Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Psalms
Book: Psalms
Chapter: 31
Overview:
Confidence in
God.
(1-8) Prayer in trouble.
(9-18) Praise for
God's
Goodness.
(19-24)
1-8 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, ver. 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.
9-18 David's troubles made him a
Man of sorrows. Herein he was
a
Type of
Christ, who was acquainted with grief.
David
acknowledged that his
Afflictions were merited
By his own sins,
but
Christ suffered for ours.
David's friends durst not give him
any assistance. Let us not think it strange if thus deserted,
but make sure of a Friend in
Heaven who will not fail.
God will
be sure to order and dispose all for the best, to all those who
commit their spirits also into his
Hand. The time of
Life is in
God's hands, to lengthen or shorten, make
Bitter or sweet,
according to the counsel of his will. The way of
Man is not in
himself, nor in our friend's hands, nor in our enemies' hands,
but in
God's. In this
Faith and confidence he prays that the
Lord would save him for his mercies's sake, and not for any
merit of his own. He prophesies the silencing of those that
reproach and speak evil of the people of
God. There is a
Day
coming, when the
Lord will execute
Judgment upon them. In the
mean time, we should engage ourselves
By Well-doing, if
possible, to silence the ignorance of foolish men.
19-24 Instead of yielding to impatience or despondency under
our troubles, we should turn our thoughts to the
Goodness of the
Lord towards those who fear and trust in Him. All comes to
sinners through the wondrous
Gift of the only-begotten Son of
God, to be the
Atonement for their sins. Let not any yield to
unbelief, or think, under discouraging circumstances, that they
are cut off from before the eyes of the
Lord, and left to the
pride of men.
Lord,
Pardon our complaints and fears; increase
our
Faith, patience,
Love, and gratitude; teach us to rejoice in
Tribulation and in
Hope. The deliverance of
Christ, with the
Destruction of his enemies, ought to strengthen and comfort the
hearts of believers under all their
Afflictions here below, that
having suffered courageously with their Master, they may
triumphantly enter into his joy and
Glory.