Psalm 31

Psalm 31 belongs to Book One of the Psalms (Psalms 1–41). Its superscription reads "To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David." The chief musician was the director responsible for the temple's music. Whereas the preceding Psalm 30 is a song of thanksgiving for deliverance from the brink of death, Psalm 31 alternates between supplication and thanksgiving offered in the midst of crisis.

Outline

• Verses 1–5 The psalmist calls on the Lord as his rock and fortress and asks to be pulled out of the net his enemies have secretly laid for him. He declares that he commits his spirit into the Lord's hand.
• Verses 6–8 He distances himself from those who regard lying vanities and rejoices in the Lord's mercy, which has set his feet in a large room in the midst of trouble.
• Verses 9–13 He pours out the anguish of a body and soul wasted by grief. He laments that his neighbors and acquaintances shun him, that he is forgotten like a broken vessel, and that his enemies are plotting to take his life.
• Verses 14–18 He declares, "But I trusted in thee," affirms that his times are in the Lord's hand, and asks to be saved. He prays that lying lips be put to silence.
• Verses 19–22 He praises the goodness the Lord has laid up for those who take refuge in Him. He testifies that even when he thought he was cut off, the Lord heard his cry.
• Verses 23–24 He exhorts the saints to love the LORD and to be strong and of good courage.

Key Verses

• Psalm 31:5 "Into thine hand I commit my spirit" — echoed in the words Jesus spoke as He breathed His last on the cross (Luke 23:46).
• Psalm 31:15 "My times are in thy hand" — frequently cited as a confession that entrusts the seasons of one's life and one's future to God.
• Psalm 31:24 "Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD" — a conclusion in which a personal prayer widens into an exhortation to the community.

People and Places

• David — the king of Israel named in the superscription as the author of this psalm.
• Enemies and neighbors — none are named. They appear only as a group that slanders the psalmist and schemes to harm him, and as friends who avoid him.

Points for Reflection

• The superscription presents David as the author, but the text does not reveal the circumstances in which the psalm was composed. Some interpreters, citing the "strong city" of verse 21, link it to the period when David was pursued by Saul, but this is a conjecture that goes beyond the text.
• In verse 10, some ancient versions, including the Septuagint, read "because of affliction" in place of "because of mine iniquity."
• The expression in verse 13, "fear was on every side," also appears in Jeremiah 20. Verses 1–3 are nearly identical to the opening of Psalm 71.
• Verse 5 is echoed in the last of Jesus' Seven Last Words (Luke 23:46). The prayer Stephen offered at his death (Acts 7:59) also recalls this verse. Martin Luther is likewise said to have repeated this verse on his deathbed. In Catholic and Anglican Compline, the verse is used as a responsory.
• In the Septuagint and Vulgate numbering followed in Western church tradition, it is Psalm 30.

In the Korean Church

In Holy Week sermons that meditate on the Seven Last Words in sequence, verse 5 is often presented as the background to the final saying. Verse 24 is frequently quoted, together with Psalm 27:14, as a word of encouragement.