Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.
It is a cry for God to hear and to turn in abundant mercy because His lovingkindness is good, spoken by one weary with sorrow, sunk deep and filled with reproach while waiting for His word to scatter the darkness. In deep trouble it is to be prayed on the ground of His goodness and past favor, joined to trust rather than to complaint or murmuring. The psalm's burden belongs first to David and finally and antitypically to Christ, whose life its petitions and sufferings prefigure, though not every verse can be read as literally true of Him. In that light the plea belongs to the prophecy of His betrayal, condemnation and crucifixion, giving His inner experience when the sins of the world rested upon Him and He shared human weakness and sickness unto death. In the teaching of those who held it otherwise, it is a simple record of David's experience that touches Jesus only where His history runs parallel to David's, yet God's people may still pray it with assurance when their circumstances call for it, since the triumph Christ won is also won for His children.
Setting and Meaning
The verse is a prayer for God to hear and to turn His mercies toward the sufferer because His lovingkindness is good. It is spoken while waiting to hear His word and asking Him to make darkness flee. The one who prays is in weary sorrow with deep waters come into the soul, filled with reproach and shame. He is forsaken by those bearing a brother's name, mocked and reproached in weeping, sinking deep and trembling in fear.
In deep trouble a person may pray asking God to hear and to turn toward them on the basis of His goodness and abundant tender mercies. The request is to be joined to trust in His past favor rather than to complaint or murmuring about the trouble.
Prophecy of Christ
The petitions and experiences of the psalm prefigure the life of Christ, with David speaking as a figure of the coming King, so that the plea for hearing according to good lovingkindness and abundant tender mercies takes on significance in the experience of Jesus. Its burden relates primarily to David and finally and antitypically to Christ, with portions quoted in the New Testament as fulfilled in Him, though not every verse can be applied to Him. It applies literally to Christ as the New Testament expressly states, yet not every part can be read as literally true of Him, since that rigid reading would make Him a sinner, for a prophecy may apply partly to what is immediately present and partly to what is remote rather than being wholly literal or wholly accommodated.
The psalm belongs to the prophecy of His suffering and is to be read in reference to Christ and His betrayal, condemnation, and crucifixion. It foretells His experience when the sins of the world rested upon Him. It gives His inner experience in prophetic words, including His appeal for hearing and mercy amid suffering and struggle with the enemy. It shows His suffering as including sickness, infirmity, and disease, proving He poured out His soul unto death and shared human weakness without advantage over fallen people, so that sinful, sick, and failing people need not fear but can freely receive all His advantages to resist evil.
As one of the so-called cursing psalms, the psalm is predictive and typifies tribulation coming upon the enemies of the church through God's retributive justice. A lesser-held teaching is that the psalm is not a prediction but a simple record of David's experience and does not refer to Jesus in any special way more than to anyone else hated without a cause, touching Jesus or others only where their history runs parallel to David's in certain points.
Prayer for Believers
When their circumstances call for it, God's people can pray this prayer with assurance that God hears them. The psalm is prophetic of Christ's experience, and the triumph He won is also won for His children. The psalm may also be appropriated by Christians when their individual histories run parallel to David's. That appropriated use is fulfillment of Scripture in a different sense from fulfillment of prediction. In that sense the zeal of the Lord's house may eat up many a Christian, and a Christian may take upon himself the reproaches of those who reproach the Lord, as David did.
It is a cry for God to hear and to turn in abundant mercy because His lovingkindness is good, spoken by one weary with sorrow, sunk deep and filled with reproach while waiting for His word to scatter the darkness. In deep trouble it is to be prayed on the ground of His goodness and past favor, joined to trust rather than to complaint or murmuring. The psalm's burden belongs first to David and finally and antitypically to Christ, whose life its petitions and sufferings prefigure, though not every verse can be read as literally true of Him. In that light the plea belongs to the prophecy of His betrayal, condemnation and crucifixion, giving His inner experience when the sins of the world rested upon Him and He shared human weakness and sickness unto death. In the teaching of those who held it otherwise, it is a simple record of David's experience that touches Jesus only where His history runs parallel to David's, yet God's people may still pray it with assurance when their circumstances call for it, since the triumph Christ won is also won for His children.
Setting and Meaning
The verse is a prayer for God to hear and to turn His mercies toward the sufferer because His lovingkindness is good. It is spoken while waiting to hear His word and asking Him to make darkness flee. The one who prays is in weary sorrow with deep waters come into the soul, filled with reproach and shame. He is forsaken by those bearing a brother's name, mocked and reproached in weeping, sinking deep and trembling in fear.
In deep trouble a person may pray asking God to hear and to turn toward them on the basis of His goodness and abundant tender mercies. The request is to be joined to trust in His past favor rather than to complaint or murmuring about the trouble.
Prophecy of Christ
The petitions and experiences of the psalm prefigure the life of Christ, with David speaking as a figure of the coming King, so that the plea for hearing according to good lovingkindness and abundant tender mercies takes on significance in the experience of Jesus. Its burden relates primarily to David and finally and antitypically to Christ, with portions quoted in the New Testament as fulfilled in Him, though not every verse can be applied to Him. It applies literally to Christ as the New Testament expressly states, yet not every part can be read as literally true of Him, since that rigid reading would make Him a sinner, for a prophecy may apply partly to what is immediately present and partly to what is remote rather than being wholly literal or wholly accommodated.
The psalm belongs to the prophecy of His suffering and is to be read in reference to Christ and His betrayal, condemnation, and crucifixion. It foretells His experience when the sins of the world rested upon Him. It gives His inner experience in prophetic words, including His appeal for hearing and mercy amid suffering and struggle with the enemy. It shows His suffering as including sickness, infirmity, and disease, proving He poured out His soul unto death and shared human weakness without advantage over fallen people, so that sinful, sick, and failing people need not fear but can freely receive all His advantages to resist evil.
As one of the so-called cursing psalms, the psalm is predictive and typifies tribulation coming upon the enemies of the church through God's retributive justice. A lesser-held teaching is that the psalm is not a prediction but a simple record of David's experience and does not refer to Jesus in any special way more than to anyone else hated without a cause, touching Jesus or others only where their history runs parallel to David's in certain points.
Prayer for Believers
When their circumstances call for it, God's people can pray this prayer with assurance that God hears them. The psalm is prophetic of Christ's experience, and the triumph He won is also won for His children. The psalm may also be appropriated by Christians when their individual histories run parallel to David's. That appropriated use is fulfillment of Scripture in a different sense from fulfillment of prediction. In that sense the zeal of the Lord's house may eat up many a Christian, and a Christian may take upon himself the reproaches of those who reproach the Lord, as David did.