Psalm 31 Continued…
Psalm 31:6-10 I hate those who cling to worthless idols; I trust in the Lord. I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place. Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak.
Some manuscripts do not say “I hate” in verse 6, but “You hate.” The idea is that idolaters should be rejected because their trust is in something of zero value. But, unlike the idolater, David’s complete trust is in the Lord, in Yahweh.
In verse 7, the double verbs “be glad” and “rejoice” emphasize David’s state of mind. Joy and gladness. And the NIV makes this a future tense, “I will be” but in Hebrew it is actually a Present tense: “I am.”
In verse 8, the “spacious place” is to highlight that he is not on a narrow path, like a cliff-side, where footing is unsure. But he has nothing to worry with where his feet are planted.
Verse 9 is almost verbatim (except for the preposition) of Psalm 6:7: My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes.
In verse 10, the word translated “groaning” literally means “sighs.”
David is taking time to describe the effects of life’s formidable forces that often times work against us and our relationship with the Lord. It is literally soul-wearying to continue to combat the endless onslaught of attacks at times. But thanks be to God, as this Psalm reveals, God holds ultimate power and sway over the evil forces that attempt to assail us.
PRAY
Thank you Father that you are my resting place. That you carry my burdens. Thank you that I am not alone in my fight. You stand with me, and at times, for me. Without you I cannot survive. In you and you alone I have life and breath and meaning!