Withhold not your tender mercies from me, O LORD: let your lovingkindness and your truth continually preserve me.
Read Chapter 40
Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
19. "Remove not Thou Thy mercies far from me, O Lord" (ver. 11). He is turning his attention to the wounded members. Because I have not "concealed Thy mercy and Thy Truth from the great congregation," from the Unity of the Universal Church, look Thou on Thy afflicted members, look on those who are guilty of sins of omission, and on those who are guilty of sins of commission: and withhold not Thou Thy mercies. "Thy mercy and Thy Truth have continually preserved me." I should not dare to turn from my evil way, were I not assured of remission; I could not endure so as to persevere, if I were not assured of the fulfilment of Thy promise. ...
Withhold not. The prophet now speaks in the name of Christ's mystical body, the Church, praying to be made a partaker of mercy, and to be delivered from evils, (Worthington) or Christ speaks as the victim for our sins. (Haydock)
Uphold me. This might be also rendered as a prayer, "May thy", with the Hebrew and some copies of the Septuagint. (Berthier)
