As usual, here is my fairly literal translation of these verses:
1A Prayer of David.
Extend Your ear, LORD; answer me, because I [am] miserable (afflicted) and needy (in dire straits). 2Keep close watch over my soul because I [am] a loved one [of You]. You, my God, deliver Your servant, one trusting recklessly in You.
Lots of things cross my mind as I’ve pondered these verses.
First of all, I have to pause and ponder the unspeakable blessing of who our God is. In verse 15, David will say, “But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” How can I be anything but eternally grateful that my God is not a stern heartless cruel king? He could be. Too many people thing He is. Too many people teach such that is what people think He is like. But the true God is “compassionate and gracious.” He said so Himself in Exodus 34:6,7, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, …”
David, like us, finds himself “miserable and needy.” How can I ever thank God enough, that in those times, I can call to Him, “Incline Your ear, O LORD, hear me …” in the assurance He actually cares?? Hmmmm. “Love divine, all loves excelling.” Blessed assurance!
I like the metaphor “extend your ear, LORD.” We could translate it, “Incline Your ear” but I chose “extend” because that is the basic meaning of the Hebrew word. Think about it. So often, when someone actually cares, when they actually want to hear what you’re saying, they “incline their ear” toward you. It’s probably rarely something we do consciously, but when we do it, we are in fact communicating to a person that what they are saying is important to us. So, drawing from this human inclination, David asks God to do the same thing, “Extend Your ear.” Isn’t it amazing that we could even dream the God of the Universe, while He keeps the galaxies spinning, would incline His ear to us when we call? How amazing to find such tenderness in The Infinite?
David asks God for this gracious favor because he is “miserable (afflicted) and needy (in dire straits).” I chose to offer some explanation in parenthesis because it is hard to communicate in English the Hebrew word pictures. The first word pictures someone actually being afflicted in some way with the attending sense of misery. The second speaks of someone lacking some necessity, as someone facing bills with nothing to pay them. If you pause and ponder on those pictures, you’ll realize they overlap to a large extent, though their root meanings differ. They both speak of the whole problem of human miseries, whatever their source.
We all know what it is to be miserable and needy. Again, what an inestimable blessing, that in those times we can call out to God!
It is a good thing to know I’m needy. It is a good thing to be in dire straits if they draw our hearts toward God. No one wants to suffer (definitely including me!) but it is sadly true that is often what it takes for us humans to seek our God. Then, in our misery and needs, let us in fact “come boldly before the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need!”
In verse 2, David implores the Lord to “guard” his soul. The word mean to “keep a close watch over” something, and thus to guard, keep, protect. We live our lives in a world of mortal physical and spiritual dangers. May in fact God be the guard over our souls!
He then says literally, “because I [am] a hassid.” Hassid comes from the word for love, hesed. If one consults commentaries and lexicons, this is one of those words that gets a few hundred translations, varying from “loved one” to “devoted,” to “holy,” to “godly,” and a whole host of others. I think this is just another case where there simply is no English word suitable to translate all the color and meaning of the Hebrew “hassid.” The root idea definitely seems to me to be the love relationship between two persons, which then easily morphs into “devoted” as in a marriage, which then easily morphs into “holy” or “godly” in one’s relationship with God. But still I think the root idea is that strong love relationship. David is asking God to guard his soul because of the relationship the two enjoy. Of course, the Lord would want to guard and protect him. He loves him.
Finally, I love the last line, “You, my God, deliver Your servant, one trusting recklessly in You.” English translations usually just say “trust” but I like to add the “recklessly” since that is the meaning of the Hebrew verb “batach.” It is not only “to trust” but actually to cast your soul, your life, your hope, your future on God.
Salvation itself begins when we literally hang our eternal souls on the nail of God’s promise, goodness, and love in Christ. We literally entrust to Him the difference between an eternity in Heaven or hell. But that kind of reckless trust doesn’t stop there. It is the very blood that runs in a true believer’s veins.
And, if I may bring this all full circle, we can in fact confidently and recklessly cast our hope on the God of the Bible, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, because He is a God of love, compassion, mercy, and faithfulness. It’s just who He is … praise His name!
“Nothing is more suitable to the nature of God than to succour the afflicted: and the more severely anyone is oppressed, and the more destitute he is of the resources of human aid, the more inclined is God graciously to help him.” (John Calvin)
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