The meditative nature of the Psalms (Psalm 1).

• Other biblical authors and characters found meditative value in this psalm.
  • Jonah referred to the “worthless idols” line (I hate those who pay regard to worthless idols, but I trust in the Lord) while in the fish (6, Jon. 2:8).
  • Jeremiah borrowed the “terror on every side” line as his personal motto (13; Jer. 6:25; 20; 10; 46:5; 49:29; Lam. 2:22).
  • An old psalmist, perhaps David himself, quoted the portions of the psalm dealing with God as a refuge (1-3; Ps. 71).
  • Jesus: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (5, Luke 23:46).
    • Stephen mimicked Christ: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59).
• In the belly of a fish, while enduring hostility throughout life, while being crucified, and while being martyred, Psalm 31 brought its perspective and comfort.

It is a beautiful poem-prayer meant for our thoughtful consideration.

• The way we will mediate on it today:
  • His situation—what was he facing?
  • His convictions—what did he think?
  • His trust—what did he do?

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His Situation

His introductory statements make it clear that he is in some type of pain.

• He asked God, “Let me never be put to shame” (1).
• He looked to God for deliverance (1), rescue, and salvation (2) out of the net (4) his idol-loving (6) enemy had hidden for him (4, 8).

But his central statements get to the heart of his pain.

1. Psychological and emotional pain.

• He feels overwhelmed by constant sorrow: my life and years are spent with sighing (10).
  • Me: a life sigh.
• Terror presses in on every side: he hears the whispering of many—terror on every side! (13).
• He experiences deep shame and self-condemnation, even attributing part of his weakness to his own sin (because of my iniquity, 10).

2. Social and relational pain.

• Disgraced: I have become a reproach (disgrace) and an object of dread to his neighbors and acquaintances (11).
• He became forgotten like one who is dead (12).
• Lying lips spoke against him, even though he was righteous (18).

3. Physical and psychosomatic pain.

• My eye is wasted from grief; my soul and my body also (9).
• My strength fails… and my bones waste away (10).
• He likens himself to a broken vessel, shattered and unusable (12).
• Frayed rope under tension—how much longer will it hold?
• Pain in life is like playing an instrument that’s out of tune—the song of your life comes out wrong.

4. Existential or spiritual pain.

• Nadir (or low point) of his crisis: I had said in my alarm, “I am cut off from your sight” (22).

He endured the full gamut of pain and found relief, so he became a model for all of us.

• All the tabs (types of pain) were open—and it was threatening to crash him.
• Any lesser pain can be alleviated by the psalmist’s response.

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His Convictions

God is committed to His people.

• He repeatedly appeals to God’s hesed—his loyal, covenantal love.
  • I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love (7).
  • Save me in your steadfast love (16).
  • He has wondrously shown his steadfast love (21).
• Like a parent of a special needs child: They will endure much—therapies, medical insurance bureaucracy, behavioral outbursts—because of their total love-fueled commitment to their children.

God is our fortress of security.

• He piles up powerful metaphors to describe God’s protective power: rock of refuge, strong fortress, my rock, my fortress, and my refuge (1-4).
  • He trusts that God hides his people in the cover of his presence (20).

   

• God’s security is so complete, no single image can suffice.
• Masada: a nearly impregnable desert fortress King Herod built atop a sheer cliff overlooking the Dead Sea, where Jewish rebels held out against the Romans.

God stores up goodness for His people.

• He thinks God has stored up goodness for his people (19).
  • “Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you.”
• Manna
• Peter’s coin in fish’s mouth—secret provision
• Jesus feeding 5,000 from one boy’s lunch
• Bank, reservoir—Rom. 8:28

God gives more grace.

• My strength fails because of my iniquity (10): This seems central to his experience.
  • But God is not the one determined to condemn him—others are, and with reason!
• David felt God could provide the grace he required (Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress, 9).
• Prodigal son’s father running—grace before apology (Luke 15)

So he asked…

• For God’s deliverance—rescue me speedily (2)!
• For God’s protection—be a rock of refuge for me (2).
• For God’s leadership—lead me and guide me (3).
• For God’s vindication—let me not be put to shame (1, 17).
• For God’s favor—make your face shine on your servant (16).
  • Numbers 6 priestly blessing—“shine your face” (Num 6:25).
• Hudson Taylor: “It doesn’t matter, really, how great the pressure is; it only matters where the pressure lies. See that it never comes between you and the Lord—then, the greater the pressure, the more it presses you to His breast.”

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His Trust

1. The Foundational Act: Surrender

• The bedrock of his trust: Into your hand I commit my spirit (5).
• What does it mean to commit your spirit to the Lord?
  • “To make the ultimate surrender of the very animating force of life into the care of God…” Gerald H. Wilson, NIV Application Commentary
• By placing his very life-force into God’s care, the psalmist secured the result of redemption (You have redeemed me, 5).
• Widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17): shared her last meal with Elijah, but received life.
• Ultimately fulfilled by Christ on the cross—he received life, and life for everyone, because he committed his spirit to God.

2. The Defiant Choice: Reclaim Identity

• After descending into the psalm’s darkest lament, he emphatically stated, “But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God’” (14).
• Preached to himself! He made a deliberate, verbal declaration of allegiance.
• The immediate result is the reclaiming of his true identity. He refuses to be defined by his enemies’ plots or his own feelings of worthlessness.

3. The Stabilizing Conviction: God’s Sovereignty

• Flowing directly from his defiant choice to reclaim his identity, David exclaimed, “My times are in your hand” (15).
• Because he has just reaffirmed who God is to him (“my God”), he can now rest in what God does—sovereignly govern his life.
• A Shepherd’s Schedule: The sheep doesn’t worry about when it will move to the next pasture; it rests, knowing the shepherd is in control of the timing.

4. An Encouragement to Others: Courage for All

• The ultimate fruit of the entire faith journey was his willingness to charge us: “Love the LORD, all you his saints! Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!” (23-24).
• He is transformed from a victim into a conqueror into a witness.
• He’s passed the baton to us—trust the Lord!

An active trust

• In times of challenge, we should practice a complete, full, active trust in the Lord.
  • Sometimes you need medication, but other times you need a surgeon.
    • We often trust in good things—counseling, therapy, medication, sleep, nutrition, exercise, friendships—but there is something even more active about trusting Yahweh (the surgeon).
• “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24–25)