for Christ's return—appears as a central Christian expectation [4, 6].
The act of waiting is not merely anticipation of future events but includes present realities: "his gracious presence and the light of his countenance," deliverance from distress, answers to prayer, and the application of pardoning grace [8]. One commentator notes that believers wait "for his spiritual coming, his appearance to them, and gracious presence with them" [9], indicating that waiting encompasses both immediate communion and ultimate consummation.
The Character of Waiting
Biblical waiting is marked by earnest expectation [10]. The psalmist's language intensifies this: "I wait for the Lord; from him I expect relief and comfort, believing it will come, longing till it does come, but patiently bearing the delay of it, and resolving to look for it from no other hand" [14]. The phrase "my soul doth wait" emphasizes sincerity over mere profession [14], suggesting that authentic waiting engages the whole person.
Patience is intrinsic to this posture. Believers are to wait "patiently and quietly," recognizing that "God having his set time" for his purposes [8]. The connection between patience and waiting appears repeatedly: patience is to be exercised "waiting for God" and "waiting for Christ" [6]. This patience produces experience and hope [6], creating a cycle in which waiting strengthens the very hope that sustains it.
The exclusive nature of this waiting receives emphasis: "My soul, wait thou only upon God" [11]. Hope "does not confide in frail and changeable human beings but only in the Lord" [12]. The sufferer "entrusts himself to God while waiting for the Lord's justice" [12], indicating that waiting involves active trust rather than mere temporal suspension.
The Ground of Hope
What sustains this waiting is confidence in God's character and word. The psalmist waits because "my expectation is from him" [11]—both the grace of hope itself and the thing hoped for originate with God [11]. Hope finds its anchor in divine promise: "my hope is in his word" [1]. The fulfillment of God's word and promises stands as a specific object of waiting [4], suggesting that biblical hope is not wishful thinking but confidence in revealed commitment.
The church expresses "her expectation, faith, and joy" through waiting, grounded in God's attributes and actions [9]. This waiting is described as good [4], and God himself calls his people to it [4]. The godly "find hope, rest, and quietness as they await the Lord" [13], indicating that waiting, far from producing anxiety, yields peace rooted in trust.
Even Hebrew names encode this theology: Hachaliah means "who waits for the Lord" [3], Jahleel "waiting for, or beseeching, or hope in, God" [5], and Jekuthiel "hope, or congregation, of the Lord" [7]. These names suggest that waiting and hoping were understood as fundamental postures of covenant relationship, worthy of being inscribed in personal identity.
Sources
- Psalms “Psalms 130:5 (BBE) — I am waiting for the Lord, my soul is waiting for him, and my hope is in his word.”
- Titus “Titus 2:13 (YLT) — waiting for the blessed hope and manifestation of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ,”
- Hitchcock's Bible Names “Hitchcock's Bible Names: Hachaliah — who waits for the Lord”
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Waiting Upon God — As the God of providence -- Jer 14:22. As the God of salvation -- Ps 25:5. As the Giver of all temporal blessings -- Ps 104:27,28; Ps 145:15,16. For Mercy. -- Ps 123:2. Pardon. -- Ps 39:7,8. The consolation of Israel. -- Lu 2:25. Salvation. -- Ge 49:18; Ps 62:1,2. Guidance and teaching. -- Ps 25:5. Protection. -- Ps 33:20; 59:9,10. The fulfillment of His word. -- Hab 2:3. The fulfillment of His promises. -- Ac 1:4. Hope of righteous by faith. -- Ga 5:5. Coming of Christ. -- 1Co 1:7; 1Th 1:10. Is good -- Ps 52:9. God calls us to -- Zep 3:8. Exhortat”
- Hitchcock's Bible Names “Hitchcock's Bible Names: Jahleel — waiting for, or beseeching, or hope in, God”
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Patience — God, is the God of -- Ro 15:5. Christ, an example of -- Isa 53:7; Ac 8:32; Mt 27:14. Enjoined -- Tit 2:2; 2Pe 1:6. Should have its perfect work -- Jas 1:4. Trials of saints lead to -- Ro 5:3; Jas 1:3. Produces Experience. -- Ro 5:4. Hope. -- Ro 15:4. Suffering with, for well-doing, is acceptable with God -- 1Pe 2:20. To be exercised Running the race set before us. -- Heb 12:1. Bringing forth fruits. -- Lu 8:15. Well-doing. -- Ro 2:7; Ga 6:9. Waiting for God. -- Ps 37:7; 40:1. Waiting for Christ. -- 1Co 1:7; 2Th 3:5. Waiting for the hope of the gospel. -- R”
- Hitchcock's Bible Names “Hitchcock's Bible Names: Jekuthiel — hope, or congregation, of the Lord”
- Psalms (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Psalms 130:4: I wait for the Lord,.... For his gracious presence and the light of his countenance, being in darkness, as well as in the deep; for his salvation and deliverance out of the depths of distress; for an answer of prayer, having cried unto him for application of pardoning grace he had some view and hopes of; and for the performance of promises the Lord had made to him; and for eternal glory and happiness: all which are to be patiently and quietly waited for, God having his set time to do them; and may be confidently expected, since he is gracious and merciful, wise and p”
- Psalms (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Psalms 33:20: Our soul waiteth for the Lord,.... This, and what follows, are the words of the church, expressing her expectation, faith, and joy, by reason of what is suggested in the preceding verses. She signifies her expectation of good by waiting for the Lord; either for his coming in the flesh, and salvation by him; for which the patriarchs, prophets, and all the Old Testament saints, waited, Gen 49:18; and so the Targum paraphrases it, "our soul waiteth for the redemption of the Lord"; or for his spiritual coming, his appearance to them, and gracious presence with them, he h”
- Psalms (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Psalms 33:20: waiteth--in earnest expectation.”
- Psalms (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Psalms 62:5: My soul, wait thou only upon God,.... Be silent and subject to him, acquiesce in his providences, rest in him patiently and quietly, wait for his salvation; See Gill on Psa 62:1; perhaps some new temptation might arise, and David's soul began to be uneasy and impatient; for frames are very changeable things; and therefore he encourages it to be still and quiet, and patiently wait on the Lord, and on him only: for my expectation is from him; or "my hope", as the Targum; the grace of hope is from the Lord, and the thing hoped for is from him; he is the author and the ”
- Psalms (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Psalms 31:14: 31:14-18 Hope does not confide in frail and changeable human beings but only in the Lord. The sufferer entrusts himself to God while waiting for the Lord’s justice.”
- Psalms (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Psalms 9:18: 9:18 Hope requires waiting for the Lord’s rescue or justice (25:3, 5, 21). The godly find hope, rest, and quietness as they await the Lord (see 1:6; 27:14).”
- Psalms (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Psalms 130:5: Here, I. The psalmist engages himself to trust in God and to wait for him, Psa 130:5, Psa 130:6. Observe, 1. His dependence upon God, expressed in a climax, it being a a song of degrees, or ascents: "I wait for the Lord; from him I expect relief and comfort, believing it will come, longing till it does come, but patiently bearing the delay of it, and resolving to look for it from no other hand. My soul doth wait; I wait for him in sincerity, and not in profession only. I am an expectant, and it is for the Lord that my soul waits, for the gifts of his grace and th”