Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 69:32
The humble shall see [this, and] be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God.
32. When the meek see it, they shall be glad:
Ye that seek after God, let your heart revive.
Cp. Psa 22:16, and with Psa 69:33 cp. Psa 22:24.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The humble shall see this, and be glad – Margin, The meek. That is, Others who are thus afflicted – the poor, the needy, the oppressed, the sad – shall be made acquainted with what has been done in my behalf, and shall take courage, or be strengthened. They will learn to trust that God will also interpose in their troubles, and bring them out of their distresses.
And your heart shall live that seek God – Shall be revived; shall be encouraged, strengthened, animated.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 32. The humble shall see this, and be glad] Those who are low, pressed down by misfortune or cruelty, shall see this and take courage; expecting that thou wilt lift them up also; and thus the heart of those who seek the Lord shall be revived.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Be glad; those pious persons who are grieved for my calamities shall have occasion to rejoice, and they will heartily rejoice in my deliverance and exaltation.
Shall live, or be revived, to wit, with joy, which were dejected, and in a manner dead with sorrow. Compare Gen 45:27; Psa 22:26; 109:21.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
32, 33. Others shall rejoice.”Humble” and poor, as in Ps69:29.
your heart, &c.addressto such (compare Ps 22:26).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The humble shall see [this, and] be glad,…. The resurrection and exaltation of Christ, Ps 69:29; the meek and humble followers of Christ, as his disciples were, saw him risen from the dead, saw him alive, to whom he showed himself forty days after his resurrection; they saw his hands, and feet, and side, and the prints of the nails and spear in them; they saw him go up to heaven, to be set on high at the right hand of God; and humble believers now see him by faith, crowned with glory and honour; and as the disciples were glad, and rejoiced when they saw him again, and when he was parted from them, and went up to heaven, Joh 20:20; so true believers in Christ, who have a spiritual sight of a risen, ascended, and exalted Saviour, are glad, and rejoice in him with joy unspeakable, and full of glory, 1Pe 1:8; they rejoice in the righteousness he has brought in, in the atonement that he has made, and in the salvation he has wrought out, which is so suitable for them; and because they do or will share in all the blessings of his resurrection, ascension, and exaltation; such as regeneration, justification, every supply of grace, and perseverance in it, the resurrection of their bodies, and eternal glorification: and “humble” ones are such as are humbled under a sense of sin, and the exceeding sinfulness of it, in a view of their own righteousness, and its insufficiency to justify them before God: they ascribe all they have and are to the free grace of God; and all boasting is excluded from them, save in Christ; they are such that learn of him, who is meek and lowly; and behave humbly before men, esteem others better than themselves; and are in their own account the chief of sinners, and the least of saints: and as they are, for the most part, “afflicted”, and so some render the word p here; they are humble under the mighty hand of God, and patiently bear it;
and your heart shall live that seek God; that seek his face and favour, his gracious presence, and communion with him; that seek, by prayer and supplications, blessings from him; that seek him in Christ, where he is to be found; that seek Christ, and righteousness and salvation by him, and that early, earnestly, and diligently; that seek the things of Christ, the honour of his name, and the good of his interest; and who, in a word, are the true and spiritual worshippers of God; these seek him, and he seeks them. The Targum is,
“that seek doctrine from before God;”
and the hearts of those revived, who were as dead men before, as were the two disciples travelling to Emmaus, when they found that Christ was risen, Lu 24:17; just as the spirit of old Jacob revived, when he understood that his son Joseph was alive, Ge 45:27; see Ps 22:26.
p “afflicti”, Vatablus, Musculus; “miseri”, Gejerus; “mansueti ac miseri”, Michaelis.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
32. The afflicted have seen it. He here shows that the blessed effects of his deliverance will extend to others as well as to himself, a point which he frequently insists on in the Psalms, as we have seen in Psa 22:23, and in many other places. And his object in doing this is, partly to commend the goodness and grace of God to true believers, and partly that by this as an argument he may prevail with God to succor him. Besides, he does not mean that God’s people would rejoice at this spectacle merely on the ground of brotherly friendship, but because, in the deliverance of one man, a pledge would be given to others, affording them also assurance of salvation. For this very reason he terms them the afflicted. Whoever seek God, (says he,) although they may be subjected to afflictions, will nevertheless take courage from my example. The first and the second clauses of the verse must be read together; for a connected sense would not be preserved were we not to understand the meaning to be this, That the example of David would afford a ground of rejoicing to all the faithful servants of God when they should seek a remedy for their afflictions. He very properly conjoins the desire of seeking God with affliction; for all men do not so profit under the chastening hand of God as to seek salvation from him in the exercise of a sincere and ardent faith. In the concluding part of this verse there is a change of person: And your heart shall live. But this apostrophe is so far from rendering the sense obscure, that, on the contrary, it expresses it the more forcibly, as if a thing present were described. In addressing those who were so much under the pressure of affliction as to be laid prostrate like dead men, he exhibits to their view a kind of image of the resurrection; as if he had said, O ye who are dead! unto you new vigor shall be restored. It is not meant that faith perishes in the children of God, and remains entirely dead until it is quickened into life again by the example of the deliverance of others; but that the light which was quenched is rekindled, and thus, so to speak, recovers life anew. The Psalmist immediately after (verse 33) describes the means by which this will be brought about in the children of God, which is, that believing the deliverance of David to be a common token or pledge of the grace of God presented before them, they will confidently come to the conclusion, that God regards the needy, and does not despise the prisoners. We thus see that he considers what was done to one man, as a clear indication on the part of God that he will be ready to succor all who are in adversity. (99)
(99) “ Tous ceux qui seront oppressez a tort.” — Fr. “All who shall be wrongfully oppressed.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(32) Humble.Rather, afflicted.
And your heart . . .Better, may your heart live. (See Psa. 22:5.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
DISCOURSE: 613
HUMBLE SOULS ENCOURAGED
Psa 69:32-33. Your heart shall live that seek God. For the Lord heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners.
SWEETLY encouraging are the records of Gods people, as contained in the Sacred Oracles. We see their complaints exactly agreeing with those which we ourselves are constrained to utter. We see with what confidence they betook themselves to prayer; and how wonderfully their efforts were crowned with success; and how pleased God himself was with magnifying his grace and mercy towards them: and from all this we derive encouragement, at once suited to our necessities, and sufficient for our wants. Behold the experience of David in the preceding context: I am poor and sorrowful. (This accords with what is felt by every contrite soul.) And to what has he recourse? To prayer; and with an enlargement of heart which we should scarcely have expected to see: Let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high! (It is thus that we also should pray; not being straitened in our petitions; but opening our mouths wide, in order that they may be filled.) And now mark the success of his prayer: behold, without the delay of a moment, he is enabled to add, I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. (Such is the success which we also may hope for, if we pray in humility and faith.) And was God displeased with this holy boldness? No: David adds, This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs, yea, better than the cattle upon a thousand hills. Now mark the improvement we are to make of this: The humble shall see this, and be glad: and (whoever ye be) your heart shall live that seek God; for the Lord heareth the poor (wherever they may be found), and despiseth not his prisoners, however low or abject their condition.
Now, to encourage you, my Brethren, from this example, I will proceed (in the simplest way imaginable, and not with any artificial arrangement), to address you on the subject before us.
I trust that many of you are seeking after God
[It can scarcely be, that after having so long had the Gospel faithfully ministered unto you, there should be the same indifference amongst you as in the ignorant ungodly world. I hope and trust there is amongst you some desire after God, some hope in the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, and some endeavour to flee from the wrath to come ]
And, if you are seeking him aright, God promises that your heart shall live
[Doubtless it is necessary that you seek after God in earnest: for the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent must take it by force. You may seek to enter in, and not be able: you must therefore not only seek, but strive. Moreover, you must strive in Gods appointed way. To win a race, you must not only run, but run lawfully; that is, agreeably to the laws prescribed for you: and the only way by which any of you can succeed, is, by renouncing all dependence on yourselves, and founding your hopes altogether on the Lord Jesus Christ, even on his meritorious death and passion, as an expiation for your sins
Now, if you are indeed fleeing to him for refuge, you shall assuredly find mercy of the Lord, or, as my text expresses it, your heart shall live. This expression deserves peculiar notice. The heart of an unawakened man is dead, and senseless as the nether millstone. The Gospel, with all its alluring promises, may be proclaimed; but he feels it not: it has no allurements for him; nor do its denunciations of judgment excite alarm. But let a person begin to seek after God aright, and a new heart will be given to him, and a new spirit be put within him. The heart of stone will be taken away, and a heart of flesh be substituted in its place. Then will all his views, desires, and pursuits, become changed: being alive to God, he will be alive to all holy exercises, and find his happiness in the enjoyment of his God. This is the explanation which the Psalmist himself gives of the expression in another psalm: They shall praise the Lord that seek him; your heart shall live for ever [Note: Psa 22:26.].]
Nor let any one be discouraged on account of his poverty
[The poor of this world are not less regarded by Jehovah than the rich. And those who are spiritually poor, are objects of his peculiar care. Not one such person will he ever overlook. Though surrounded by myriads of holy angels, he will not suffer them to attract his attention in comparison of a poor and contrite soul. No: Unto this man will I look, says he, even unto him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my word. There is not a sigh which such an one utters, but it is heard by him, and is as music in his ears: and every tear he sheds is treasured up by him in his vial. But, not to rest on mere assertions, let us look at an example. In the Prophet Jeremiah, we find a poor mourning penitent, just such an one as we are speaking of; and there we may see in what light he is viewed by God: I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus: Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the Lord my God. Surely, after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. Now hear what God says to all this: Is Ephraim (that is, Is not Ephraim) my dear Son? Is he not a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: yea, my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord [Note: Jer 31:18-20.]. This shews what favour the poor shall find in his sight; and gives the full explanation of those words, The Lord heareth the poor.]
Even though a person should feel himself like a prisoner under actual sentence of death, let him not despond
[It is in hell only that men are prisoners of despair: whilst they are in this world, the worst amongst them is only a prisoner of hope; and to such there is a special promise from God himself: Turn you to the strong-hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to-day do I declare that I will render double unto you [Note: Zec 9:12.]. Whatever your deserts of judgment have been, God will award to you a double measure in a way of mercy. God even condescends to assume this as his own character, whereby he may be known, even as clearly as by his works of creation, or the dispensations of his providence. The Lord God is he who made the heaven and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: who keepeth truth for ever: who executeth judgment for the oppressed; who giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth the prisoners: the Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth up them that are bowed down: the Lord loveth the righteous [Note: Psa 146:5-8.]. To them in a peculiar manner he had respect in the gift of his Son; as our Lord himself has said: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor: he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted; to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind; to set at liberty them that are bruised; to preach the acceptable year of the Lord [Note: Luk 4:18-19.]. Only conceive of a poor wretch that has wasted all his substance, and sold himself for a slave, returning in an instant, at the sound of the trumpet, to the enjoyment of liberty, and of all his possessions; and then you have a just view of Gods dealings with the most abject prisoners of hope, the very instant that they call upon him. Let every one, then, take courage, however desperate his state may appear: for this is the true character of Jehovah; and such he will approve himself to be to all who come to him in his Sons name.]
And now let me entreat you all to seek him without delay
[Now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation. O beloved Brethren, seek ye the Lord, while he may be found; call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon [Note: Isa 55:6-7.].]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 69:32 The humble shall see [this, and] be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God.
Ver. 32. The humble shall see this and be glad ] David’s great care was for others’ confirmation and comfort; much more Christ’s, witness that holy prayer of his, Joh 17:9
Your heart shall live
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
and be glad = they rejoice.
heart. Put by Figure of speech Synecdoche (of the Part), for the whole being.
shall live: i.e. live again in resurrection. See note on Lev 18:5.
God. In Authorized Version, 1611, this was printed “good”. First printed “God” in ed. 1617.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
The humble: or, The meek, Psa 25:9, Psa 34:2, Isa 61:1-3, Joh 16:22, Joh 20:20
your heart: Psa 22:26, Psa 22:29, Isa 55:6, Isa 55:7
Reciprocal: Psa 14:2 – seek Isa 45:19 – Seek Lam 3:25 – unto Amo 5:4 – and Mat 5:5 – the meek Mat 7:7 – seek
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 69:32-33. The humble shall see this Shall see, in my case, how ready God is to hear the poor and distressed when they cry to him, and to grant their petitions, and how far he is from despising his prisoners, namely, those who are in prison or affliction for his sake, though men despise them; and be glad Not only because, when one member is honoured, all the members rejoice with it, but because it would be an encouragement to them in their straits and difficulties to trust in God. It will revive the hearts of those who seek God to see more seals to this truth, that God never said to any of the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain.