Shīpiān 31

1 ( Dàwèi de shī jiāo yǔ líng zhǎng ) Yēhéhuá a , wǒ tóukào nǐ , qiú nǐ shǐ wǒ yǒng bù xiūkuì , píng nǐde gōngyì dājiù wǒ .

2 Qiú nǐ zè ĕr ér tīng , kuaì kuaì jiù wǒ , zuò wǒ jiāngù de pánshí , zhĕngjiù wǒde bǎo zhàng .

3 Yīnwei nǐ shì wǒde yán shí , wǒde shān zhaì . suǒyǐ qiú nǐ wèi nǐ míng de yuángù , yǐndǎo wǒ , zhí diǎn wǒ .

4 Qiú nǐ jiù wǒ tuōlí rén wèi wǒ àn shè de wǎngluó . yīnwei nǐ shì wǒde bǎo zhàng .

5 Wǒ jiāng wǒde línghún jiāo zaì nǐ shǒu lǐ . Yēhéhuá chéngshí de shén a , nǐ jiùshú le wǒ .

6 Wǒ hèn è nà xìnfèng xū wú zhī shén de rén . wǒ què yǐkào Yēhéhuá .

7 Wǒ yào wèi nǐde cíaì gāoxìng huānxǐ . yīnwei nǐ jian guo wǒde kùnkǔ , zhīdào wǒ xīn zhōng de jiān nán .

8 Nǐ wèicéng bǎ wǒ jiāo zaì chóudí shǒu lǐ . nǐ shǐ wǒde jiǎo zhàn zaì kuānkuò zhī chù .

9 Yēhéhuá a , qiú nǐ liánxù wǒ , yīnwei wǒ zaì jí nán zhī zhōng . wǒde yǎnjing yīn yōuchóu ér gān biē , lián wǒde shēn xīn , yĕ bú ān shū .

10 Wǒde shēngmìng wèi chóukǔ suǒ xiāo hào . wǒde niánsuì wèi tànxī suǒ kuàng feì . wǒde lìliang yīn wǒde zuìniè shuāi baì . wǒde gútou yĕ kū gān .

11 Wǒ yīn yīqiè dírén chéng le xiūrǔ , zaì wǒde línshè gēnqián gèng shén . nà rènshi wǒde dōu jùpà wǒ . zaì waì tóu kànjian wǒde dōu duǒbì wǒ .

12 Wǒ beì rén wàngjì , rútóng sǐ rén , wú rén jìniàn . wǒ hǎoxiàng pò suì de qìmǐn .

13 Wǒ tīngjian le xǔduō rén de chán bàng , sìwéi dōu shì jīngxià . tāmen yītóng shāngyì gōngjī wǒde shíhou , jiù tú móu yào haì wǒde xìngméng .

14 Yēhéhuá a , wǒ réngjiù yǐkào nǐ . wǒ shuō , nǐ shì wǒde shén .

15 Wǒ zhōng shēn de shì zaì nǐ shǒu zhōng . qiú nǐ jiù wǒ tuōlí chóudí de shǒu , hé nàxiē bīpò wǒde rén .

16 Qiú nǐ shǐ nǐde liǎn guāng zhào púrén , píng nǐde cíaì zhĕngjiù wǒ .

17 Yēhéhuá a , qiú nǐ jiào wǒ bù zhì xiūkuì . yīnwei wǒ céng hūyù nǐ . qiú nǐ shǐ è rén xiūkuì , shǐ tāmen zaì yīnjiān jiān mò wú shēng .

18 Nà sā huǎng de rén , chĕng jiāoào qīngmàn , chū kuáng wàng de huà gōngjī yì rén . yuàn tāde zuǐyē ér wú yán .

19 Jìngwèi nǐ tóukào nǐde rén , nǐ wèi tāmen suǒ jīcún de , zaì shìrén miànqián suǒ shīxíng de ēnhuì , shì hédĕng dà ne .

20 Nǐ bì bǎ tāmen cáng zaì nǐ miànqián de yǐn mì chù , miǎndé yùjiàn rén de jì móu . nǐ bì ànàn de bǎoshǒu tāmen zaì tíngzi lǐ , miǎn shòu kǒu shé de zhēng nào .

21 Yēhéhuá shì yīngdāng chēngsòng de . yīnwei tā zaì jiāngù chéng lǐ , xiàng wǒ shīzhǎn qímiào de cíaì .

22 Zhìyú wǒ , wǒ céng jí cù de shuō , wǒ cóng nǐ yǎnqián beì géjué . ránér wǒ hū qiú nǐde shíhou , nǐ réng tīng wǒ kĕnqiú de shēngyīn .

23 Yēhéhuá de shèng mín nǎ , nǐmen dōu yào aì tā . Yēhéhuá bǎohù chéngshí rén , zú zú bàoyìng xíngshì jiāoào de rén .

24 Fán yǎngwàng Yēhéhuá de rén , nǐmen dōu yào zhuàng dǎn , jiāngù nǐmen de xīn .

Shīpiān 31 Commentary

Chapter 31

Confidence in God. (1-8) Prayer in trouble. (9-18) Praise for God's goodness. (19-24)

Verses 1-8 Faith and prayer must go together, for the prayer of faith is the prevailing prayer. David gave up his soul in a special manner to God. And with the words, ver. 5, our Lord Jesus yielded up his last breath on the cross, and made his soul a free-will offering for sin, laying down his life as a ransom. But David is here as a man in distress and trouble. And his great care is about his soul, his spirit, his better part. Many think that while perplexed about their worldly affairs, and their cares multiply, they may be excused if they neglect their souls; but we are the more concerned to look to our souls, that, though the outward man perish, the inward man may suffer no damage. The redemption of the soul is so precious, that it must have ceased for ever, if Christ had not undertaken it. Having relied on God's mercy, he will be glad and rejoice in it. God looks upon our souls, when we are in trouble, to see whether they are humbled for sin, and made better by the affliction. Every believer will meet with such dangers and deliverances, until he is delivered from death, his last enemy.

Verses 9-18 David's troubles made him a man of sorrows. Herein he was a type of Christ, who was acquainted with grief. David acknowledged that his afflictions were merited by his own sins, but Christ suffered for ours. David's friends durst not give him any assistance. Let us not think it strange if thus deserted, but make sure of a Friend in heaven who will not fail. God will be sure to order and dispose all for the best, to all those who commit their spirits also into his hand. The time of life is in God's hands, to lengthen or shorten, make bitter or sweet, according to the counsel of his will. The way of man is not in himself, nor in our friend's hands, nor in our enemies' hands, but in God's. In this faith and confidence he prays that the Lord would save him for his mercies's sake, and not for any merit of his own. He prophesies the silencing of those that reproach and speak evil of the people of God. There is a day coming, when the Lord will execute judgment upon them. In the mean time, we should engage ourselves by well-doing, if possible, to silence the ignorance of foolish men.

Verses 19-24 Instead of yielding to impatience or despondency under our troubles, we should turn our thoughts to the goodness of the Lord towards those who fear and trust in Him. All comes to sinners through the wondrous gift of the only-begotten Son of God, to be the atonement for their sins. Let not any yield to unbelief, or think, under discouraging circumstances, that they are cut off from before the eyes of the Lord, and left to the pride of men. Lord, pardon our complaints and fears; increase our faith, patience, love, and gratitude; teach us to rejoice in tribulation and in hope. The deliverance of Christ, with the destruction of his enemies, ought to strengthen and comfort the hearts of believers under all their afflictions here below, that having suffered courageously with their Master, they may triumphantly enter into his joy and glory.

Chapter Summary

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.