Chapter 31
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. [Psa 31:17 ESV]
Is he saying that he has nothing to be shamed about, no cause to be shamed, and doesn't want lies told about him, or is he saying that though he has sins and has made mistakes, he wants them hidden except from God? MSB has a number of similar verses cross-referenced. David does not want his enemies to have the upper hand over him. He doesn't want to be displayed by them as a defeated enemy, but wants them to receive that fate instead. I don't think the context is about current humiliation for past sin, but about God keeping us from the control of our enemies.
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. [Psa 31:10 ESV]
This verse makes me think this psalm may have been written after David's sin with Bathsheba and Uriah. This seems to me to be out of chronological order.
2022 - The first five verses make it clear that David is seeking protection from his enemies. I think it was written before the Bathsheba incidents. He refers to God as a refuge, he asks for deliverance, not forgiveness, for rescue. He sees God as a fortress. Well you use a fortress to protect yourself from enemies. He knows that God sees the "nets" his enemies prepare for him and can save him out of those situations. Then this verse:
5 Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God. [Psa 31:5 ESV]. Doesn't this verse sound familiar?
46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!" And having said this he breathed his last. [Luk 23:46 ESV]. As many times as I've read this Psalm, I never saw that before. I wonder if, like Psa 22, Jesus quotes it to invoke not just this single verse, but the whole Psalm. I will keep this in mind as I read the rest of the Psalm.
Would we believe that as he hung on the cross, Jesus prayed that he would not be put to shame? He was dying a very ignominious death. He was supposed to die that death. I guess that doesn't mean he had to like it. And in fact, in the end, at his resurrection, the shame was all thrown off.
2022 - In vss 6-8, the steadfast love of God, even in dire and trying circumstances, is recognized. David know that despite all that is against him, he is still safe and protected in God's hands. It makes me think of the distress that Jesus endured in the garden the night of his arrest. Satan also came near and tempted him again, this time to forego the cross and come over to him. We know also that angels were sent to comfort him that night, to strengthen him for what lay ahead.
2022 - Big hole in the theory from vs 10:
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. [Psa 31:10 ESV]. Jesus had no iniquity. His sorrow would have been from another source, and the wasting of his bones externally inflicted. Even so, there is much in this Psalm that does apply to Jesus, as he hung on the cross. He was in a shamed position. Many would flee from him, run away, recant their association with him. I think the way to see this Psalm is that as David cried out for help and protection from uncountable enemies in his day, Jesus is looking to God to preserve their purpose, to give him strength to endure through the shameful circumstances and to enthrone him ultimately as king of all. Further, both of them - David and Jesus - are for us examples of faithfulness in time of extreme testing.
2025 - Such a verse to find right after so many online were "celebrating" the assassination of Charlie Kirk:
18 Let the lying lips be mute, Which speak arrogantly against the righteous With pride and contempt. [Psa 31:18 NASB95]
2022 - The last verse of 31 sums it up:
24 Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the LORD! [Psa 31:24 ESV]. Wait for the Lord. Be guided by the Lord. Submit to circumstances and pray for refuge and protection.
Could I get a FB post out of this? Summarizing what went before, tying the cross and David together?