¹Incline Your ear, O Lord, and answer me; for I am afflicted and needy … ¹⁷Show me a sign for good, that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed, because You, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

King David was a man whose heart aligned closely with the Lord. God includes this godly man’s inner thoughts and struggles to showcase how we can respond to our life challenges. In his pain, we see concern and impatience mixed with faith and trust in God. Above, the ultimate desire of his heart is for the Lord Himself, and we can see that saturates even David’s lowest times of oppression and harassment from others. Who of us cannot relate to this as we face opposition in our lives?

This psalm is a lament, meaning the overriding theme is a plea to God for help because of circumstances beyond David’s control. While the particular historical events are not told to us, we can see that David describes himself as afflicted and needy (vs. 1), and he calls his experience “the day of my trouble” (vs. 7). He complains about those who hate him:

O God, arrogant men have risen up against me, and a band of violent men have sought my life, and they have not set You before them. (vs. 14, see also vs. 17).

Further, we see the intensity of his struggle when David lists off in staccato rapidity his plea to God (vss. 1-6). These are bookended with a call to God to hear his plea: “Incline your ear” (vs. 1) and “Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer” (vs. 6). His life is being threatened, so he prays, “Preserve my soul…save Your servant” (vs. 2). He asks for the Lord to “Be gracious to me”; He desires that God will “Make glad the soul of Your servant” (vs. 4), implying that he was struggling to find joy in the Lord during his trial.

David addresses God as “Lord” four times in this psalm. The underlying Hebrew word is “Yahweh,” God’s personal, covenant-keeping name. Amid his troubles, David knew his God was a promise-keeper and trusted the Lord even in the worst of situations. He also knew his position before the Lord; he was oriented to the Lord, having committed his loyalty to God and not to other gods (like so many of the Israelites did): “There is no one like You among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like Yours” (vs. 8).

So, when he writes, “for I am a godly man” (vs. 2), he does not arrogantly claim a super-spiritual status for himself, but simply that he is focused on God over and above his own well-being. He knows he is not worthy of God’s help, so he calls out, “Be gracious to me, O Lord” (vs. 3, also vss. 15 and 16).

Godliness is not so much about our attaining sinlessness (for David himself was guilty of heinous sins (the reader is referred to his sin with the murder of Bathsheba’s husband prompted by his trying to cover up his adultery with her in 2 Samuel 11-12). But godliness is more about trusting God in our most dire situations, even when deeply convicted by the Holy Spirit. David knew the Lord was “good and ready to forgive” (vs. 5). And he always reserved the possibility that his own sinful behavior could have contributed to his situation. Hence, his trust in God included this core truth about His character. And God is able to return joy to him (vs. 4), as he writes in another psalm: “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit” (Ps. 51:12).

In verses 7-10, David expresses his confidence that God will answer his prayer for help. First, there are no other gods like Yahweh (vs. 8). This does not suggest that the supposed gods worshiped by the surrounding nations are real entities. The revelation of God in the Abrahamic history, as recorded in the Jewish scriptures and legacy, gives the only accurate framework for knowing God. All other “gods” reflect human efforts to think about higher powers, to which appeal can be made concerning things beyond human control. Those belief systems envision gods who are capricious, inconsistent, and subject to human-like defects and vices. None of them are comparable to what the true God of the universe has revealed about Himself through Abraham, Moses, and the prophets. And therefore, David affirms the uniqueness of the Lord Yahweh, the true God identified with Israel.

Thus, David affirms his belief that a time is coming when “all nations whom You have made will come and worship before You, O Lord, and they shall glorify Your name” (vs. 9). Why will that happen? Because as David says, “You alone are God.” Therefore, he comes to the true Sovereign over all the earth with his need for help when evil men who worship other gods bear down on him.

Surprisingly, while many people would wallow in their fears, David wants to make the most of this situation as a learning experience. David pre-figures to all believers the joy of constantly learning, which will continue throughout eternity. This godly man prays, “Teach me Your way, O Lord.” He wants to know how better to walk in God’s truth and how to “unite my heart to fear Your name.” In other words, if the Lord prolongs answering his prayer, he wants to learn a greater level of submission to God’s sovereign rule in his life—that is what it means “to fear Your name.” David is confident in what he already knows: “But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth” (vs. 15). And on that knowledge, he pleads his case.

David closes with a model prayer request, which Christians today would do well to contemplate. Sometimes, our attitude and actions toward those who continually abuse, oppress, or otherwise offend us may go beyond passive forgiveness or letting go of bitterness toward them. David was not holding on to resentment against his enemies, but in a positive, active way, he asked God to do some outward and tangible thing that would be a clear sign to “those who hate me” to force them to admit that God favored David. Following the example of this godly man, there may be times when we pray in the same way, not so that we can gloat over our enemies, but that they too would turn to God, who is “good and ready to forgive” (vs. 5).

Lord, thank You for being good and ready to forgive me!