Psalm 31: Trust IN Him

​In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; 
let me never be put to shame; 
in your righteousness deliver me! 
2    Incline your ear to me; 
rescue me speedily! 
       Be a rock of refuge for me, 
a strong fortress to save me! 
3    For you are my rock and my fortress; 
and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me; 
4    you take me out of the net they have hidden for me, 
for you are my refuge. 
5    Into your hand I commit my spirit; 
you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God. 
6    I hate those who pay regard to worthless idols, 
but I trust in the Lord. 
7    I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love, 
because you have seen my affliction; 
you have known the distress of my soul, 
8    and you have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy; 
you have set my feet in a broad place. 
9    Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; 
my eye is wasted from grief; 
my soul and my body also. 
10    For my life is spent with sorrow, 
and my years with sighing; 
       my strength fails because of my iniquity, 
and my bones waste away. 
11    Because of all my adversaries I have become a reproach, 
especially to my neighbors, 
       and an object of dread to my acquaintances; 
those who see me in the street flee from me. 
12    I have been forgotten like one who is dead; 
I have become like a broken vessel. 
13    For I hear the whispering of many— 
terror on every side!— 
       as they scheme together against me, 
as they plot to take my life. 
14    But I trust in you, O Lord; 
I say, “You are my God.” 
15    My times are in your hand; 
rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors! 
16    Make your face shine on your servant; 
save me in your steadfast love! 
17    O Lord, let me not be put to shame, 
for I call upon you; 
       let the wicked be put to shame; 
let them go silently to Sheol. 
18    Let the lying lips be mute, 
which speak insolently against the righteous 
in pride and contempt. 
19    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! 
20    In the cover of your presence you hide them 
from the plots of men; 
       you store them in your shelter 
from the strife of tongues. 
21    Blessed be the Lord, 
for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me 
when I was in a besieged city. 
22    I had said in my alarm, 
“I am cut off from your sight.” 
       But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy 
when I cried to you for help. 
23    Love the Lord, all you his saints! 
The Lord preserves the faithful 
but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride. 
24    Be strong, and let your heart take courage, 
all you who wait for the Lord!
 
Meditation
The ultimate picture of trust is surrendering our spirit to the sovereign care of the Lord. Today’s psalm is saturated with trust, has been stewarded for trust, and invites Christians to surrender in trust.
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Singing with this psalm locates our trust IN the Lord for refuge (1, 6) from the depths of our spirit (5). We trust because the Lord is our God (14) and His abundant goodness awaits those who take refuge in Him (19). Trust in the Lord is validated by past deliverance (6-8) and fuels prayer for present deliverance (14-18). Praise and courage grow from the soil of trust in God’s sovereignty (19-24) and trust invites believers to join other saints in stewarding the lyrics of this song through our lives.

Jonah used this psalm in his prayer from the belly of the fish (Jonah 2), Jeremiah repeated the phrase, “terror on every side” (13) as a running theme throughout his writings (Jeremiah 6:25; Lamentations 2:22), the author of Psalm 71 uses this Psalm to fuel their own journey, and to cover our sin for trusting in other people and places, Jesus uses the language of the Psalm in his deepest moment of agony on the cross (Luke 23:46). Jesus trusted where we fail so from His grace we can turn to trust in the Lord.
 
Knowing the grace of Jesus leads believers to have the word of Jesus dwell richly in our hearts (Colossians 3:16) to give footing for faith in frustrating days, helping us trust IN the word of God and the God of the word.  
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you from today’s psalm, specifically along the theme of trust?
 
-Where or who do you trust outside the Lord? How is that working for you?
 
-How does the faithfulness of Jesus compel you to cast your trust in Jesus? He used this Psalm in His death, totally trusting in the Father, so you can find life through forgiveness, the ground of grace to begin again by trusting in Him!
 
Key Verse
5    Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.