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Reflections on The Psalms

Psalm 31

 

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 defence 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.

Of all the emotions we struggle with in life, I think the most painful, the most dreaded, is shame. I hadn’t thought much about it until I began to encounter it in the psalms. I can easily see David’s shame over his sin with Bathsheba. Once he knew that his sin was known, he must have been eaten up with shame.

It’s funny that even when people know, we play a little game of not knowing and the sinner goes on his way thinking that no one has any idea. David’s servants knew, but they were non-persons and didn’t count. But when Nathan said, "You are the man," that was just a little too much.

And like any sin, it feeds lies. David was guilty, but his enemies multiplied the guilt, and it went on long after David had repented and been forgiven.

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 showed 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.

I said in my haste, I am cut of from before your eyes. Any man of God will know this feeling. When we have done wrong, we think God will never hear us again. But that is a hasty conclusion. He will hear.

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.

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.

This is a prayer of a man profoundly ashamed. And yet, there is slander against him by his enemies. So it is possible to slander a sinner.

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:

It is quite a picture of a pariah in society. A person who has done wrong, and who finds no pity, only slander and evil speaking. It is sad to say, but once a person who has been held in reputation falls, it doesn’t matter whether he has sinned little or much. Rumors will turn it into something even greater than it is.

But it turned out that David was hasty in thinking God had cast him off.

21 Blessed be the LORD:
for he hath showed 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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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