Psalm 31:9

9 Lord, have thou mercy on me, for I am troubled; mine eye is troubled in ire, my soul and my womb also. (Lord, have thou mercy on me, for I am in trouble; my eyes be tired from so much grief, and my soul, and my womb, also be tired.)

Psalm 31:9 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 31:9

Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am in trouble
A sudden change of case and frame this! and so it is with the people of God; as soon as, out of one trouble, they are in another; these are what are appointed for them, and lie in their pathway to heaven, and are necessary; and under them it is quite right to betake themselves to the Lord, who is a merciful God; and it is best to cast themselves upon his mercy, having no merit of their own to plead with him; and they may freely tell him all their distresses, as the psalmist here does, and hope for grace and mercy to help them in time of need;

mine eye, is consumed with grief;
expressed by tears; through the multitude of which, by reason of trouble, his sight was greatly harmed; according to Jarchi, the word signifies, that his sight was so dim as is a man's when he puts a glass before his eyes, to see what is beyond the glass: this shows that the invention of spectacles was before the year 1105; for in that year Jarchi died; and proves it more early than any other writer has pretended to ^F1; for the commonly received opinion is, that they were invented at the latter end of the thirteenth or beginning of the fourteenth century; but the apostle, as A-Lapide thinks, respects them, in ( 1 Corinthians 13:12 ) ; and they are mentioned by Plautus {b}, who lived almost two hundred years before the birth of Christ: the same Jarchi observes on ( Psalms 6:7 ) ;

[yea], my soul and my belly;
perhaps he could not eat his food, or digest it, which brought upon him internal disorders, and even brought his soul or life into danger.

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 See Chambers's Dictionary on the word "Spectacles".
F2 Vid. Ainsworth's Lat. Dict. in voce "Conspicill". & Panciroll. Rer. Memorab. par. 2. tit. 15. & Salmath. in ib. p. 268.

Psalm 31:9 In-Context

7 I shall have fully joy, and shall be glad in thy mercy. For thou beheldest my meekness; thou savedest my life from needs. (I shall have full out joy, or rejoice, and shall be glad for thy love. For thou hast beheld my troubles; thou hast saved my life from dis-eases, or distress.)

8 And thou closedest not me (al)together within the hands of the enemy; thou hast set my feet in a large place. (And thou enclosedest me not in the hands of the enemy; thou hast set me free in a large place.)

9 Lord, have thou mercy on me, for I am troubled; mine eye is troubled in ire, my soul and my womb also. (Lord, have thou mercy on me, for I am in trouble; my eyes be tired from so much grief, and my soul, and my womb, also be tired.)

10 For why my life failed in sorrow; and my years in wailings. My virtue is made feeble in poverty; and my bones be troubled. (For my life is failing, because of sorrows; and my years, because of wailings. My strength is made feeble, or weak, by poverty; and my bones be diseased.)

11 Over all mine enemies I am made (a) shame, [and] greatly to my neighbours; and dread to my known. They that saw me withoutforth, fled from me; (I am shamed before all my enemies, and especially my neighbours; and I am thought of as someone to be feared by my acquaintances. Those who saw me withoutforth, fled from me;)