A Prayer For Protection

Topic: Sorrow
Passage: Psalms 31:1–14

March 4, 2019

Commentary

This is a very important Psalm as parts of it are quoted by Jonah, Jeremiah and Jesus. We cannot be certain when David wrote it or under what circumstances but it seems that he may have been looking back over various periods in his life. David does not hesitate to tell us what historians do not reveal.  This is one of the great values of the psalms. They shed light on certain areas that no other writer has touched on. They over and over again expose the emotions and secrets of the heart that reveal the cause of David’s grief.

David rejoices that his salvation is in the Lord and  that regardless of the circumstances he has the freedom to serve Him (vv. 1-8). He then shares how grief even effects a persons’ health (vv. 9-10). Sin often seems to promise freedom and fun and for awhile it will appear to make good on its promise. Trouble, sorrow and physical weakness had strapped his strength. But then comes regrets and ruin. He was a reproach to men and an object of malicious slander (vv. 11-13).

In verses eleven through fourteen he describes himself as:

  1. A forsaken man  (v.11) – Little  did David think that his few moments of sin with Bathsheba would lead to such a reproach.
  2. A forgotten man  (v.12) – The people that he use to enjoy talking to – where were they now?
  3. A fearful man (v. 13) – The air was full of rumor and plot to get rid of him and clear the throne for Absalom. However, he ends up by saying, “I trust you Lord and I trust you as my God” (v. 14).

Application

As I see the grief and sorrow that David experienced because of a few minutes of sin, it should be a great warning to me to stay as far as I can from the sins of immorality.

Psalms 31:1– 14 (NET)

1 In you, O Lord, I have taken shelter. Never let me be humiliated. Vindicate me by rescuing me.

2 Listen to me. Quickly deliver me. Be my protector and refuge, a stronghold where I can be safe.

3 For you are my high ridge and my stronghold; for the sake of your own reputation you lead me and guide me.

4 You will free me from the net they hid for me, for you are my place of refuge.

5 Into your hand I entrust my life; you will rescue me, O Lord, the faithful God.

6 I hate those who serve worthless idols, but I trust in the Lord.

7 I will be happy and rejoice in your faithfulness, because you notice my pain and you are aware of how distressed I am.

8 You do not deliver me over to the power of the enemy; you enable me to stand in a wide open place.

9 Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am in distress! My eyes grow dim from suffering. I have lost my strength.

10 For my life nears its end in pain; my years draw to a close as I groan. My strength fails me because of my sin, and my bones become brittle.

11 Because of all my enemies, people disdain me; my neighbors are appalled by my suffering — those who know me are horrified by my condition; those who see me in the street run away from me.

12 I am forgotten, like a dead man no one thinks about; I am regarded as worthless, like a broken jar.

13 For I hear what so many are saying, the terrifying news that comes from every direction. When they plot together against me, they figure out how they can take my life.

14 But I trust in you, O Lord! I declare, “You are my God!”