This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;

    he saved him out of all his troubles

‘One person’s testimony is only valuable to others if it rests on changeless truth about God’ (Alec Motyer, ‘New Bible Commentary’, pp.506/507). David’s testimony here is, in effect, ‘God rescued me; you too are safe in his hands’ (Derek Kidner: ‘Kidner Classic Commentaries: Psalms 1-72’, p.157).

This is the testimony of a spiritual bankrupt, so it is the testimony of everyone “saved” by Jesus. The Lord said, in the first beatitude, ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). The “poor in spirit” are those who are spiritually bankrupt, and who know it and confess it. If, as we saw, the “afflicted” (2) are those ‘at the bottom of life’s heap’ (Motyer), then David admitted he had also found himself there. (Someone observed that it is possible for a person to get so low that the only way they can look is up).

Kidner says, ‘To get the force of David’s words one only has to recall his peril and his abject clowning to save his life.’

“When I was desperate, I called out, and GOD got me out of a tight spot”  (v.6 ‘The Message’).

God did get him out of a tight corner, that’s for sure, and there is help and comfort for us in David’s testimony, because it contains ‘changeless truth about God’, and this God is our God – for ever and ever!