Psalm 31 is a heartfelt cry from David, a man caught in the throes of danger, betrayal, and despair, yet clinging to the unshakeable reality of God’s presence and truth. Its words resonate across centuries, speaking to anyone who has faced adversity or felt the sting of rejection. But beyond its immediate context, Psalm 31 unveils a profound truth: God is the author of all reality, and to trust in Him is to align with what is true, eternal, and unshaken. To reject this is to wander in deception, to live in a shadow of delusion, ashamed of the very reality that sustains us. This commentary explores the psalm’s historical roots, its deeper wisdom, its connections to Jesus as the embodiment of truth, and its urgent call for all people to embrace reality over darkness.
Psalm 31 (NKJV)
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
1 In You, O Lord, I put my trust;
Let me never be ashamed;
Deliver me in Your righteousness.
2 Bow down Your ear to me,
Deliver me speedily;
Be my rock of refuge,
A fortress of defense to save me.
3 For You are my rock and my fortress;
Therefore, for Your name’s sake,
Lead me and guide me.
4 Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,
For You are my strength.
5 Into Your hand I commit my spirit;
You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.
6 I have hated those who regard useless idols;
But I trust in the Lord.
7 I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy,
For You have considered my trouble;
You have known my soul in adversities,
8 And have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy;
You have set my feet in a wide place.
9 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble;
My eye wastes away with grief,
Yes, my soul and my body!
10 For my life is spent with grief,
And my years with sighing;
My strength fails because of my iniquity,
And my bones waste away.
11 I am a reproach among all my enemies,
But especially among my neighbors,
And am repulsive to my acquaintances;
Those who see me outside flee from me.
12 I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind;
I am like a broken vessel.
13 For I hear the slander of many;
Fear is on every side;
While they take counsel together against me,
They scheme to take away my life.
14 But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”
15 My times are in Your hand;
Deliver me from the hand of my enemies,
And from those who persecute me.
16 Make Your face shine upon Your servant;
Save me for Your mercies’ sake.
17 Do not let me be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon You;
Let the wicked be ashamed;
Let them be silent in the grave.
18 Let the lying lips be put to silence,
Which speak insolent things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.
19 Oh, how great is Your goodness,
Which You have laid up for those who fear You,
Which You have prepared for those who trust in You
In the presence of the sons of men!
20 You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence
From the plots of man;
You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion
From the strife of tongues.
21 Blessed be the Lord,
For He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a strong city!
22 For I said in my haste,
“I am cut off from before Your eyes”;
Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications
When I cried out to You.
23 Oh, love the Lord, all you His saints!
For the Lord preserves the faithful,
And fully repays the proud person.
24 Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart,
All you who hope in the Lord.
Historically, Psalm 31 is attributed to David, likely written during a time of intense personal crisis. Scholars suggest it could relate to his persecution by Saul or the rebellion of his son Absalom, both periods marked by betrayal, slander, and mortal danger. The imagery of a “net secretly laid” (v. 4) and enemies scheming to take his life (v. 13) reflects the political and personal intrigues of David’s court. The phrase “fear is on every side” (v. 13) echoes Jeremiah’s lament in Jeremiah 6:25 (NKJV): “Do not go out into the field, nor walk by the way. Because of the sword of the enemy, fear is on every side.” This suggests a shared cultural expression of overwhelming threat. David’s world was one where trust was scarce, and idols—false gods or human schemes—offered fleeting security. Yet, he anchors himself in the “Lord God of truth” (v. 5), a title emphasizing God’s unchanging reality against the deceptions of his enemies.
The deeper truth of Psalm 31 lies in its portrayal of God as the author of reality itself. David’s trust is not in fleeting circumstances or human allies but in the One who holds “my times” (v. 15) and redeems through truth. To be ashamed of trusting God, as David pleads against in verse 1, is to be ashamed of reality—the very fabric of existence woven by God’s hand. To trust in idols or human schemes, as David rejects in verse 6, is to embrace delusion, to live in a constructed lie that collapses under scrutiny. This is a universal wisdom: every person faces the choice to align with truth or to chase shadows. Those who choose deception live in darkness, as Jesus describes in John 3:19-20 (NKJV): “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.” The darkness is not just moral failure but a refusal to see reality as God defines it.
Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of Psalm 31’s cry for truth and deliverance. His words on the cross, “Into Your hands I commit My spirit” (Luke 23:46, NKJV: “And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, ‘Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ Having said this, He breathed His last”), echo verse 5, revealing Him as the one who perfectly entrusted Himself to God’s reality, even in death. Jesus is the “way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6, NKJV: “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’”), the embodiment of the truth David sought. To trust in Jesus is to trust in reality itself, for He is the Word through whom all things were made (John 1:3, NKJV: “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made”). Those who reject Him, as Jesus warns in the Parable of the Sower, are like seeds on rocky ground, unable to root in truth (Matthew 13:5-6, NKJV: “Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away”). The parable illustrates how superficial faith withers under trial, much like those who trust in idols rather than God’s reality in Psalm 31.
David’s plea for God’s face to shine (v. 16) recalls the priestly blessing in Numbers 6:24-26 (NKJV): “The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” This shining face is God’s favor, fully revealed in Jesus, the “light of the world” (John 8:12, NKJV: “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life’”). Those who live in deception, ashamed of reality, are like the tenants in Jesus’ Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers (Matthew 21:33-41, NKJV), who reject the landowner’s son, thinking they can seize the vineyard for themselves. Their delusion leads to destruction, just as David prays for the wicked to be silenced (v. 18). Yet, Psalm 31 is not just a cry against enemies but a call to hope. David’s shift from despair to praise (vv. 19-24) mirrors Jesus’ promise in the Parable of the Mustard Seed (Matthew 13:31-32, NKJV: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches”). Trust in God’s reality, though small at first, grows into unshakable strength.
For those who do not yet see, who live in darkness and misunderstanding, Psalm 31 is a beacon. They are not enemies to be condemned but lost sheep, as Jesus describes in the Parable of the Lost Sheep (Luke 15:4-6, NKJV: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing”). We are called to carry the truth to them, to shine the light of Christ’s reality into their delusion. This is not just a personal journey but a communal mission, as David urges, “Love the Lord, all you His saints!” (v. 23). To live in truth is to reject the shame of reality, to embrace God as the author of all that is, and to follow Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life.
So, let us be children of Truth, not children of deception and darkness. Choose the reality of God over the fleeting lies of the world. Trust in the One who holds your times, who redeems through truth, and who shines His face upon you. Carry this truth to those still lost, that they too may step out of the shadows and into the light of Christ’s eternal reality.