Think upon me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people.
The prayer belongs to the time when the wall of Jerusalem was still unfinished, when tillage had been neglected in the unsettled country, and when the Lord's blessing was not resting on the land because of the selfish course of some who had returned to Judea. Grain was scarce, so the poor had to buy food on credit at exorbitant prices and to borrow on interest to pay the heavy taxes imposed by the kings of Persia, while the wealthier Jews took advantage of the necessities of the poor to enrich themselves. It stands in Nehemiah's account of that oppression of the poor, which is measured against the Lord's commands given through Moses for the benefit of the poor.
Those commands required that every third year a tithe be raised for the poor and that every seventh year agricultural labor cease, with the land lying fallow and its spontaneous products left to those in need. They also required that no one act as a usurer toward a poor brother nor take usury on money, food, or anything lent, but that no one harden the heart or shut the hand, instead opening the hand wide and lending sufficient for need, because the poor would never cease out of the land. Faithfulness in devoting these offerings to relief of the poor and other benevolent uses was meant to keep fresh the truth of God's ownership of all and Israel's opportunity to be channels of blessing. It was also meant to eradicate selfishness and to develop breadth and nobility of character.
The verse itself is a prayer asking God to remember the speaker for good in view of all that he has done for the people. It is joined to prayers for help against those who despise and oppose God's work. It is used as a prayer for God's favor and help while opposing schemes try to keep the light from the people.
The prayer belongs to the time when the wall of Jerusalem was still unfinished, when tillage had been neglected in the unsettled country, and when the Lord's blessing was not resting on the land because of the selfish course of some who had returned to Judea. Grain was scarce, so the poor had to buy food on credit at exorbitant prices and to borrow on interest to pay the heavy taxes imposed by the kings of Persia, while the wealthier Jews took advantage of the necessities of the poor to enrich themselves. It stands in Nehemiah's account of that oppression of the poor, which is measured against the Lord's commands given through Moses for the benefit of the poor.
Those commands required that every third year a tithe be raised for the poor and that every seventh year agricultural labor cease, with the land lying fallow and its spontaneous products left to those in need. They also required that no one act as a usurer toward a poor brother nor take usury on money, food, or anything lent, but that no one harden the heart or shut the hand, instead opening the hand wide and lending sufficient for need, because the poor would never cease out of the land. Faithfulness in devoting these offerings to relief of the poor and other benevolent uses was meant to keep fresh the truth of God's ownership of all and Israel's opportunity to be channels of blessing. It was also meant to eradicate selfishness and to develop breadth and nobility of character.
The verse itself is a prayer asking God to remember the speaker for good in view of all that he has done for the people. It is joined to prayers for help against those who despise and oppose God's work. It is used as a prayer for God's favor and help while opposing schemes try to keep the light from the people.