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I mourn in my complaint - בשיחי besichi, in my sighing; a strong guttural sound, expressive of the natural accents of sorrow.

And make a noise - I am in a tumult - I am strongly agitated.

Attend unto me, and hear me - This also is the language of earnest supplication, as if he was afraid that God would not regard his cry. These varied forms of speech show the intense earnestness of the psalmist, and his deep conviction that he must have help from God.

I mourn - The word used here - רוד rûd - means properly to wander about; to ramble - especially applied to animals that have broken loose; and then, to inquire after, to seek, as one does “by running up and down;” hence, to desire, to wish. Thus in Hosea 11:12 - “Judah runs wild toward God,” - in our translation, “Judah yet ruleth with God.” The word occurs also in Jeremiah 2:31, “We are lords” (margin, have dominion); and in Genesis 27:40, “When thou shalt have the dominion.” It is not elsewhere found in the Scriptures. The idea here seems not to be to mourn, but to inquire earnestly; to seek; to look for, as one does who wanders about, or who looks every way for help. David was in deep distress. He looked in every direction. He earnestly desired to find God as a Helper. He was in the condition of one who had lost his way, or who had lost what was most valuable to him; and he directed his eyes most earnestly toward God for help.

In my complaint - The word here employed commonly means speech, discourse, meditation. It here occurs in the sense of complaint, as in Job 7:13; Job 9:27; Job 21:4; Job 23:2; Psalm 142:2; 1 Samuel 1:16. It is not used, however, to denote complaint in the sense of fault-finding, but in the sense of deep distress. As the word is now commonly used, we connect with it the idea of fault-finding, complaining, accusing, or the idea that we have been dealt with unjustly. This is not the meaning in tills place, or in the Scriptures generally. It is the language of a troubled, not of an injured spirit.

And make a noise - To wit, by prayer; or, by groaning. The psalmist did not hesitate to give vent to his feelings by groans, or sobs, or prayers. Such expressions are not merely indications of deep feeling, but they are among the appointed means of relief. They are the effort which nature makes to throw off the burden, and if they are without complaining or impatience they are not wrong. See Isaiah 38:14; Isaiah 59:11; Hebrews 5:7; Matthew 27:46.

In these verses we have, 1. David praying. Prayer is a salve for every sore, and a relief to the spirit under every burden. 2. David weeping. Griefs are thus, in some measure, lessened, while those increase that have no vent given them. David in great alarm. We may well suppose him to be so, upon the breaking out of Absalom's conspiracy, and the falling away of the people. Horror overwhelmed him. Probably the remembrance of his sin in the matter of Uriah added much to the terror. When under a guilty conscience we must mourn in our complaint, and even strong believers have for a time been filled with horror. But none ever was so overwhelmed as the holy Jesus, when it pleased the Lord to put him to grief, and to make his soul an offering for our sins. In his agony he prayed more earnestly, and was heard and delivered; trusting in him, and following him, we shall be supported under, and carried through all trials. See how David was weary of the treachery and ingratitude of men, and the cares and disappointments of his high station: he longed to hide himself in some desert from the fury and fickleness of his people. He aimed not at victory, but rest; a barren wilderness, so that he might be quiet. The wisest and best of men most earnestly covet peace and quietness, and the more when vexed and wearied with noise and clamour. This makes death desirable to a child of God, that it is a final escape from all the storms and tempests of this world, to perfect and everlasting rest.