Day 169, Psalms 31-37

Psalm 31
Into Your Hand I Commit My Spirit

TO THE CHOIRMASTER. A PSALM OF DAVID.

*A prayer for deliverance when confronted by a conspiracy so powerful and open that all David’s friends abandoned him. According to Luke 23:46, Jesus on the cross applied Psalm 31:5 to his own circumstances; thus those who share in his sufferings at the hands of anti Christian forces are encouraged to hear and use this psalm in a new light.

No psalm expresses a more sturdy trust in the Lord when powerful human forces threaten. The heart of the prayer itself is found in verses 9-18, which is both preceded and followed by eight Hebrew poetic lines–stanzas that resound with the theme of trust. Verse 13, at the center of the psalm, expresses most clearly the prayers occasion.

In you, O Lord, do I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
in your righteousness deliver me!
Incline your ear to me;
rescue me speedily!
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a strong fortress to save me!
For you are my rock and my fortress;
and for your name’s sake you lead
me and guide me;
you take me out of the net they have
hidden for me,
for you are my refuge.
Into your hand I commit my spirit;
you have redeemed me, O Lord,
faithful God.
I hate those who pay regard
to worthless idols,
but I trust in the Lord.
I will rejoice and be glad
in your steadfast love,
because you have seen my affliction;
you have known the distress of my soul,
and you have not delivered me into
the hand of the enemy;
you have set my feet in a broad place.
-Psalm 31:1-8

But I trust in you, O Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”
My times are in your hand;
rescue me from the hand of
my enemies and prosecutors!
Make your face shine on your servant;
save me in your steadfast love!
-Psalm 31:14-16

Oh, how abundant is your goodness,
which you have stored up
for those who fear you
and worked for those who take refuge in you,
in the sight of the children of mankind!
-Psalm 31:19

Blessed be the Lord,
for he has wondrously shown
his steadfast love to me
when I was in a besieged city.
-Psalm 31:21

Be strong, and let your heart
take courage,
all you who wait for the Lord.
-Psalm 31:24

Psalm 32
Blessed Are the Forgiven

A MASKIL OF DAVID.

*A grateful testimony of joy for God’s gift of forgiveness toward those who with integrity confess their sins and are receptive to God’s rule in their lives. The psalm appears to be a liturgical dialogue between David and God in the presence of the worshipers at the sanctuary. David speaks to the assembly, he speaks to God (in their hearing), he is addressed by one of the Lord’s priests. In traditional Christian usage the psalm has been numbered among the penitential psalms.

I acknowledge my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions
to the Lord,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.
Therefore let everyone who is godly
offer prayer to you at a time
when you may be found;
surely in the rush of great waters,
they shall not reach him.
You are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with shouts of deliverance.
-Psalm 32:5-7

Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds the one
who trusts in the Lord.
Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice,
O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
-Psalm 32:10-11

Psalm 33
The Steadfast Love of the Lord

*A liturgy in praise of the Lord, the sovereign God of Israel. In the Psalms, calls to praise and motivations for praise belong to the language of praise. Most likely the voices of the Levitical choir are heard in this psalm. The original occasion is unknown, but reference to a “new song” suggests a national deliverance, such as Judah experienced in the time of Jehoshaphat or Hezekiah. Along with Psalms 1-2; 10, this is one of the only four psalms in Book 1 without a superscription.

He loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of the steadfast
love of the Lord.
By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
and by breath of his mouth all their host.
He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;
he puts the deeps in storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world
stand in awe of him!
For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.
-Psalm 33:5-9

The Lord looks down from heaven;
he sees all the children of man;
from where he sits enthroned he looks out
on all the inhabitants of the earth,
he who fashions the hearts of them all
and observes all their deeds.
-Psalm 33:13-15

Behold, the eye of the Lord is on
those who fear him,
on those who hope in his steadfast love,
that he may deliver their soul from death
and keep them alive in famine.
Our soul waits for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
For our heart is glad in him,
because we trust in his holy name.
Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.
-Psalm 33:18-22

Psalm 34
Taste and See That the Lord Is Good

OF DAVID. WHEN HE CHANGED HIS BEHAVIOR BEFORE ABIMELECH, SO THAT HE DROVE HIM OUT, AND HE WENT AWAY.

*Praise of the Lord for deliverance in answer to prayer, and instruction in godliness. In the Psalms, praise commonly leads to a call to praise. Here, uniquely, praise leads into godly instruction in the manner of the wisdom teachers.

I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
let the humble hear and be glad.
Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together!
I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.
-Psalm 34:1-5

The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him,
and delivers them.
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
-Psalm 34:7-8

Turn away from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
and his ears toward their cry.
The face of the Lord is against
those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
-Psalm 34:14-16

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.
-Psalm 34:18

The Lord redeems the life of his servants;
none of those who take refuge
in him will be condemned.
-Psalm 34:22

Psalm 35
Great Is the Lord

OF DAVID.

*An appeal to the heavenly King, as divine Warrior and Judge, to come to the defense of “his servant” who is being maliciously slandered by those toward whom he had shown only the most tender friendship. The attack seems to have been occasioned by some “distress” that had overtaken the king, perhaps an illness.

Psalm 35 exemplifies such a “cry” to the Lord in expectation of vindication as that spoken of in 34:15-22–except here the author does not expressly identify himself as one of the “righteous;” he appeals to the Lord rather as innocent victim of an unmotivated attack.

Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord,
exulting in his salvation.
-Psalm 35:9

Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness
and of your praise all the day long.
-Psalm 35:28

Psalm 36
How Precious Is Your Steadfast Love

TO THE CHOIRMASTER. OF DAVID, THE SERVANT OF THE LORD.

*A prayer for God’s unfailing protection, as the psalmist reflects on the godlessness of the wicked and the goodness of God. In Jewish practice, verses 7-10 form part of the morning prayer.

Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends
to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like
mountains of God;
your judgments are like the great deep;
man and beast you save, O Lord.
How precious is your steadfast love,
O Lord!
The children of mankind take refuge
in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink
from the river of your delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light do we see light.
Oh, continue your steadfast love
to those who know you,
and your righteousness to the upright heart!
Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me,
nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
There the evildoers lie fallen;
they are thrust down, unable to rise.
-Psalm 36:5-12

Psalm 37
He Will Not Forsake His Saints

OF DAVID.

*Instruction in godly wisdom. This psalm’s dominant theme is related to the contrast between the wicked and the righteous reflected in Psalm 36. The central issue addressed is: Who will “inherit the land” i.e., live on to enjoy the blessings of the Lord in the promised land? Will the wicked, who plot, default on debts, use raw power to gain advantage, and seem thereby to flourish? Or will the righteous, who trust in the Lord and are humble, blameless, generous, upright, peaceable, and from whose mouth is heard the moral wisdom that reflects meditation of God’s law?

Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.
Be still before the Lord and
wait patiently for him;
fret not yourself over the one
who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!
-Psalm 37:3-7

But the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he sees that his day is coming.
-Psalm 37:13

Better is the little that the righteous has
than the abundance of many wicked.
For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
but the Lord upholds the righteous.
-Psalm 37:16-17

The steps of a man are established by the Lord,
when he delights in his way;
though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
for the Lord upholds his hand.
-Psalm 37:23-24

Turn away from evil and do good;
so shall you dwell forever.
For the Lord loves justice;
he will not forsake his saints.
They are preserved forever,
but the children of the wicked
shall be cut off.
The righteous shall inherit the land
and dwell upon it forever.
The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks justice.
The law of his God is in his heart;
his steps do not slip.
-Psalm 37:27-31

The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
The Lord helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked
and saved them,
because they take refuge in him.
-Psalm 37:39-40