E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Psalms 31:13
life-soul. Hebrew. nephesh. App-13 . read more
life-soul. Hebrew. nephesh. App-13 . read more
Psalms 31:13. For I have heard the slander, &c.— For I hear the evil talk of the people: terror on every side: while they consult together against me, and plot to take away my life. This and the preceding verses are plainly applicable to our Redeemer, and to that life of sorrow and reproach which he led amongst men. read more
13. For—introduces further reasons for his prayer, the unjust, deliberate, and murderous purposes of his foes. read more
Psalms 31This lament-thanksgiving psalm grew out of an experience in David’s life in which his foes plotted to kill him. That incident reminded David that the Lord would protect those who trust in Him. He urged others who might encounter similar affliction to love and trust in God as well. read more
3. David’s lament over his danger 31:9-13David recounted some of the reasons he needed God’s help. Among other things, he admitted his own sins were partly responsible for his sufferings (v.10). Mainly it was the opposition of evil people that accounted for his distress. They had resisted, slandered, and schemed against him. He felt alone in standing for what was right."In the psalmists’ world the righteous and the wicked do not peacefully coexist in the name of pluralism. Rather the wicked... read more
The writer of this Ps. gratefully records God’s past deliverances (Psalms 31:1-8), appeals to God for help against the enemies who assail him in the present (Psalms 31:9-18), and ends with fervent thankfulness and serene assurance (Psalms 31:19-24). The language suggests a later age than David’s, and has many parallels with the book of Jeremiah, the most evident being in the words ’terror on every side’ (Psalms 31:13, Jeremiah 20:10). These parallels are mostly in the central section (Psalms... read more
(13) Again comp. Jeremiah 20:10, which reproduces word for word the first two clauses. The expression rendered “fear on every side” was actually a motto of the prophet (Jeremiah 6:25; Jeremiah 20:3, margin; Jeremiah 46:5; Jeremiah 49:29. Comp. Lamentations 2:22). But the most probable derivation makes the noun mean not terror but conspiracy, while for slander here we must render whisper.“For I heard the whispering of the many,‘Conspiracy all around.’ ”Under cover of a pretended general panic... read more
The Large Room Psalms 31:8 To many people these seem strange words to come from the lips of age and experience. It is youth and inexperience that find the world a large room. The writer of those words had left his childhood far behind him. He had entered into manhood's inheritance of duty and responsibility. He had been many a time over-caught in the coil of adverse circumstance; he had sorrowed and suffered and sinned; he had faced temptation and found bitter proof of his own weakness; he had... read more
Psalms 31:1-24THE swift transitions of feeling in this psalm may seem strange to colder natures whose lives run smoothly, but reveal a brother-soul to those who have known what it is to ride on the top of the wave and then to go down into its trough. What is peculiar to the psalm is not only the inclusion of the whole gamut of feeling, but the force with which each key is struck and the persistence through all of the one ground tone of cleaving to Jehovah. The poetic temperament passes quickly... read more
Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Psalms 31:1-24
Psalms 31:0 Trust amid apparent hopelessnessIn his distress David is dependent entirely on the merciful goodness of God (1-2). He knows God’s character well enough to be assured that God will save him (3-5). God will bring victory to those who trust in him, and judgment on those who reject him for other gods (6-8).Nevertheless, the psalmist’s faith is at times shaken by the intensity of his sufferings. Physically and spiritually he feels helpless almost to the point of despair (9-10). Enemies... read more