Psalms 31

Psalms 31:1

Psalm 31: Into Thy HandThe fifth verse of Psalm 31 alerts us that it has a definite association with the suffering, dying Lamb of God, for these words formed His final cry from the cross: “Father, ‘into Your hands I commend My spirit’” (Luk_23:46). Of course, the fact that one verse in a Psalm is definitely associated with the Messiah does not require that all the other verses must be. However, in this particular Psalm every verse does seem to have at least some connection with Him. There is a problem, though, in analyzing this Psalm. Instead of tracing the suffering, death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus in chronological order, the Psalm alternates back and forth between suffering and resurrection. But we must remember, as C. S. Lewis pointed out, that “the Psalms are poems, and poems intended to be sung; not doctrinal treatises, nor even sermons.” Prayer for Deliverance (31:1-5a)31:1 In the opening verses the Lord Jesus is praying to His Father from the cross. As the perfect Man He has always lived in total dependence on God. Now, in the hour of His deepest anguish, He reaffirms His trust in the LORD as His sole and sufficient Sanctuary. He asks that He might never be ashamed for having relied on God the Father. It is a very powerful prayer, reminding God that the honor of His name is inseparably connected with the Resurrection of His Son. It would be an act of righteousness for the Father to raise the Lord Jesus from among the dead. Were He not to do so, the Savior would be exposed as a victim of misplaced confidence and would thus be humiliated. 31:2, 3 In an elegant anthropomorphism, the lonely Sufferer asks God to lean over with His ear facing Calvary; then He asks God to hear His urgent plea and to run to His rescue speedily. He further asks the Lord to be His rock of refuge, steadfast and unmovable, and to be a strong bastion in which He can be safe from every peril. Of course God already was His rock and fortress, His only defense and security. Other refuge have I none; Hangs my helpless soul on Thee. Leave, O leave me not alone, Still support and comfort me. Charles Wesley Once again Christ bases His appeal on the fact that the honor of God is at stake. “For Your name’s sake lead me and guide me.” Had not God promised to deliver the righteous? Indeed He had! Now He is asked to honor His name by delivering the Lord Jesus Christ out of death to Resurrection and glory. 31:4 A net of death had been carefully laid to capture and hold the Savior. Here Christ cries to God to pull Him out of this net, to rescue Him from the grave, for Jehovah is His refuge, safe and strong. 31:5a Luke writes that Jesus quoted the words of verse 5a with a loud voice. No man took Christ’s life from Him; He laid it down voluntarily and in full possession of His faculties. These words have been repeated by dying saints of God down through the centuries since that timeby men like Luther, Knox, Hus and scores of others. Praise for Resurrection (31:5b-8)31:5b, 6 There is a distinct break in the middle of verse 5, a transition from death to Resurrection, a change from prayer to praise. True to His Word, God had redeemed His Holy One from death and the grave. It was a glorious vindication of His Son for trusting in the living God; those who trust in vain idols earn nothing but Jehovah’s contempt! 31:7, 8 A song of praise now wings its way heavenward for the changeless love that hovered over God’s beloved Son in His affliction. This was a love that took full account of all His adversities, that refused to abandon Him finally to the power of the enemy, that pulled the Savior out of the pit and set His feet on the wide place which is “Resurrection ground.” Deep Distress (31:9-13)31:9, 10 But now we are brought back to the life of our Lord prior to His trial and Crucifixion. We are allowed to hear the prayers of the Man of Sorrows as He endured the bitter hatred of sinners. Despised and rejected by men, He turned to Jehovah in His distress and appealed for gracious consideration. His eyes were sunken through excessive grief, and His soul and body wasted away with weeping. He was worn out with grief and exhausted with sighing. His misery had sapped away His strength, and His very bones seemed fragile. The only way “My strength fails because of my iniquity” can be applied to the sinless Savior is by understanding it to mean our iniquity, which He took upon Himself as our Sin-bearer. Otherwise the verse cannot have a Messianic connotation. 31:11-13 The patient Sufferer next speaks of Himself as an object of scornful contempt among all His enemies and a terrifying sight to His neighbors. They would cross the street to avoid Him or duck down an alley if they saw Him coming. He was quickly lost to their memory, discarded like a broken dish. He heard the slander campaign that was being carried on against Him. Terror stalked Him day and night as men hatched plots to kill Him. This picture of abject pathos and misery is sad enough for any man. But what shall we say when we learn that it was written to describe the Maker of the universe, the Lord of life and glory! Prayer for Deliverance (31:14-18)31:14-17a Sorrow and sighing give way to believing prayer. The One whom men reject confesses Jehovah as His Hope and the God of His life. He finds unspeakable comfort in the fact that His times are in the Father’s hand. This comfort has been shared by God’s trusting people as they have sung in sunshine and sorrow: Our times are in Thy hand; Father, we wish them there! Our life, our souls, our all, we leave Entirely to Thy care. William F. Lloyd Following this affirmation of trust and submission, the Lord Jesus prays specifically that God will deliver Him from the clutches of His persecuting enemies. He asks that the Father might look down upon Him in favor. He pleads for salvation out of death, a plea based on the steadfast love of the Lord. Again He asks that He might never be disappointed as He looks to Jehovah alone as His Deliverer. The language is rhetorical, of course, emphasizing style at the expense of literalness. There was no possibility that Christ could ever have been put to shame for trusting in Jehovah. He knew that, and we know it. But we lose something if we insist on strict literalness when we read impassioned prayer or lyrical poetry. 31:17b, 18 Turning to the wicked, Christ prays that they might be the ones who are put to shame, who go speechless to Sheol. He asks that their lying lips might be silenced for their slander of the Holy Son of God. Some sincere people consider these verses sub-Christian in their tone, but the more you think of the ruthlessness of the criminals, the vileness of their crime, and the innocence of the Victim, the more you conclude that the language is not too strong! God, the Great Refuge (31:19, 20)Once again the Psalm moves from distress to delight, from petition to praise. In majestic cadence, the Lord Jesus extols His Father as the incomparable Hiding Place. He pictures God as the Administrator of an inexhaustible storehouse of goodness treasured up for His believing people. To all who seek shelter in Him He waits to pour out these treasures abundantly in the presence of the sons of men. God’s presence is a place where His chosen saints can hide from the malicious plots of man; He is adequate shelter from what Knox calls “the world’s noisy debate.” Personal Gratitude (31:21, 22)The Lord Jesus had experienced a wonderful demonstration of God’s goodness when He was completely surrounded by foes, like a besieged city. In His alarm it seemed to Him as if He had been completely deserted by Jehovah. But though He was forsaken during those three awful hours on the cross, yet God heard His cry and raised Him from the dead. Love the Lord! (31:23, 24)Having tasted the love of God, Christ loves Him in return and rightly feels that everyone else should too. Jehovah can be depended on to protect His believing ones and to mete out adequate punishment to arrogant rebels! Any believer who is up against seemingly impossible odds can thus be strong and courageous in the assurance that no one can hope in the LORD in vainever!