In Psalms 31 to 35, David is mostly asking God to defeat his enemies, so that God’s name is revered and the unbelievers realize that God is reliable, dependable and extremely trustworthy. He also says that the believers should hasten to acknowledge their sins and ask for God’s forgiveness lest God distances Himself completely and sends down trials and tests to discipline His child.
Psalm 31
This Psalm is a plea for God’s assistance, God’s support before David’s enemies and recovery from a physical ailment.
David calls God his refuge, rock and fortress. David has full faith is God and is assured by His faithfulness in all previous situations. For David, God is his refuge, where he can come and cry his heart out and he knows that God will always listen to him; God is his rock that anchors him to his faith and trust in God and that faith is as high as a rock from where his enemies appear small and insignificant; God is his fortress where he feels safe and protected as the walls of God’s love are high and unsurmountable by anyone who wishes him evil.
David says that God has to save his reputation and honor that his enemies are adamant to destroy, not only because David depends on God for all kinds of support but also because David wants his enemies to know that the “God” he believes in, is in control and is above everything and everyone else in the entire universe; this way God’s repute as a Sovereign God is also at stake!
David says that he also condemns what God disapproves. Here David is talking about the idols created by the people of Israel, whom they considered gods. David says that the gods are useless, self-created nonentities that can neither help anyone nor save them while God has always given proof of His besed love, which is everlasting and all powerful.
David is not well and He tells God that his emotional stress is taking a toll on his physical wellbeing. He is frail from malnutrition as he is unable to eat and his eyes hurt due to sleepless nights and excessive weeping. Furthermore, he is aggrieved as his friends have abandoned him and await his demise, just like his enemies.
David says that someone who has no faith in God’s complete sovereignty and salvation through His covenant love is doomed as he cannot expect God to save him from any disaster. David believes that all those who are righteous and faithful to God are surrounded by adversaries.
David says that God is very just in everything. He will punish the evil doers on the Day of Judgment in accordance to their deeds while he will reward the ones who are righteous. Accordingly, David hopes to see God’s glorious decision against his enemies so that David can stand victorious and bask in God’s besed love.
David rejoices in God’s decision and praises him for His divine intervention. In the end David reminds the righteous people to “Love the Lord” as He is the only one that deserves to be loved without any restraints. He also says, “be strong and let your heart be courageous”, as God’s love gives strength, and faith in Him makes a person fearless and bold as he knows that God is with him hence he can face any hurdle that the unbelievers throw in his way.
Psalm 32
David is happy that God has forgiven his sins and he feels like a burden has been lifted from him. He says that the sins of a person are recorded in heaven and a detailed account is maintained. When God forgives the sins, they are permanently removed and forgotten.
David has suffered a lot as he did not own his sins and did not repent for them. God gives what you ask Him for; David did not ask for God’s forgiveness for those particular sins, hence he lost the closeness that he enjoyed with God and he went into a stressful mental state because God had abandoned him.
David has used four terms for sins in Hebrew:
- Transgression: open rebellion against a sacred covenant
- Sin: failure to meet God’s standard of holy behavior
- Iniquity: personal sins against God
- Deceit: betrayal and treachery
David received God’s attention after he acknowledged his transgressions, sins and iniquity, repented for his actions and begged for forgiveness. David says that one should not wait to confess one’s sins, in fact one should hurriedly bow down in submission to God and acknowledge the dreadful act, committed in defiance to God’s commands, in order to avoid God’s discipline. David learnt this the hard way because he waited too long to beg God’s pardon, which resulted in God’s fury, a long period of pain and misery and loss of God’s fellowship.
David instructs others to live in a way that would please God, not like a horse or a mule who have to be led by the reins as they do not know what their master desires. He says that God very well knows how to discipline a rebellious child but He wants all of His children to obey Him and His commandments because they love God , not because they are forced to do so. David says that God loves the righteous not because of their good deeds but because they seek God’s forgiveness for the sins they knowingly or unknowingly commit. God wants all of His children to communicate with Him and seek wisdom and guidance where ever and whenever they err.
Psalm 33
David says that the believers should be happy as righteousness will be theirs if they spend their lives in complete obedience to God and His Word.
David encourages all believers to sing praises to God while playing their musical instruments as God deserves to be praised all the time. He elaborates upon the reasons as to why God should be praised:
- God’s Word is upright, faithful and true
- We can depend on God to shower His love on us
- God is wise, just and righteous in all His decisions
- God is a very loving God and His unfailing, abundant and besed love always surrounds the righteous
David goes on to say that God’s beautiful creations are enough to prove the might and power of God as He created everything with His Word. The power of God can be seen by the way He controls the waters of the oceans, the hurricanes, the floods…God is supreme and His one Word is enough to keep everything in order. David says that when we carefully observe everything that He has created, we are awe struck by the minute details and the precision that has gone into its making as well as the utility of what He has created. The realization renews our faith in God and His Word.
David says that God has control over the nations just like He has control over His creations. Nations that believe in their own strength and wisdom soon perish while the nations that let God’s Word rule them and pray for God’s wisdom and support always flourish. God’s plans are far reaching than plans made by humans. Hence the nations that let God guide them always remain prosperous under God’s rule, in total obedience to Him.
David reminds us that God knows about everything that happens and everything that will happen in the future as He is our creator. He also knows about our plans. Nations often believe that their man-made weapons will protect them and keep them safe from all destruction however the same weapons and military force cannot save them at all. Only God has the supreme power to protect us from all evil. The sooner all nations realize it the better it will be for them that no human power can save them, only trust in God and His powers can save them. David says that God always watches over those who put their trust in Him. God protects the righteous against all evil doers and empowers them with wisdom. However in order to gain God’s favors, the righteous must submit to God, have complete trust in His powers and refrain from depending on their own strength. God loves those who fear His wrath and yearn for His love. God’s name is holy and guarantees abundant blessings for those who await His Mercy and Grace.
Psalm 34
David praises the Lord and says that he will continue to do so because he owes his life to God as without Him he would not have survived. He hopes that by his endless praises of God, people who have lost hope can also rejoice in knowing how God has worked in David’s life. They will learn that they can only be saved from their misery if they believe that God will rescue them from their situation.
David continues by sharing his testimony of how God has always listened to his prayers in times of need because he only looked up to God for His divine help. He says that God always listens to the pleas and supplications of His children and responds by delivering them from all kind of troublesome situations. He says that those who do not falter in their faith and trust in God will never be disappointed as God will never abandon them.
David asks everyone to believe in his testimony and as each word is true. If they want to receive God’s blessings they have to be steadfast in their faith. David says that there may be many who have never experienced the joy of a prayer that has been answered, but God answers those who have complete and ultimate trust in Him, abandoning their personal strength and only focusing on God as their shepherd. He says that the only way to ensure that God will hear your prayers is by crying out to Him and not giving up till He answers.
David elaborates on what pleases God:
- One must be careful not to offend God and hurt others with one’s words. One must be true, helpful, inspirational, necessary, and kind.
- One must abstain from all those acts or deeds that displease God and follow His each and every Word so that He is pleased
- One must make an intentional effort to always keep peace with God, others and oneself.
David says that those who believe in God and follow His every command are despised by the wicked, but God is always with those who trust in Him and only call out to Him. He has strict punishment in store for the wicked who tease the righteous. God especially hears the prayers of those who are hurt and are in despair. He never forsakes His children who seek Him through prayer and obedience. God cleanses and washes away the sins of the righteous and renews their faith in His Word so that they may rejoice.
Psalm 35
David pleads to God to intervene on his behalf. He asks God to take the battle as well as some legal matters into His hands. David trusts in God but is still worried because he is facing his enemies in battle. These are not his personal enemies but enemies of God as they defy His word and commit deeds that are offensive to God. David prays that his enemies are “disgraced, humiliated, repulsed, shamed, driven away and brought to ruin with their own traps.” David urges God to protect him as the enemies he is facing are very strong and cannot be defeated without God’s help. He promises to praise God and let everyone know how God saved him and saved his honor.
David says that he is utterly shocked by the hypocrisy of people he loved as his friends. He is amazed how they have put false accusations on him and disgraced him before others. David wants to know why God is quietly watching these wicked people and not coming forward to destroy them and save David from their cruelty and cold-heartedness. He gives his word that he will praise the Lord highly if He saves his life, as that is all David is left with.
David desperately implores God to deal severely with the treachery of his enemies who celebrate David’s failures and revel in his defeat. David is confident that God is observing everything that is happening and will intervene to save him. He says that God always sides with those who are discriminated upon without a reason as they obey God and endeavor to keep peace where ever they go.
David says that God is righteous and can always be relied upon to do what is just. By doing what is necessary, God proves that He is dependable, faithful and a loving God who keeps His word.
David again prays that his enemies are defeated and God breaks the silence by silencing his enemies, once and for all. David says that there must be several others who would be waiting for God’s divine assistance but they should be happy in the fact that God never abandons His children and enemies of the righteous are always defeated.
I would like to elaborate upon Psalm 32 which talks about seeking forgiveness for one’s sins.
Main point of the passage
No matter how pious, righteous or faithful to God a person is, he/she can fall prey to sinning. In such a situation, one must acknowledge the sin and not waste a single moment in repenting and asking for God’s forgiveness because it could result in God’s wrath and displeasure.
Most Important Truth from the Text
A person will get exactly what he/she wishes or asks for, therefore one has to ask God for His forgiveness repeatedly, before God forgives and restores his/her blessings
What is one area in your life from a practical perspective that the text pointed out
It is by default that humans avoid apologizing for their mistakes and want others to overlook them or forget them. Humans are so used to behaving like this with other humans that they do the same with God. They disobey God’s word, act contrary to what they have been taught by Him and expect God to turn a blind eye or look the other way while they sin.
God is our creator and He knows that we are prone to sin as we live in a fallen world but all He wants is for us to feel ashamed for our sinful acts and turn to Him for His forgiveness. What David says in Psalm 32 is hundred percent correct. Often times we feel that we are in troubled waters and our prayers are not being heard, while the problems are increasing with the passage of time. We get so engrossed in finding worldly solutions with our own experience, abilities, contacts, wisdom, money, and social standing that we overlook to pray and ask for God’s guidance and forgiveness. We try all solutions but do not succeed.
One Sunday we finally realize at the church that we haven’t really prayed since long; we haven’t submitted to God how weak and unable we are to rectify each and every problem in our lives; we haven’t asked God for His forgiveness for all our sins; we haven’t pleaded to God for His divine intervention! The moment we do, we feel like a heavy burden has been lifted. We experience the fellowship of God and His love around us. Slowly and steadily we start finding solutions to the long standing issues in our lives and we realize that God is working in His Merciful and Gracious ways to deliver us.
God is love, but to get to that love we must be pure of heart and mind, forgiven for our sins, cleansed by the Holy Spirit, strong in our faith in Jesus and ready to spend the rest of our lives in total submission to God’s Word.
