John Calvin Commentary Psalms 69:32

"The meek have seen it, and are glad: Ye that seek after God, let your heart live." — Psalms 69:32 (ASV)

The afflicted have seen it. Here he shows that the blessed effects of his deliverance will extend to others as well as to himself, a point which he frequently insists on in the Psalms, as we have seen in Psalm 22:23, 26, and in many other places. And his object in doing this is partly to commend the goodness and grace of God to true believers, and partly that by this as an argument he may prevail with God to help him.

Besides, he does not mean that God’s people would rejoice at this spectacle merely on the basis of brotherly friendship, but because, in the deliverance of one man, a pledge would be given to others, also affording them assurance of salvation. For this very reason he terms them the afflicted. Whoever seek God (he says), although they may be subjected to afflictions, will nonetheless take courage from my example.

The first and second clauses of the verse must be read together, for a connected sense would not be preserved if we did not understand the meaning to be this: that the example of David would provide a reason for rejoicing to all the faithful servants of God when they seek a remedy for their afflictions.

He very properly connects the desire of seeking God with affliction, for not all people profit in such a way under the chastening hand of God as to seek salvation from him in the exercise of sincere and ardent faith. In the concluding part of this verse, there is a change of person: And your heart shall live. But this apostrophe, far from making the sense obscure, on the contrary, expresses it more forcibly, as if something present were being described.

In addressing those who were so much under the pressure of affliction as to be laid prostrate like dead men, he presents to their view a kind of image of the resurrection, as if he had said, "O you who are dead, new vigor will be restored to you!" It is not meant that faith perishes in the children of God and remains entirely dead until it is revived by the example of the deliverance of others; rather, the light that was quenched is rekindled and thus, so to speak, recovers life anew.

The Psalmist immediately after (verse 33) describes the means by which this will be brought about in the children of God: believing the deliverance of David to be a common token or pledge of the grace of God presented to them, they will confidently come to the conclusion that God regards the needy and does not despise the prisoners. We thus see that he considers what was done to one man as a clear indication from God that he will be ready to help all who are in adversity.