Psalms 34:18

Nigh; ready to hear and succour them; though by the severe course of his providence towards them he seems to themselves and others to stand afar off, as David complains, Psalms 10:1. Such as be of a contrite spirit; by which he understands either,

1. Those whose spirits are oppressed, and even broken, with the greatness of their calamities. But this may be, and frequently is, the lot of wicked men. And therefore in this sense, and to such persons, this proposition and promise is not true. Or rather,

2. Those whose hearts or spirits are truly and deeply humbled under the hand of God, and the sense of their sins, and God's displeasure for them, which was David's case, Psalms 6:1, &c.: Psalms 32:3,4, whose proud and self-willed hearts are subdued and made obedient to God's will, and submissive to his providence; for to all such, and to such only, this promise is verified.