Psalms 10:17

Psa 10:17 LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:

Ver. 17. Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble] The whole life of a good Christian is a holy desire, saith Austin. And the desires of the righteous shall be satisfied, Pro 10:24, because they are framed by the Holy Spirit, according to the will of God, Rom 8:27, and they bare the mind of Christ, 1Co 2:16, who knoweth the mind of the Spirit, Rom 8:27, though their desires be not uttered, Rom 8:26.

Thou wilt prepare their heart] In removendis ab illo mundi negotiis, saith R. David, and by putting them into a praying frame, and so fitting them for mercy. Where God giveth a praying heart it is sure that he will show a pitying heart. If he prepare the heart, he will also bend his ear; like as when we bid our children ask us for this or that, we mean to give it them; and as when we open a purse as wide as we can pull it, it is a sign we intend to fill it to the top.

Thou wilt cause thine ear to hear] Even while they are preparing, and before they can speak, many times, Isa 65:24; or while they are praying, as Dan 9:20 Act 4:31, or not long after; they shall be sure to have out their prayers, either in money or in money’s worth, as they say.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa_10:17

Thou hast hoard the desire of the humble.

The desire of the humble encouraged

I. The characters here spoken of. Though there be great difference between man and man with regard to natural character, yet the truly humble before God are those only whom He has humbled. The humble are those whom God doth teach the plague of their own hearts. He humbles them by discoveries of themselves.

II. The desires here spoken of. The soul of man is a restless principle. The souls of the humble ones do desire. The humble soul wants a clearer inward witness of his adoption; a renewed application of the blood of Christ to his conscience; a deeper sense of his acceptance in the Beloved; a closer walk with God.

III. The encouragements here spoken of. Three expressed in the text--

1. Thou hast heard the desire of the humble.

2. Thou wilt prepare their heart.

3. Thou wilt cause Thine ear to hear. (J. Evans.)

The desire of the humble

I. Here is a character described--the humble. It is a characteristic of all Christians. Humility befits us if we regard--

1. The meanness of our origin--dust

2. Our sinfulness.

3. That pride is hateful in the sight of God. What evil it has wrought; how unwarrantable it is.

4. But God hears the desire of the humble. What is that desire? It is to know the want of Himself. To have an interest in Christ. To think highly of others. To adore the goodness of God, and to be obedient to His will.

II. God prepares such a heart.

1. By giving conviction of sin.

2. By encouraging trust in Christ.

3. By giving desire after holiness.

4. By emptying him of self.

III. God hears and answers prayer.

1. Because they come in Christs name. Because--

2. He is their Father.

3. He Himself has bidden us pray; and

4. Prepared their hearts to do so. He who will not pray has no excuse. (T. Scott, M. A.)

Thought-reading extraordinary

I. The lowliest form of prayer may be most true and acceptable. The desire of the humble. It is only a desire. It may not be uttered. Many prayers are very prettily expressed, in fact, so grandly that their tawdry fineries will not be tolerated in heaven. God will say, They were meant for men, let men hear them. The desire of the humble may not be recommended by any conscious attainments, if your stock-in-trade is made up of empty vessels, and little else, the Lord can deal with you as He did with the prophets widow, who had empty vessels not a few. Your little oil of grace He can multiply till every vessel is filled; and you may have no confident expectation. I would chide your unbelief, but I would encourage your desires, for that desire which God hears is not to be despised. Note that it is the desire of the humble. It has this advantage about it that it is free from pride. Now, to be humble is a sweet thing; there is no lovelier spot on the road to the Celestial City than the Valley of Humiliation: he that dwells in it dwells among flowers and birds, and may sing all day long. The desire of the humble is saturated with a gospel spirit, and therefore is acceptable to God.

II. And he is quick to heal it. Thou hast heard the desire. This must be a Divine science. We hear much about thought reading now. Whatever this may be, here is a wonderful instance of it with the Lord. It is an act which God has exercised in all ages. Thou hast heard, etc. It is a matter of frequent fact, the record of a deed.

III. The heart is the main matter in prayer. Desires are the fruit of the heart. Thou wilt prepare their heart. When a fair wind fills the sails of desire, then make all possible headway.

IV. God Himself prepares the hearts of His people. Thou wilt prepare their heart. I am rejoiced at this statement, because preparation is such an important business. And it is often difficult as it is important. Surely none but the Lord can prepare the heart for prayer. One old writer says it is far harder work to raise the big bell into the steeple than to ring it when it is there. This witness is true. In that uplifting of the heart lies the work and the labour. Now, God prepares the heart by restraining wandering thought by giving us deep sense of need, and by working in us strong faith.

V. Prayer from prepared hearts must be heard. Thou wilt cause Thine ear to hear. He will, for if God had love enough to prepare your heart He has grace enough to give you the blessing. His goodness and faithfulness ensure that He will. Where God leads you to pray, He means you to receive. Be comforted, therefore, you beginners in prayer. God is inclining His ear to catch the faintest moan of your spirit. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The gracious desires and prayers of the humble

Lord Bolingbroke once asked Lady Huntingdon how she reconciled prayer to God for particular blessings with absolute resignation to the Divine will. Very easy, answered her ladyship; just as if I were to offer a petition to a monarch of whose kindness and wisdom I have the highest opinion In such a case my language would be I wish you to bestow on me such a favour; but your majesty knows better than I how far it would be agreeable to you or right in itself to grant my desire. I therefore content myself with humbly presenting my petition, and leave the event of it entirely to you..

Psa_11:1-7

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa 10:17-18. Thou hast heard the desire of the humble — And, therefore, wilt still hear it, being unchangeable, and the same for ever. Thou wilt prepare their heart — By kindling therein holy desires by thy Holy Spirit, strengthening their faith, collecting their thoughts, and raising their affections to things above, that they may so pray as that thou wilt hear: or, that they may be made fit to receive the mercies they desire, which, when they are, they shall have their prayers answered. Thou wilt cause thine ear to hear — In due time, though, for a season, thou seemest to turn a deaf ear to their requests. To judge the fatherless, &c. — That is, to defend them, and give sentence for them against their enemies. That the man of the earth — Earthly and mortal men, who, though great and powerful, are of no better origin than those whom they oppress, but are made of the dust, and must return to it; may no more oppress — Which they have wickedly done, and thereby have presumed, most audaciously, to contend with thee their Maker and Judge. Therefore it is time for thee to suppress such insolence, and to show how unable they are to stand before thee.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

10:17-18 The psalmist expresses his confidence in the Lord.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 17. Lord, thou hast heard] Thou hast not permitted thy tempted and afflicted followers to pray in vain.

Thou wilt prepare their heart] See the economy of the grace of God:

1. God prepares the heart;

2. Suggests the prayer;

3. Hears what is prayed;

4. Answers the petition.

He who has got a cry in his heart after God, may rest assured that that cry proceeded from a Divine preparation, and that an answer will soon arrive. No man ever had a cry in his heart after salvation, but from God. He who continues to cry shall infallibly be heard.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

17. O Jehovah, thou hast heard the desire of the needy. In these words the prophet confirms what I have just now said, that when hypocrites prevail in the Church, or exceed the faithful in number, we ought, unceasingly, to beseech God to root them out; for such a confused and shameful state of things ought surely to be matter of deep grief to all the true servants of God. By these words, also, the Holy Spirit assures us, that what of old God granted to the fathers in answer to their prayers, we at the present day will obtain, provided we have that anxious solicitude about the deliverance of the Church which we ought to entertain. The clause which follows, Thou wilt direct their hearts, is variously interpreted by expositors. Some think it signifies the same thing, as if it had been said, Thou wilt give success to their desires. According to others, the meaning is, Thou wilt frame and sanctify their hearts by thy grace, that they may ask nothing in prayer but what is right and according to the divine will, as Paul teaches us that the Holy Spirit

“stirs up within us groanings which cannot be uttered,” (Romans 8:26)

Both these expositions are perhaps too forced. David, in this clause, magnifies the grace of God in sustaining and comforting his servants in the midst of their troubles and distresses, that they may not sink into despondency, — in furnishing them with fortitude and patience, - in inspiring them with good hope, - and in stirring them up also to prayer. This is the import of the verb כין, Kin, which signifies not only to direct, but also to establish. It is a singular blessing which God confers upon us, when, in the midst of temptation, he upholds our hearts, and does not suffer them to recede from him, or to turn aside to any other quarter for support and deliverance. The meaning of the clause which immediately follows, Thou wilt cause thine ear to hear, is, that it is not in vain that God directs the hearts of his people, and leads them, in obedience to his command, to look to Himself, and to call upon him in hope and patience — it is not in vain, because his ears are never shut against their groanings. Thus the mutual harmony between two religious exercises is here commended. God does not suffer the faith of his servants to faint or fail, nor does he suffer them to desist from praying; but he keeps them near him by faith and prayer, until it actually appear that their hope has been neither vain nor ineffectual. The sentence might, not improperly, be rendered thus: Thou shalt establish their heart, until thine ear hear them.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

17. ‘The desire of the meek’ is contrasted with ‘the desire of the wicked’ (Psa_10:3), which in spite of his boasting is doomed to end in disappointment (Psa_112:10).

The second half of the verse may be taken as an explanatory parenthesis: thou didst prepare (or direct) their heart to pray (1Sa_7:3), thou didst cause thine ear to attend: or as expressing the further anticipation, thou wilt establish (encourage, comfort) their heart: thou wilt &c.

17, 18. Stanza of Tav. God has ‘seen’ (Psa_10:14); He has also ‘heard’; the prayer of faith cannot remain unanswered.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble,.... See Psa 10:12; for the coming of Christ's kingdom, and that the kingdoms of this world may become his; for the destruction of antichrist, and for the avenging the blood of the saints. The prayers of God's people sometimes lie in inward and secret desires of the soul, and are not expressed in words; and these desires are all before the Lord, and are well known unto him; yea, such prayers of the heart, and which come from it, are principally regarded by him; they being his own preparation, as is suggested in the next clause, and the breathings of his Spirit; and especially the desires of humble souls are regarded, whose prayers he never despises, nor sends them away empty, but fills with his good things;

thou wilt prepare their heart; for prayer, by pouring a spirit of grace and supplication on them, impressing their minds with a sense of things to be prayed for, and drawing out the desires of their souls unto them, and making intercession for them with groanings according to the will of God, and so helping their infirmities; and it is God's work to prepare the heart for prayer, as well as to put words into the mouth, Pro 16:1; or "thou wilt direct their heart" (n); to the object of prayer, himself, and to the things to be prayed for, for they know not what to pray for, nor how as they should; and to what may encourage to it, as the love of God, the covenant of grace, the person, blood, and righteousness of Christ: or "confirm" or "establish their heart" (o); strengthen and fix them, that they be not wavering and doubtful, but certain and assured of success, believing that their desires will be fulfilled in God's own time;

thou wilt cause thine ear to hear; God has an ear to hear the prayers of his people, nor is his ear heavy that it cannot hear; his ears are open to the cries of righteous ones; nor will he ever turn a deaf ear to them, but will give an answer in his own time and way; which is an instance of his sovereign grace and goodness. These words express the faith of the psalmist in God being a God hearing and answering prayer, particularly in things relating to the ruin of antichrist and his followers, and to the kingdom and glory of his son Jesus Christ.

(n) "dirigis", Vatablus; "diriges", Tigurine version. (o) "Confirmas", Piscator, Gejerus, Michaelis; "confirmes", Cocceius; "confirma", Junius & Tremellius.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble - Their desire or their prayer that thou wouldst interpose in their behalf in the time of danger, and rescue them. Compare Psa 6:8-9. The word “humble” here refers to those who were poor, downtrodden, oppressed; and the original reference is, doubtless, to the psalmist himself, and to his friends. He was so certain that God would interpose, he had such assurance that his prayer would he answered, that his mind was perfectly calm.

Thou will prepare their heart - Margin, “or, establish.” The margin seems most accurately to express the meaning of the original word - תכין tākiyn. The idea is, that he would settle or confirm their heart; that is, that he would dispel their fears and allay their apprehensions by the assurances of his favor, and by his gracious interposition. They had been full of apprehension and alarm, but the assurances of the divine favor would establish their hearts and give them peace.

Thou wilt cause thine ear to hear - Another form of expressing assurance of the same thing. The idea is, that he would incline his ear, or make it attentive to the cry of his afflicted people.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Thou hast heard the desire of the humble; and therefore wilt still do it, being unchangeable and the same for ever.

Thou wilt prepare, or direct, or fit, by thy grace and good Spirit, either that they may so pray as thou wilt hear, or that they may be made fit to receive the mercies which they desire; which when they are, they shall have their prayers heard. Or, thou wilt confirm or stablish (as this verb is oft used) their heart, to bear their present pressures, and to wait upon and hope and trust in thee for deliverance, until thou seest fit to hear and help them:

Thou wilt cause thine ear to hear in due time, though for a season thou seemest to turn a deaf ear to them. But this and the foregoing verb may be taken as a prayer, future verbs being oft used imperatively; prepare or stablish their hearts, (by giving them support and assurance of help in the time of need, and then,) cause thine ear to hear.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 17. Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble. A spiritual prayer is a humble prayer. Prayer is the asking of an alms, which requires humility. "The publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner." Lu 18:13. God's incomprehensible glory may even amaze us and strike a holy consternation into us when we approach nigh unto him: "O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee." Ezr 9:6. It is comely to see a poor nothing lie prostrate at the feet of its Maker. "Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes." Ge 18:27. The lower the heart descends, the higher the prayer ascends. Thomas Watson.

Ver. 17. Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble, etc. How pleasant is it, that these benefits, which are of so great a value both on their own account, and that of the divine benignity from whence they come, should be delivered into our hands, marked, as it were, with this grateful inscription, that they have been obtained by prayer! Robert Leighton.

Ver. 17. The desire of the humble. Prayer is the offering up of our desires to God in the name of Christ, for such things as are agreeable to his will. It is an offering of our desires. Desires are the soul and life of prayer; words are but the body; now as the body without the soul is dead, so are prayers unless they are animated with our desires: "Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble." God heareth not words, but desires. Thomas Watson.

Ver. 17. God's choice acquaintances are humble men. Robert Leighton.

Ver. 17. He that sits nearest the dust, sits nearest heaven. Andrew Gray, of Glasgow, 1616.

Ver. 17. There is a kind of omnipotence in prayer, as having an interest and prevalence with God's omnipotence. It hath loosed iron chains (Ac 16:25-26); it hath opened iron gates (Ac 12:5-10); it hath unlocked the windows of heaven (1Ki 18:41); it hath broken the bars of death (Joh 11:40, 43). Satan hath three titles given in the Scriptures, setting forth his malignity against the church of God: a dragon, to note his malice; a serpent, to note his subtlety; and a lion, to note his strength. But none of all these can stand before prayer. The greatest malice of Haman sinks under the prayer of Esther; the deepest policy, the counsel of Ahithophel, withers before the prayer of David; the largest army, a host of a thousand Ethiopians, run away like cowards before the prayer of Asa. Edward Reynolds, 1599-1676.

Ver. 17. (first clause).

1. The Christian's character- humble.

2. An attribute of the Christian's whole life- desire: he desires more holiness, communion, knowledge, grace, and usefulness; and then he desires glory. 3. The Christian's great blessedness - "Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble."

Ver. 17. (whole verse).

1. Consider the nature of gracious desires. 2. Their origin. 3. Their result.

The three sentences readily suggest these divisions, and the subject may be very profitable.

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble. (comp. Psa_9:12) It is not the psalmist"s prayer alone that he regards as heard and answered. The oppressed have cried to God against their oppressors, and their cry has "come before him, and entered into his ears." Thou wilt prepare their heart; rather, thou dost establish (or, make firm) their heart. Through their conviction that thou art on their side, and art about to help them. Thou wilt cause thine ear to hear; or, thou causest.

Vers. 17, 18. Trial in three aspects.

I TRIAL AS A PAINFUL INFLICTION. "For the present... grievous". (Heb_12:11)

II As A HOLY DISCIPLINE. There is a "needs be." God means us good, to make us partakers of his holiness.

III As A SALUTARY EXPERIENCE. David says, "It was good for me that I was afflicted," and he gives reasons for this. Looking hack, humbled and awed, but grateful, we can praise God for his judgments as well as for his mercies. We have the witness in ourselves that God is love, and that when he chastens us it is for our good. Thus we learn to suffer and to wait. The future is bright with hope. In the heavenly world to which we aspire there shall be no more pain, no more sorrow, nor crying, nor tears. Christ will make all things new. W.F.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Prepare - By thy grace and good spirit, that they may so pray as thou wilt hear.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Still standing on this eminence from which he seems to behold the end, the poet basks in the realisation of that which has been obtained in answer to prayer. The ardent longing of the meek and lowly sufferers for the arising, the parusia of Jahve (Isa 26:8), has now been heard by Him, and that under circumstances which find expression in the following futt., which have a past signification: God has given and preserved to their hearts the right disposition towards Himself (הכין, as in Psa 78:8; Job 11:13, Sir. 2:17 ἑτοιμάζειν καρδίας, post-biblical כּוּן

(Note: B. Berachoth 31a: the man who prays must direct his heart steadfastly towards God (יכוּן לבּו לשּׁמים).)

and to be understood according to Sa1 7:3; Ch2 20:33, cf. לב נכון Psa 51:12; Psa 78:37; it is equivalent to "the single eye" in the language of the New Testament), just as, on the other hand, He has set His ear in the attitude of close attention to their prayer, and even to their most secret sighings (הקשׁיב with אזן, as in Pro 2:2; to stiffen the ear, from קשׁב, Arab. qasuba, root קש to be hard, rigid, firm from which we also have קשׁה, Arab. qsâ, קשׁה, Arab. qsh, qsn, cf. on Isa 21:7). It was a mutual relation, the design of which was finally and speedily to obtain justice for the fatherless and oppressed, yea crushed, few, in order that mortal man of the earth may no longer (בּל, as in Isa 14:21, and in post-biblical Hebrew בּל and לבל instead of פּן) terrify. From the parallel conclusion, Ps 9:20-21, it is to be inferred that אנושׁ does not refer to the oppressed but to the oppressor, and is therefore intended as the subject; and then the phrase מן־הארץ also belongs to it, as in Psa 17:14, people of the world, Psa 80:14 boar of the woods, whereas in Pro 30:14 מארץ belongs to the verb (to devour from off the earth). It is only in this combination that מן־הארץ אנושׁ forms with לערץ a significant paronomasia, by contrasting the conduct of the tyrant with his true nature: a mortal of the earth, i.e., a being who, far removed from any possibility of vying with the God who is in heaven, has the earth as his birth-place. It is not מן־האדמה, for the earth is not referred to as the material out of which man is formed, but as his ancestral house, his home, his bound, just as in the expression of John ὁ ὢν ἐκ τῆς γῆς, Joh 3:31 (Lat. ut non amplius terreat homo terrenus). A similar play of words was attempted before in Psa 9:20 אנושׁ אל־יעז. The Hebrew verb ערץ signifies both to give way to fear, Deu 7:21, and to put in fear, Isa 2:19, Isa 2:21; Isa 47:12. It does mean "to defy, rebel against," although it might have this meaning according to the Arabic ‛rḍ (to come in the way, withstand, according to which Wetzstein explains ערוּץ Job 30:6, like Arab. ‛irḍ, "a valley that runs slantwise across a district, a gorge that blocks up the traveller's way"

(Note: Zeitschrift fr Allgem. Erdkunde xviii. (1865) 1, S. 30.)).

It is related to Arab. ‛rṣ, to vibrate, tremble (e.g., of lightning).

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

17. The desire of the meek (or humble) thou hast heard, Jehovah! Their desire is already accomplished. And this not merely once for all. Thou wilt settle (or confirm) their heart, i. e. dispel their fears and give them courage, by new assurances of favour and repeated answers to their prayers. Thou wilt incline thine ear, or make it attentive, cause it to listen, to their future no less than their past petitions. The figure of a fixed or settled heart recurs more than once below. See Psa 51:12 (10), Psa 57:8 (7), Psa 112:7. The essential idea is that of a firm resolution, as opposed to timid doubt and vacillation.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

you have heard the needs of the oppressed

It is implied that the oppressed people cried out to God. AT: "when oppressed people cried out to you, you listened to them tell you what they need" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

you strengthen their heart

A strong heart represents courage, and making people's hearts strong represents encouraging them. AT: "you encourage them" or "you make them confident" (See: Metonymy)

no man ... will cause terror again

"no one ... will cause people to be afraid again"

translationWords

pray

terror

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Lord, Thou hast heard the desire of the meek: – Thou hast heard is equivalent (here) to “Thou wilt hear,” and its interpretation (is) Thou hast heard their prayer according to their desire. Or its interpretation is: Thou didst hear their desire before they gave it expression, as it says (Is. 65:24): “And it shall come to pass that, before they call, I will answer”; and so on.

Thou wilt establish their heart: – Thou wilt remove from their heart worldly anxiety, for their heart is distracted by reason of their poverty and their wanderings, and Thou wilt help them to establish their heart upon Thee in devotion. And then

Thou wilt make Thine ear attend – to their prayer. And the interpretation of אזנך תקשׁיב is: Thou shalt make Thine ears to be attentive.

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.