I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially among my neighbours, and a fear to mine acquaintance: they that did see me without fled from me.
David cries out from the depths of terror, having endured one danger after another, and makes his whole case rest upon trust in the Lord alone. He brings before God nothing but faith, for he understands that hope placed in God cannot possibly be disappointed, and on that confidence alone he builds his prayer for deliverance.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 31:1-24
I was a reproach among all mine enemies. They were pleased to have something to throw at me; my mournful estate was music to them, because they maliciously interpreted it to be a judgment from heaven upon me. Reproach is little thought of by those who are not called to endure it, but he who passes under its lash knows how deep it wounds.
David appeals to God's mercy because he is broken with misery, his soul spent in sorrow, his eyes failing, his bones consumed. He was a man of strength and cheer by nature, yet see what he is brought to: he has almost wept out his eyes and sighed away his breath. Such trouble teaches us that God can make the most cheerful soul melancholy if we will not learn to be serious. In all his affliction he owns his own iniquity as the procuring cause, and confesses what God has justly laid upon him.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 31:9-18