Psalms 31:1

The Bible says in Psalms 31:1, “In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed; deliver me in thy righteousness.” The first time that you trust in the Lord is when you become born again through faith in the Lord Jesus to save your soul and forgive your sins. After you are born again, the goal is to live each day and each moment trusting in the Lord. Some people trust in themselves, some trust in another person, some trust in wealth, and some trust in religion. There are always other things that you can easily trust in instead of the Lord. You trust in the Lord, when you put your eyes upon Jesus. You trust in the Lord when you are depending upon what He will do for you. You trust in the Lord Jesus when you have faith that what He has promised, He will also fulfil. David knew that he needed the Lord’s help in order to “never be ashamed.” People who have a conscience will be ashamed if they fail. People who know the Lord Jesus also know that it is important to have a testimony to the unbelievers around them. If you do something that is shameful, you will lose your testimony. At the end of verse one David prayed, “deliver me in thy righteousness.” We are not righteous, but God is. David knew that he could be delivered in his daily walk because God is good, not because David is good. God not only gives us His righteousness by faith in Christ, but God also chooses to guide our lives based upon His righteousness. Since God is always good, we can count on His help at all times.

The Bible says in Psalms 31:2, “Bow down thine ear unto me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defense to save me.” This is a cry of someone who is desperate. There is some kind of great trouble that is an impending doom, and David knows that only God can help him. David said, “deliver me speedily.” David knows that he himself does not have the strength that is needed for this impending doom, but he knows that God is the Mighty One who is his “strong rock.” And David says at the end of this verse: “save me.” Who are those who get saved: those who are desperate to avoid hell, and those who are desperate to have their sins forgiven. Those are the ones who will seek and find God.

The Bible says in Psalms 31:3, “For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me.” Notice the phrase “for thy name’s sake.” God wants His name to be honored by human beings. God pout into the Ten Commandments to not even take His name in vain. If a believer falls and makes a poor decision, that will not be good for God’s name. Unbelievers sometimes mock God when they see a believer fail. It is important that our steps be guided by the grace of God, not for our sakes, but for God’s sake: for the sake of His reputation. God wants to be able to point to our lives and say to the world: there is someone who trusted in me, and look how well everything turned out, and look at what was accomplished because they trusted in me.

The Bible says in Psalms 31:4, “Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me; for thou art my strength.” This verse states another reason that we need God’s help and God’s strength in our lives. The unbelievers are very cunning when they want to be. They are human beings who have intelligence just like all human beings. Notice the word “privily.” That means “secretly.” The unbelievers scheme and plan in secret all of their dirty tricks. How can we compete against that? We cannot, but God can because He knows what they are scheming to do, and God can make their purposes fail, and God can make their purposes turn out to our good just like it says in Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God and to them that are the called according to His purpose.”

The Bible says in Psalms 31:5, “Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.” The first part of this verse is one of the statements that Jesus made when He died on the cross. God certainly thought a lot of David to have revealed such great things about the Messiah through David. It says in Luke 23:46, “And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.” Jesus showed us how to die when He died for our sins. When you die, you realize that you are going to God. Death is not the end. Dying takes place when your spirit leaves your body and goes to its eternal destiny. You know that you are going to be with God if you can say what David said: “thou hast redeemed me.” When you are born again and saved through faith in Christ, you are also redeemed. To be redeemed means to be purchased. Jesus paid a price for you. Jesus purchased you with His precious blood. That means that you belong to Him, and it means that He will receive you unto Himself in heaven when you die. That is the truth. If you know Jesus, then you know this truth from God.

The Bible says in Psalms 31:6, “I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the LORD.” If you love the truth, then you will hate lies. If you do not love the truth, then you will be easily overcome by lies. And there are a lot of lies out there. David said that he hated those who “regard” lying vanities. In other words there are people who love lies, and are attracted to the lies. Since David loves the truth, David hates those who love lies.

The Bible says in Psalms 31:7, “I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities;” Just because we love the truth, does not mean that we are perfect. We rely upon God’s mercy through Christ. The more that you realize that you are a sinner, the more that you will appreciate the love and mercy of Christ towards you. People who are close to Christ are not those who are better than others, but are those who realize more than others how much they have benefitted from the mercy of God. David had “trouble” and he had “adversaries.” David knew that he did not deserve to have God help him in these situations. Even when we are in trouble, we depend upon God’s mercy to get us out of trouble. Our relationship with the Lord is based upon His mercy through Christ. It is always based upon His great mercy and never based upon how good we are.

The Bible says in Psalms 31:8, “And hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy: thou hast set my feet in a large room.” God determines everything. David knew that. David knew that everything that happened to Him was a result of God. Even though David had enemies, the enemies could do nothing without God’s permission. And so as long as David was looking to the Lord and hoping in the Lord, everything would turn out the way it should. The “large room” that David mentioned was all that God was doing for David and through David.

The Bible says in Psalms 31:9-13, “Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly.[10] For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed.[11] I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially among my neighbours, and a fear to mine acquaintance: they that did see me without fled from me.[12] I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I am like a broken vessel.[13] For I have heard the slander of many: fear was on every side: while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my life.” David is asking for mercy from God, and these verses tell us why. David is suffering from guilt. A true believer has a conscience. It is terrible if you know Jesus as savior, but still have a guilty conscience. In verse ten David spoke of “grief” and “sighing.” What is the solution to such a terrible spiritual state? Ask God for mercy. Jesus is always merciful no matter how many or how great are your sins. David’s guilt not only affected his conscience, but also affected his physical well-being. He said, “my strength faileth” and “my bones are consumed.” If you are a believer, one of the worst things that happens if you fall into sin that becomes known by others: it will harm your testimony. David said in verse eleven, “I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially among my neighbours.” Of course, the enemies are going to hate him, but to lose the respect of his neighbors is a terrible thing to experience. This is the result of sin in the life of a believer: “For I have heard the slander of many: fear was on every side: while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my life.” You might want to avoid that at all costs. You might want to strive against sin, have a plan to avoid sin, and confess and forsake your sins quickly before they grow and multiply. Sins will do great harm to you and those around you.

The Bible says in Psalms 31:14-18, “But I trusted in thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my God.[15] My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.[16] Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy mercies' sake.[17] Let me not be ashamed, O LORD; for I have called upon thee: let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave. [18] Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.” No matter what is your trouble, even if it is your own fault, the answer is always to turn to the Lord. David said in verse fourteen, “But I trusted in thee, O LORD.” David also remembered his faith. David knew that God was in charge. David said in verse 15, “My times are in thy hand.” God controls your life, just like He does everyone else’s. He can make good or bad happen to me. He can do anything. David asks for goodness from God based upon “thy mercies' sake.” If you have failed, at least it is a situation where God can show to you how merciful He is. God loves to show how merciful He is, and so we are all a good opportunity for that mercy to be shown. In verse seventeen David prayed for two things for the wicked: that they be ashamed and that they “be silent in the grave.” Both of those things are going to happen unless they repent. Of course, they are headed to the grave. We all are, but the wicked will have no defense at the judgment. Believers have Jesus. The wicked are the enemies of believers and one of the things that the wicked do is to oppose believers. They oppose believers by what they speak. You will know them by their words, but God hears their words. They will not escape God’s wrath unless they repent and turn to Jesus before it is too late.

Let’s think about the Lord instead of the wicked. The Bible says in Psalms 31:19, “O how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!” We rely upon God, and God is good. That means that our lives will always be blessed with goodness as long as we keep trusting in Him. We can look forward to many good things happening to us, and then we go to heaven. It is wonderful to be a Christian.

The Bible says in Psalms 31:20, “Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.” Notice the words “secret” and “secretly.” True Christians have a secret. They have something that the people of the world cannot see and cannot know: the secret of God’s presence. Jesus promised that very thing to His disciples. Jesus said, “I am with you always.” Hebrews 13:5 quotes God from Deuteronomy chapter thirty-one and says, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” Practice thinking about God’s presence with you, and you will be strengthened. You will find peace and confidence in the presence of the Lord with you. “The pride of man” will not bother you, and “the strife of tongues” will not harm you because you have “the secret.”

The Bible says in Psalms 31:21-22, “Blessed be the LORD: for he hath shewed me his marvellous kindness in a strong city.[22] For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee.” David knew that his good situation in life was due to God’s “marvellous kindness” to him. David did not take his blessings for granted. Also, David recognized the times when he did not have the faith that he should have. He wrongly said in verse twenty-two, “I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes.” In other words when things got difficult for David, he too quickly evaluated his situation from a human standpoint and did not think about God’s presence and promises. If you react too hastily to a situation, you will probably react in the flesh instead of by faith in the Lord. In his haste David said, “I am cut off from before thine eyes.” Because bad things were happening to David, his initial reaction was to think that God’s blessings were removed from him. That is human nature. But after some more time went by, David realized that God had answered David’s prayers. Pray, and wait for the Lord. He will answer you and help you in time.

The Bible says in Psalms 31:23-24, “O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.[24] Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.” “Love the Lord:” that is a command. Why should we love Him? We should love Him because He first loved us. We should love Him because He died for us. We should love Him because of all of His blessings to us. David said that he loved the Lord because “the LORD preserveth the faithful.” Once you turn to Jesus, and call upon His name, and trust in Him as your Savior, the Lord will preserve you from that point forward. He will protect your life because He has a purpose for you. You will not die until God is finished with you on this earth. And then He will take you to heaven because God has preserved your soul forever. Knowing this truth makes it easy for believers and those that “hope in the LORD” to “be of good courage.” Notice that when we make our own hearts courageous that God responds by strengthening our hearts. God sees that you want faith in Him, and so He gives you more faith in Him. To those that have shall more be given. It is wonderful to be a Christian.

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