1 Bow down thine ear, O Lord, hear me: for I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee.
3 Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.
4 Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5 For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.
6 Give ear, O Lord, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications.
7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.
8 Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works.
9 All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.
10 For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.
11 Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.
12 I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.
13 For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.
14 O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them.
15 But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.
16 O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid.
17 Shew me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, Lord, hast holpen me, and comforted me.
<html><b>for I am a pious man</b> that I hear my insults and my disgraces, and I am able to wreak vengeance; yet I remain silent. So it is in Aggadath Tehillim (Mid. Ps. 86:1). Another explanation: Our Sages explained in Berachoth (4a): [David said,] “Am I not a pious man, when all the kings of the Orient and the Occident sit in their glory, and Imy hands are sullied with blood, with the sac, and with the afterbirth?”</html>
<html><b>all the days</b> All the days of the exile, which is day for the wicked and night for the righteous. It is explained in this manner in Aggadath Tehillim (Mid. Ps. 86:2).</html>
<html><b>I lift my soul</b> I direct my heart.</html>
<html><b>like Your works</b> Who places the heavenly beings before the earthlings.</html>
<html><b>and perform wonders, You, O God, alone</b> Before the angels were created, heaven and earth were created. Therefore, all the nations will glorify Your name.</html>
<html><b>from the lowest depths of the grave</b> It is customary for adulterers to be put into the depth of the grave, and from there You saved me, for Nathan the prophet said to me (II Sam. 12:13): “Also the Lord has removed your sin.”</html>
<html><b>willful transgressors have risen against me</b> Doeg and Ahithophel. <b>and they did not place You before themselves</b> They did not remember what they saw, that Samuel anointed me on Your orders.</html>
<html><b>the son of Your maidservant</b> The son of the maidservant humbles himself before his master more than the slave purchased with money, because the son of the maidservant was born in the house and was raised in his master’s bosom.</html>
<html><b>Grant me a sign for good</b> so it may be apparent to others that You have forgiven me. <b>and let my enemies see</b> the sign and be ashamed. But the Holy One, blessed be He, did not listen to him to grant the sign during his lifetime. Instead, [it came] in his son Solomon’s lifetime when the gates clung to each other and did not open until he said (II Chron. 6:42): “Do not turn back the face of Your anointed; remember the kind deeds of David Your servant.”</html>