Month: September 2024

Psalm 31:17 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.

In v. 16, David prays for God’s presence (face) to shine and for Him to save him because of His mercy. He called upon the Lord in the presence of his enemies and trusted the Lord not to let him down, that is, not to be ashamed or disappointed for placing his trust in God. He believed God would hear him and save him, for the sake of His mercy.

Jesus is the mercy of God manifested to us, and so we pray and believe in Jesus’ name, or for His sake. He is mercy, and we know it because of the Gospel. Therefore, we may call upon Him in the sure confidence that He will hear and answer our need. We can have the faith and assurance that we will not be disappointed, being afraid that prayer will not work. When we know that Jesus died and rose for us, we can know that we can call upon the Lord and not be ashamed.

Psalm 31:14-15 But I trusted in thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my God. My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.

While fear was on every side, David trusted in the Lord. He is his God. He had the faith to place himself, his life, his wellbeing, and his times in the hand of God. He could with God’s help “Let go and let God.”

When fear threatens there is no better place to be than in the hand of God. We surrender control of our times to the Lord. “Hand” means control. We take our hands off and place ourselves under God’s control for comfort, safety, protection, and blessing. He delivers us from the control of our spiritual enemies. Jesus has once for all delivered us from sin, death, and the devil.

Now being free, we willingly and joyfully place our times in God’s hand. When fear and worry threaten, we know where to go. We give it to God. In the hand of the Good Shepherd we are secure. We believe it. We have it. We are certain because of the Gospel of Christ.

Psalm 31:9 Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea my soul and my belly.

When David is in trouble and consumed with grief, he pleads the Lord for mercy. He prays in faith, knowing that the Lord is merciful and He will show mercy. We are often in trouble, sometimes caused by our own sin, and at times eaten up with grief, caused by loss or threatened with loss of something. Such grief is ultimately brought about by our own sin and guilt and from the pervasive sin in the world. “The wages of sin is death.”

”But the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord [Romans 3:23].” Because of the Gospel of the death and resurrection of Christ, we know that God is merciful toward us. We can count on mercy. Therefore, we pray in Jesus’ name. In any time of trouble we pray: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” Our response to trouble and grief is believing in the God of mercy. We may have no other recourse but to ask for and trust in mercy. And that is enough.

Psalm 31:7 I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversity,

David wills, makes a conscious choice, to be glad and rejoice in the mercy of the Lord. Even in the midst of trouble and adversity afflicting his mind, will, and emotions he can still choose to be happy. He can do so on the basis of his faith in the mercy of God. He believes God’s character and he knows that God acts according to His basic character of mercy. God is good, kind, and merciful. His mercies are new every morning. And if that is true, he can be glad.

No matter the outward circumstances and inward fears, the Lord is still there and He is always full of mercy. His steadfast love never fails. He considers, sees, and cares about our troubles, and brings comfort and help. And He knows the feelings and fears of being in adversity, and does something about it. Why? Because He is full of mercy, kindness, and love, and not because we are good. How can we know? He has revealed His love and shown His mercy in the Gospel of Christ. We believe it. We receive it. We enjoy it.

Psalm 31:6 I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the Lord.

David’s response to life’s issues and worldly problems is to hate the lying vanities, false idols, and put his trust in the Lord alone. To hate is to despise, ignore, avoid, and shun something. We are often tempted to turn to the world to solve our problems: “If I only had more money.” “If I had a different spouse.” “If I had another job, or position, or home, or more things.” The world is always tempting us with something new or different or more to make life better.

1 John warns us not to “love not the world or the things of the world.” Whatever we look to for good becomes an idol, which in the end delivers only death and destruction. We learn, sometimes the hard way, to turn away from, even hate, the false promises and the empty lies the world offers. We even learn through the Word and the Spirit to hate and despise the people through whom these temptations come. We hate the sin, but still love the sinner.

Hate feels like a strong word, but sin and death are stronger and more dangerous. However, love is the greatest force in the world, and Jesus overcomes all. God’s love is the most powerful, as seen in the Resurrection. And we respond by loving and trusting Him above all things. We trust in the Lord alone for a better life. And He gives it freely.

Psalm 31:5 Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, God of truth.

David is so confident in the Lord, in His strength and His love, that he can commit his spirit into the hand of God. He can entrust himself into God’s hands because He has redeemed him already and He is a God of Truth. He knows he can count on the truthfulness of His promise to deliver, protect, and care for him. He has done it before and he knows He will do it again. No matter what threats the Enemy makes or what troubles the World brings he believes he can surrender himself to the safekeeping of the trustworthy God who loves him.

We also can commend ourselves to the hands of God for safekeeping and tender care. We do so every night and every morning. And often during the day we pray for the Lord to “deliver us from evil.” He will deliver us from harm to body and soul and finally take us from this vale of tears to Himself in heaven.

Jesus on the cross commended His spirit into the hands of His Father. And look what happened: He rose again in victory. Our response to the Gospel is the faith to surrender to the Lord. In place of trusting in our own prideful self, we give it to God.

Psalm 31:1-2 In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness. Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for a house of defense to save me.

David is often in trouble and danger, and just as often he places his trust in the Lord. And so he prays a prayer of faith, believing the Lord will hear and answer. God will deliver. He knows he will not be disappointed for trusting in the Lord. God will not let him down. The Lord knows the need and trouble we are in, and He will respond to our prayer, to save us. When we pray we are talking to a “strong rock and a house of defense.” We pray to our father “in heaven.” He can and he will deliver and save us from the enemies that would destroy us.

It is with this kind of faith and trust that we can pray to and expect answers from this kind of God. We stand on the strong rock of the love of God in Christ when we believe the gospel. We hide in the house of defense, covered by His presence, and protected by His care. We trust Jesus to deliver us from evil.

Psalm 30:12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee forever.

God has turned glory into dancing and clothed David with gladness, with the purpose that his soul would sing praise and give thanks. Praise and thanksgiving are constant features of the believer’s daily life, since the Lord has made us glad all our days through the Gospel. And He always hears and answers our prayers. Therefore, we are always singing praise and giving thanks.

God is so good and kind all the time that we cannot help but respond with thanks and praise. Our life becomes one of gladness and thanksgiving. The added thought expressed here is that, not only all our days on earth, but also forever will we be thanking God. Think about it. Not a day will pass in eternity without us singing praises to God for His goodness and thanking Him for His mercies. What a joyful way to live eternally. We will never have enough time in eternity to properly thank God for His goodness and grace, His kindness and mercy, in giving us His Son. I cannot be silent; thank God!

Psalm 30:8, 10 I cried to thee, O Lord; and unto the Lord I made supplication….Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me: Lord, be thou my helper.

David was constant and instant in developing a close relationship with the Lord, praying at any time and all the time, and turning his attention to God. When needs arise our first response is to pray, and we still pray and praise even when we don’t sense a need. The Lord is always on our mind, close by, and so talking to God is our immediate response to life’s problems.

Prayer assumes trust in God to hear, have mercy, and help. We pray about anything, cry to Him in need instead of crying in self-pity, and make our requests known to Him on a daily basis. Because of what God has done for us in Christ Jesus, we know He hears us, has mercy on us, and comes to be my helper. We cry and pray because we believe in His ability (He is Almighty) and His willingness (He is Love) to hear and to help. Life is hard enough (because of Sin), but life is so much better with Jesus nearby to be our Helper. We respond to daily life by admitting we need help and by believing that He helps us. In such faith we pray: “Heavenly Father, hear us in Jesus’ name, have mercy and help.”

Psalm 30:6 And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.

Both good times and bad times hold within them the ability to tempt us to turn away from faithfulness to the Lord. During troublous and worrisome times we are tempted to give up on God. During prosperous and happy times we are tempted to ignore God and live like we don’t need Him.

But we resolve in our hearts that we shall never be moved away from trust and faithful worship of the Lord, and that we will not be shaken from the foundation of a loving relationship with God. Because of His goodness and mercy toward us we promise to be firm and faithful. The Word and the Spirit shows us the dangers of forgetting God in prosperous times.

Therefore, we hear Law and Gospel often enough to keep us on the narrow path and go in the right direction. So we pray without ceasing, thank and praise Him constantly, and give Him glory and credit for the blessings we enjoy. And we need constant reminders of the Gospel. By grace we stand firm in the faith of Christ and nothing, neither bad times nor good times, shall move us off it. “For I am sure that neither death nor life (weal or woe)…will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord [Romans 8:38-39].”