Psalms 31:1-10

1 {To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David.} In thee, Jehovah, do I trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness.

2 Incline thine ear to me, deliver me speedily; be a strong rock to me, a house of defence to save me.

3 For thou art my rock and my fortress; and, for thy name's sake, thou wilt lead me and guide me.

4 Draw me out of the net that they have hidden for me; for thou art my strength.

5 Into thy hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, Jehovah, [thou] God of truth.

6 I have hated them that observe lying vanities; and as for me, I have confided in Jehovah.

7 I will be glad and rejoice in thy loving-kindness, for thou hast seen mine affliction; thou hast known the troubles of my soul,

8 And hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy: thou hast set my feet in a large place.

9 Be gracious unto me, Jehovah, for I am in trouble: mine eye wasteth away with vexation, my soul and my belly.

10 For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength faileth through mine iniquity, and my bones are wasted.

Psalms 31:1-10 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.

Footnotes

• [a]. Sela, as in Ps. 18.2, first time.
• [b]. Or 'vain idols:' see Jonah 2.8.
• [c]. Or 'my misery (distress);' but as meaning 'punishment.'