Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 34:6
This poor man cried, and the LORD heard [him], and saved him out of all his troubles.
6. This afflicted man (see note on Psa 9:12) called, and Jehovah heard, and saved him out of all his distresses. Cp. Psa 34:17; Psa 31:7. Does the poet point to himself, or to one here and another there who had been instances of God’s protecting care?
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
This poor man cried – The psalmist here returns to his own particular experience. The emphasis here is on the word this: This poor, afflicted, persecuted man cried. There is something much more touching in this than if he had merely said I, or I myself cried. The language brings before us at once his afflicted and miserable condition. The word poor here – any – does not mean poor in the sense of a want of wealth, but poor in the sense of being afflicted, crushed, forsaken, desolate. The word miserable would better express the idea than the word poor.
And the Lord heard him – That is, heard in the sense of answered. He regarded his cry, and saved him.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 34:6-7
This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him.
Supernatural factor in prayer
The most dangerous doctrine concerning prayer is that current philosophy of the matter which presents a half-truth only; allowing the subjective value, but denying all objective efficacy to prayer–i.e. admitting a benefit, as attached to a devout habit, but limiting the benefit to the working of natural results entirely within the suppliant. The text affirms a positive advantage in prayer. Jehovah is represented as hearing prayer and interposing to save the suppliant. And the idea is further expanded by a reference to the deliverances wrought by the Lords angel. To a Jew, the angel of the Lord was a historic reality, working supernatural signs and wonders all through that wonderful career of the chosen people of God. When such events as these can be explained by natural Causes, by self-scrutiny, self-conquest and self-culture, then prayer may be brought down to the level of natural philosophy and moral philosophy. But, until then, there must remain in this mystery a supernatural factor. The Waldenses are the Israel of the Alps, who, in their mountain fastnesses, for centuries guarded the ark of primitive faith and worship, while the terrors of the Vatican confronted them–that summit of terror which was an Olympus for its false gods, a Sinai for its thunders, and a Calvary for its blood. Read the story of the siege of La Balsille, their mountain fortress. Hemmed in by the French and Sardinian army through the summer, gaunt famine stared them in the face; the foe guarded every outlet of the valley, and their ungathered crops lay in the fields. In midwinter, driven by gnawings of hunger to visit the abandoned harvest fields, beneath the deep snows they found God had kept the grain unhurt, and part of it was gathered in good condition, a year and a half after it was sown! In the following spring a merciless cannonade broke down the breastworks behind which they hid, and the helpless band cried to the Lord. At once He who holds the winds in His fist, and rides in the clouds as a chariot, rolled over them a cloak of fog so dense that in the midst of their foes they escaped unseen! The power of prayer is the perpetual sign of the supernatural. Jonathan Edwards may be taken as an example of thousands. From the age of ten years, his prayers were astonishing both for the faith they exhibited and the results they secured. With the intellect of a cherub and the heart of a seraph, we can neither distrust his self-knowledge nor his absolute candour. His communion with God was so rapturous, that the extraordinary view of the glory of the Son of God, His pure, sweet love and grace, would overcome him so that for an hour he would be flooded with tears, weeping aloud. Prayer brought him such power as Peter at Pentecost scarcely illustrates more wonderfully. For instance, his sermon at Enfield, on Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, which, delivered without a gesture, nevertheless produced such effect that the audience leaped to their feet and clasped the pillars of the meeting-house lest they should slide into perdition. Taste and see that the Lord is good. Put Him to the test of experimental prayer and you shall need no testimony from another to establish your faith in the supernatural answers to prayer. His providence will guide your doubting steps like that glorious pillar of cloud and fire, and in that last great crisis when heart and flesh fail, and the valley and shadow of death is before you, the everlasting Arms shall be beneath you, and your refuge the Eternal God! (A. T. Pierson, D. D.)
The poor mans poverty, prayer, and preservation
I. the poor mans poverty. This poor man.
1. It was not the poverty of social dependence. David, the writer of this Psalm, was a king; governed a great nation; ruled a people of noble history; had vast resources; had numerous friends–therefore the designation of the text cannot refer to his temporal position. The fact is that our social position is no index to our real wealth or poverty. A man financially rich, may be morally poor. A man morally rich, may be financially poor.
2. It was not the poverty of intellectual weakness. David was not poor in mind. Not merely was he a king in position, but also in the empire of thought. His mind contained great ideas of God, of the soul, of life as a probation, of the future as a destiny. The lack of mental thought and energy is no aid to prayer. Converse with God requires great ideas. The language of want is simple; but it is full of meaning. Hence David was not poor in this respect.
3. It was not the poverty of spiritual indolence. David was not a moral pauper. He had not only a great soul, but it was well peopled with all that was noble and true. Faith in God was the governing influence of his soul. He loved the house of God. He delighted in the works of God. He was attached to the people of God. His religious experience was rich. His devotion was poetic. His soul was ever occupied with eternal realities. He was not poor in this respect.
4. It was the poverty of deep and true humility. He says, My soul shall make her boast in the Lord (Psa 34:2). The humble soul is always poor in faith, in spiritual aspiration, in moral service, in benevolent dispositions, in its own estimation. Herein consists His benediction–Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the Kingdom of God. The poverty of humility is not assumed, it is not canting, it is not self-depreciative; but it is silent, it is reverent.
II. the poor mans prayer. This poor man cried. Humiliation is a good preparation for prayer. It most feels the need of devotion. It is the most easily taught the meaning of worship. It is the most persevering in its exercise.
1. The poor mans prayer was emphatic. It was a cry. David knew what he wanted. He was decided and vigorous in the articulation of his soul-wants. God allows in prayer the required emphasis of a needy but penitent spirit. It is not presumption.
2. The poor mans prayer was earnest. It was a cry. Not a cold request. Not a calm inquiry. The more a man feels his need, the more deeply does He express it.
3. The poor mans prayer was continuous. It was the habit of his soul rather than a transient act. Prayer should not be a momentary effort of the Christian life, but the natural communion of the soul with God, as speech is the easy and constant medium of communication with men.
4. The poor mans prayer was thoughtful and reasonable. It was presented to the rightful object of devotion, in a thoughtful spirit. David did not doubt the fitness of prayer to save from trouble–
(1) Personal.
(2) Domestic.
(3) Commercial.
(4) National. Are the sceptics of our day wiser, better, happier than he?
5. The poor mans prayer was successful.
III. the poor mans preservation. And the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his trouble.
1. His preservation was associated with prayer. And the Lord heard him.
2. His preservation was secured by Divine agency.
3. His preservation was comprehensive and effectual. And saved him out of all his trouble.
Learn:
1. Humility is the best qualification for prayer, and the most likely guarantee of favourable response.
2. That God is the helper of troubled souls.
3. That men in the highest stations of life need prayer. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
A poor mans cry, and what came of it
I. the nature and the excellence of prayer.
1. It is a dealing with the Lord. The best prayer is that which comes to closest grips with the God of mercy.
2. Prayer takes various shapes.
(1) Seeking is prayer (Psa 34:4).
(2) Looking unto God is prayer (Psa 34:5). If you cannot find words, it is often a very blessed thing to sit still, and look towards the hills whence cometh our help.
(3) Tasting is a high kind of prayer (Psa 34:8), for it ventures to take what it asks for.
(4) Frequently, according to our text, prayer is best described as a cry.
3. Prayer is heard in heaven.
4. It wins answers from God. More than forty years I have tried my Masters promise at the mercy-seat, and I have never yet met with a repulse from Him. In the name of Jesus I have asked and received; save only when I have asked amiss. It is true I have had to wait, because my time was ill-judged, and Gods time was far better; but delays are not denials. Never has the Lord said to me, or to any of the seed of Jacob, Seek ye My face in vain.
II. the richness and freeness of divine grace.
1. You will see the richness and the freeness of grace, when you consider the character of the man who prayed: this poor man cried. Who was he?
(1) He was a poor man; how terribly poor I cannot tell you. There are plenty of poor men about. If you advertised for a poor man in London, you might soon find more than you could count in twelve months: the supply is unlimited, although the distinction is by no means highly coveted. No man chooses to be poor.
(2) He was also a troubled man, for the text speaks of all his troubles–a great all I warrant you.
(3) He was a mournful man; altogether broken down.
(4) He was a changed man.
(5) He was a hopeful man. Despair is dumb; where there is a cry of prayer, there is a crumb of comfort.
2. If you desire further to see the richness and freeness of grace, I beg you to remember the character of the God to whom this poor man cried. He who prayed was poor, and his prayer was poor; but he did not pray to a poor God. This poor man was powerless; but he did not cry to a feeble God. This poor man was empty; but he went to Gods fulness. He was unworthy; but he appealed to Gods mercy. Our God delighteth in mercy; He waiteth to be gracious; He takes pleasure in blessing the weary sons of men.
3. While we are thinking of the freeness and richness of this grace in the text, I would have you notice the character of the blessing. The Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. His sins were his great troubles; the Lord saved him out of them all through the atoning sacrifice. The effects of sin were another set of grievous troubles to him; the Lord saved him out of them all by the renewal of the Holy Ghost. He had troubles without and within, troubles in the family and in the world, and he felt ready to perish because of them; but the Lord delivered him out of them all.
III. the need and the usefulness of personal testimony. Testimony is a weighty thing for the persuasion and winning of men; but it must be of the right kind. It should be personal, concerning things which you yourself know: This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him. Never mind if you should be charged with being egotistical. That is a blessed egoism which dares to stand out and bear bold witness for God in its own person. This poor man cried; not somebody over the water–and the Lord heard him, not a man down the next street. The more definite and specific your testimony, the better and the more convincing. I do not say that we can all tell the date of our conversion: many of us cannot. But if we can throw in such details, let us do so; for they help to make our testimony striking. Our witness should be an assured one. We must believe, and therefore speak. Do not say, I hope that I prayed; and I–I–trust that the Lord heard me. Say, I prayed, and the Lord heard me. Give your testimony cheerfully. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him. Do not say it as if it were a line from the agony column; but write it as a verse of a psalm. Your testimony must have for its sole aim the glory of God. Do not wish to show yourself off as an interesting person, a man of vast experience. We cannot allow the grace of God to be buried in ungrateful silence. When He made the world the angels sang for joy, and when He saves a soul we will not be indifferent. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The language of a cry
This poor man did not make a grand oration; he took to crying.
1. He was short: it was only a cry. In great pain a man will cry out; he cannot help it, even if he would. A cry is short, but it is not sweet. It is intense, and painful, and it cannot be silenced. We cry because we must cry. This poor man cried, God be merciful to me a sinner. That is not a long collect, but it collects a great deal of meaning into a few words. That was a short cry, Lord save, or I perish; and that other, Lord, help me. Save, Lord, is a notable cry, and so is Lord, remember me. Many prevailing prayers are like cries because they are brief, sharp, and uncontrollable.
2. A cry is not only brief, but bitter. A cry is a sorrowful thing; it is the language of pain. It would be hard for me to stand here and imitate a cry. No; a cry is not artificial, but a natural production: it is not from the lips, but from the soul, that a man cries. A cry, attended with a flood of tears, a bitter wail, a deep-fetched sigh–these are prayers that enter into the ears of the Most High. O penitent, the more thou sorrowest in thy prayer, the more wings thy prayer has towards God! A cry is a brief thing, and a bitter thing.
3. A cry has in it much meaning, and no music. You cannot set a cry to music. The sound grates on the ear, it rasps the heart, it startles, and it grieves the minds of those who hear it. Cries are not for musicians, but for mourners. Can you expound a childs cry? It is pain felt, a desire for relief naturally expressed, a longing forcing itself into sound; it is a plea, a prayer, a complaint, a demand. It cannot wait, it brooks no delay, it never puts off its request till to-morrow. A cry seems to say, Help me now I I cannot bear it any longer. Come, O come, to my relief! When a man cries, he never thinks of the pitch of his voice; but he cries out as he can, out of the depths of his soul. Oh, for more of such praying!
4. A cry is a simple thing. The first thing a new-born child does is to cry; and he usually does plenty of it for years after. You do not need to teach children to cry: it is the cry of Nature in distress. All children can cry; even those who are without their reasoning faculties can cry. Yea, even the beast and the bird can cry. If prayer be a cry, it is clear that it is one of the simplest acts of the mind. God loves natural expressions when we come before Him. Not that which is fine, but that which is on fire, He loves. Not that Which is dressed up, but that which leaps out of the soul just as it is born in the heart, He delights to receive. This poor man did not do anything grand, but from his soul he cried.
5. A cry is as sincere as it is simple. Prayer is not the mimicry of a cry, but the real thing. You need not ask a man or woman, when crying, Do you mean it? Could they cry else? A true cry is the product of a real pain, and the expression of a real want; and therefore it is a real thing. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Testimony to the power of prayer
One person says, I cried to the Lord, and He heard me. But, says an objector, that is a special ease. Up rises a second witness, and says, This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him. Well, that is only two; and two instances may not prove a rule. Then, up rises a third, a fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and in each ease it is the same story–This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him. Surely he must be hardened in unbelief who refuses to believe so many witnesses. I remember the story of a lawyer, a sceptic, who attended a class-meeting where the subject was similar to our theme of this morning. He heard about a dozen tell what the Lord had done for them; and he said, as he sat there, If I had a case in court, I should like to have these good people for witnesses. I know them all, they are my neighbours, they are simple-minded people, straightforward and honest, and I know I could carry any ease if I had them on my side. Then he very candidly argued that what they all agreed upon was true. He believed them in other matters, and he could not doubt them in this, which was to them the most important of all. He tried religion for himself, and the Lord heard him; and very soon he was at the class-meeting, adding his witness to theirs. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The angel Of the Lord encampeth . . . and delivereth.—
Portrait of a good Man –
I. As Divinely affected. They that fear him. The good man is one that fears God.
II. As Divinely guarded.
1. Individually. God regards individuals, as well as nations, worlds, and systems.
2. Completely Guards the whole man, body, soul, and spirit.
3. Eternally. Through time, in death, for ever, He encampeth round about him.
III. As Divinely delivered. And delivereth them.
1. From physical evils. Infirmities, diseases, death.
2. From intellectual evils. Errors, prejudices, ignorance.
3. From social evils. The bereavements of death, the disappointments of hypo-critic friendships.
4. From spiritual evils. Impurity of heart, remorse of conscience, conflict of soul. (Homilist.)
The encamping angel
If we accept the statement in, the superscription of this psalm, it dates from one of the darkest hours in Davids life. His fortunes were never lower than when he fled from Gath, the city of Goliath, to Adullam. He never appears in a less noble light than when he feigned madness to avert the dangers which he might well dread there. How unlike the terror and self-degradation of the man who scrabbled on the doors, and let the spittle run down his beard, is the heroic and saintly constancy of this noble psalm! The Angel of the Lord here is to be taken collectively, and the meaning is that the bright harnessed hosts of these Divine messengers are, as an army of protectors, around them that fear God. But Scripture speaks also of One, who is in an eminent sense the Angel of the Lord, in whom, as in none other, God sets His Name. He is the leader of the heavenly hosts. He appeared when Abraham took the knife to slay his son, and restrained him. He speaks to Jacob at Bethel, and says, I am the God of Bethel; and many other instances there are. It is this lofty and mysterious messenger that David sees standing ready to help, as He once stood, sword-bearing by the side of Joshua. To the warrior leader, to the warrior psalmist, He appears, as their needs required, armoured and militant. The vision of the Divine presence ever takes the form which our circumstances most require. Davids then need was safety and protection. Therefore he saw the Encamping Angel; even as to Joshua the leader He appeared as the Captain of the Lords host; and as to Isaiah, in the year that the throne of Judah was emptied by the death of the earthly king, was given the vision of the Lord sitting on a throne, the King Eternal and Immortal. So to us all His grace shapes its expression according to our wants, and the same gift is Protean in its power of transformation; being to one man wisdom, to another strength, to the solitary companionship, to the sorrowful consolation, to the glad sobering, to the thinker truth, to the worker practical force,–to each his hearts desire. Learn, too, from this image, in which the psalmist appropriates to himself the experience of a past generation, how we ought to feed our confidence and enlarge our hopes by all Gods past dealings with men. David looks back to Jacob, and believes that the old fact is repeated in his own day. So every old story is true for us; though outward form may alter, inward substance remains the same. Mahanaim is still the name of every place where a man who loves God pitches his tent. Our feeble encampment may lie open to assault, and we be all unfit to guard it, but the other camp is there too, and our enemies must force their way through it before they get at us. The Lord of Hosts is with us. Only, remember, that the eye of faith alone can see that guard, and that therefore we must labour to keep our consciousness of its reality fresh and vivid. Notice, too, that final word of deliverance. This psalm is continually recurring to that idea. The word occurs four times in it, and the thought still oftener. He is quite sure that such deliverance must follow if the Angel presence be there. But he knows, too, that the encampment of the Angel of the Lord will not keep away sorrows, and trial, and sharp need. So his highest hope is not of immunity from these, but of rescue out of them. And his ground of hope is that his heavenly ally cannot let him be overcome. That He will not let him be troubled and put in peril he has found; that He will not let him be crushed he believes. Shaded and modest hopes are the brightest we can venture to cherish. But it is the least we are entitled to expect. And so the apostle, when within sight of the headsmans axe, broke into the rapture of his last words, The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me to His everlasting kingdom. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
The ministry of angels
Such ministry taught throughout the Bible. We know not the nature and constitution of worlds and beings unseen. We are taught (Dan 12:1) that there are guardian angels, and that there are evil angels (Eph 6:12). Their name derived from the circumstance of their being sent on various errands. The Lord frequently appeared in the form of an angel. To-day the angels take deep interest in the welfare of Gods people. Their form of ministry is changed, but not its reality (Luk 15:1-32.; Mat 18:10; Heb 1:14). And why should we not believe that God aids and defends us by means of angels, as our text declares? But it is only they who fear the Lord that enjoy this guardianship. The holy angels can have no fellowship with unholy minds. Let us not question the truth of this ministry, but gratefully accept it. (J. Slade, M. A.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 6. This poor man cried] zeh ani, “This afflicted man,” David.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
i.e. David, of whom they that looked, &c., Psa 34:5, spake these words.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6. This poor manliterally,”humble,” himself as a specimen of such.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
This poor man cried,…. Singling out some one person from among the humble, who was remarkably delivered; it is the common case of the people of God to be poor and afflicted, and in their afflictions they cry unto the Lord to be supported under them, and delivered out of them: or this may be understood of David himself, who was poor, not with respect to outward things, but in spirit; was much afflicted, and especially greatly distressed when in the court of Achish; at which time he cried unto the Lord, as was his usual way, and that internally, as Moses did, Ex 14:15. Some think Jesus Christ is intended by this poor man, who was poor in temporals, though rich, and Lord of all; and was greatly afflicted, both in body and soul; and who, in the days of his flesh, offered up prayers and supplications, with strong crying and tears, Heb 5:7;
and the Lord heard [him], and saved him out of all his troubles; so the Lord always heard his son Jesus Christ, and especially in the day of salvation, and delivered him out of all his troubles, both of body and soul, when he raised him from the dead, and gave him glory; and he heard David his servant, as he often did; particularly when at Gath, and made way for his escape from thence; and from whence he came safe to the cave of Adullam; and the Lord hears all his poor and afflicted ones, when they cry unto him, and in the issue saves them from all their troubles, by reason of a body of sin and death, the temptations of Satan, and the persecutions of men.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
6. This poor man cried, and Jehovah heard him. David here introduces all the godly speaking of himself, the more emphatically to express how much weight there is in his example to encourage them. This poor man, say they, cried; therefore God invites all the poor to cry to him. They contemplate in David what belongs to the common benefit of all the godly; for God is as willing and ready at this day to hear all the afflicted who direct their sighs, wishes, and cries, to him with the same faith, as he was at that time to hear David.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
THE POOR MANS CRY AND GODS ANSWER
Psa 34:6
IT is not my purpose to discuss the sociological phase of poverty as that phase appeals to us in the present social disturbances. This text might be legitimately and encouragingly employed in that connection however. If the cause of labor, as it is now struggling with the power of capital, is a just cause, this text suggests a far nobler and surer way of securing personal rights than some of the methods now being employed by the professedly oppressed. When man seeks to get his rights by the strength of his own arm, his victories are uncertain, and, when gained, are often but the triumphs of the hour to be succeeded by yet greater defeats. But when appeal is made to God, and His arm delivers, all troubles are at an eternal end. The greatest weakness of the cause of laborers today is not so much the unreasonableness of their demands as the failure to invite God into their counsels, and with humble hearts, invoke at once the wisdom and leadership of Him whose ear gathers every cry of the poor, and whose heart throbs in sympathy with every moan of the truly oppressed.
But this text was selected as suggesting a discourse that should lead our thought in another direction and lend lessons of equal importance and of more general application. The language is Davids, and in that fact the text interprets itself.
It was probably uttered in memory of the time when the man who had been anointed for the throne was a refugee from Sauls murderous hand, and in the wilderness of Engedi was enduring the lot of an outcast, suffering for bread, sleeping on the bare earth, or lying in the deeps of damp caves. Like his greater Son, David was learning the trials of persecution and poverty; and seeing no sign of human help, he lifted his eyes and prayers to the everlasting hills and the salvation came. That which he learned from experience he wrote into this text that others might learn how and where to turn for help in povertys hour.
DAVID WAS NOT TOO PROUD TO CONFESS HIS POVERTY AND APPEAL FOR HELP
We know full well that the world sees more of unrelieved suffering than it need, were it not for pride. On every hand pride seals the lips of needy sinners and suffering saints, and lets the silence give victory to sorrow and want. As a rule the worlds worthless children are beggars at both the doors of earth and the gates of Heaven, while the earths unfortunate and deserving children are often too proud to ask alms of man or God, and greater poverty is their lot.
Why not cry for help, my friend, if you are poor in either grace or goods? Surely ones honorable birth is no reason for that independence that refuses help even from the Lord. David was honorably born, and yet David made known his wants and humbly pled for succor and support in things both material and spiritual. Paul was honorably born. He writes to the Hebrews insisting that no child of the race had better reason to boast his natural birth than he, and yet from the depths of a conscious poverty of soul he cried to Heaven for the true riches and got them. One of the sad sights of this world is to see some unfortunate soul struggling hard against the wolf, yet never asking help of man or God; some widowed one, frail in body, weary in mind, unstrung in nerves, worn out with work, battling to obtain bread and clothing, yet maintaining a proud silence in it all; shutting her secret sorrows from eyes that would help if only they were permitted.
For such a pride, as it has to do with hiding ones sorrow from a morbidly curious world we have only admiration, but when it drives its subject to an effort at independence of God, then our admiration is curdled into pity and we wish that the old Bible might be taken from the shelf, dusted and read, and that the widows eyes might linger on this text until its teaching had entered her soul and made her conscious of her riches in the God who hears and saves. Such pride is often built upon the fact of having seen better days. Ah, but the best days are not those of material plenty. David was richer in the cave than on the throne, for there he cried to the Lord oftener, and saw his salvation in more signal display. So the best days of the poor are never on until the heart is humbled and the help of the Lord is invoked.
Again, pride of station has led many a poor soul to starve while vainly imagining itself to be rich. We never see a man who rejects the Gospel and trusts in his social station, his political preferment, his financial power, but we pity his poverty of soul and long to kill the pride that cheats him out of his greater riches. You remember what the voice of the trumpet that John heard, said to the Laodiceans in condemning their pride of station:
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing: and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see (Rev 3:17-18).
Many a man of earthly station and honor will go to the grave, a pitiable pauper, because his pride outlasted life. You remember how it was with Abimelech,
A certain woman cast a piece of millstone upon Abimelechs head, and all to brake his skull.
Then he called hastily unto the young man his armour-bearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A woman slew him (Jdg 9:53-54).
William Seeker says of that circumstance, Behold, the man dieth hard, but the pride dies not. There is no help to be had from Heaven until pride is killed and buried in humilitys grave. In Caines College, Cambridge, there used to be three gateways in succession. The first was called Humilitatis, the second, Virtutis and the third, Honoris.
It is so in the progress of the soul. Humility is the open gate that leads to virtue and honor everlasting. If a man is too erect and too proud to go on his knees in passing the first, he will never see the glories upon which the others open. It has been truly remarked that bigotry of station lifted up the hearts of those that forgot God and conceived themselves rich without Him, until it cast Nebuchadnezzar out of mens society, Saul out of his kingdom, Haman from the palace, Adam from Paradise, and Lucifer from Heaven. Let us beware of the pride of station that shuts our eyes to poverty of soul.
Then there is the natural pride of the heart that makes the poor soul unwilling to confess its want and ask for help. It is the pride of which Solomon wrote when he penned the proverb, Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord (Pro 16:5).
It is the pride that sees no ill in self; and if it should see, would be slow to make confession. Mark Guy Pearse tells the following story of a man who got drunk. The preacher went to talk with him about his intemperance and he confessed to him great sorrow. He said he had sought to be restored to the Saviours favor but his prayers had brought no peace and he feared the Lord had utterly cast him off. Well, said the minister, let us pray together. You lead and confess your fault. The fellow began, Oh, God, Thou knowest Thy servant, in a moment of unwatchfulness, was overtaken by sin. Nonsense, said the preacher, tell the Lord you got drunk. The fellow hesitated a moment and then started afresh into his confession. Oh, Lord, Thou knowest Thy servant, in his weakness and frailty, was overtaken by a besetment. Nonsense, repeated the preacher, tell the Lord you got drunk. The fellow now forgot self and proceeded with agonizing cry, Oh, God, have mercy upon me. I got drunk! and in a moment peace came and the poor fellow knew he was accepted again. Christ knew what an effectual cure for pride was confession of sin and that is why He made his forgiveness conditioned upon that. It is not so bad to be poor unless in our poverty we are too proud to humbly seek the help of the Lord.
LEARN AGAIN FROM THIS TEXT THAT THE SOVEREIGN GOD IS MOVED AT THE SIGHT OF SUFFERING.
This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him.
The fact that he was poor did not effect the care. God is no respecter of persons in the hour of human need. The lowliest soul that walks the deep valleys of earth can get the ear of God as soon as the loftiest king that ever sat on a throne. I was reading sometime since a part of a sermon preached in India by a native convert. He had belonged to the low caste people but he was now addressing the Brahmins who had gathered about him. Seldom have I read a clearer defense of the Fatherhood of God than he made. He argued that the God who would save him, exalt him to the station of a son, honor him with a call to the Gospel ministry, him who had been reckoned so low by his fellows that when he was a heathen they were defiled by his touchthat such a God was worthy of love. Yes, it is a truth that we can never emphasize as we ought, God hears the cry of the poor and His answers are as sure to them as to the richest of the rich.
Then His expression of sympathy with needy men is invariable. The great trouble with many of the earths good men is discovered in changeable tempers: one day they are gracious to friends and considerate of enemies even; another day they are as unapproachable as mountain peeks, and as inhospitable as a hail-storm. But God is ever the same. One of the great definitions which the Bible gives of our Lord is that found in Hebrews where He is called Jesus Christ the same yesterday and today and for ever.
According to history, one of Lincolns greater virtues existed in the universal kindness which he showed the needy. In the day of hottest battle, when the Presidents mind was much engaged with momentous questions, a woman had occasion to approach him in behalf of her condemned husband. She afterward told with what fears and tremblings she undertook the journey into his presence. He was a stranger; he was in the loftiest station possible to America; he was pressed by a thousand cares. Would he deign to receive her and consider her plea? These questions struggled about in her heart and she knew not what answer to expect as she hurried on, but at the first sight of his tender face she forgot her fears and poured out her trouble to the great soul as freely as she might have done to her own son. In speaking of it afterward she said, Amid all his cares he had time to hear me, show interest in my case, and save my loved one. Ah, it is an infinitely more gracious heart and powerful hand to which he appeals when the poor man cries unto the Lord. He has time to listen and power to save.
We may also believe that His loving heart is swift to hear. So far as indicated by this text David didnt have to wait through weary days and months before there came an answer to his prayer. The answer was instant. Therein God proves His Fatherhood again. I saw a great company of people standing before a country church engaged in social converse. A little child was playing on the green hard by. Suddenly he stumbled and fell with his face against the walk. One man heard the cry before others seemed to catch the sound, and while they cast about with inquiring looks, he sprang to its side and lifted it tenderly to his bosom. I asked not whose child it was, the fatherhood was plain. So God, like Hawthornes mother in the Snow Image, listens with His heart, not with ears, and though others fail to hear the appeal of distress, He flies to the relief of His own ere the first piteous appeal has died on the air.
Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley
(6) This poor man.Better, this suffereri.e., either the writer, or Israel personified.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
6. This poor man That is, David, now standing forth unconsciously as the representative of the humble, or “poor in spirit.”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Z ‘This poor man cried, and YHWH heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
CH The angel of YHWH encamps round about those who fear him,
And delivers them.’
David was duly humbled by his experiences, which, although he may not have realised it, were preparing him for greater things. And when he thought back on how he had escaped from Saul, and now from Achish, he recognised his own weakness and helplessness in both situation, calling himself a ‘poor man’, lowly in the sight of God and of men. He recognised himself for what he was. There was no pretence or arrogance with David. He openly acknowledged his own undeserving, and that he stood with the meek of Psa 34:2. But he also recognised the goodness of YHWH towards him, and was full of gratitude. Isaiah tells us in a similar vein that ‘God dwells in the high and holy place — with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite one’ (Isa 57:15).
His experience had brought him out into a large place, for it had made him realise that while Achish had been surrounded by his fierce warriors, he himself had had even mightier protection. He had been under the protection of the Angel of YHWH, Who had delivered him from all his troubles, in spite of their magnitude. It had brought home to him that all who feared YHWH were ‘surrounded’ by the Angel of YHWH, the very active presence of YHWH, and could therefore be sure of deliverance. Compare how Paul also tells us that ‘your lives are hid with Christ in God’ (Col 3:3). We too are ‘surrounded’ by the Angel of YHWH . We are reminded here of the three men thrown into the fire because they stood firm for God, only to find themselves accompanied there by one who was like the Son of God Who kept them safe from harm (Dan 3:25).
The Angel of YHWH is mentioned a number of times in the Old Testament. He can speak of himself as YHWH, and yet is in some ways differentiated from YHWH (see Gen 16:10; Gen 16:13 in context; Gen 21:17-18; Gen 22:11; Exo 23:20; Jdg 13:16-18; Zec 1:12-16; Zec 3:1-2). He is called ‘the Angel of His presence’ (Isa 63:9). And there is inter-personal communication between the Angel and YHWH (Zec 1:12). In this figure we have revealed to us, along with the mention of ‘the Spirit of YHWH’, a first indication of the triunity of God.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Psa 34:6-7. This poor man cried This seems to be the triumph of David’s afflicted friends for his safe return, says Chandler. “This distressed man cried and sought the help of God, when he was in the greatest straits at Gath, as being in danger of destruction if he stayed there, and yet not knowing how to escape: but God heard his cry, and delivered him out of them all.” The angel of the Lord, in the next verse, does not mean a single angel; but a commanding angel, ordering his forces to encamp round about those whom God commissions him to preserve in safety. Dr. Delaney supposes these two verses to allude to Jacob, who was at Mahanaim protected by two armies of angels; or perhaps, more particularly, to the many distresses from which the Psalmist himself was delivered by the gracious interposition of God.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 551
GRATEFUL RECOLLECTIONS
Psa 34:6. This poor man cried; and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
IT is of great advantage to have transmitted to us the experience of Gods saints; because in them we see exhibited, as it were, before our eyes, what we ourselves are authorized to expect. David, in this psalm, records his deliverance from the hands of Achish, king of Gath; who, there was every reason to fear, would have either put him to death or delivered him into the hands of Saul, if God had not mercifully interposed to prevent it. As for the means which David had recourse to, in order to deceive Achish, I am not prepared either to justify or condemn them [Note: 1Sa 21:13-15.]. To feign himself mad before Achish, was doubtless a very humiliating measure. But, whether it was strictly correct or not, God was pleased to make use of it for the deliverance of his faithful servant from the danger to which, by fleeing to Gath, he had exposed himself: and David, in this psalm, commemorates this gracious interposition, and records it for the benefit of the Church in all future ages.
Let us consider the text,
I.
As a grateful acknowledgment
It is not necessary to confine our attention to the immediate occasion of the words, since David uses nearly the same expression in reference to mercies received during the rebellion of Absalom [Note: Psa 3:3-4. with the title of that Psalm.].
Throughout the whole of his life, David received marvellous mercies at the hands of God
[His temporal deliverances were great on numberless occasions, from the persecutions of Saul the assaults of enemies and the rebellion of Absalom but from all his troubles God had saved him; and for this salvation he did well to offer to God his most grateful acknowledgments [Note: 2Sa 22:1-7.].
But what shall I say of the spiritual mercies vouchsafed to him? These were beyond measure great, inasmuch as his terrors were sometimes of the most overwhelming nature [Note: Psa 6:1-6; Psa 40:12; Psa 42:7.] and his sins, of almost unparalleled enormity [Note: Psa 25:11.] But from all of these had God delivered him, in answer to his prayers; and for these merciful interpositions he most humbly and most thankfully adores his God [Note: Psa 40:1-3.] ]
And have not we also innumerable mercies, both temporal and spiritual, to acknowledge?
[True in respect of temporal afflictions, none of us can bear any comparison with him. But still there are few of us who have not experienced some deliverances; and not one who has not reason to bless God, with all possible ardour, for his forbearance, at least, if not also for his pardoning love. Let us call to mind the various interpositions of our God in times of sickness, or trouble, or danger. But more especially, it ever we have cried to God under a sense of our sins, and an apprehension of Gods wrath, and have obtained mercy at his hands, what thanks should not we also render to him for such marvellous mercies! Methinks if we do not call upon all that is within us to bless his holy name, the very stones will cry out against us.]
But David intended these words to be considered, also,
II.
As an instructive record
The whole preceding part of the psalm shews that it was written by him with this view. I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall be continually in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me; and let us exalt his name together! I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. Yes, This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles [Note: ver. 16.]. Behold, then, how plainly it instructs us,
1.
That there are no troubles so great, but God is able to deliver us from them
[Neither our temporal nor our spiritual troubles can well exceed those of David: yet, if he was saved from his, why may not we from ours? Is Gods ear become heavy, that it cannot hear; or is his hand shortened, that he cannot save [Note: Isa 59:1.]? We must on no account limit either the power or the mercy of our God: but be strong in faith, giving glory to his name [Note: Rom 4:20.] ]
2.
That there are no troubles so great but God will deliver us from them, in answer to our prayers
[Who ever heard of any instance wherein God said to a man, Seek my face in vain? Jonah was heard from the bottom of the sea; and David, as it were, from the very gates of hell. Manasseh, too, was heard, and accepted, after all his great and aggravated crimes [Note: 2Ch 33:12-13.]. Let none, then, despond, whatever be his trouble, or whatever his guilt: but let all be assured, that if their faith be only as a grain of mustard-seed, it shall prevail, to the casting of all the mountains, whether of difficulty, or of sin, into the very depths of the sea [Note: Mat 17:20.] ]
3.
That answers to prayer, so far from puffing up a man with pride, will invariably humble and abase him
[Who is it that here designates himself by this humiliating appellation, This poor man? It is David, the man after Gods own heart. But did not Gods mercies to him puff him up? Quite the reverse. He never was more humble than when most honoured of his God. And so it was with Jacob in the Old Testament [Note: Gen 32:10-11.]; and with the Apostle Paul in the New. If ever there was a man more highly honoured than others, it was the Apostle Paul: yet he still continued to account himself less than the least of all saints [Note: Eph 3:8.], yea, and as the very chief of sinners [Note: 1Ti 1:15.]. And so will divine grace operate on us also. People imagine, that if we profess to have received special answers to prayer, and to have obtained the forgiveness of our sins, we must, of necessity, be elated with pride. But the very reverse of this was the effect produced on the minds of Job, and of the prophet Isaiah, who only lothed themselves the more in proportion as they were honoured of their God [Note: Job 42:5-6 and Isa 6:5.]: and thus it will be with every real saint: he will account himself poor even to his dying hour, and will be ever ready to prefer others in honour before himself [Note: Rom 12:10. Php 2:3.].]
If, then, this retrospective view of Gods mercies be so sweet on earth,
1.
What must it be, the very instant we arrive at the gates of heaven!
[At the moment of our departure from the body, we shall have a complete view of all Gods dealings with us, whether in his providence or grace. And if here our partial views of these things fill us with such joy and gratitude, what will a full discovery of them do? As to any undue elevation of mind, on account of the mercies vouchsafed to us, it will produce a directly contrary effect: for all the glorified saints cast their crowns at the Saviours feet, and prostrate themselves before him, and sound no other name than his [Note: Rev 5:8-10.]. And there they will have their salvation altogether complete. No further trouble to all eternity will they experience; for all tears shall be wiped away from their eyes for ever [Note: Rev 7:14-17.]. Oh! look forward to that day with holy delight: and let the foretastes of it, which you here enjoy, stimulate your exertions to honour God, and to obtain a meetness for the blessedness that awaits you.]
2.
How earnest should you be in commending to others the Saviour you have found!
[The Psalmist sets you the example: Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul. I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue. Verily, God hath heard me, and hath attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, who hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me [Note: Psa 66:16-20.]! Thus, then, do ye also. Be not content to go to heaven alone. Tell to those around you the efficacy of prayer; and extol the Saviour, as able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him. Thus will you fulfil the design of David in transmitting his experience to future ages; whilst you confirm his testimony, by your acknowledgment that God is still as gracious as ever, and an unchangeable Friend to all who come to him in his Sons name.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Is not Christ emphatically here spoken of? Is he not the same poor man as Solomon high spoken of also? Ecc 9:14-15 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 34:6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard [him], and saved him out of all his troubles.
Ver. 6. This poor man cried ] Meaning himself, to whom it seemeth he pointed the finger, or laid his hand on his heart, when he said, This poor man, Hic vilis, et ovium pastor, saith Theodoret, this mean shepherd not long since; but rather, This miserable sinner, who whilome rashly ran such a hazard, and so unworthily deported himself in the presence of King Achish; this poor soul, I say, cried, but silently and secretly, as Moses did at the Red Sea, as Nehemiah did in the presence of the king of Persia.
And the Lord
Heard him, and delivered him out of all his troubles
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
troubles = distresses.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
This: Psa 3:4, Psa 10:17, Psa 40:17, Psa 66:16-20
saved: Psa 34:17-19, Gen 48:16, 2Sa 22:1, Rev 7:14-17
Reciprocal: Exo 3:7 – I have Exo 22:27 – when he crieth Jdg 15:19 – Enhakkore 2Sa 4:9 – who hath 2Sa 22:4 – so 2Sa 22:7 – did hear 2Ch 14:11 – cried unto 2Ch 20:4 – ask help of the Lord Psa 9:12 – he forgetteth Psa 18:27 – save Psa 22:24 – but Psa 30:8 – unto Psa 34:15 – and Psa 34:19 – but Psa 35:10 – which Psa 40:10 – lovingkindness Psa 66:17 – I cried Psa 66:19 – General Psa 69:33 – the Lord Psa 77:1 – I cried Psa 86:1 – for I am Psa 116:4 – called Isa 38:5 – I have heard Isa 41:17 – I the Lord Jer 20:13 – for Lam 3:56 – hast Jon 2:2 – I cried Mic 7:7 – I will look