Psalms 27:7

27:7 Hear me, ¹  O Lord, when I cry out!

Have mercy on me and answer me!

Psalms 50:15

50:15 Pray to me when you are in trouble! ² 

I will deliver you, and you will honor me!” ³ 

Psalms 66:17

66:17 I cried out to him for help ⁴ 

and praised him with my tongue. ⁵ 

Psalms 86:7

86:7 In my time of trouble I cry out to you,

for you will answer me.

Psalms 116:2

116:2 and listened to me. ⁶ 

As long as I live, I will call to him when I need help. ⁷ 

Psalms 116:13

116:13 I will celebrate my deliverance, ⁸ 

and call on the name of the Lord.

Psalms 119:146

119:146 I cried out to you, “Deliver me,

so that I can keep ⁹  your rules.”

Psalms 130:1

Psalm 130 ¹⁰ 

A song of ascents. ¹¹ 

130:1 From the deep water ¹²  I cry out to you, O Lord.

Psalms 138:3

138:3 When ¹³  I cried out for help, you answered me.

You made me bold and energized me. ¹⁴ 

Psalms 147:4

147:4 He counts the number of the stars;

he names all of them.

[27:7]  ¹ tn Heb “my voice.”

[50:15]  ² tn Heb “call [to] me in a day of trouble.”

[50:15]  ³ sn In vv. 7-15 the Lord makes it clear that he was not rebuking Israel because they had failed to offer sacrifices (v. 8a). On the contrary, they had been faithful in doing so (v. 8b). However, their understanding of the essence of their relationship with God was confused. Apparently they believed that he needed/desired such sacrifices and that offering them would ensure their prosperity. But the Lord owns all the animals of the world and did not need Israel’s meager sacrifices (vv. 9-13). Other aspects of the relationship were more important to the Lord. He desired Israel to be thankful for his blessings (v. 14a), to demonstrate gratitude for his intervention by repaying the vows they made to him (v. 14b), and to acknowledge their absolute dependence on him (v. 15a). Rather than viewing their sacrifices as somehow essential to God’s well-being, they needed to understand their dependence on him.

[66:17]  ³ tn Heb “to him [with] my mouth I called.”

[66:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he was extolled under my tongue.” The form רוֹמַם (romam) appears to be a polal (passive) participle from רוּם (rum, “be exalted”), but many prefer to read רוֹמָם, “high praise [was under my tongue]” (cf. NEB). See BDB 928 s.v. רוֹמָם.

[116:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “because he turned his ear to me.”

[116:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “and in my days I will cry out.”

[116:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “a cup of deliverance I will lift up.” Perhaps this alludes to a drink offering the psalmist will present as he thanks the Lord for his deliverance. See v. 17.

[119:146]  ⁶ tn The cohortative verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.

[130:1]  ⁷ sn Psalm 130. The psalmist, confident of the Lord’s forgiveness, cries out to the Lord for help in the midst of his suffering and urges Israel to do the same.

[130:1]  ⁸ sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[130:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “depths,” that is, deep waters (see Ps 69:2, 14; Isa 51:10), a metaphor for the life-threatening danger faced by the psalmist.

[138:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “in the day.”

[138:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “you made me bold in my soul [with] strength.”