Deal with Thy servant according unto Thy mercy.
In these words we have a prayer
I. For merciful treatment.
1. Not according to Thy justice. This would involve our ruin.
2. Not according to the mercy of men. This would be worthless. But “according to Thy mercy.” That mercy is all-compassionate, all-sufficient, and all-powerful.
II. For moral instruction. “Teach me Thy statutes.” “Give me understanding, that I may know Thy testimonies.”
1. God has given us statutes, laws for the regulation of our conduct.
2. These statutes are to be obeyed. Obedience to them is essential to our well-being.
3. These statutes, to be obeyed, must be understood. Hence the force of the prayer, “Give me understanding.”
III. For divine intervention to terminate wickedness (verse 126). There is a sense in which men cannot make void God’s laws. They cannot annul them, they cannot modify them. They can neither remove or lessen their obligation. The only way in which they can make them “void” is by practically ignoring them; and this is an evil which God will put an end to. (Homilist.)