Chapter Text
129:1 A gradual canticle. Out of the depths I have cried to thee, O Lord:
129:2 Lord, hear my voice. Let thy ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.
129:3 If thou, O Lord, wilt mark iniquities: Lord, who shall stand it.
129:4 For with thee there is merciful forgiveness: and by reason of thy law, I have waited for thee, O Lord. My soul hath relied on his word:
129:5 my soul hath hoped in the Lord.
129:6 From the morning watch even until night, let Israel hope in the Lord.
129:7 Because with the Lord there is mercy: and with him plentiful redemption.
129:8 And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "mercy", "iniquities", "gradual", "canticle", "depths", "cried", "thee", and "lord". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "mercy" and "iniquities", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The local DRB text gives this verse as the immediate unit, so "mercy" and "iniquities" carries the first interpretive weight. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "mercy" and "iniquities" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.