Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eye is wasted away from grief, my soul and my body also. Psalm 31:9 NASB Distress– Now comes the plea. David’s psalm begins with acknowledgement of God’s character. He praises the Lord for constancy, faithfulness, and a genuine desire to rescue. He alludes to God’s covenant relationship with…
And You have not given me over into the hand of the enemy; You have set my feet in a large place. Psalm 31:8 NASB Not given me over– What does it mean to fall into the hands of the enemy? Pay attention to David’s parallelism and you will understand just how much Hebrew is a language…
I will rejoice and be glad in Your lovingkindness, because You have seen my affliction; You have known the troubles of my soul, Psalm 31:7 NASB Have known– It’s an unfortunate unexamined assumption of many believers that Yeshua is our savior because he truly understands our human frailties. After all, he was one of us. And since God…
I hate those who regard vain idols, but I trust in the Lord. Psalm 31:6 NASB Hate– In a age of banal religious convictions, hate is one of those emotions that end up on the psychological chopping block. Hate expresses strong repulsion, and as such, stands in utter opposition to the decree of political tolerance foisted upon the population by…
Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have ransomed me, O Lord, God of truth. Psalm 31:5 NASB I commit my spirit– Exodus 34:7. Yes, that’s right. The infamous verse about “visiting the iniquity of the fathers” uses the same verb we find here, pāqad. Speiser writes, “There is probably no other Hebrew verb that has caused translators…
You will pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me, for You are my strength. Psalm 31:4 NASB Net– Caught! Tangled up! Trapped! In the mind-body-spirit combination of nephesh (person), feeling captured in one area always affects the rest of life. Often we have freedom of movement but are imprisoned inside. We struggle to…
For You aremy rock and my fortress; for Your name’s sake You will lead me and guide me. Psalm 31:3 NASB Lead/ Guide– nāḥâ and nāhal. Why does David use two different verbs (alliterative) to convey God’s direction? Perhaps it’s because the first “represents the conducting of one along the right path”[1]while the second “denotes a shepherd’s loving concerned leading of his flock,…
For You aremy rock and my fortress; for Your name’s sakeYou will lead me and guide me. Psalm 31:3 NASB Your name’s sake– So God is safe. I choose to believe that. I choose to live my life in light of His reliability. Waves come. I get tossed about. Someone I love fails me. Unanticipated trauma strikes. But…
For You aremy rock and my fortress; for Your name’s sake You will lead me and guide me. Psalm 31:3 NASB My rock and my fortress– Have we relegated the stronghold of God to heaven? Have we forced God to provide only a spiritual sanctuary after we’ve finished the earthly course? Or is God really our Rock and…
Incline Your ear to me, rescue me quickly; be to me a rock of strength, a stronghold to save me. Psalm 31:2 NASB Rock of strength– Yes, Lord, that’s what I need. A ROCK! An impenitrable place of safe-keeping. I need this: because of this: ṣûr māʿôz. Think about that. Topical Index: rock, strength,
