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Bow down thine ear - Listen to my complaint. Put thy ear to my lips, that thou mayest hear all that my feebleness is capable of uttering. We generally put our ear near to the lips of the sick and dying, that we may hear what they say. To this the text appears to allude.

Strong rock - Rocks, rocky places, or caves in the rocks, were often strong places in the land of Judea. To such natural fortifications allusions are repeatedly made by the Hebrew poetic writers.

Bow down thine ear to me - As He does who inclines His ear toward one whom He is willing to hear, or whom He is desirous of hearing. See the notes at Psalm 17:6.

Deliver me speedily - Without delay. Or, hasten to deliver me. It is right to pray to be delivered from all evil; equally right to pray to be delivered immediately.

Be thou my strong rock - Margin: “to me for a rock of strength.” See Psalm 18:1-2, note; Psalm 18:46, note.

For an house of defense to save me - A fortified house; a house made safe and strong. It is equivalent to praying that he might have a secure abode or dwelling-place.

Faith and prayer must go together, for the prayer of faith is the prevailing prayer. David gave up his soul in a special manner to God. And with the words, ver. 5, our Lord Jesus yielded up his last breath on the cross, and made his soul a free-will offering for sin, laying down his life as a ransom. But David is here as a man in distress and trouble. And his great care is about his soul, his spirit, his better part. Many think that while perplexed about their worldly affairs, and their cares multiply, they may be excused if they neglect their souls; but we are the more concerned to look to our souls, that, though the outward man perish, the inward man may suffer no damage. The redemption of the soul is so precious, that it must have ceased for ever, if Christ had not undertaken it. Having relied on God's mercy, he will be glad and rejoice in it. God looks upon our souls, when we are in trouble, to see whether they are humbled for sin, and made better by the affliction. Every believer will meet with such dangers and deliverances, until he is delivered from death, his last enemy.