seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Psalm 31[a]For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 In you, Lord, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
deliver me in your righteousness.
2 Turn your ear to me,
come quickly to my rescue;
be my rock of refuge,
a strong fortress to save me.
3 Since you are my rock and my fortress,
for the sake of your name lead and guide me.
4 Keep me free from the trap that is set for me,
for you are my refuge.
5 Into your hands I commit my spirit;
deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.
let me never be put to shame;
deliver me in your righteousness.
2 Turn your ear to me,
come quickly to my rescue;
be my rock of refuge,
a strong fortress to save me.
3 Since you are my rock and my fortress,
for the sake of your name lead and guide me.
4 Keep me free from the trap that is set for me,
for you are my refuge.
5 Into your hands I commit my spirit;
deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.
6 I hate those who cling to worthless idols;
as for me, I trust in the Lord.
7 I will be glad and rejoice in your love,
for you saw my affliction
and knew the anguish of my soul.
8 You have not given me into the hands of the enemy
but have set my feet in a spacious place.
as for me, I trust in the Lord.
7 I will be glad and rejoice in your love,
for you saw my affliction
and knew the anguish of my soul.
8 You have not given me into the hands of the enemy
but have set my feet in a spacious place.
9 Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress;
my eyes grow weak with sorrow,
my soul and body with grief.
10 My life is consumed by anguish
and my years by groaning;
my strength fails because of my affliction,(b)
and my bones grow weak.
11 Because of all my enemies,
I am the utter contempt of my neighbors
and an object of dread to my closest friends—
those who see me on the street flee from me.
12 I am forgotten as though I were dead;
I have become like broken pottery.
13 For I hear many whispering,
“Terror on every side!”
They conspire against me
and plot to take my life.
my eyes grow weak with sorrow,
my soul and body with grief.
10 My life is consumed by anguish
and my years by groaning;
my strength fails because of my affliction,(b)
and my bones grow weak.
11 Because of all my enemies,
I am the utter contempt of my neighbors
and an object of dread to my closest friends—
those who see me on the street flee from me.
12 I am forgotten as though I were dead;
I have become like broken pottery.
13 For I hear many whispering,
“Terror on every side!”
They conspire against me
and plot to take my life.
14 But I trust in you, Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”
15 My times are in your hands;
deliver me from the hands of my enemies,
from those who pursue me.
I say, “You are my God.”
15 My times are in your hands;
deliver me from the hands of my enemies,
from those who pursue me.
16 Let your face shine on your servant;
save me in your unfailing love.
17 Let me not be put to shame, Lord,
for I have cried out to you;
but let the wicked be put to shame
and be silent in the realm of the dead.
18 Let their lying lips be silenced,
for with pride and contempt
they speak arrogantly against the righteous.
19 How abundant are the good things
that you have stored up for those who fear you,
that you bestow in the sight of all,
on those who take refuge in you.
20 In the shelter of your presence you hide them
from all human intrigues;
you keep them safe in your dwelling
from accusing tongues.
that you have stored up for those who fear you,
that you bestow in the sight of all,
on those who take refuge in you.
20 In the shelter of your presence you hide them
from all human intrigues;
you keep them safe in your dwelling
from accusing tongues.
21 Praise be to the Lord,
for he showed me the wonders of his love
when I was in a city under siege.
22 In my alarm I said,
“I am cut off from your sight!”
Yet you heard my cry for mercy
when I called to you for help.
for he showed me the wonders of his love
when I was in a city under siege.
22 In my alarm I said,
“I am cut off from your sight!”
Yet you heard my cry for mercy
when I called to you for help.
23 Love the Lord, all his faithful people!
The Lord preserves those who are true to him,
but the proud he pays back in full.
24 Be strong and take heart,
all you who hope in the Lord.
The Lord preserves those who are true to him,
but the proud he pays back in full.
24 Be strong and take heart,
all you who hope in the Lord.
a. Psalm 31:1 In Hebrew texts 31:1-24 is numbered 31:2-25.
b. Psalm 31:10 Or guilt
I pulled the commentary from Bible.org this morning.
Try this for a stressful situation: a group of enemies have conspired together to kill you. They have instigated a widespread campaign of slander and lies. As a result, your name has become a reproach, even among your neighbors and former friends. When they see you coming, they turn and run the other way. They fear being identified in any way with you, because they figure that your time is short. They don’t want to be implicated by association.
As a result of these problems, you’re struggling with depression. You also realize that many of your troubles stem from your own sin. So on top of everything else, you’re wrestling with guilt. The whole experience has taken its toll on your health. You don’t have strength to do your daily tasks. Your body is wasting away. Wherever you look, it seems that terror is staring you in the face.
This is how David describes his situation in Psalm 31. We can’t be certain of the exact situation that lies behind this psalm. Many think that because David mentions being rescued from a besieged city, it was when the residents of Keilah conspired to hand David over to Saul, who was trying to kill him (1 Sam. 23:7-14). But in light of David’s reference to his own sin, I’m inclined to agree with Spurgeon that David wrote this psalm in connection with Absalom’s rebellion.
Here's the commentary from the easy English site..... Below is a table of Psalm 31. It shows us the 4 important parts.
1 - 6 | 7 - 8 | 9 - 18 | 19 - 24 |
David prays for help | God sends help | David prays for help AGAIN | God sends help AGAIN |
In the first part David was in trouble. We are not sure when. Probably it was when Saul was trying to catch him. David prayed to God for help. God sent help and Saul did not catch David. This made David very happy. He put this in the second part of the psalm. But then it happened again. This time it was worse. So, David prayed for help again. This is in the next part of the psalm. The last part of the psalm tells us that God sent help again.
Psalm 31: 1 – 8: In Psalm 31:1 "ashamed" means "let my enemies win". These enemies hid the trap in Psalm 31:4. They wanted to catch David. But God sent help to David, so that he could go anywhere. This is what "the wide place" in Psalm 31:8 means. David believed that God did this because "of your name" (Psalm 31:3). God made his name famous when he answered David.
Psalm 31: 9 – 24: In Psalm 31:9-12 we read about the results of stress. When life is very difficult we have stress. It makes us ill. It made David so ill that he thought that he was going to die. But David still trusted in the LORD. He wrote, "My times are in your hand". (Psalm 31:15) This means that God decided what would happen to David. "Shine the light of your face" is another way of saying "be kind". David is the servant in Psalm 31:16. It is not a bad thing to be afraid of God. (Psalm 31:19) It means that we see how great he is, and how small we are. Some Bibles translate "everyone that has enjoyed his kind love" as "saints". (Psalm 31:23). "Saint" is another word for "Christian". They are people that have enjoyed the kind love of God. We must remember, in Psalm 31:24, that the Jews believed that you thought in your heart.
Sometimes the weirdest stuff comes to mind. Out of nowhere, I remember something I did a long time ago..... and I think to myself... you stupid woman... no wonder.... you shouldn't have done that [said that, thought that, had anything to do with that]. Then I want to run to whoever was involved and apologize. If I did go apologize to whoever for whatever.... they would think I am insane to even bring it up yet again. So... I don't... I ask God for forgiveness instead. Someone once told me that stress causes wrinkles. I'm pretty sure they are right.... I also think it causes scars too.
Someone else told me "let go and let God". When I was a kid and I did something wrong.... I knew I would get a discipline. So... since I knew physical harm was probable... I would put the matter off as long as possible. I'd wait to see if I got caught instead of turning myself in. David talked to God....
David lived in a Theocracy.... God was in charge... the king was just a figurehead. When David talked to God... he was appealing to the real "throne".
Smart....
