Psalm 31:1–24 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

 ¹In You, O Lord, I put my trust; Let me never be ashamed;

Deliver me in Your righteousness.

²Bow down Your ear to me,

Deliver me speedily;

Be my rock of refuge,

A fortress of defense to save me.

³For You are my rock and my fortress;

Therefore, for Your name’s sake, Lead me and guide me.

⁴Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,

For You are my strength.

⁵Into Your hand I commit my spirit;

You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.

⁶I have hated those who regard useless idols;

But I trust in the Lord.

⁷I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy,

For You have considered my trouble;

You have known my soul in adversities,

⁸And have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy;

You have set my feet in a wide place.

⁹Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble;

My eye wastes away with grief,

Yes, my soul and my body!

¹⁰For my life is spent with grief,

And my years with sighing;

My strength fails because of my iniquity,

And my bones waste away.

¹¹I am a reproach among all my enemies,

But especially among my neighbors,

And am repulsive to my acquaintances;

Those who see me outside flee from me.

¹²I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind;

I am like a broken vessel.

¹³For I hear the slander of many;

Fear is on every side;

While they take counsel together against me,

They scheme to take away my life.

¹⁴But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord;

I say, “You are my God.”

¹⁵My times are in Your hand;

Deliver me from the hand of my enemies,

And from those who persecute me.

¹⁶Make Your face shine upon Your servant;

Save me for Your mercies’ sake.

¹⁷Do not let me be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon You;

Let the wicked be ashamed;

Let them be silent in the grave.

¹⁸Let the lying lips be put to silence,

Which speak insolent things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.

¹⁹Oh, how great is Your goodness,

Which You have laid up for those who fear You,

Which You have prepared for those who trust in You

In the presence of the sons of men!

²⁰You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence

From the plots of man;

You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion

From the strife of tongues.

²¹Blessed be the Lord,

For He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a strong city!

²²For I said in my haste, “I am cut off from before Your eyes”;

Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications

When I cried out to You.

²³Oh, love the Lord, all you His saints!

For the Lord preserves the faithful,

And fully repays the proud person.

²⁴Be of good courage,

And He shall strengthen your heart,

All you who hope in the Lord.

Commentary

Vs. 1 In You, O Lord, I put my trust; Let me never be ashamed;

Deliver me in Your righteousness.

In beginning his prayer to the Lord, David first affirms his faith in the Lord, that in Him alone does he trust, asking Him to not let him be put to shame, in essence that the Lord would not fail him in his time of need (consider Joel 2:26-27). Therefore, he asks that the Lord deliver him in His righteousness, for it is of the Lord to always do righteously, therefore he is praying that He would deliver him through the same.

Vs. 2 “Bow down Your ear to me,

Deliver me speedily;

Be my rock of refuge,

A fortress of defense to save me.”

Desperately then David wants the Lord to hear him, to deliver him speedily, to be the One in whom he can take refuge from this storm, the One who will be his fortress of defense to save him from the enemy.

Vs. 3-4 “For You are my rock and my fortress;

Therefore, for Your name’s sake, Lead me and guide me.”

⁴Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,

For You are my strength.

Having shaken of his despair while in prayer, David begins to realize that it is the Lord who is (and has always been) his Rock and his fortress. Therefore, he now asks Him to lead and guide him for His Names sake, so that the Lord’s Name, and thus His reputation, could not be profaned by His enemies. David then wasn’t concerned so much about his own reputation, as he was the Lords. For once again David’s enemies, (the Lord’s enemies), had laid a trap for him which he had become entangled in. Therefore, he asks the Lord to pull him out of their net, for it is the Lord who is our strength, whose strength is exceedingly greater than all. David’s confidence then wasn't in himself, nor in his abilities to rescue or “redeem himself”, but only in the Lord!

Vs. 5 “Into Your hand I commit my spirit;

You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.”

Astoundingly this is the very cry of the Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross just before He died (Luke 23:46). Here then David confidently affirms his trust in the Lord, so much so that he commits his spirit into the Lord’s hand, indeed even before he is delivered, he is assured in his heart that he will be redeemed, saying, “You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.” The parallel then between David’s faith, trust, and confidence, and the Lord Jesus Christ’s in our Father in heaven is beautiful.

Vs. 6 “I have hated those who regard useless idols;

But I trust in the Lord.”

Because David so strongly trusted in the Lord, he hated all those who regarded useless idols. For idolatry is the ultimate betrayal of God. Therefore, having one’s heartfelt trust in the Lord alone allows one to see both the folly and the wickedness of those whose hearts, hope, and or confidence is in their idols, of whatever sort they are (consider 1 Sam. 12:21; Jonah 2:8). Therefore, David rejects all who knowingly do so, for his trust (my trust) is in the Lord alone. Everything and everyone else will always go away, will always come to nothing, only the Lord remains forever! (Consider 1 John 2:15-17).

Vs. 7-8 ⁷I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy,

For You have considered my trouble;

You have known my soul in adversities,

⁸And have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy;

You have set my feet in a wide place.

Having rejected worthless idols and those who regard them, David now says he will be glad and rejoice in the Lord’s mercy, even while he himself is still distressed. For he confidently sees, he confidently believes that the Lord has considered his trouble, that the Lord has known his soul in adversities. That the Lord has not and will not shut him up into the hand of the enemy. Indeed, David sees past his current flood of sorrows to the Lord once again setting his feet in a wide place, a metaphor for his once again standing firmly and confidently because it is the Lord who is upholding him.

Vs. 9-13 ⁹Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble;

My eye wastes away with grief,

Yes, my soul and my body!

¹⁰For my life is spent with grief,

And my years with sighing;

My strength fails because of my iniquity,

And my bones waste away.

¹¹I am a reproach among all my enemies,

But especially among my neighbors,

And am repulsive to my acquaintances;

Those who see me outside flee from me.

¹²I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind;

I am like a broken vessel.

¹³For I hear the slander of many;

Fear is on every side;

While they take counsel together against me,

They scheme to take away my life.

David now returns to his current plight, asking the Lord for mercy. For troubles have overtaken him, deep troubles from his body to his soul, for even David’s eye wastes away with grief (vs. 9). Indeed, it seems like his life is now spent in grief and his years with sighing, even his strength has failed, and his bones now waste away because of his iniquity (Vs. 10). And if that wasn’t bad enough David also had to endure the reproach of his enemies, for even his neighbors whom he no doubt once joyfully socialized with now reproach him even more than his enemies do. And so those who were once dear acquaintances now only view him as repulsive, as someone to avoid and shun, even people from outside of his social sphere (who don't even know him) now flee from him, as if doing so is a righteous thing. Now if you think this sort of treatment is deserving for people who suffer for their sins then also consider the blameless Job (19:13-20). For how we view and treat people when they suffer for their sins says a lot about us. David goes on describing how quickly people forget him, how he is now like a dead man to them, far out of their minds and thoughts, he then compares himself to a broken vessel which people toss aside with no regard for what happens to it (vs. 11-12). His enemies though have not forgotten him, for they watch him continually, and now that he is vulnerable, they openly slander him, even to his face, “fear is on every side” of him as they take counsel together against him, they even scheme to take away his life (vs. 13). The parallel here with the Lord Jesus Christ is undeniable.

Vs. 14-16 ¹⁴But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord;

I say, “You are my God.”

¹⁵My times are in Your hand;

Deliver me from the hand of my enemies,

And from those who persecute me.

¹⁶Make Your face shine upon Your servant;

Save me for Your mercies’ sake.

Nonetheless, David once again finds his confidence in the Lord, confessing to Him that He is the One whom he trusts, who he alone is looking too, saying. “You are my God.” (vs. 15) For my times are in Your hand, not theirs, nor anyone's who opposes Your Word and Your Work. Therefore, deliver me from the hand of my enemies, from those who persecute me. “Make Your face shine upon Your servant”, that is give me Your favor once again and make me prosper and succeed while they watch for my failure, please than save me for Your mercies’ sake (vs. 15-16). For You are merciful, especially men are not!

Vs. 17-18 ¹⁷Do not let me be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon You;

Let the wicked be ashamed;

Let them be silent in the grave.

¹⁸Let the lying lips be put to silence,

Which speak insolent things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.

David once again prays that the Lord would not let him be put to shame, rather that the Lord would put the wicked to shame! That they all would be silent in grave, where their blasphemies, slander, lies, threats, violence and vileness would be heard and seen no more! Yes, indeed let all the lying lips be put to silence, lying lips which only speak insolent things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous. For there is no fear of God in their lives, indeed they only hate those who do! 

Vs. 19-20 ¹⁹Oh, how great is Your goodness,

Which You have laid up for those who fear You,

Which You have prepared for those who trust in You

In the presence of the sons of men!

²⁰You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence

From the plots of man;

You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion

From the strife of tongues.

Once again David moves from his current distress to praise, for in contemplating the Lord’s goodness towards us all who fear Him one cannot but be lifted from ones own despair. For everyone who fears the Lord will experience His goodness in the presence of the sons of men (vs. 19). Thus, one will be rewarded and honored openly by Him! Not only that but the Lord Himself will be they’re for them to keep them from the plots of men, He will keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues, yes, He will keep us from falling victim to all of their Godless arguing, reasoning, and unbelief.

Vs. 21 “Blessed be the Lord,

For He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a strong city!”

Having then come to a good understanding of the Lord, David cannot but praise the Lord, “For He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a strong city!” Which He will also show you in your time of need when you seek Him with all of your heart (consider Jer. 29:13, also 1 Chr. 16:11; Ps. 34:10; Pr. 28:5; Isaiah 55:6-7; Hosea 10:12; Zephaniah 2:3 etc.)

Vs. 22 “For I said in my haste, “I am cut off from before Your eyes”;

Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications

When I cried out to You.”

 David now honestly recalls his how he initially panicked when he was faced with this overwhelming opposition, how he said in his haste, “I am cut off from before Your eyes”. Now this is not unique to him, for we also when faced with our own fears can get quickly overwhelmed and forget that the Lord is Sovereign over all the affairs in our life. Therefore, in recalling his failure, David also recalls how the Lord heard the voice of his supplications when he cried out to Him. And this is how our faith is grown, not in the easy times, but in the crucible of distress and despair, where we are forced to face our own fears, and “forced” to depend on the Lord, or better made to see that the Lord is watching over us in every circumstance of our lives. Short term pain then often yields long term good (Psalm 30:5).

Vs. 23-24 ²³Oh, love the Lord, all you His saints!

For the Lord preserves the faithful,

And fully repays the proud person.

²⁴Be of good courage,

And He shall strengthen your heart,

All you who hope in the Lord.

This Psalm now closes out in victory! With a call to love the Lord, for everyone who is called by His Name, the Lord Jesus Christ’s Name to love Him! For the Lord preserves the faithful and He fully repays the proud person! Therefore, God’s people be of good courage and He shall strengthen your heart all you who hope in the Lord. Amen!

Scripture Quotations

New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.