What does Psalm 130:8 mean?

The twelve tribes of Israel descended from Jacob, to whom God gave a new name (Genesis 32:28). Nations were sometimes referred to using the name of their founder (Numbers 24:17; Isaiah 59:20). Jacob, named Israel, certainly had sins of his own which needed forgiveness (Genesis 27:35–36). The real fulfillment of this idea comes in the Lord's promise to send a Messiah for the people of Israel (Psalm 25:22; Isaiah 53:11).

God set Israel free from slavery in Egypt using the metaphor of a spotless lamb (Exodus 12). And He has redeemed—set free from sin and its penalty— believers at the cost of His Son Jesus' blood. Peter writes: "You were ransomed…with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot" (1 Peter 1:18–19). Israel's future redemption includes triumph over all foes, cleansing from sin, and permanent possession of the Promised Land (Isaiah 11; Zechariah 12:10—14:21). The apostle Paul writes about the full redemption of Israel. In Romans 11:26 he predicts, "All Israel will be saved."

Christians, too, look forward to full redemption, when they will be free from the presence of sin and have new bodies like the body of the risen Lord and Savior (Philippians 3:20–21).