Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 27:7
Hear, O LORD, [when] I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
7. Have mercy ] Be gracious.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
7 14. The tone of the Psalm changes abruptly to plaintive and anxious supplication. God seems to be on the point of hiding His face.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice – This earnest prayer seems to have been prompted by a returning sense of danger. He had had assurance of the divine favor. He had found God ready to help him. He did not doubt but that He would aid him; yet all this did not prevent his calling upon Him for the aid which he needed, but rather stimulated him to do it. With all the deep-felt conviction of his heart that God was ready and willing to assist him, he still felt that he had no reason to hope for His aid unless he called upon Him. The phrase when I cry with my voice refers to the fact that he prayed audibly or aloud. It was not mental prayer, but that which found expression in the language of earnest entreaty.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 27:7-14
Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice.
A prayer of desire and dependence
David here expresses–
I. his desire towards God. If he cannot now go up to the house of the Lord, yet, wherever he is, he can find a way to the throne of grace by prayer.
1. He humbly bespeaks, because he firmly believes he shall have, a gracious audience (verse7).
2. He takes hold of the kind invitation God had given him to this duty (Psa 27:8).
(1) The true nature of religious worship. Seeking the face of God. The opening of His hand will satisfy the desire of other living things (Psa 145:16), but it is only the shining of His face that will satisfy the desire of a living soul (Psa 4:6-7).
(2) The kind invitation of a gracious God to this duty. He calls us by the whispers of His Spirit, to and with our spirits, to seek His face; calls us by His Word, by the stated returns of opportunities for His worship, and by special providences, merciful and afflictive.
(3) The ready compliance of a gracious soul with this invitation. A gracious heart readily echoes to the call of a gracious God, being made willing in the day of His power.
3. He is very particular in his requests.
(1) For the favour of God, that he might not be shut out from that.
(2) For the continuance of His presence with him.
(3) For the benefit of a Divine conduct (Psa 27:11).
(4) For the benefit of a Divine protection (Psa 27:12).
II. his dependence upon God.
1. That He would help and succour him, when all other helps and succours failed him (Psa 27:10). God is a surer and better friend than our earthly parents are or can be.
2. That in due time he should see the displays of His goodness (verse 18). Even the best saints are subject to faint when their troubles become grievous and tedious. Their spirits are overwhelmed, and their flesh and heart fail; but their faith is a sovereign cordial. They that walk by faith in the goodness of the Lord, shall in due time walk in the sight of that goodness.
3. That in the meantime he should be strengthened to bear up under his burden (Psa 27:14). Whether he said it to himself or to his friends, it comes all to one. He shall strengthen thy heart, shall sustain the spirit, and then the spirit shall sustain the infirmity. In that strength–
(1) Keep close to God, and to your duty.
(2) Keep up your spirits in the midst of the greatest danger and difficulties. (Matthew Henry, D. D.)
Davids prayer for audience and answer
I. what David prayed for. The audience which David prays for is not the bare act of hearing, in taking notice of what he said in prayer, for he knew well that would never be wanting in God towards man. But by hearing, he means Gods favourable act of audience, testified by gracious answers (Psa 143:1).
1. He knew that God did often, for just causes, deny to give such gracious answers, even to the prayers of His servants.
(1) When He would bumble them, and correct them for their sins (Psa 66:18).
(2) When He would stir them up to more zeal and fervency in prayer (Mat 15:22, etc.).
(3) When He will exercise them under some affliction (Psa 22:1-2).
II. the manner of Davids praying. He cried with his voice; which notes great fervency, zeal and earnestness.
1. Prayer is a good thing, and zealous affection in a good thing is always commendable (Gal 4:18).
2. Zeal and fervency in prayer is very moving (Jam 5:16; Luk 11:8; Luk 18:1-5).
3. Gods mercies, testified by gracious promises and answerable performances, notably encouraged him to be zealous and earnest in prayer (Psa 22:4-5; Psa 107:6; Psa 107:13; Psa 107:19; Psa 6:8-9).
4. His own necessities urged him (Psa 18:4-6).
III. Davids esteem of this work of God, when he gives audience and answers to his prayers. The reason is, because he, as every other man, stood guilty of sin, which separates between God and us (Psa 59:2). (T. Pierson.)
Prayer, a childs cry to God
Telephones have been fixed near the cots of sleeping infants, that when they awake and begin to cry the mother may hear them at once and fly to comfort them. Prayer is a childs cry, and God is always listening for it. (R. Brewin.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 7. Hear, O Lord, when I cry] This is the utmost that any man of common sense can expect – to be heard when he cries. But there are multitudes who suppose God will bless them whether they cry or not; and there are others, and not a few, who although they listlessly pray and cry not, yet imagine God must and will hear them! God will answer them that pray and cry; those who do not are most likely to be without the blessings which they so much need.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
7. Still pressing need extortsprayer for help.
cry with my voicedenotesearnestness. Other things equal, Christians in earnest pray audibly,even in secret.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Hear, O Lord, [when] I cry with my voice,…. Which is to be understood of prayer, and that in the time of distress; and of vocal prayer, as distinguished from mental prayer; and the phrase denotes the vehemency and intenseness of it: and the request is, that the Lord would hear it; not only as he is omniscient and omnipresent, and so hears the prayers of all, good and bad; but as a God gracious and merciful, who sometimes very quickly hears, and answers in a gracious way, and sometimes seems to turn a deaf car, to shut out the prayers of his people, and cover himself with a cloud, that they should not pass through, or, however, defers an answer to it for a little while; yet, sooner or later, he always shows himself a God hearing prayer;
have mercy also upon me; by delivering him out of his temporal distresses, and by forgiving his iniquities;
and answer me; by speaking a word in season; commanding off the affliction he lay under, and by saying to him that his sins were forgiven him.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Vows of thanksgiving on the assumption of the answering of the prayer and the fulfilment of the thing supplicated, are very common at the close of Psalms. But in this Psalm the prayer is only just beginning at this stage. The transition is brought about by the preceding conception of the danger that threatens him from the side of his foes who are round about him. The reality, which, in the first part, is overcome and surmounted by his faith, makes itself consciously felt here. It is not to be rendered, as has been done by the Vulgate, Exaudi Domine vocem qua clamavi (rather, clamo ) ad te (the introit of the Dominica exspectationis in the interval of preparation between Ascension and Pentecost). has Dech, and accordingly , voce mea (as in Psa 3:5) clamo , is an adverbial clause equivalent to voce mea clamante me . In Psa 27:8 cannot possibly be so rendered that is treated as Lamed auctoris (Dathe, Olshausen): Thine, saith my heart, is (the utterance:) seek ye may face. The declaration is opposed to this sense, thus artificially put upon it. are undoubtedly to be construed together; and what the heart says to Jahve is not: Seek ye my face, but by reason of this, and as its echo (Calvin: velut Deo succinens ): I will therefore seek Thy face. Just as in Job 42:3, a personal inference is drawn from a directly quoted saying of God. In the periodic style it would be necessary to transpose thus: since Thou hast permitted and exhorted us, or in accordance with Thy persuasive invitation, that we should seek Thy face, I do seek Thy face (Hupfeld). There is no retrospective reference to any particular passage in the Tra, such as Deu 4:29. The prayer is not based upon any single passage of Scripture, but upon God’s commands and promises in general.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Confidence in Divine Goodness. | |
7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me. 8 When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek. 9 Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation. 10 When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up. 11 Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies. 12 Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty. 13 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. 14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.
David in these verses expresses,
I. His desire towards God, in many petitions. If he cannot now go up to the house of the Lord, yet, wherever he is, he can find a way to the throne of grace by prayer.
1. He humbly bespeaks, because he firmly believes he shall have, a gracious audience: “Hear, O Lord, when I cry, not only with my heart, but, as one in earnest, with my voice too.” He bespeaks also an answer of peace, which he expects, not from his own merit, but God’s goodness: Have mercy upon me, and answer me, v. 7. If we pray and believe, God will graciously hear and answer.
2. He takes hold of the kind invitation God had given him to this duty, v. 8. It is presumption for us to come into the presence of the King of kings uncalled, nor can we draw near with any assurance unless he hold forth to us the golden sceptre. David therefore going to pray fastens, in his thoughts, upon the call God had given him to the throne of his grace, and reverently touches, as it were, the top of the golden sceptre which was thereby held out to him. My heart said unto thee (so it begins in the original) or of thee, Seek you my face; he first revolved that, and preached that over again to himself (and that is the best preaching: it is hearing twice what God speaks once)–Thou saidst (so it may be supplied), Seek you my face; and then he returns what he had so meditated upon, in this pious resolution, Thy face, Lord, will I seek. Observe here, (1.) The true nature of religious worship; it is seeking the face of God. This it is in God’s precept: Seek you my face; he would have us seek him for himself, and make his favour our chief good; and this it is in the saint’s purpose and desire: “Thy face, Lord, will I seek, and nothing less will I take up with.” The opening of his hand will satisfy the desire of other living things (Ps. cxlv. 16), but it is only the shining of his face that will satisfy the desire of a living soul, Psa 4:6; Psa 4:7. (2.) The kind of invitation of a gracious God to this duty: Thou saidst, Seek you my face; it is not only permission, but a precept; and his commanding us to seek implies a promise of finding; for he is too kind to say, Seek you me in vain. God calls us to seek his face in our conversion to him and in our converse with him. He calls us, by the whispers of his Spirit to and with our spirits, to seek his face; he calls us by his word, by the stated returns of opportunities for his worship, and by special providences, merciful and afflictive. When we are foolishly making our court to lying vanities God is, in love to us, calling us in him to seek our own mercies. (3.) The ready compliance of a gracious soul with this invitation. The call is immediately returned: My heart answered, Thy face, Lord, will I seek. The call was general; “Seek you my face;” but, like David, we must apply it to ourselves, “I will seek it.” The word does us no good when we transfer it to others, and do not ourselves accept the exhortation. The call was, Seek you my face; the answer is express, Thy face, Lord, will I seek; like that (Jer. iii. 22), Behold, we come unto thee. A gracious heart readily echoes to the call of a gracious God, being made willing in the day of his power.
3. He is very particular in his requests. (1.) For the favour of God, that he might not be shut out from that (v. 9): “Thy face, Lord, will I seek, in obedience to thy command; therefore hide not thy face from me; let me never want the reviving sense of the favour; love me, and let me know that thou lovest me; put not thy servant away in anger.” He owns he had deserved God’s displeasure, but begs that, however God might correct him, he would not cast him away from his presence; for what is hell but that? (2.) For the continuance of his presence with him: “Thou hast been my help formerly, and thou are the God of my salvation; and therefore whither shall I go but to thee? O leave me not, neither forsake me; withdraw not the operations of they power from me, for then I am helpless; withdraw not the tokens of thy good-will to me, for then I am comfortless.” (3.) For the benefit of divine guidance (v. 11): “Teach me thy way, O Lord! give me to understand the meaning of thy providences towards me and make them plain to me; and give me to know my duty in every doubtful case, that I may not mistake it, but may walk rightly, and that I may not do it with hesitation, but may walk surely.” It is not policy, but plainness (that is, downright honesty) that will direct us into and keep us in the way of our duty. He begs to be guided in a plain path, because of his enemies, or (as the margin reads it) his observers. His enemies watched for his halting, that they may find occasion against him. Saul eyed David, 1 Sam. xviii. 9. This quickened him to pray, “Lord, lead me in a plain path, that they may have nothing ill, or nothing that looks ill, to lay to my charge.” (4.) For the benefit of a divine protection (v. 12): “Deliver me not over to the will of my enemies. Lord, let them not gain their point, for it aims at my life, and no less, and in such a way as that I have no fence against them, but thy power over their consciences; for false witnesses have risen up against me, that aim further than to take away my reputation or estate, for they breathe out cruelty; it is the blood, the precious blood, they thirst after.” Herein David was a type of Christ; for false witnesses rose up against him, and such as breathed out cruelty; but though he was delivered into their wicked hands, he was not delivered over to their will, for they could not prevent his exaltation.
II. He expresses his dependence upon God,
1. That he would help and succour him when all other helps and succours failed him (v. 10): “When my father and my mother forsake me, the nearest and dearest friends I have in the world, from whom I may expect most relief and with most reason, when they die, or are at a distance from me, or are disabled to help me in time of need, or are unkind to me or unmindful of me, and will not help me, when I am as helpless as ever poor orphan was that was left fatherless and motherless, then I know the Lord will take me up, as a poor wandering sheep is taken up, and saved from perishing.” His time to help those that trust in him is when all other helpers fail, when it is most for his honour and their comfort. With him the fatherless find mercy. This promise has often been fulfilled in the letter of it. Forsaken orphans have been taken under the special care of the divine Providence, which has raised up relief and friends for them in a way that one would not have expected. God is a surer and better friend than our earthly parents are or can be.
2. That in due time he should see the displays of his goodness, v. 13. He believed he should see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living; and, if he had not done so, he would have fainted under his afflictions. Even the best saints are subject to faint when their troubles become grievous and tedious, their spirits are overwhelmed, and their flesh and heart fail. But then faith is a sovereign cordial; it keeps them from desponding under their burden and from despairing of relief, keeps them hoping, and praying, and waiting, and keeps up in them good thoughts of God, and the comfortable enjoyment of themselves. But what was it the belief of which kept David from fainting?–that he should see the goodness of the Lord, which now seemed at a distance. Those that walk by faith in the goodness of the Lord shall in due time walk in the sight of that goodness. This he hopes to see in the land of the living, that is, (1.) In this world, that he should outlive his troubles and not perish under them. It is his comfort, not so much that he shall see the land of the living as that he shall see the goodness of God in it; for that is the comfort of all creature-comforts to a gracious soul. (2.) In the land of Canaan, and in Jerusalem where the lively oracles were. In comparison with the heathen, that were dead in sin, the land of Israel might fitly be called the land of the living; there God was known, and there David hoped to see his goodness; see 2Sa 15:25; 2Sa 15:26. Or, (3.), In heaven. It is that alone that may truly be called the land of the living, where there is no more death. This earth is the land of the dying. There is nothing like the believing hope of eternal life, the foresights of that glory, and foretastes of those pleasures, to keep us from fainting under all the calamities of this present time.
3. That in the mean time he should be strengthened to bear up under his burdens (v. 14); whether he says it to himself, or to his friends, it comes all to one; this is that which encourages him: He shall strengthen thy heart, shall sustain thy spirit, and then the spirit shall sustain the infirmity. In that strength, (1.) Keep close to God and to your duty. Wait on the Lord by faith, and prayer, and a humble resignation to his will; wait, I say, on the Lord; whatever you do, grow not remiss in your attendance upon God. (2.) Keep up your spirits in the midst of the greatest dangers and difficulties: Be of good courage; let your hearts be fixed, trusting in God, and your minds stayed upon him, and then let none of these things move you. Those that wait upon the Lord have reason to be of good courage.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
7. Hear, O Jehovah! my voice. The Psalmist returns again to prayer, and in doing so, he declares with what armor he was furnished to break through his temptations. By the word cry, he expresses his vehemence, as I have elsewhere said, that he may thereby move God the sooner to help him. For the same purpose, also, he a little after mentions his misery, because the more the faithful are oppressed, the more does their very need induce God to extend his favor towards them.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(7) The change of tone so marked here, from the warlike to the plaintive, leads to the supposition that Psa. 27:7-12 are interpolated from another song of quite another kind in contents, art, and period.
I cry with my voicei.e., aloud.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Hear, O YHWH, when I cry with my voice,
Have mercy also on me, and answer me.
In this second part of the Psalm it appears as though his family have cast him off, with the result that he is concerned lest YHWH too cast him off. It is necessary here to remember the closeness of family ties in Israel, and their importance. To be cast off from the family was to be rejected by the tribe. And that could be seen as being cut off from God. Such a situation may have resulted from false information having been laid against David by Saul, so that even his family withdrew their support from him. but whatever it was it went very deep.
And so he cries to YHWH that He will hear his voice, and will in compassion answer him, and be gracious to him.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
These also are precious things, if considered with an eye to Christ: but, without him, as was said by Joseph to the sons of Israel, ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. Gen 43:5 . But in Christ, as the way, the new and living way in his blood, and through Christ, as the means and end, the very life of the soul consisteth in prayers going up, and answers coming down, in a perpetual communion with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 27:7 Hear, O LORD, [when] I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
Ver. 7. Hear, O Lord, when I cry ] This was his form of prayer, or to this effect, when he was in any distress or danger. As a good soldier of Jesus Christ, he had weapons, not only defensive (the shield of faith, helmet of hope, breastplate of righteousness, &c., as Eph 6:14-18 ), but also offensive, viz. the darts of prayer, as here, and the sword of the Spirit, the word of God, as in the next.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 27:7-10
7Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice,
And be gracious to me and answer me.
8When You said, Seek My face, my heart said to You,
Your face, O Lord, I shall seek.
9Do not hide Your face from me,
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not abandon me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation!
10For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
But the Lord will take me up.
Psa 27:7-10 Often in the Psalms separate strophes repeat the emphasis or theme of previous strophes. This could be explained as
1. another level of purposeful parallelism
2. the editorial process whereby
a. words
b. themes
c. moods
d. actions
which are similar in sound, meaning, or theology are grouped together by later editors/compilers.
Psa 27:7 Hear. . .cry The first is a Qal imperative (BDB 1033, KB 1570), so common in the Psalms as a way of beseeching God. The second verb, cry (BDB 894, KB 1128, Qal imperfect), also denotes prayer. This verse repeats the focus of Psa 27:4.
The context of the prayer request is
1. be gracious to me BDB 335, KB 334, Qal imperative
2. answer me BDB 772, KB 851, Qal imperative
Psa 27:8 Notice that NASB and NKJV have an introductory phrase in italics (i.e., When You said), which denotes that it is not part of the Hebrew text. The NRSV and NJB translations assume the speaker is the psalmist.
The verb seek (BDB 134, KB 152) is repeated
1. first an opening Qal imperative (plural)
2. second a Piel imperfect (singular, the opening verb of Psa 27:8 is also singular)
These seem to represent a dialogue between YHWH and the psalmist. One calls and the other appropriately responds. The verb seek denotes a call to a personal relationship (cf. Psa 24:6; Deu 4:29), which denotes worship and obedience. In this Psalm, because of the emphasis on prayer, it may parallel Psa 27:4; Psa 27:7.
face This is a Hebrew idiom for close personal contact (cf. Psa 24:6), where both seek and face occur together.
Psa 27:9 There is a series of jussive verbs which denote the things the psalmist asks YHWH not to do.
1. do not hide Your face from me BDB 711, KB 771, Hiphil jussive, cf. Psa 69:17; Psa 102:2; Psa 143:7
2. do not turn away Your servant in anger BDB 639, KB 692, Hiphil jussive
3. do not abandon me BDB 643, KB 693, Qal imperfect used in a jussive sense, cf. Psa 94:14, unless they cease to be faithful followers (cf. Jer 12:7)
4. do not forsake me BDB 736, KB 806, Qal imperfect used in a jussive sense
Notice the personal element involved in all these requests!
Psa 27:10
NASBfor
NKJVwhen
NRSVif
TEVmay
NJB, JPSOA,
NRSV, REBthough
NET Bibleeven if
The introductory conjunction (BDB 471-475) has a wide semantical field. Only context can determine meaning. Obviously this context does not allow a clear translation.
my father and my mother forsake me This is the same verb which was used in Psa 27:9. Even though the translation of this phrase is uncertain, the meaning is obvious. One’s closest human companions or family may leave but the covenant God will never leave (cf. Deu 31:6; Jos 1:5; Isa 49:15; Heb 13:5)!
The UBS Handbook (p. 266) mentions that TEV, NEB, JB take the verse as expressing a theoretical possibility to make a strong literary point, not a real abandonment.
One wonders if this may reflect YHWH’s promise to David and his descendants in 2 Samuel 7. Possibly Psa 27:13 relates to 2Sa 7:28.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Have mercy = Show favour, or Be gracious.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 27:7-8
Psa 27:7-8
“Hear, O Jehovah, when I cry with my voice:
Have mercy upon me, and answer me.
When thou saidest Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee,
Thy face, Jehovah, will I seek.”
“I cry with my voice” (Psa 27:7). Prayer is not merely a silent, or a mental thing; it is an audible petition. From the Cross itself Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” We worship God with “the fruit of our lips” (Heb 13:15). So-called “silent prayer” indulged upon many occasions is in no sense equal to one that is vocalized. It reminds one of the way the Quakers once observed the Lord’s Supper, with no words, no emblems, no prayers, and no edification!
The king of Nineveh ordered his subjects, “To cry mightily unto God,” if perhaps they might be heard of the heavenly Father (Jon 3:8).
Psa 27:8 is admittedly a difficult passage in the Hebrew text; but the ASV has here achieved a very understandable rendition of it. What is emphasized is the spontaneous and unwavering trust of the worshipper. As Yates noted, this implicit trust in God is one of the strong elements that bespeaks the unity of the whole psalm. This is the very same attitude encountered in the first six verses.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 27:7. A prayer formed in the mind would be known by the Lord and would be given proper attention. In times of great distress, however, a man would be inclined to make his prayer audible. That was what David did in this verse and it expressed an earnest desire for the help of God.
Psa 27:8. The first 3 words of this verse are not in the original. The true thought is a view of the dictates of the heart of David. In the time of his troubles his heart (sentiments or feelings) urged him to seek the face of the Lord (in prayer). In response to the urge of his heart he sought the Lord by prayer and song.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Psa 4:1, Psa 5:2, Psa 130:2-4, Psa 143:1, Psa 143:2
Reciprocal: Psa 64:1 – Hear Psa 140:6 – hear
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
3. Prayer for speedy help 27:7-14
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Apparently David was not getting the help he needed, so he appealed earnestly to the Lord. In the Mosaic Law, God told His people to remember Him and to draw near to Him rather than abandoning Him. David was doing just that, so he asked God not to abandon him or remain silent when he requested deliverance. He reminded the Lord that he was His servant because lords did not normally deny their servants access to their presence. God could reject David’s plea because he was a sinner, so the psalmist acknowledged the possibility that God would turn him away.
Psa 27:10 should probably be a conditional statement: "If my father . . .". David’s point in this verse was that even if those who were most supportive of him on earth would forsake him, he knew even then that the Lord would not abandon him.