For I have heard the slander of many: fear was on every side: while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my life.
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
One slanderer poisons comfort; what then of a whole brood spewing lies in your very presence? Fear encircles you on every side, and worse, the wicked league together against you with more unity than saints can muster, plotting nothing less than your blood. Malice is crueler than any beast, for a lion may be satisfied, but envy gnaws without ceasing. Yet mark this: David's faith did not fail, nor did his God forsake him. There is your encouragement.
AI summary
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