In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness.
2 Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defense to save me.
3 For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me.
4 Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for thou art my strength.
5 Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.
6 I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the Lord.
7 I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities;
8 And hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy: thou hast set my feet in a large room.
9 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.
14 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.
19 Oh 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!
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.
21 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.
23 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. Psalm 31 KJV
In thee - The Psalmist is not afraid to put all of his eggs in one basket. I am going to put my trust with the Creator, and regardless of the circumstance, who else can be so qualified?
In Thy righteousness - Deliver me because I am of Abraham's seed, because I am king, because my throne was prophesied long before me, but no, by none of these things and in no way by my merit, for it has brought me so much grief, but in Thy righteousness. Deliver me oh God according to Your mercy and grace.
Bow down Thine ear to me - It is a wonderful thought that some commentators have proposed, a man so sick or so near the end of his life, that there is barely enough strength for a whisper. I am reminded of mother Ruth in this, she has Parkinson's disease and her voice will often trail off into a whisper, a sleepy sort of twilight sound, as she continuously nods off. I have to turn everything off, the tv, shut the door to the laundry and bring my ear towards her or else I miss it all.
Thou art my Rock - In the verse before it is "be" and now it is because "Thou art", he has laid down the cornerstone of faith from the first, trusting in a righteousness not his own.
“If You can?” echoed Jesus. “All things are possible to him who believes!” 24Immediately the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe; help my unbelief!” 25When Jesus saw that a crowd had come running, He rebuked the unclean spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” He said, “I command you to come out and never enter him again.”…Mark 9: 23-25
Thou art my Strength - I cannot climb out of this net, I look at arms and legs that are spent, incapable, inferior to my situation, but Lord, truly You are strong to deliver.
Into Thine hand I commit my spirit - Spurgeon put this too well:
Into thine hand I commit my spirit. These living words of David were our Lord's dying words, and have been frequently used by holy men in their hour of departure. Be assured that they are good, choice, wise, and solemn words; we may use them now and in the last tremendous hour. Observe, the object of the good man's solicitude in life and death is not his body or his estate, but his spirit; this is his jewel, his secret treasure; if this be safe, all is well. See what he does with his pearl! He commits it to the hand of his God; it came from him, it is his own, he has aforetime sustained it, he is able to keep it, and it is most fit that he should receive it. All things are safe in Jehovah's hands; what we entrust to the Lord will be secure, both now and in that day of days towards which we are hastening. Without reservation the good man yields himself to his heavenly Father's hand; it is enough for him to be there; it is peaceful living and glorious dying to repose in the care of heaven. At all times we should commit and continue to commit our all to Jesus' sacred care, then, though life may hang on a thread, and adversities may multiply as the sands of the sea, our soul shall dwell at ease, and delight itself in quiet resting places. -C.H. Spurgeon
The sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn down the middle. 46 Then Jesus called out in a loud voice, “Father,into Your hands I commit My Spirit.” And when He had said this,He breathed His last. 47 When the centurion saw what had happened, he gave glory to God, saying, “Surely this was a righteous man.”…Luke 23: 45-47
Thou hast redeemed me - After being sold unto and practitioners of sin, as slaves there was only one way for us to be set free. The cry is the cry of every child to their father, please get me out of here, whether I am here because I stumbled in my own stupidity, arrogance or ignorance, please Father take me out because I am Yours. I belong to You, You have paid the price.
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20
That regard lying vanities - David hates those who are puffed up, trusting in themselves who were made by God, or in idols that were made by men. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. He trust the maker of all.
Because of my iniquity - This is my grief, why it is so hard to believe of Your good intent, because I have sinned, I have so often laid a snare for myself, this makes it difficult to cry out to You, but where else can I go? Blessed are they that mourn, who grieve over their sin, for they shall be comforted.
Fled from me - My friends and family have run at the sight of my approach, the stores have all flipped their signs to closed when they see me, for the trouble is great. No one wants to associate with me for they think, "where is his God now? Look how He must hate him."
But I trusted in Thee - I was a man of great sorrow that no one wanted to share with me, even those who used to greet me kindly, who would break bread with me, have all started to believe the slander that rages about me.
I said in my haste, I am cut off - There is no hope I thought, this is the end, I could not with human eyes see any way of deliverance, but somehow You have saved me. You did not disown me, and You heard me cry. I will testify of Your mercy, that all men should know to place their trust and affection nowhere else, it is the Lord Who alone can deliver, Who saves to the utmost.
Because of my iniquity - This is my grief, why it is so hard to believe of Your good intent, because I have sinned, I have so often laid a snare for myself, this makes it difficult to cry out to You, but where else can I go? Blessed are they that mourn, who grieve over their sin, for they shall be comforted.
Fled from me - My friends and family have run at the sight of my approach, the stores have all flipped their signs to closed when they see me, for the trouble is great. No one wants to associate with me for they think, "where is his God now? Look how He must hate him."
But I trusted in Thee - I was a man of great sorrow that no one wanted to share with me, even those who used to greet me kindly, who would break bread with me, have all started to believe the slander that rages about me.
I said in my haste, I am cut off - There is no hope I thought, this is the end, I could not with human eyes see any way of deliverance, but somehow You have saved me. You did not disown me, and You heard me cry. I will testify of Your mercy, that all men should know to place their trust and affection nowhere else, it is the Lord Who alone can deliver, Who saves to the utmost.
57 At this they covered their ears, cried out in a loud voice, and rushed together at him. 58 They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 While they were stoning him, Stephen appealed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”…Acts 7:57-59
Father, let this be my prayer too, into thine hands I commit my spirit, do not let me live an ordinary life, let it rather be as the moon, reflecting the glory of the Son.
