Psalms 31:16-24

16 Make thy face to shine upon thy slave; 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 cut off for Sheol.

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 those that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for those that wait in thee before the sons of men!

20 Thou shalt keep them in the secret place of thy face from the pride of man; thou shalt keep them in the tabernacle protected from the strife of tongues.

21 Blessed be the LORD, for he has shown me his marvellous mercy in a strong city.

22 For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes; nevertheless thou hast heard the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee.

23 O love the LORD, all ye his merciful ones, for the LORD preserves the faithful and plentifully rewards the proud doer.

24 Be of good courage and strengthen your hearts, all ye that wait in the LORD.

Psalms 31:16-24 Meaning and Commentary

To the chief Musician, a Psalm of David. This psalm, according to Arama, was composed by David when in Keilah; but, according to Kimchi and others, when the Ziphites proposed to deliver him up into the hands of Saul; and who, upon their solicitations, came down and surrounded him with his army, from whom in haste he made his escape, and to which he is thought to refer in Psalm 31:22. Theodoret supposes it was written by David when he fled from Absalom, and that it has some respect in it to his sin against Uriah, in that verse.