Thomas Aquinas, on Ps 16:6

“I have cried to thee, for thou, O God, hast heard me: O incline thy ear unto me, and hear my words.”

“"I." Above, the Psalmist asked to be established in good; here he asks to be delivered from evil. And concerning this he does three things. First, he asks to be heard in his petition. Second, he sets it forth, at "Make your mercies wonderful." Third, he manifests the hearing of his petition, at "But I." Concerning the first, he does two things. First, he sets forth the hope conceived from God. Second, from this he asks to be heard, at "Incline your ear." He says, therefore, "I cried out." The order seems reversed, because it would seem more fitting to say, "Because I cried out, you heard me." And therefore it is explained in three ways. In one way, according to the Gloss: "I cried out." In a cry there is a stronger and freer intention of the mind. Then those cry out who pray with great devotion and freedom of heart. And whence comes this? "Because you heard me," namely by giving freedom. Gregory says: God hears no one whom he does not inspire to pray, that is, by some devotion of the soul. Ps. 118: "My soul longed to desire," etc. In another way, according to Augustine in the tenth book of the City of God, the word "because" does not designate a cause but a sign; as if to say: this is a sign that I cried out, that you heard me. In a third way: because when someone is heard once, he asks again more confidently. And therefore he says, "Because you heard me, I cried out." Jerome has, "plainly, because you heard me." He always joins these two together -- the cry and the hearing -- because he who cries out thus is heard: Jonah 2: "I cried out of my tribulation to the Lord, and he heard me." Ps. 141: "I cried to you; I said, 'You are,'" etc. Next he asks to be heard. And he who hears first listens; therefore he says, "Incline" -- since the Lord is in a high place, he must incline his ear to hear the one who is below. The Lord sits in his majesty; and if he wished to deal with our affairs according to the height of his justice, we would not be saved, because Is. 64: "All our justices are as a menstrual cloth." And therefore it is necessary that he incline, and then hear: Dan. 9: "Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear."”

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.