I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me.
The speaker confesses himself to be a stranger in the earth, one who has no secure belonging to this world. As such a stranger he pleads that divine commandments not be hidden or withheld from him. His plea expresses utter dependence on divine instruction to guide one who does not belong securely here.
The verse belongs to a psalm that exalts divine law and displays its sacredness. That psalm presents the divine Word as the rule of life. It is to be read with solemn earnestness as a warning that the wickedness of the world has reached the point where the Lord will certainly intervene.
The speaker confesses himself to be a stranger in the earth, one who has no secure belonging to this world. As such a stranger he pleads that divine commandments not be hidden or withheld from him. His plea expresses utter dependence on divine instruction to guide one who does not belong securely here.
The verse belongs to a psalm that exalts divine law and displays its sacredness. That psalm presents the divine Word as the rule of life. It is to be read with solemn earnestness as a warning that the wickedness of the world has reached the point where the Lord will certainly intervene.