Translation: ESV
O LORD, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth!
Seeking God's just intervention when injustice prevails is a legitimate prayer of faith.
▸This is a petition psalm requesting God's just retribution.
This is a petition psalm requesting God's just retribution. 'God of vengeance (El neqamot)' — God who executes justice. 'Shine forth (hofi'a)' — appear, make yourself known. This is a prayer asking God to appear and establish justice when injustice prevails.
He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see?
It is logically impossible for God who created ears and eyes not to hear and see.
▸A rhetorical question that exposes the foolishness of the wicked.
Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O LORD, and whom you teach out of your law,
Receiving God's discipline and instruction is itself a blessing and a sign of God's interest and love.
▸This is a beatitude.
If the LORD had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.
Remembering God's past help is the basis for present trust and future hope.
▸God's past help is recalled.
When I thought, "My foot slips," your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up.
When one is about to slip on the path of faith, God's steadfast love holds them up.
▸'My foot slips' — the moment of crisis when one is about to fall.