Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Ps 31:1 and following. Indeed, the psalmist says, “In you, Lord, I have placed my trust,” this is now the firm statement of the faithful. Then in verse 7: “But I will trust in the Lord.” And again at the end of our reading: “I have confided in you”. For in the midst of the storm unleashed by men, he clings to this certainty. He found his refuge no longer on his own mountain (Ps 30:7-13), but in the Lord, his unshakable Rock. “Be a rock for me…”, he said. And then: “You are my rock.” Nothing can ever overturn a faith established on such a foundation (Mat 7:24-29). Dear believer, is it on this rock that you have built? However, there is a moment in life when this trust is necessary more than any other. It is the last one, the one where you have to leave everything to go through death. In this dark passage, no support remains for the soul except the God in whom, now and forever, we will have placed our faith (Pro 14:32). Let us consider our incomparable Model: At the moment of his death, Christ expresses this absolute trust with his final word on the cross, which reminds us of verse 6: “Father! in your hands I surrender my spirit” (Luke 23:46; Ps 31:16).
“There is a time for any business, … a time to be born and a time to die…; a time to lament and a time to jump for joy…” (Ec 3:1-8). But all our times are in the hand of our God. He determined in advance the succession and duration, in particular with regard to the time of the test. And let us not forget this verse 16 every time we make plans (John 4:13-15). Besides protection and deliverance, the soul finds with Jehovah something even more precious: a great, admirable goodness; a kindness “set aside” for the benefit of those who fear God and trust in Him (34:9-11). Let us not be afraid to exhaust this divine reserve. But also how to respond to such kindness? Verse 24 teaches us, “Love the Lord, all your saints!” This is “the great and first commandment” of the Law (Matt 22:34-46). But it is not painful. For to understand the goodness of the Lord is already to love Him! Yes, so that love for Him may be produced and nurtured in our hearts, let us be very busy with His love for Us (1 John 4:17-21). “It is from your very love that our love will live” – recalls a hymn.
This psalm is, like the previous one, the language of the Risen Lord. He recalls his cry to the day he was like a lamb led to the butchery, when he stood before Pilate and was then led to the cursed wood-when he surrendered his spirit to his Father (Luke 23:46). For all had then abandoned him: there was on all sides only defamation, fear and opprobrium. His eye, his soul, his body withered away; it was treated as if it had already been dead and set aside like a garbage vase. For when he was here on earth, he did not act in judgment against his enemies, but in grace. However, it is true that he relied on the One who judges justly (1 Pet 2:23). But in the darkest hour of that terrible night, he recalls how he had confided in The Lord and remembered his past goodness. Then, from verse 20 to the end, the reminder of his cry at the times of the appearance before Pilate and the sufferings of Calvary gives way to joy and praise at the hour of the resurrection: The tomb and dust of death had given way for him to the power of God in resurrection. Then also he remembers the mercy of the Lord made admirable for him “in the strong city” of his enemies assembled against him, that city from which he had been delivered, but in which he will soon return, not as a captive, but as an avenger (Ps 60 and 108).
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
Trust in God in adversity:
· Trust, examples
2 Kings 18:5 He placed his trust in Jehovah, the God of Israel; and among all the kings of Judah who came after him or preceded him, there was no one like him. Ps 25:2 My God! in you I confide in me: let me not be covered with shame! Let my enemies not rejoice about me! Ps 56:4 When I am in fear, in you I confide. Ps 57:2 Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me! For in you my soul seeks refuge; I seek refuge in the shadow of your wings, until the calamities have passed. Isaiah 12:2 Voici, God is my deliverance, I will be full of trust, and I will fear nothing; For the Lord, the Lord is my strength and the subject of my praises; He was the one who saved me. 1 Tim 4:10 We work, indeed, and we fight, because we put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially believers. 2 Tim 1:12 And it is because of this that I suffer these things; but I am not ashamed of it, for I know in whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he has the power to keep my deposit until that day.
· Divine protector, protector of his people
God of Battles Ex 14:14 Jehovah will fight for you; and you keep silent. 2 Sam 5:24 When you hear a sound of footsteps in the tops of the mulberry trees, then hurry, for it is the Lord who walks before you to defeat the army of the Philistines. 2 Ch 20:29 Jehovah’s terror took over all the kingdoms of other lands when they learned that Jehovah had fought against the enemies of Israel. 2 Ch 32:8 With him is an arm of flesh, and with us the Lord, our God, who will help us and fight for us. The people trusted the words of Hezekiah, king of Judah.
-A defense Ps 5:12 Then all those who trust in you will rejoice, They will have joy forever, and you will protect them; You will be a subject of joy for those who love your name. Ps 31:3 Incline to me your ear, hurry to rescue me! Be for me a protective rock, a fortress, Where I find my salvation! Isaiah 31:5 As birds spread their wings on their brood, So the Lord of hosts will extend his protection over Jerusalem; He will protect and deliver, He will save and save. Isa 37:35 I will protect this city to save it, because of me, and because of David, my servant. Za 9:15 The Lord of hosts shall protect them; They will devour, they will defeat the stones of the slingshot; They will drink, they will be noisy as if taken from wine; They will be full as a cup, like the corners of the altar. Za 12:8 On that day, the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the weak among them will be in that day like David; The house of David will be like God, like the angel of Jehovah before them.
-A fortress Ps 18:3 Eternal, my rock, my fortress, my liberator! My God, my rock, where I find shelter! My shield, the force that saves me, my high retreat! Ps 144:2 My benefactor and my fortress, My high retreat and my liberator, My shield, the one who is my refuge, Who subjugates my people to me!
-A shelter Ps 27:5 For he will protect me in his tabernacle on the day of misfortune, He will hide me under the shelter of his tent; He will lift me up on a rock. Isaiah 32:2 Everyone will be like a shelter from the wind, and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in a parched place, like the shadow of a great rock in an altered earth.
-A refuge Ex 33:22 When my glory passes, I will put you in a hollow of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed. Ps 71:3 Be for me a rock that serves as an asylum, where I can always withdraw! You have resolved to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.
-A shield Gen 15:1 After these events, the word of jehovah was addressed to Abram in a vision, and he said: Abram, fear not; I am your shield, and your reward will be very great. Ps 115:9 Israel, trust in the Lord! He is their rescue and shield.
· Divine conductor, how and where he leads his people
-In the difficult places Dt 8:2 Remember all the way that Jehovah your God has made you do during these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble and test you, to know what the dispositions of your heart were and whether or not you would keep his commandments.
-Like a bird Dt 32:11-12 Like the eagle that awakens its brood, Aerobatics on its young, Spreads its wings, takes them, carries them on its feathers. 12 Jehovah alone led his people, And there was no foreign god with him.
-In the path of righteousness Ps 27:11 Eternal! teach me your way, Lead me into the path of righteousness, For my enemies.
-Like a shepherd Ps 77:21 You led your people as a flock, by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
-Never out of reach of his hand Ps 139:9-10 If I take the wings of the dawn, And let me go and dwell at the end of the sea, 10 There too your hand will lead me, And your right will seize me.
-Still straight to the cross Mk 10:32 Ils were on their way up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them. The disciples were troubled, and followed him with fear. And Jesus again took the twelve from him, and began to tell them what was to happen to him:
-On the edge of the unknown Lk 24:50-51 He led them to Bethany, and, having raised his hands, blessed them. 51 While blessing them, he separated himself from them, and was taken up to heaven.
· God, author of the Redemption
Ps 31:6 I put my spirit in your hands; You will deliver me, Jehovah, God of truth! Ps 111:9 He sent deliverance to His people, He established His covenant forever; His name is holy and fearsome. Ps 130:7 Israel, put your hope in the Lord! For mercy is with the Lord, and redemption is with him in abundance. Isaiah 43:1 Thus now speaks the Lord, who created you, O Jacob! He who formed you, O Israel! Fear not, for I redeem you, I call you by name: you are mine! Luke 1:68 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, of what He has visited and redeemed His people, Eph 4:30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you have been sealed for the day of redemption.
From all the above, we note that this is the request and expression of the trust of the residue, linking the two principles of trust and justice: the residue seeks the direction of Jehovah for the sake of his name and he awaits deliverance while he is surrounded by his enemies. He invoked the Lord; his name was in question. The pious man has relied on his goodness, set aside for those who fear him, and this in the midst of a life that is consumed “in sadness and groan”. Distress overwhelms him, his strength goes away. He is in trial for his faithfulness, but his neighbors and those of his acquaintance have abandoned him and their hearts have forgotten him like a dead man. This will be the condition of the residue, and how much did Christ not really associate himself with it? But the time of deliverance and of all that the faithful must forever wear and go through, is in the hands of God, not in those of the enemy, whatever his fury. For in the midst of his afflictions and adversity, Jehovah knows the soul of the faithful, he walks before him in the awareness of his covenant relationship with him. The Presence of the Lord is a tabernacle and a place of refuge for Him. In his agitation, he had felt entrenched before his eyes; but he cried out and the Lord heard him. In the midst of the fury of his adversaries, he cried out to him as to his God; he now celebrates, in the last two verses, the blessed result, and encourages the saints and all those who hope in Jehovah: no matter how distressed, Jehovah keeps the faithful and judges the proud. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and for centuries of ages. Amen!
I would be happy to react to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow ” the righteous persecuted appeals to the righteousness of the Lord.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.