The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me.
The Lord preserveth the simple - namely, those easily overtaken by injuries, who know not how to escape from difficulties, owing to their want of worldly cleverness; whereas men of the world abound in expedients for securing themselves, and have no scruple in using all means whatever, lawful or unlawful. This child-like helplessness of simplicity, though not a positive merit (1 Corinthians 14:20), is far preferable to the unscrupulous wisdom of the selfish world: for it is a state in which, emptied of self-wisdom, believers are ready to look for and receive God's wisdom and providential leadings. It is illustrated by the parallel clause, "I was brought low" - i:e., bereft of all human counsel and strength, the state of "the simple." So Hezekiah, Isaiah 38:14 (cf. Psalms 142:6).
And he helped me, х yªhowshiya` (H3467)]. The Hebrew alludes to the significant name Joshua, the high priest of the restored exiles (Zechariah 3:1-9).