Salmi 31:23 Commento

It is probable that David penned this psalm when he was persecuted by Saul; some passages in it agree particularly to the narrow escapes he had, at Keilah (Sa1 23:13), then in the wilderness of Maon, when Saul marched on one side of the hill and he on the other, and, soon after, in the cave in the wilderness of En-gedi; but that it was penned upon any of those occasions we are not told. It is a mixture of prayers, and praises, and professions of confidence in God, all which do well together and are helpful to one another. I. David professes his cheerful confidence in God, and, in that confidence, prays for deliverance out of his present troubles (Psa 31:1-8). II. He complains of the very deplorable condition he was in, and, in the sense of his calamities, still prays that God would graciously appear for him against his persecutors (Psa 31:9-18). III. He concludes the psalm with praise and triumph, giving glory to God, and encouraging himself and others to trust in him (Psa 31:19-24). To the chief musician. A psalm of David.

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 31 To the chief Musician, a Psalm of David. This psalm, according to Arama, was composed by David when in Keilah; but, according to Kimchi and others, when the Ziphites proposed to deliver him up into the hands of Saul; and who, upon their solicitations, came down and surrounded him with his army, from whom in haste he made his escape, and to which he is thought to refer in Psa 31:22. Theodoret supposes it was written by David when he fled from Absalom, and that it has some respect in it to his sin against Uriah, in that verse.

O love the Lord, all ye his saints,.... To whom his goodness extends; who are favoured with the blessings of his grace, as pardon, peace, and righteousness; and who particularly are sanctified by his Spirit, and have principles of grace and holiness wrought in their hearts: these, even all of them, are called upon to love the Lord, having that grace implanted in their souls; that is, to express it, not by words, but by deeds, under a sense of the love and kindness of God to them; and to join with the psalmist in an affectionate reverence of him, trust in him, and thankfulness to him, on account of his marvellous kindness showed him; for the Lord preserveth the faithful; such as trust in him, believe in Christ, and are faithful to his word and ordinances, abide by them, and stays near his people; these he not only preserves in a providential way, but he preserves them in a way of special grace; he keeps them "from evil", as the Targum; from the evil of sin; from a total and final falling away by it; from the evil of the world, so as not to be drawn off from Christ and his ways, either by its frowns or flatteries; and from the evil one, Satan, from being destroyed by him and his temptations; and these are preserved safe to the kingdom and glory of Christ, by the mighty power of God: some render the words, "the Lord keepeth faithfulness" (i); he will never suffer his own faithfulness to fail; he is a covenant keeping God, and is always true to his word and promise; and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer; such as all self-righteous persons are, and all that speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the truly righteous, Psa 31:18; who bear hard upon them, and oppress them; and such as antichrist and his party, who exalts himself above all that is called God; but in what those deal proudly, God is above them, an more than a match for them, and he sets himself against them; he resists them, and will reward them according to their works. (i) "fidelitatem", Gejerus; or "fidelitles", Ainsworth.

"Love the Lord, all you His saints" [Psalm 31:23]. The Prophet again exhorts, having sight of these things, and says, "Love the Lord, all you His saints; for the Lord will require truth." Since "if the righteous shall scarcely be saved, where shall the sinner and the ungodly appear?" [1 Peter 4:18] "And He will repay them that do exceeding proudly." And He will repay them who even when conquered are not converted, because they are very proud.

He repays extraordinarily those who are guilty of arrogance so as to bring out that God loathes this transgression more than every other sin.

You who pass through the present life with divine hope, strengthen your souls with bravery and heed the directions of the pilot, traveling wherever he leads.

When he has completed a hymn on the kindnesses granted to him, he urges the saints to love the Lord, since his members love the Author of such a kindness when they recognize that it has been bestowed on their Head. “Love” he says, now as to his friends, not as if speaking to servants, for fear is characteristic of servants, but love characterizes the relationship between friends.

Then when he says, "Love the Lord," he exhorts those to whom the aforesaid benefits have been conferred to show gratitude. And he orders them first as to their affection. Second, as to their action, at "Act manfully." Concerning the first he does two things. First, he exhorts them to love God. Second, he assigns the reason for loving: "Because the Lord will require truth." He says therefore: because he has heard and because he has made his mercy wonderful, "love the Lord": Deut. 4: "And now, Israel, hear the commandments and judgments that I teach you," and so on. And who those are who ought to love, he shows: because "his saints": Song 1: "The upright love you." "Because the Lord will require truth." He assigns the cause of loving. Now a twofold cause is given as to why they are bound to love God: because what the saints love, God loves; and what they hate, God hates. The second is at "And he will repay." As to the first he says, "Because the Lord will require truth, and will repay abundantly those who act proudly"; as if to say, you ought to love the Lord because he loves what you love, and he requires this. The saints love truth; and therefore God, who requires truth, ought to be loved by us. God requires the truth of justice: Rom. 2: "The judgment of God is according to truth against those who do such things." Likewise, of life: Is. 38: "I beseech you, O Lord, remember how I have walked before you in truth and with a perfect heart." Likewise, of doctrine: Mt. 22: "We know that you are truthful and teach the way of God in truth." The second reason why you are bound to love God is that he punishes what you hate; for God punishes pride, which the saints hate. And this is what he says, "And he will repay" punishment, namely, "abundantly," that is, beyond themselves, because they exalt themselves beyond themselves: Is. 16: "His pride and his arrogance and his indignation are more than his strength."

The prayer of a believer in time of deep distress. In the first part, cries for help are mingled with expressions of confidence. Then the detail of griefs engrosses his attention, till, in the assurance of strong but submissive faith, he rises to the language of unmingled joyful trust and exhorts others to like love and confidence towards God. (Psa. 31:1-24) Expresses the general tone of feeling of the Psalm.

the Lord . . . proud doer--literally, "the Lord is keeping faith," that is, with His people, and is repaying, &c. Then let none despair, but take courage; their hopes shall not be in vain. Next: Psalms Chapter 32