But thou [art] holy, [O thou] that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
Ver. 3. But thou art holy] And therefore to be sanctified in righteousness, Isaiah 5:16, whatever betide me or my prayers. I also will trust and try thee to the uttermost, for thou waitest to be gracious; and being a God of judgment, thou best understandest when and how to dispense and deal forth thy favours to thy suppliants, Isaiah 30:18. And if I ask good things of thee and miss, it is because I ask amiss, James 4:3. If I be straitened, it is not in thee, but in mine own bowels. They that have conduit water come into their houses, if no water come, they conclude not the spring to be dry, but the pipes to be stopped or broken. If prayer speed not, we must be sure the fault is not in God, but in ourselves; were we but ripe for mercy he is ready to extend it to us, and even waits for the purpose.
O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel] i.e. The sanctuary, where thou art continually praised by thine Israel, who have the happiness to receive thine answer to their suits, though I cannot. Some render it, O sancte, sempiterne, et laudatissime.