Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 69:16
Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness [is] good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.
16. Hear me ] Answer me.
for thy lovingkindness is good ] So Psa 109:21.
turn unto me &c.] According to the abundance of thy compassions turn thee unto me. Cp. Psa 51:1 note; Lam 3:32. ‘Turning’ or ‘looking’ unto him (Psa 25:16; Psa 119:132) is the opposite of that ‘hiding of God’s face’ which he deprecates in the next verse.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Hear me, O L RD, for thy lovingkindness is good – Thy mercy – thy favor – is good; that is, it is ample, abundant, great: it delights in deeds of mercy; in acts of benevolence. This was the only ground of his plea; and this was enough. Compare Psa 63:3.
Turn unto me – Incline thine ear unto me; turn not away, but be favorable to me.
According to the multitude of thy tender mercies – See the notes at Psa 51:1. He felt that he had occasion for the exercise of all the mercy of God; that the case was one which could be reached only by the exercise of the highest kindness and compassion.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 16. Thy loving-kindness is good] The word chesed signifies exuberance of kindness; and the word rachamim, which we translate tender mercies, signifies such affection as mothers bear to their young: and in God, there is rob, a multitude, of such tender mercies towards the children of men!
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Is good, i.e. is eminently and unspeakably good; the positive degree being put for the superlative, as it is Luk 1:28; 1Co 12:23, &c. It is most ready to communicate itself to indigent and miserable creatures.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
16-18. These earnest terms areoften used, and the address to God, as indifferent or averse, isfound in Psa 3:7; Psa 22:24;Psa 27:9, &c.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Hear me, O Lord; for thy lovingkindness [is] good,…. His lovingkindness to him, not only as his Son, but as Mediator; and which is a love of complacency and delight, and was from eternity, and will be to eternity: and this is “good”, as appears by the effects and evidences of it; such as putting all things into his hands, showing him all that he does, concealing and keeping nothing from him, appointing him to be the Saviour of his people, the Head of the church, and the Judge of the world; and this lovingkindness shown to him is a reason why he might expect to be heard by his God and Father; see Joh 17:24; and the loving kindness of God to his people, and the members of Christ, is also good: it arises from the good will and pleasure of God; it is pleasantly and delightfully good to the saints, who have tasted that the Lord is gracious, and have had his love shed abroad in their hearts; it is profitably good unto them; it has prepared and laid up good things for them, both for time and eternity, even all the blessings of grace and goodness: it has promised good things unto them in covenant, and it gives Christ, and all good things along with him; it has a good influence on the graces of the Spirit, faith, hope, and love, to encourage them; and engages believers to a cheerful obedience to all the divine commands; to which may be added the duration of it, it lasts for ever: and it is so good, that it is better than any temporal good thing without it; it is better than life, and all the comforts of it, Ps 63:3;
turn unto me, according to the multitude of thy tender mercies; his divine Father had turned away his face from him, and turned his fury upon him; he had awoke his sword of justice against him, pointed it at him, and thrust it into him; and now, satisfaction being made, he desires he would turn unto him in a way of grace and favour; that he would have respect unto him, and look upon him with his paternal countenance, and in a kind and tender manner, as well pleased with him, and with his righteousness and sacrifice. Of the phrase, “according to the multitude of that tender mercies”, [See comments on Ps 51:1].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
16. Answer me, O Jehovah! for thy mercy is good. The appeal which he here makes to the mercy and compassion of God is an evidence of the distressed condition into which he was brought. There can be no doubt that he sustained a dreadful conflict, when he had recourse to these as the only means of his safety. It is a very difficult matter to believe that God is merciful to us when he is angry with us, and that he is near us when he has withdrawn himself from us. David, aware of this, brings to his view a subject which he may oppose to this distrust, and by pleading for the exercise of the mercy and great compassions of God towards him, shows, that the only consideration which inspired him with hope was the benignant and merciful character of God. When he says, a little after, Look upon me, it is a prayer that God would make it manifest in very deed that he had heard him by granting him succor. In the following verse he utters a similar prayer. And by repeating so often the same things, he declares both the bitterness of his grief and the ardor of his desires. When he beseeches God not to hide his face, it is not from any apprehension which he entertained of being rejected, but because those who are oppressed with calamities cannot avoid being agitated and distracted with mental disquietude. But as God, in a peculiar manner, invites his servants to him, David avows that he is one of their number. In thus speaking, as I have already shown, and will afterwards have occasion to state at greater length, he does not boast of services on account of which he could prefer any claim to a divine reward, but rather depends on the gratuitous election of God; although, at the same time, he is to be understood as adducing the service which he had faithfully yielded to God by whom he was called, as an evidence of his godliness.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
16. Good To be understood in the sense of perfect adaptation to satisfy the soul’s want, and all wants of the creature. Psa 63:3
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 69:16. Thy loving-kindness is good Gracious or bountiful. The Hebrew word chasdeka, in this, as in many other places, signifies abundance of goodness or mercifulness.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Psa 69:16 Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness [is] good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.
Ver. 16. Hear me, O Lord, for thy lovingkindness is good ] It is not like the winter sun, that lighteth but heateth not; it is like the summer sun, that doth both.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 69:16-19
16Answer me, O Lord, for Your lovingkindness is good;
According to the greatness of Your compassion, turn to me,
17And do not hide Your face from Your servant,
For I am in distress; answer me quickly.
18Oh draw near to my soul and redeem it;
Ransom me because of my enemies!
19You know my reproach and my shame and my dishonor;
All my adversaries are before You.
Psa 69:16-19 This strophe is characterized by imperatives of entreaty.
1. answer me, Psa 69:16 BDB 772 I, KB 851, Qal imperative
2. turn to me, Psa 69:16 BDB 815, KB 937, Qal imperative (cf. Psa 27:9; Psa 102:2; Psa 143:7)
3. quickly (lit. hasten), Psa 69:17 BDB 554, KB 553, Piel imperative
4. answer me, Psa 69:17 same as #1
5. draw near to me, Psa 69:18 BDB 897, KB 1132, Qal imperative
6. redeem me, Psa 69:18 BDB 145 I, KB 165, Qal imperative
7. ransom me, Psa 69:18 BDB 804, KB 911, Qal imperative (see SPECIAL TOPIC: RANSOM/REDEEM )
Notice the basis for these prayer requests is:
1. YHWH’s lovingkindness (BDB 338) is good, Psa 69:16
2. YHWH’s great compassion (lit. mercies, BDB 933), Psa 69:16
3. YHWH knows the psalmist’s situation, Psa 69:19
a. the psalmist’s heart
b. the adversaries’ hearts
Psa 69:17 Your servant This could mean
1. a special leader, like Moses, Joshua
2. a reference to David or his royal descendants (i.e., ultimately the Messiah)
3. the special Servant of the Messianic poems of Isaiah 40-55
4. just a title for a covenant believer (cf. Psa 69:36)
SPECIAL TOPIC: MY SERVANT
Psa 69:19 Most English translations see Psa 69:19 as going with Psa 69:20-21.
Notice the eastern view of life that emphasizes one’s reputation.
1. reproach BDB 357, cf. Psa 69:20
2. shame BDB 102
3. dishonor BDB 484
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
for thy: Psa 36:7, Psa 63:3, Psa 109:21
turn: Psa 25:16, Psa 26:11, Psa 86:15, Psa 86:16, Mic 7:19
according: Psa 69:13, Psa 51:1, Isa 63:7
Reciprocal: 1Ch 21:13 – great Psa 5:3 – General Psa 5:7 – in the Psa 25:6 – thy tender mercies Psa 40:11 – Withhold Psa 79:8 – let thy Psa 86:5 – thou Psa 106:45 – to the Psa 109:26 – save me Psa 119:41 – General Psa 119:124 – Deal Psa 119:149 – according unto
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
The king based his petition on the loyal love and compassion of God. He asked God to redeem him from his trouble by drawing him out of it. God had done this when He redeemed Israel out of Egyptian bondage.