October 7 - Psalm 31

October 7 - Psalm 31

This is another Psalm of lament and seems to be broken into distinct sections, with a chiasm applied to Psalm 1-18.  In this type of grammatical structure, the structure begins, comes to a point and then reverses itself so the ending is similar to the beginning.  You see a lot of this in scripture and it was a literary tool used to capture the reader’s mind.

In this Psalm we see these sections play out like this: Prayer (vs. 1-5); Trust (vs. 6-8); Lament (vs. 9-13); Trust (vs. 14); Prayer (vs. 15-18).  Read through these verses and see if you don’t agree.  This Psalm is a very full prayer.  By lifting his requests, affirming his trust in the Lord, then being honest with the Lord about those things which are hurting Him, the Psalmist establishes the relationship he has with the Lord. He can be honest about those things which frighten him, He can talk to the Lord about the things He needs and He acknowledges the power God has in his life.

When we arrive at Psalm 31:19, the literary structure and the tone of the Psalm change. David has bared his soul to the Lord and once all of that is off his chest, he lifts his voice in praise.

He said in Psalm 31:1 that he takes refuge in the Lord; in Psalm 31:19-20, he praises the Lord for that shelter which hides those who take refuge.  In Psalm 31:7, David says he will be glad and rejoice in the Lord’s love and in Psalm 31:21 he praises the Lord for the Lord’s wonderful love.

What are the things you pray for?  What are the things in your life that you affirm and acknowledge as coming from God? What are the things you anguish over?

When you lift these to the Lord, you not only release them, but you build a relationship with Him; one that will cause you to sing His praises.