PSALMS 32
We will begin by giving Psalms chapter 31 in metre.
THE PSALMS OF DAVID IN METRE
Chapter 31
verse 1 "Defend me, Lord, from shame, For still I trust in thee;
As just and righteous is thy name, From trouble set me
free."
verse 2 "Bow down to me thine ear, deliver me with speed;
Be thou my rock and fortress near, My help in time of need."
verse 3 "Thee for my rock I take, My fortress and my stay;
Do thou me lead for thy name's sake, And guide me in thy
way."
verse 4 "Lord thou dost strength impart; Then free me from the snare
Which foes for me, with wicked art, Did secretly prepare."
verse 5 "In confidence to thee, My spirit I commend;
Jehovah, God of truth to me, Thou didst redemption send."
verse 6 "I hate the false and vain, My trust is in the Lord;
And still my heart in joyous strain Thy mercy will record."
verse 7 "Lord, thou hast seen my woes, My soul in trouble known;
Nor shut me in the hand of foes, But freedom to me shown."
verse 8 "In mercy send relief, For troubles now prevail;
My eye is dim, consumed with grief, My flesh and spirit
fail."
verse 9 "My life in grief is past, My weary years in groans,
For sin my strength is failing fast, Decayed are all my
bones."
verse 10 "Reproached by every foe, And more, by neighbors near;
Through fear, my friends no friendship show, They flee when
I appear."
verse 11 "Forgotten like the dead, And spurned as broken ware;
I hear the frequent slander spread; On every side is fear."
verse 12 "They join in dark accord, They plot my blood to shed:
I trusted have on thee, O Lord, "Thou art my God I said"."
verse 13 "My times are wholly thine, From cruel foes me take:
The face make on thy servant shine, Save for thy mercy's
sake."
verse 14 "From shame, O Lord, defend, For I to thee have cried;
Let foes be ashamed, to death descend, And, silent, there
abide."
verse 15 "Do thou their tongues restrain, Who false reports do seek;
And grievous things with proud disdain Against the righteous
speak."
verse 16 "How great the goodness thou hast stored In secrets for thy
saints, O Lord, Thy holy name who fear! How great the
mercies wrought for those Who do in thee their trust repose,
Before men's sons appear."
verse 17 "Thou in the secret of thy face, shalt find for then a hiding
place From proud oppressor's wrongs; A safe retreat for them
prepare, And keep them in a covert there, Secure from strife
of tongues."
verse 18 "O let Jehovah blessed be, Who showed His wondrous love to me
In city fortified; "Cut off from thee" I said in fear, Yet
thou my suppliant voice didst hear, When unto thee I cried."
verse 19 "O love the Lord all that Him serve, For he the faithful
shall preserve, And all the proud reward. Be of good courage
he with strength Will fill your steadfast hearts at length,
All ye who trust the Lord."
We will now begin the verse by verse study of Psalms chapter 31.
Psalms 31:1 "{To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.} In thee, O
LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy
righteousness."
This is almost identical to an earlier request of David's. Faith
in God is always rewarded by the Lord. We know that without faith it
is impossible to please Him. Trust is when you know in your spirit
that the Lord will do whatever is best for you. It is actually when
you learn to rest in the assurance of the Lord. Jesus Christ is the
only one who ever lived who was truly righteous. Our righteousness is
in Him.
Psalms 31:2 "Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be
thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me."
This is a plea from David for the Lord to hear him when he prays.
God's time and our time is not the same. With Him a thousand years is
like a day, or a day as a thousand years. David says, hurry! Jesus
Christ our Lord is the Rock of our salvation. This plea extends to
asking the Lord to build a hedge around him.
Psalms 31:3 "For thou [art] my rock and my fortress; therefore
for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me."
David is repeating, here, that his entire faith is in the Lord.
Thy name's sake, indicates the Lord Jesus. Since David prayed this
more than once, it means that he truly needs this. This is not a want,
but a need.
Psalms 31:4 "Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily
for me: for thou [art] my strength."
We know that David's own son tried to capture and do away with
David. In all of these lessons, however, we have been trying to apply
the verses to our situation. In that sense, we see that our enemies
are constantly trying to set a trap for us. Our enemy is the devil and
his demons. The Lord is our protection and our refuge. For every
problem we get ourselves in, there is a way out. The way out is Jesus.
He will rescue us when we cry out to Him.
Psalms 31:5 "Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast
redeemed me, O LORD God of truth."
The Lord Jesus said, Father, into thy hands I commend my Spirit.
This is possibly a prophetic statement in that sense. It is, also,
true that David committed his spirit to God for help. All through
these lessons, I have been saying that, we must make Jesus our Lord,
as well as our Saviour. When Jesus is Lord of your life, you have
committed your spirit to Him. Jesus redeemed us on the cross. This
further commitment of our self, just says, God of Truth, Your will be
done in my life.
Psalms 31:6 "I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I
trust in the LORD."
This hate, that David is speaking of here, is righteous. These
people are those who have totally disregarded the One True God in
favor of false gods. David has totally committed himself to God. Stay
away from those who worship false gods. They can do nothing, but drag
you down into the pit with them.
Psalms 31:7 "I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou
hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities;"
This gladness, is in the midst of trouble. This should be the way
Christians act when problems come. Our being glad in the Lord should
not depend on circumstances. God did not promise that we would not
have tribulation in this life. He did promise to be with us and help
us in the face of the problem. I have said so many times; God did not
save Noah from the flood, but in the flood. Determine in your heart to
rejoice in the mercy of God, regardless of the turmoil around you.
Psalms 31:8 "And hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy:
thou hast set my feet in a large room."
Just as God sent an angel and released Peter from prison, He will
deliver the believer from whatever terrible fate they are in. Acts
12:7 "And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon [him], and a light
shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him
up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from [his]
hands."
Psalms 31:9 "Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble:
mine eye is consumed with grief, [yea], my soul and my belly."
David is praying a desperate prayer, Have mercy. When we are in
deep trouble and there seems to be no way out, then we cry for the
mercy of God. This trouble, spoken of here, has weakened his body and
his spirit. He has cried so much that his eyes have run out of tears.
Psalms 31:10 "For my life is spent with grief, and my years with
sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones
are consumed."
David now thinks that all of this trouble, that has come upon
him, is because of the sins he committed earlier. Sometimes sin does
bring great trouble. The spread of A.I.D.S. is a very good example of
this very thing. It appears from this, that David has about given up.
He thinks he is too old to fight all of this. His only help, lies in
the Lord.
Psalms 31:11 "I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but
especially among my neighbours, and a fear to mine acquaintance: they
that did see me without fled from me."
David had been a mighty warrior. His enemies feared him. Now
David's enemies are rejoicing at his problems. We, like David, can
tolerate our enemies being against us, but when our neighbors and
friends are against us, it is almost unbearable. This is the case with
David here.
Psalms 31:12 "I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I am like
a broken vessel."
People soon forget that David had done great things as king of
their country. His usefulness to them is gone, so they just throw him
away. Can you see that Jesus became like that broken vessel for us? He
became hated and refused by man, that He might become the Saviour of
all men.
Psalms 31:13 "For I have heard the slander of many: fear [was] on
every side: while they took counsel together against me, they devised
to take away my life."
Much of the slander, was from David's own family. It was not
enough to wait until David died to take his throne away, they wanted
power now, so they plotted to kill him. Jesus our Lord was slandered
by the very group that should have realized He was Messiah. The
authorities in the Temple were the very ones that took counsel to kill
Jesus.
Psalms 31:14 "But I trusted in thee, O LORD: I said, Thou [art]
my God."
Again, we see that David did the right thing, by placing his
trust in the Lord.
Psalms 31:15 "My times [are] in thy hand: deliver me from the
hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me."
There is a specific time for each of us to die. It is not
determined by our wishes, but by the wishes of God. David is aware
that he is safe from his enemies when God protects him. Persecution is
a way of life for those who live to please God. II Timothy 3:12 "Yea,
and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer
persecution."
Psalms 31:16 "Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me
for thy mercies' sake."
If we know that what we are doing is pleasing unto God, we do not
mind suffering persecution for it. We, also, know that the mercy of
God will not allow us to have more persecution than we can bear.
Psalms 31:17 "Let me not be ashamed, O LORD; for I have called
upon thee: let the wicked be ashamed, [and] let them be silent in the
grave."
This is just saying, Lord, show this unbelieving world that you
do answer the prayers of your servants. Don't let them laugh at me for
believing you will answer my prayers. The wicked will be silent in the
grave, because their lot is hell.
Psalms 31:18 "Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak
grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous."
The world does not think of believers as being of very much use.
They believe that only ignorant and poor people believe in God. They
are proud of their place in society. They actually look down on
believers. We should rejoice when they speak against us. This makes us
children of God, for they so persecuted Jesus.
Psalms 31:19 "[Oh] how great [is] thy goodness, which thou hast
laid up for them that fear thee; [which] thou hast wrought for them
that trust in thee before the sons of men!"
If you were to think of the worst day of your life and the best
day, they would possibly be the same day. When God delivers us from
some terrible problem, there is much rejoicing. In the verse above we
see David going into a great deal of detail on the goodness of God.
I Corinthians 2:9 "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear
heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which
God hath prepared for them that love him."
Psalms 31:20 "Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence
from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion
from the strife of tongues."
Where the presence of the Lord is, there is a very bright Light.
Those who are opposed to the Lord and His followers do not like to be
where that Light is. Christians, we shall be hid in the Lord Jesus
Christ. When we become a Christian, we die to the old life in this
world. Words spoken against a dead man mean nothing. The more we have
Jesus, the less we worry about the hurtful things the world's people
say to us.
Psalms 31:21 "Blessed [be] the LORD: for he hath shewed me his
marvellous kindness in a strong city."
The strong city, here, could be any city of the world. It just
means that in the midst of all the turmoil, God showed David his
kindness. He saved David and will save us, right in the middle of all
the turmoil. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Psalms 31:22 "For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before
thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications
when I cried unto thee."
At one point in his trouble, David thought that God had turned
away from him. God never walks away from us, we walk away from Him.
The instant David cried to Him, God heard him.
Psalms 31:23 "O love the LORD, all ye his saints: [for] the LORD
preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer."
The very name of these Bible studies is Love The Lord. All true
believers in the Lord love Him. He loved us long before we loved Him.
We love Him, because of all the wonderful things He has done for us,
but He loves us in spite of all the wrongful things we have done.
While we were yet in sin, He loved us. The only thing Jesus asks in
return is that we are faithful to Him. We should be about the Father's
business here on the earth, until our precious Lord Jesus comes back
for us. We should work till Jesus comes with no thought of reward.
Matthew 6:19 "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where
moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and
steal:" Matthew 6:20 "But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not
break through nor steal:"
Psalms 31:24 "Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your
heart, all ye that hope in the LORD."
Fight the good fight of faith. Matthew 10:22 "And ye shall be
hated of all [men] for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end
shall be saved." The Lord Jesus won the war on the cross. We are just
cleaning up a few skirmishes. Do not turn back. The Lord will be with
you in all your struggles. Remember, the war is already won. Our hope
is in Jesus.
Questions 32
1. Who does David express trust toward in verse 1?
2. Without ______, it is impossible to please God.
3. The Christian's righteousness is in whom?
4. Who is the Rock of our salvation?
5. Thy name's sake, indicates who?
6. Who is the enemy of all Christians?
7. Who is our protection against this enemy?
8. What did David say, in verse 5, that was almost word for word that
Jesus said on the cross?
9. What takes place when the Christian commends there spirit to
Jesus?
10. What is the hate spoken of in verse 6 of this lesson?
11. Our being glad in the Lord should not depend on our ____________.
12. God saved Noah __ the flood, not _____ the flood.
13. In Acts chapter 12 verse 7, who did God deliver from prison?
14. In verse 10 of this lesson, David thinks what caused his strength
to fail?
15. It is more unbearable for ______ ______ to hate you than for your
enemies to hate you?
16. When the people forget the things David did for them, what do they
do with him?
17. Quote 2nd Timothy chapter 3 verse 12.
18. What helps us bear persecution from the world?
19. What attitude does the unbelieving world have about Christians?
20. Quote 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 9.
21. Where are Christians hid?
22. What is the strong city in verse 21?
23. The instant David cried out to God, what happened?
24. The Lord preserveth whom?
25. Where will the Christian be rewarded for all the work he does?
26. Quote Matthew chapter 10 verse 22.
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