Psalms 39:12

Hear my prayer, O Lord,.... Which was, that he would remove the affliction from him that lay so hard and heavy upon him; and give ear unto my cry; which shows the distress he was in, and the

Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were. Hear my prayer, O Lord ... hold not thy peace at my tears - the petition.

At my tears, joined with my prayers, . I am a stranger: though I be not only a native, but either anointed or actually king of this land; yet in truth I am but a stranger, both in regard of my very uncertain and short continuance here, where I am only in my journey or passage to my real and long home, which is in the other world; and in respect of the many wants, and hardships, and contempts, and injuries to which I am exposed, as men usually are in strange lands. And therefore I greatly need and desire thy pity and help, O thou who art the patron of strangers, whom thou hast commended to our care and kindness, 25:35, &c. With thee; either, 1. In thy sight or judgment, and therefore truly. We are apt to flatter ourselves, and can hardly believe that we are but strangers here, where we seem to have settled habitations; and possessions, but thou knowest the truth of the business, that we are really such. Or, 2. In thy land or territory, in which I sojourn only by thy leave and favour, and during thy pleasure, as this whole phrase is used, , whence these words are taken, as also 36,39,40,45,47, where that branch of it, with thee, is so meant. And withal this phrase, both here and , may have a further emphasis in it, implying that every Israelite, and particularly David himself, in respect of men, were the proprietors or owners of their portions, of which no other man might deprive or dispossess them, and therefore David’ s enemies had done wrongfully in banishing him from his and from the Lord’ s inheritance; but yet in respect of God they were but strangers, and God was the only Proprietor of it. As all my fathers were; both in thy judgment, expressed , and in their own opinion, , &c; upon which account thou didst take a special care of them, and therefore do so to me also.

Psalms 39:12 Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I [am] a stranger with thee, [and] a sojourner, as all my fathers [were].Ver. 12. Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear, &c.] My prayer, my cry, my tears. See how his ardency in prayer grew by degrees, and so availed much, James 5:16. We must rise in our requests, pray, cry, weep, ask, seek, knock, let the Lord see that we are in good earnest; and then we may have anything. Tears have a voice, and are very effectual orators. For I am a stranger with thee and a sojourner] And in that respect subject to many miseries and molestations, Satanical and secular, till I shall repatriasse, get home (as Bernard expresseth it); and this was the condition of all my godly predecessors, who yet found favour with thee, and so I hope shall I.

(12) For I am a stranger.—A reminiscence of Gen 23:4, and adopted 1 Peter 2:11 from the LXX. (See New Testament Commentary, and comp. Hebrews 11:13.) The psalmist, like the Apostle, applies Abraham’s words metaphorically to this earthly pilgrim age (comp. 1 Chronicles 29:15), and pathetically asks why, when the tenure of life is so uncertain, God looks angrily on him? (For the passionate appeal for a respite, comp. Job 10:20-21, and for the Hebrew conception of the under world, Psalms 6:5, Note.)

Verse 12. Hear my prayer] Therefore, O Lord, show that mercy upon me which I so much need, and without which I must perish everlastingly. I am a stranger with thee] I have not made this earth my home; I have not trusted in any arm but thine. Though I have sinned, I have never denied thee, and never cast thy words behind my back. I knew that here I had no continuing city. Like my fathers, I looked for a city that has permanent foundations, in a better state of being.

12. hold not thy peace] Restoration to health will be an answer. But the word may be rendered, as in R.V. of Psalms 28:1, be not deaf. So Jerome, ne obsurdescas. It is a Rabbinic saying that there are three kinds of supplication, each superior to the other; prayer, crying, and tears. Prayer is made in silence, crying with a loud voice, but tears surpass all. “There is no door, through which tears do not pass,” and, “The gates of tears are never locked.” Cp. Hebrews 5:7. a stranger with thee, and a sojourner] Omit and. ‘Stranger’ and ‘sojourner’ were the technical terms for aliens residing in a country to which they did not belong, and where they had no natural rights of citizenship (Genesis 23:4). The words suggest the idea of a temporary residence, dependent on the good-will of the actual owners. The Israelites were taught to regard themselves as ‘strangers and sojourners’ in the land of Canaan, which belonged to Jehovah (Leviticus 25:23): and here the idea is extended to man in general. The earth is God’s, and man is His tenant upon it (Psalms 119:19). This being so, the Psalmist appeals for a hearing on the ground that he is but a temporary resident on the earth (Genesis 47:9), God’s guest for a while only in the upper world, where alone His Presence can be enjoyed. And further, as the strangers and sojourners among them were specially commended to the care of Israel (Exodus 22:21; &c.), he would plead to be treated by God with a corresponding clemency. The words are placed in David’s mouth by the Chronicler (1 Chronicles 29:15), and applied by St Peter (1 Peter 2:11) to the Christian’s position in the world, παρακαλῶὡςπαροίκουςκαὶπαρεπιδήμους, the words used in the LXX here. Cp. Hebrews 11:13. as all my fathers] Cp. Elijah’s words, 1 Kings 19:4.

Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry - That is, in view of my affliction and my sins; in view, also, of the perplexing questions which have agitated my bosom; the troublous thoughts which

12, 13. The concluding verses are a prayer for restoration, urged by the shortness and frailty of life.