Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die;
Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee - literally, 'into thy sight,' even as the sighing of Israel in the Egyptian bondage "came up unto God by reason of the bondage." Now again the people are as it were a "prisoner."
According to the greatness of thy power - literally, 'of thine arm' (Psalms 74:11).
Preserve thou those that are appointed to die - literally, 'the children of the dying;' a Hebrew idiom (Psalms 72:4), "the children of the needy;" i:e., the needy. Compare with this clause Numbers 14:19, "according unto the greatness of thy mercy" (Deuteronomy 3:24). The answer to the prayer appears in the prophetic anticipation in Psalms 102:19-20, "He hath looked down from the height of His sanctuary ... to loose those that are appointed to death," - literally, 'the children, if dying.'