1. Be merciful unto me, O God. In my
deep distress my soul turns to thee, my God. Man has no mercy on me; therefore
double thy mercy to me. If thy justice has let loose my enemies, let thy mercy
shorten their chain. It is sweet to see how the tender dove-like spirit of the
psalmist flies to the tenderest attribute for succor in the hour of peril. For man would swallow me up. He is but thy creature, a mere man; yet like a
monster he is eager for blood, he pants, he gapes for me; he would not merely
wound me, or feed on my substance, but he would like to swallow me altogether,
and so make an end of me. The open mouths of sinners when they rage against us
should open our mouths in prayer. We may plead the cruelty of men as a reason
for the divine interposition—a father is soon aroused when his children are
shamefully treated. He fighting daily oppresseth me. He gives me no
interval—he fights daily. He is successful in his unrighteous war—he oppresses
me, he crushes me, he presses me sore. David has his eye on the leader of his
foes, and lays his plaint against him in the right place. If we may thus plead
against man, much more against that great enemy of souls, the devil. We ask the
Lord to forgive us our trespasses, which is another way of saying, Be merciful unto me, O God, and then we say, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” The more violent the attack of Satan, the stronger our plea for deliverance.
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