Verse 12: "'Hear my prayer, O Lord, listen to my cry for help; be not deaf to my weeping. For I dwell with you as an alien, a stranger, as all my fathers were."
In these remaining 2 verses we see a repeated cry for relief on the part of the Psalmist.
These 2 verses contain his final plea.
There are 3 things David says at the beginning of verse 12: (1) "hear my prayer"; (2) listen to my cry"; and (3) "be not deaf to my weeping."
The reason: "For I dwell with you as an alien, a stranger, as all my fathers were."
Daniel 9:19: "O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name" (NIV).
Wyrtzen prays: "Heavenly Father, I may be a stranger in this world, but I don't want to be a stranger to You. Don't let me blend with the voices of the world, but help me to sound a clear note of faith in the midst of doubt and disillusionment."
Verse 13: "Look away from me, that I may rejoice again before I depart and am no more.'"
In verse 10 it was "remove your scourge." Now here in verse 13 it is "Look away from me." The reason he asks the Lord to do this is: "I may rejoice again before I depart and am no more."
The word "rejoice" is to become cheerful.
Job 7:19: "Will you never look away from me, or let me alone even for an instant?" (NIV)
Job 10:20, 21: "Are not my few days almost over? Turn away from me so I can have a moment's joy before I go to the place of no return, to the land of gloom and deep shadow" (NIV).
J. L. Stanley said: "He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much; who has gained the respect of intelligent men and the love of little children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who has left the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem or a rescued soul; who has always looked for the best in others and given the best he had; whose life was an inspiration; whose memory a benediction."
(George Humphresy, Rainbows, 107)
It is the Spirit's desire that we cooperate with the Holy Spirit as He molds and makes us more like Christ.
Ephesians 2:10: "for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (NASB).
One day Billy and Ruth graham were driving through a long stretch of road construction. They had numerous slowdowns, detours, and stops along the way. Finally they reached the end of all that difficulty, and smooth pavement stretched out before them. This sign caught Ruth's attention: "End of construction. Thanks for your patience." She commented that those words would be a fitting inscription on her tombstone someday.
As a matter of fact, those words fit all of us as believers, because in this life we are "under construction." When we accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, we begin the lifelong process of spiritual growth. (Our Daily Bread, 04/24/2002)
