Psalm 31

1. As in several psalms so far, Psalm 31 goes from doubt to faith. It is written almost like a poetic journal from suffering to assurance.

2. Verses 1 and 2 contain phrases showing David’s attempt to deal with the problems he is feeling. “In You, O Lord, I have taken refuge” (verse 1), “Rescue me quickly” (verse 2).

3. Verse 3 is an interesting study. “For Your name’s sake You will lead me and guide me.” God will do what is best for us because He is God and also because what is best for us is also what is “best” for Him–to take His message to everyone.

4. Verse 5 is another Messianic verse. As Jesus died, he quoted these words: “Into your hand I commit my spirit.”

5. In verse 6, David calls idols “vain.” While we understand the concept, we may not often use such language to describe idols. It is a fruitless effort to worship an idol of any sort.

6. Verse 9 describes how many feel when they are in a difficult set of circumstances. “My eye is wasted away from grief.” We have all cried so much that our eyes felt this way. This is another example of the “human side” of the Bible–the people in the Bible had the same emotions as do we.

7. Verses 11-13 continue to describe the despair David felt. It was so bad that people fled from him (verse 11), and it seemed as though terror was all around him (verse 13).

8. Verse 14 serves as the beginning of the transition from despair to faith. Remembering that his faith is in the God of heaven, David begins to praise the Lord.

9. Verses 18 and 20 show some of the sins of his enemies (lying, arrogance, pride, contempt, conspiracy, strife). These are all sins of the tongue. But, keep in mind that David was afraid (or, at least intimidated) by these enemies. What they were saying may have been sinful, but it was effective in shaking David. We often have the same thing happen to us.

10. Personally, I wonder if the “besieged city” mentioned in verse 21 is literal or not. As deep as David’s despair has been earlier in this psalm, I believe it is figurative. But we know that God can (and does) hear the prayers of the righteous even in places that are literally that war-torn.

11. Verse 24 is the perfect ending to the psalm. After journeying from despair to faith, David gives us the reminder to put our faith in God, too.