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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 31:9-18

In the Ps. 31:1-8 David had appealed to God's righteousness, and pleaded his relation to him and dependence on him; here he appeals to his mercy, and pleads the greatness of his own misery, which made his case the proper object of that mercy. Observe, I. The complaint he makes of his trouble and distress (Ps. 31:9): ?Have mercy upon me, O Lord! for I am in trouble, and need thy mercy.? The remembrance he makes of his condition is not much unlike some even of Job's complaints. 1. His troubles... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 31:12

I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind ,.... Either by his friends, being out of sight, out of mind; as even the nearest relations and acquaintance are, in process of time, when dead, Ecclesiastes 9:5 ; or by the Lord; which shows the weakness of his faith, the uncomfortable frame he was in, through darkness and desertion; see Psalm 88:5 ; I am like a broken vessel ; or a "perishing vessel" F3 ככלי אבד "sicut vas periens", Montanus, Cocceius, Gejerus. ; or "a vessel of... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 31:12

I am forgotten as a dead man - I am considered as a person adjudged to death. I am like a broken vessel-like a thing totally useless. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 31:12

Verse 12 12.I am forgotten as one dead. The Psalmist still pursues the same idea, and complains that he was as completely blotted out of all men’s remembrance as if he had been dead. The memory of some men after their death flourishes for a time among survivors, but it more frequently vanishes; for there is no longer any intercourse between the quick and the dead, nor can the living be of any farther service to the dead. David illustrates this idea by the metaphor of a broken vessel, (645)... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 31:1-24

but part 1. might be further subdivided into three, and part 2. into two portions. The psalm thus fails into six divisions: Part 1. ( Psalms 31:1-4 ), prayer; Part 2. ( Psalms 31:5-8 ), self-encouragement; Part 3. ( Psalms 31:9-13 ), causes of his trouble; Part 4. ( Psalms 31:14-18 ), profession of faith and prayer; Part 5. ( Psalms 31:19-22 ), praise of God's goodness; Part 6. ( Psalms 31:23 , Psalms 31:24 ), exhortation to the people to praise God. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 31:1-24

The saint rehearsing his experience of the great Protector's care There is no good reason to doubt that this is one of David's psalms. Its forms of expression bear the marks of his pen, £ and the "undesigned coincidences " £ between it and the history of his life are both interesting and striking. The old interpreters supposed the psalm to belong to the time when David fled from Saul into the wilderness of Maon; others attribute it to the time of his deliverance from being shut up in... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 31:5-15

Duty and destiny. Let us place these two texts together, and we shall find that they become the more intelligible and the richer in instruction and comfort. I. OUR TIMES ARE FIXED BY GOD . We have no choice in the matter, no more than as to when we should be born. God is Sovereign. It is his prerogative to settle all things that concern us. Whatever comes of prosperity or adversity, or joy or sorrow is of his ordering. It is for him to rule, it is for us to trust and to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 31:9-18

A story of suffering and sorrow. The psalmist now, in the spirit of heartfelt trust in the helping grace of God, proceeds first to describe at length his trouble ( Psalms 31:9 , Psalms 31:13 ); and second , to pray for deliverance ( Psalms 31:14-18 ). I. CAUSES OF TROUBLE . ( Psalms 31:9 , Psalms 31:13 .) 1 . Consciousness of sin. ( Psalms 31:9 , Psalms 31:10 .) This was the constant lifelong grief. None but good men feel their sinfulness so acutely. ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 31:12

I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind (comp. Psalms 88:5 ). I am like a broken vessel. Of no value to any one; only fit to be thrown away. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 31:12

I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind - Like the man who is dead, and who has passed away from the recollection of mankind. Compare Psalms 88:4-5. The Hebrew is, “as a dead man from the heart;” that is, from the memory or recollection of men, so as to be no more remembered; no more regarded. The expression is nearly the same in meaning as our common English proverb: “out of sight, out of mind.” The allusion is to the fact that a man who is dead is soon forgotten. He is missed at first by a... read more

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