Bible Commentary

Psalms 31:1-8

Matthew Henry on Psalms 31:1-8

Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · Matthew Henry · CC0 1.0 Universal

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, verse 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.

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commentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 31:1-24The saint rehearsing his experience of the great Protector's care There is no good reason to doubt that this is one of David's psalms. Its forms of expression bear the marks of his pen, £ and the "undesigned coincidence…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 31:1-8A prayer for grace in trouble. Authorship uncertain. Some give it to David, in Ziklag; others to Jeremiah. Three divisions. I. THE PSALMIST'S PRAYER. The trouble that oppressed him had been of long duration, as appears…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 31:1-24EXPOSITION THIS psalm is, in the main, a cry for deliverance out of pressing danger and trouble; but it is interspersed with passages of a more cheerful tone, expressive of faith and confidence (Psalms 31:5-8, Psalms 31…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 31:1In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust. If prayer to God for aid in a special time of trouble is the main object of the psalm, the expression of full trust in God is a secondary object, and is maintained throughout (see Psa…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 31:2Bow down thine ear to me; or, incline thine ear to me, as the same phrase is translated in Psalms 71:2. Deliver me speedily. Not doubting of deliverance, he makes his request for speedy deliverance (comp. Psalms 38:22;…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 31:3A prayer for guidance. "For thy Name's sake … guide me." God leads men, whether they ask him or not. He guides their lives, though they may not know him—even may deny his very existence. Belshazzar (Daniel 5:23, "in who…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 31:3For thou art my Rock; or, my cliff ( סלעי, not צורי). And my Fortress. David prays God to be his Rock and Fortress in the future, because he has always looked to him as his Rock and Fortress in the past. Faith establish…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 31:4Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me. Absalom set a imp for David when he asked permission to go to Hebron for the purpose of paying a vow, whereas his object was to get possession of a strongly for…Joseph S. Exell and contributors