Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!
David opens with urgent prayer because he was crushed under no ordinary distress; his courage itself had been overwhelmed. He cries out loud precisely because he is wretched and constrained by his misery, not boasting of strength. His enemies hurl their unjust violence upon him, both open assault and artful slander, seeking his destruction.
AI summary
All the saints, from the Great Elder Brother to the least in His family, run to prayer in trouble as naturally as chickens to the hen. But we do not merely pray; we crave an audience with Heaven itself and an answer from the throne. When God hides His face, as He did when Christ bore our sins, that is the dread calamity we must fear above all.
AI summary
Prayer is a salve for every sore and relief under every burden. David begs God what he could not obtain from Saul or his enemies: to hear and answer him. His tears and groans, great griefs that cannot be stifled, spring from the enemy's menaces and insults, much as the mob was stirred against the Son of David to cry, Crucify Him.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 55:1-8