Psalms 69:33

Psa 69:33 For the LORD heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners.

Ver. 33. For the Lord heareth the poor] He is the poor man’s king, the wronged man’s refuge; Trajan the emperor is renowned for this, that when he was mounted for a battle, he alighted again to bear the complaint of a poor woman that cried unto him for justice (Aeli. Spart.); and our Edward VI for this, that he would appoint certain hours to sit with the master of the requests, only to despatch the causes of the poor. God is much more to be magnified.

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_69:33

For the Lord heareth the poor, and despiseth not His prisoners.

Poor prisoners

The Lord heareth the poor, spiritually poor. Let us notice first what this does not mean, in order to get clearly at what it does mean. I make no hesitation in saying that this consciousness of spiritual poverty is one of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, and none can understand it but those who, are experimentally led into the secret. First, it does not mean literal, mental nor moral poverty, but it consists in our sense of our natural, internal, spiritual worthlessness of character. You may be as moral as an angel, and still be destitute of spiritual life in the soul. Therefore the soul not united to Christ is not united to that that can give it access to God; it is not united to that that can bring upon it the approbation of God; it is not united to that that can save it. He died, the just for the unjust, to bring us to God. Therefore, while we prize good works, yet none of these things are of any use in the salvation of the soul; salvation is altogether a secret and another thing. Now, we go on to the literal prisoner. Some good people have been cast into prison through what other people have said about them;--they have been slandered and reproached, and it has been believed, and they have been cast into prison; but the Lord despiseth not His prisoners. Joseph was slandered--he was reproached, cast into prison; but the Lord did not despise him; the Lord was with him. And so the Lord turned, in one sense, the dungeon into a paradise; and by and by, when Joseph interpreted the dreams, he was exalted, and realized all that his visions predicted. But there is another class of prisoners, and that is those that get into prison by their own fault. Why, you are never going to say a word in favour of them, are you? Well, if not in favour of them, I can say a word in favour of the Lord; and if He is pleased to say a word in favour of them, I shall not differ from Him. Well, Jonah, you are got into prison, do you think you will ever get out again? You have got there by your own fault. But the Lord watched over him and took care of him, and the sea could not kill him, and the weeds could not kill him. He cried unto the Lord, and the Lord heard him, answered and delivered him, and make him accomplish his mission. So the Lord despiseth not His prisoners, even when they get into prison through their own fault. This is a God worth loving, worth worshipping, worth cleaving to. Samson got into prision by his own fault. You are not going to say a word in favour of him, are you? I would rather die Samsons death than I would die the death of the most sleek, the most polished Pharisee under the heavens, because they die, in enmity against God; but Samson died in sweet reconciliation to God, and obtained the victory God intended he should. He got into prison by his own fault: did the Lord leave him and despise him? No. When they were making sport of Samson he cried to God, for He heareth the poor; He despised not His prisoner. Let me be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. He bowed with all his might; the victory was wrought, his soul saved, God glorified; and if we are ashamed of these testimonies of Gods mercy, then I believe God will be ashamed of us. They are His prisoners because they are His people. Let us, then, not boast one over the other, but rather bear one anothers burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. (James Wells.)

Joy for prisoners

With what gratitude and joy should these intimations of hope be received by those who are naturally in so miserable a condition! It is a celebrated story that, when Titus Flaminius, at the public games, proclaimed the liberty of Greece, after it had been conquered by the Romans, the auditors were at first lost in a silent amazement, and then burst out into one continued shout for two hours together, Liberty! Liberty I Me-thinks such joy, and greater than this, should appear amongst miserable sinners when these proclamations for liberty are made. (T. Doddridge.)

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

34. (Psa 69:33). For hearkening, habitually listening, (is) Jehovah to the poor, i.e. the poor among his people; the righteous, pious, or believing poor; nd his prisoners, those imprisoned in affliction by himself, or by human oppressors for his sake, he hath not despised, and therefore never will. The general inference here drawn from the speaker's own experience is the same as in Psa 22:24 above.

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

For as he delivered his servant David, so will he do all that are in distress, and call upon him.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

prisoners--peculiarly liable to be despised.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 33. For the Lord heareth the poor] אביונים ebyonim, of the beggars. He perhaps refers here to the case of the captives, many of whom were reduced to the most abject state, so as to be obliged to beg bread from their heathen oppressors.

His prisoners.] The captives, shut up by his judgments in Chaldea, without any civil liberty, like culprits in a prison.

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

(33) For the Lord.—This and the following verses evidently bring the psalm within the circle of literature, of which Isa_65:17 seq., is the noblest example—the literature inspired by the hope of the restoration and of the rebuilding of Jerusalem.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

33. the poor] R.V. the needy, as Psa_9:18, Jer_20:13, and frequently.

his prisoners] Though He has cast them into the prison of captivity for their sins, He will not reject their prayers. Cp. Psa_22:24; Psa_102:17; Psa_102:20; Psa_107:10 ff. After the capture of the city in b.c. 597, all the best part of the nation was carried into captivity.

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.

For the Lord heareth the poor,.... The prayer of the poor, as the Targum; of the poor disciples of Christ, who were together mourning, weeping, and praying, when their Lord was dead, and laid in the sepulchre, Mar 16:10; this epithet agrees with all the followers of Christ, who for the most part are literally poor, and are all of them so in a spiritual sense; they are poor in spirit, and are sensible of it; they are full of wants, and these daily return upon them; wherefore they constantly apply to the throne of grace for help in time of need; and the Lord regards them, his eye is upon them, his heart is towards them, his thoughts are about them, his ears are open to their cries, and his hand is ready to supply their wants;

and despiseth not his prisoners; the same disciples of Christ; who being assembled together, the doors were shut for fear of the Jews, Joh 20:19; it may be applied to such who are the Lord's prisoners; that is, for his sake, in a literal sense, as the Apostle Paul is called the prisoner of the Lord, Eph 3:1; and there were many, both under the Old and under the New Testament, that suffered imprisonment for their profession of religion; and these the Lord despises not, though men may, but highly esteems and honours; and it may be understood mystically and spiritually of such as are, in their nature state, prisoner of sin and Satan, and the law, and, when called, are prisoners of hope; these the Lord has a regard unto, and opens the prison doors and sets them at and directs them to the strong hold, Isa 49:9.

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

For the Lord heareth the poor - The needy; the humble; the unprotected. The reference is to those who are in circumstances of want and distress. The truth stated here is in accordance with all that is said in the Scriptures. Compare the notes at Psa 34:6. See also Job 5:15; Psa 10:14; Psa 12:5; Psa 35:10; Psa 68:10.

And despiseth not his prisoners - He does not overlook them; he does not treat them as if they were worthy of no attention or regard. The word “prisoners” here may refer to those who are, as it were, bound by affliction under his own providential dealings; or to those who are oppressed, or are held as captives, or are thrown into prison, on his account. The particular reference here seems to be to David, and to those associated with him, who were straitened or deprived of their freedom in the cause of God.

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

Those who are in prison, or any straits and afflictions for his sake; which is my case, Psa 69:7.

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

Ver. 33. For the Lord heareth the poor. The examples of David and David's Lord, and tens of thousands of the saints, all go to prove this. Monarchs of the nations are deaf to the poor, but the Sovereign of the Universe has a quick ear for the needy. None can be brought lower than was the Nazarene, but see how highly he is exalted: descend into what depths we may, the prayer hearing God can bring us up again.

And despiseth not his prisoners. Poor men have their liberty, but these are bound; however, they are God's prisoners, and, therefore, prisoners of hope. The captive in the dungeon is the lowest and least esteemed of men, but the Lord seeth not as man seeth; he visited those who are bound with chains, and proclaims a jail delivery for his afflicted. God despises no man, and no prayer that is honest and sincere. Distinctions of rank are nothing with him; the poor have the gospel preached to them, and the prisoners are loosed by his grace. Let all poor and needy ones hasten to seek his face, and to yield him their love.

Ver. 33. The Lord heareth the poor. The consolation is much greater when it is said, "The Lord heareth the poor, "than if it were written, He hath heard poor David. Musculus.

Ver. 33.

I. What the people of God are in their own esteem: "poor"

and "prisoners."

II. What they are in the divine esteem: not unnoticed; not

unheard; not despised.

Psalms 69:34*

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

For the Lord heareth the poor. The "poor in spirit" are probably meant (comp. ver. 29). And despiseth not his prisoners. Those who suffer for his sake.

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

Prisoners - Those who are in prison or affliction for his sake.

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