Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 55:17
Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.
17. Evening, and morning, and at noon ] Evening stands first because the day began at sunset. A reference to stated hours of prayer (cp. Dan 6:10; Act 10:9; Act 10:30) is hardly to be found in so natural an expression for “continuing stedfastly in prayer.”
will I pray, and cry aloud ] R.V., will I complain and moan. Cp. Psa 55:2.
and he shall hear ] By an idiom which cannot be translated, the Psalmist speaks of this hearing as a present fact. So in Psa 55:18 he uses the ‘perfect of certainty,’ He hath redeemed, for the context makes it clear that deliverance has not actually reached him. In peace denotes the result: delivered me and placed me in safety.
from the battle that was against me ] Better, with the Ancient Versions, that they should not come nigh me.
for there were many with me ] According to this rendering the words may refer to the hosts of angels sent for his succour (2Ki 6:16; Psa 34:7); but the R.V. is doubtless right in rendering, for they were many (that strove) with me.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray – In another place Psa 119:164 the psalmist says that he engaged in acts of devotion seven times in a day. Daniel prayed three times a day, Dan 6:10. David went, in his troubles, before God evening, morning, and mid-day, in solemn, earnest prayer. So Paul, in a time of great distress, gave himself on three set occasions to earnest prayer for deliverance. See the notes at 2Co 12:8. This verse, therefore, does not prove that it was a regular habit of David to pray three times a day; but in view of the passage, it may be remarked
(a) that it is proper to have regular seasons for devotion, of frequent occurrence; and
(b) that there are favorable and suitable times for devotion.
The morning and the evening are obviously appropriate; and it is well to divide the day also by prayer – to seek, at mid-day, the rest titan bodily and mental toil which is secured by communion with God – and to implore that strength which we need for the remaining duties of the day. True religion is cultivated by frequent and regular seasons of devotion.
And cry aloud – The word here employed properly means to murmur; to make a humming sound; to sigh; to growl; to groan. See the notes at Psa 42:5. Here the language means that he would give utterance to his deep feelings in appropriate tones – whether words, sighs, or groans. To the deep thoughts and sorrows of his soul he would often give suitable expression before God.
And he shall hear my voice – The confident language of faith, as in Psa 55:16.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 55:17
Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall hear my voice.
Prayer
I. The nature of our prayer. Prayer is the humble expression of our wants and of our desires to Almighty God; and it comprehends, at least, the following particulars.
1. Prayer is an acknowledgment of the being and of the providence of God; He that cometh to God must believe that He is;–an expression of our dependence upon God; and a profession of our belief in His omnipotence, goodness, grace, and bounty–that He is the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.
2. Prayer re-establishes communion between God and man. It opens and maintains intercourse with the skies.
3. Prayer is the grand means by which we obtain our spiritual blessings from the hands of God.
4. But nothing is real prayer except it arise sincerely from the heart, and is presented through Jesus Christ, the Mediator between God and man, accompanied at all times by a measure of faith (Joh 14:6; Jam 1:6-7).
II. In the manner in which the author of our text performed this duty. This was distinguished by fervour, regularity, and frequency.
1. Fervour in prayer is the earnest manner in which we breathe out our desires to God; not so much the strength of the voice, as the ardour of the soul (Rom 8:26).
2. Regularity was associated with the psalmists performance of this duty. He had stated times for prayer. And do not creatures, circumstanced as we are, need every help?
3. Frequency is another thing signified. (Sketches of Four Hundred Sermons.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 17. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray] This was the custom of the pious Hebrews. See Da 6:10. The Hebrews began their day in the evening, and hence David mentions the evening first. The rabbins say, Men should pray three times each day, because the day changes three times. This was observed in the primitive Church; but the times, in different places, were various. The old Psalter gives this a curious turn: “At even I sall tel his louing (praise) what tim Crist was on the Crosse: and at morn I sall schew his louing, what tim he ros fra dede. And sua he sall here my voyce at mid day, that is sitand at the right hand of his fader, wheder he stegh (ascended) at mid day.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The three stated times of prayer amongst the Jews. See Dan 6:10; Act 3:1; 10:3,9,30.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray,…. These being the stated times of prayer with the Jews, and which continued to later ages, Da 6:10. These times, they say b, were fixed by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: the morning prayer by Abraham, according to Ge 22:3, the prayer of the “minchah” by Isaac, according to Ge 24:63; and the evening prayer by Jacob, according to Ge 28:11. The prayer of the evening was at the time of the evening sacrifice, to which it is compared, Ps 141:2. This was at the ninth hour, at which time Peter and John went up to the temple to pray; and Cornelius prayed in his own house, Ac 3:1. The prayer of the morning was at the time of the morning daily sacrifice, and was about the third hour of the day; at which time the apostles met together for prayer on the day of Pentecost, Ac 2:1; and that at noon was at the sixth hour of the day; at which time Peter went up to the housetop to pray, Ac 10:9. And now, though we are not tied down to these exact and precise times of prayer, yet this teaches us that we ought to pray frequently and constantly, and that a day should not pass without it; and the morning and evening seem to be very proper seasons for it, seeing the mercies of the Lord are new every morning; and we should be thankful for them and the mercies of the night past, and implore divine protection and grace for the day following; and at evening we should express our thankfulness for the mercies of the day, and commit ourselves and families into the hands of God, who is Israel’s Keeper, that neither slumbers nor sleeps;
and cry aloud; denoting the distress he was in, the fervency of his prayer, and the importunity of it;
and he shall hear my voice; this he might be assured of, from the general character of God, as a God hearing prayer, and from his own special and particular experience of the truth of it, and from the promises made unto him.
b Yalkut Simeoni in loc.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
In the third group confidence prevails, the tone that is struck up in Psa 55:17 being carried forward. Evening morning, and noon, as the beginning, middle, and close of the day, denote the day in its whole compass or extent: David thus gives expression to the incessancy with which he is determined to lay before God, both in the quiet of his spirit and in louder utterances, whatsoever moves him. The fut. consec. connects the hearing (answer) with the prayer as its inevitable result. Also in the praet. expression is given to the certainty of faith; and side by side with it denotes, with the same pregnancy of meaning as in Psa 118:5, the state of undisturbed outward and inward safety and prosperity, into which God removes his soul when He rescues him. If we read mi – k e rob , then is, as the ancient versions regard it, the infinitive: ne appropinquent mihi ; whereas since the time of J. H. Michaelis the preference has been given to the pronunciation mi – k e rab : a conflictu mihi sc. parato, in which case it would be pointed (with Metheg), whilst the MSS, in order to guard against the reading with a , point it . Hitzig is right when he observes, that after the negative the infinitive is indicated beforehand, and that = , Psa 27:2, is better suited to this. Moreover, the confirmatory clause Psa 55:19 is connected with what precedes in a manner less liable to be misunderstood if is taken as infinitive: that they may not be able to gain any advantage over me, cannot come near me to harm me (Psa 91:10). For it is not until now less precarious to take the enemies as the subject of , and to take in a hostile sense, as in Job 10:17; Job 13:19; Job 23:6; Job 31:13, cf. Psa 94:16, and this is only possible where the connection suggests this sense. Heidenheim’s interpretation: among the magnates were those who succoured me (viz., Hushai, Zadok, and Abiathar, by whom the counsel of Athithopel was frustrated), does not give a thought characteristic of the Psalms. And with Aben-Ezra, who follows Numeri Rabba 294 a, to think of the assistance of angels in connection with , certainly strongly commends itself in view of 2Ki 6:16 (with which Hitzig also compares 2Ch 32:7); here, however, it has no connection, whereas the thought, “as many (consisting of many) are they with me, i.e., do they come forward and fight with me,” is very loosely attached to what has gone before. The Beth essentiae serves here, as it does frequently, e.g., Psa 39:7, to denote the qualification of the subject. The preterite of confidence is followed in Psa 55:20 by the future of hope. Although side by side with , presumptively has the signification to answer, i.e., to be assured of the prayer being heard, yet this meaning is in this instance excluded by the fact that the enemies are the object, as is required by Psa 55:20 (even if Psa 55:19 is understood of those who are on the side of the poet). The rendering of the lxx: , is appropriate, but requires the pronunciation to be , since the signification to bow down, to humble, cannot be proved to belong either to Kal or Hiphil. But even granted that might, according to 1Ki 8:35 (vid., Keil), signify , it is nevertheless difficult to believe that is not intended to have a meaning correlative with , of which it is the continuation. Saadia has explained in a manner worthy of attention, as being for , he will testify against them; an interpretation which Aben-Ezra endorses. Hengstenberg’s is better: “God will hear (the tumult of the enemies) and answer them (judicially).” The original text may have been . But as it now stands, represents a subordinate clause, with the omission of the , pledging that judicial response: since He it is who sitteth enthroned from earliest times (vid., on Psa 7:10). The bold expression is an abbreviation of the view of God expressed in Psa 74:12, Hab 1:12, cf. Deu 33:27, as of Him who from primeval days down to the present sits enthroned as King and Judge, who therefore will be able even at the present time to maintain His majesty, which is assailed in the person of His anointed one.
Psa 55:19-23 In spite of this interruption and the accompanying clashing in of the music. .ci with its dependent clause continues the , more minutely describing those whom God will answer in His wrath. The relative clause at the same time gives the ground for this their fate from the character they bear: they persevere in their course without any regard to any other in their godlessness. The noun , which is used elsewhere of a change of clothes, of a reserve in time of war, of a relief of bands of workmen, here signifies a change of mind (Targum), as in Job 14:14 a change of condition; the plural means that every change of this kind is very far from them. In Psa 55:21 David again has the one faithless foe among the multitude of the rebels before his mind. is equivalent to , Gen 34:21, those who stood in peaceful relationship to him ( , Psa 41:10). David classes himself with his faithful adherents. is here a defensive and offensive treaty of mutual fidelity entered into in the presence of God. By and is meant the intention which, though not carried out as yet, is already in itself a violation and profanation of the solemn compact. In Psa 55:22 the description passes into the tone of the caesural schema. It is impossible for , so far as the vowels are concerned, to be equivalent to , since this change of the vowels would obliterate the preposition; but one is forbidden to read (Targum, Symmachus, Jerome) by the fact that (lxx , as in Pro 2:6) cannot be the subject to . Consequently belongs to the noun itself, and the denominative (from ), like (from ), dainties, signifies articles of food prepared from curdled milk; here it is used figuratively of “milk-words” or “butter-words” which come from the lips of the hypocrite softly, sweetly, and supplely as cream: os nectar promit, mens aconita vomit . In the following words ( ) the Makkeph (in connection with which it would have to be read ukerob just the same as in Psa 55:19, since the – has not a Metheg) is to be crossed out (as in fact it is even wanting here and there in MSS and printed editions). The words are an independent substantival clause: war ( , a pushing together, assault, battle, after the form mrof eh with an unchangeable a ) is his inward part and his words are swords; these two clauses correspond. (properly like Arab. rkk , to be thin, weak, then also: to be soft, mild; root , , tendere , tenuare ) has the accent on the ultima, vid., on Psa 38:20. is a drawn, unsheathed sword (Psa 37:14).
The exhortation, Psa 55:23, which begins a new strophe and is thereby less abrupt, is first of all a counsel which David gives to himself, but at the same time to all who suffer innocently, cf. Psa 27:14. Instead of the obscure . , we read in Psa 37:5 , and in Pro 16:3 , according to which the word is not a verb after the form (Chajug’, Gecatilia, and Kimchi), but an accusative of the object (just as it is in fact accented; for the Legarme of has a lesser disjunctive value than the Zinnor of ). The lxx renders it . Thus are these words of the Psalm applied in 1Pe 5:7. According to the Talmud (the same form as ) signifies a burden. “One day,” relates Rabba bar-Chana, B. Rosh ha-Shana, 26 b, and elsewhere, “I was walking with an Arabian (Nabataean?) tradesman, and happened to be carrying a heavy pack. And he said to me, , Take thy burden and throw it on my camel.” Hence it is wiser to refer to , to give, apportion, than to a stem = , Psa 119:131 (root , ), to desire; so that it consequently does not mean desiring, longing, care, but that which is imposed, laid upon one, assigned or allotted to one (Bttcher), in which sense the Chaldee derivatives of (Targum Psa 11:6; Psa 16:5, for ) do actually occur. On whomsoever one casts what is allotted to him to carry, to him one gives it to carry. The admonition proceeds on the principle that God is as willing as He is able to bear even the heaviest burden for us; but this bearing it for us is on the other side our own bearing of it in God’s strength, and hence the promise that is added runs: He will sustain thee ( ), that thou mayest not through feebleness succumb. Psa 55:23 also favours this figure of a burden: He will not give, i.e., suffer to happen (Psa 78:66), tottering to the righteous for ever, He will never suffer the righteous to totter. The righteous shall never totter (or be moved) with the overthrow that follows; whereas David is sure of this, that his enemies shall not only fall to the ground, but go down into Hades (which is here, by a combination of two synonyms, , called a well, i.e., an opening, of a sinking in, i.e., a pit, as e.g., in Pro 8:31; Eze 36:3), and that before they have halved their days, i.e., before they have reached the half of the age that might be attained under other circumstances (cf. Psa 102:25; Jer 16:11). By prominence is given to the fact that it is the very same God who will not suffer the righteous to fall who casts down the ungodly; and by David contrasts himself with them, as being of good courage now and in all time to come.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
17. Evening, and morning, and at noon Either at so many stated times, as Dan 6:10, or poetically for continual prayer, as Psa 88:1; Eph 6:18
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 55:17 Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.
Ver. 17. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray ] So Daniel prayed three times a day, Dan 6:10 ; and in the temple they prayed at the third, sixth, and ninth hour of the day. The saints set themselves certain hours to pray in (besides extraordinary occasions putting them upon that daily sacrifice), the better to arouse their spirits, and to keep constant intercourse with God. Papists have their set times; and Mahometans, whatever occasion they have, either by profit or pleasure, to divert them, will pray five times every day. This they do by form and custom, not by conscience: take we heed of those ordinary traitors, formality and customariness; it hath been bewailed before that many hold only a certain stint of daily duties (as malt-horses their pace, or mill-horses their round), and rest upon them when they have done, using the means as mediators, and so fall short, of Christ.
And cry aloud
And he shall hear my voice
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
pray = meditate.
cry aloud. Hebrew. hamah = to make a noise. Onomatopoetic, like bees, or the cooing of a dove in Eze 7:16. See note on sub-scription.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Evening: Psa 5:2, Psa 5:3, Psa 119:62, Psa 119:147, Psa 119:148, Dan 6:10, Dan 6:13, Mar 1:35, Mar 6:46, Mar 6:48, Luk 18:1-7, Act 3:1, Act 10:3, Act 10:9, Act 10:30, Eph 6:18, 1Th 5:17
cry: Job 19:7, Lam 3:8, Heb 5:7
Reciprocal: Exo 29:39 – in the morning 1Sa 1:19 – they rose Neh 1:6 – day and night Psa 4:3 – the Lord Psa 22:2 – I cry Psa 69:13 – my prayer Psa 77:1 – I cried Psa 86:3 – for I Psa 88:9 – called Psa 109:4 – but I Psa 116:2 – therefore Psa 119:164 – Seven times Jer 18:19 – Give Mic 7:7 – I will look Mat 6:5 – when Act 10:2 – and prayed Rom 12:12 – continuing Phi 4:6 – in Col 4:2 – Continue
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
55:17 Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, {m} and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.
(m) Which signifies a servants mind and sure trust to obtain his portion, which made him earnest at all times in prayer.