And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell [whether] GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?
Ver. 22. Whether God will be gracious to me, that the child may live?] God was gracious to him in that the child did not live. See on 2 Samuel 12:14. How oft do God's children find themselves crossed with a blessing! and on the contrary.