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Into Your Hand I Commit My Spirit (Psalm 31) | Charles Spurgeon · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome back to Reformed Thinking.
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For this deep dive, we are pulling up a chair and settling
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in with one of the well, one of the most beloved theological
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commentators of all time, Charles Spurgeon.
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We're looking specifically at his work in the Treasury of
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David on Psalm 31. And this specific Psalm, it
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gives you a complete, almost a practical manual for Christian
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affliction. It's not just poetry from the
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past. It's a map.
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We get to see David as the believer move through what feels
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like total ruin. I mean social rejection,
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physical decay, wrestling with his own internal doubt, and yet
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he lands firmly on this absolute confidence in God.
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That arc right from total despair to a final certainty.
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That's why this all matters so much.
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Our source material brilliance, commentary.
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It really shows us the theological scaffolding David
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used to hold himself up. So our mission today is to mine
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the specific Nuggets of wisdom Spurgeon pulled out about
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reliance on God and seasons of really severe trial.
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We want to see how faith can be maintained when everything
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around you just screams failure. And we're going to follow
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David's logical structure. He doesn't start by complaining.
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He establishes his faith first. Then he gives a detailed, almost
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minute by minute account of his trouble, and that's critical.
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We have to be honest in our prayers.
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Then he pivots, renewing that first plea.
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And then he concludes with this glorious praise and a firm
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exhortation for everyone who belongs to God.
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OK, let's unpack this. We're starting right where David
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starts securing the anchor of absolute trust, the opening
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lines to the chief musician, a Psalm of David.
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They immediately set the tone for public worship.
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Spurgeon notes that this dedication is a He calls it a
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death blow to the common idea that only joyful, happy themes
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are OK for congregational singing.
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That's right. It verifies that even these
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mournful measures, you know, these songs of alternate grief
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and woe are sanctioned by the Spirit for public singing and
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for the edification of God's people.
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The church is meant to sing songs of suffering because
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suffering is a reality. And placing chief musician right
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at the top, it hints at something even larger, the
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Christological connection. Tell us more about that.
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How does Jesus fit into what seems like David's private
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lament? Well, when a Psalm is marked to
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the chief musician, we often see it carries a peculiar reference
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to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the ultimate leader of the
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worship choir. Spurgeon suggests that in this
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Psalm we can plainly hear the dying voice of the Messiah,
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particularly in verse 5, which becomes so famous at the cross.
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So when you sing this, you aren't just singing your own
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grief, you are singing Christ's song of suffering and your grief
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gets redeemed and set to worship.
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Wow, that flips the perspective entirely.
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So David immediately establishes his anchor in verse one in the O
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Lord, do I put my trust? This isn't just hope, it's an
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assertion of a fixed, determined reliance.
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Spurgeon likens it to casting out the great sheet anchor when
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the storm is at its worst. It's the fulcrum.
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The whole emotional weight of the Psalm rests on it.
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He starts with this fact of reliance on Jehovah alone.
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He doesn't mention any personal merit, just God's divine favor.
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And notice the immediate request that's tied to that trust.
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Let me never be ashamed. That request seems reasonable on
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the surface. I mean, who wants to be ashamed?
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But why does he make this link between his personal lack of
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shame and God's action? Because of the request isn't
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personal, it's theological. David is arguing that if his
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faith in God were ultimately found to be futile, if trusting
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God resulted in ruin, it would bring this deep dishonor upon
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God's truth and grace. If the believer who relies only
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on Jehovah is left confounded, it means God has failed to keep
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his word. The psalmist is essentially
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saying, Lord, if you allow me, who rests only on you, to be put
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to shame. It reflects badly on your
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character and your truthfulness before the watching world.
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That's high stakes faith, the faith of a covenant believer.
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And that principle leads directly into what I find to be
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the most compelling nugget in this section.
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Deliver me in thy righteousness. We usually beg for mercy, but
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David appeals to God's justice. This is where we see the
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sophisticated theological understanding of the Old
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Testament. St.
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Faith dares to look to the very justice of God for protection.
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It trusts that God will not break His solemn promise, and
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therefore He will vindicate the righteousness of His Providence
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toward a soul that trusts Him. We tend to compartmentalize God,
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don't we? We think of his love as kind and
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His justice as well. Terrifying, But David here sees
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God's righteousness as a guarantee of safety for the
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faithful. Precisely.
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God is not unjust to desert the trusting soul.
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If God is righteous, he must deal rightly with those who obey
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his call to trust. The believer finds security not
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just in God's compassion, but in his very character as a
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righteous judge. It's an airtight theological
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plea. OK, so having established that
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grand fixed confidence, David moves pretty quickly to a plea
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for immediate help in verse 2. Bow down thine ear to me,
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Spurgeon points out the symmetry.
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The great king of the universe bending low to hear the lowest
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state of his servant. That's immense condescension.
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It is, I mean, Heaven with all its harmonies could well occupy
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the divine ear. Yet the Lord listens attentively
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to the weakest cries of His poorest people.
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David is asking for personal, immediate attention and notice.
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He asks for speed. Deliver me speedily.
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Right, which confirms that asking for swift mercy is OK.
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We submit to God's ultimate timing, of course, but that
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doesn't stop us from expressing the natural desire for timely
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deliverance. And that speed is often timely
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haste. God sometimes rides upon a
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cherub when delivering his beloved.
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It proves that his mercy is quick and decisive.
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David then uses these rich metaphors, asking God to be
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thou, my strong rock, and my fortress.
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Why the repetition there? He's basically saying you are my
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rock, so now be my rock. He's praying to enjoy and
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experience what he grasps by faith.
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By faith, God is immutable and impregnable.
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He's our Gibraltar now. David asks that this reality
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would manifest in his current situation.
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And the argument for this protection?
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It's drawn not from David's need, but from God's glory.
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Therefore, for Thy name's sake, lead me and guide me.
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That is the Moses plea all over again.
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We are asking God to act based purely on the glory and
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graciousness in His own character, to make sure His
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honor isn't tarnished by allowing the faithful to fall.
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And we need that double direction.
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Lead me and guide me. We are fools and the way is
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often rough and dangerous. So lead me like a soldier under
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command. Guide me like a traveler on a
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rock Rd. The whole argument fixed outside
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of ourselves on the Lord's name. The danger David faces is
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insidious too. It's described in verse 4.
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Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me.
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This isn't the direct assault. It's a battle against craft and
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cunning. Yes, the serpent's brood trying
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to ensnare him by guile. It was laid privily, secretly,
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subtly, where the faithful soul is least expecting it.
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But David's plea stays grounded. For thou art my strength.
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He knows his own cunning is useless against their guile.
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Right, our own strength fails when we're caught in those Nets
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of base cunning. But God, celestial might is
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available to rend asunder all the toils of the foe.
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And now we get to verse 5, which is universally recognized in
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divine hand. I commit my spirit.
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This is the good man's final concern, his spirit, his jewel.
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It's the highest act of confidence, relinquishing
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control over the most important part of himself into the keeping
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of his God. Inspiration reminds us of the
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historical resonance of this sentence.
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It was the dying words of Christ.
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It became the final declaration of Polycarp the martyr, and
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later Hus and Luther. What does that historical echo
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tell us about the power of this verse?
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It signifies that this is the universal expression of settled
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faith. At the border of eternity is the
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core of Christian confidence. Control isn't with me, it is
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with my Redeemer. And the reason for this
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confidence is stated right away. Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord
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God of Truth. That word redeemed is key.
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For David, this might have meant temporal rescue from Saul or
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physical enemies. But for the believer today, what
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does our eternal redemption do for our present confidence?
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It forms the solid base for all confidence.
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I mean, if God has already paid the infinite price of His Son's
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blood to redeem us eternally, how could He possibly fail to
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protect us temporally in a season of trial, if the greater
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redemption is secure, the smaller protection is
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guaranteed? It affirms God's veracity, His
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faithfulness to keep His promises to the end.
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After that total commitment, David then contrasts his
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reliance with what others do in verse 6.
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I have hated them that regard. Lying vanities.
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He's asserting his singular focus.
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And this highlights the necessity of godly singularity.
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Man must have a God. If you won't rely on the living
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and true God, he inevitably makes a fool of himself by
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relying on vanities of emptiness, nothings of non
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entity. So what are the modern lying
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vanities? We aren't setting up golden
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calves, but we are often placing our trust elsewhere.
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We rely on riches, wits, political systems, technological
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assurances. We depend on public opinion.
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David asserts his singular path, but I trust in the Lord that bad
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example, seeing the futility of others false gods, should make
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the believer more bold, not less, and relying solely on
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Jehovah. This resolute adherence to trust
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becomes his great shield through the whole Psalm.
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So David has established this rock solid anchoring God.
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But now the shift in verse 7 shows he has to be honest about
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the storm. He anticipates joy.
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I will be glad and rejoice in Thy mercy.
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Praise is never a barrier to prayer.
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It's a necessary refreshment right in the middle of distress.
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He finds reason for joy in God's simple recognition.
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Thou hast considered my trouble. God doesn't just glimpse it.
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He has weighed it, measured it, and fixed a bound to its
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duration and severity. He is sovereignly involved, and
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even more tenderly. Thou hast known my soul in
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adversity. So that means God hasn't just
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intellectually assessed the situation, He has a personal,
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intimate knowledge of David's soul in the trouble.
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That intimate knowledge is a superlative consolation,
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especially when we think about the Lord Jesus.
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Jesus knows us in our specific pangs in a peculiar, deep sense,
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because he understands our griefs.
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Experimentally, He went through it.
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Rejection, betrayal, physical decay.
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When we are so bewildered that we don't understand our own
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feelings, Jesus knows us all together.
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He knows the spiritual, mental and physical ramifications of
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our stress. And the immediate liberty
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granted, even amidst the trouble is celebrated in verse 8.
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God has not shut me up into the hand of the enemy.
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The enemy might get a temporary advantage, but God ensures
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there's always a way of escape, setting David's feet in a large
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room. This is a great paradox of
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faith. Many Saints have found the
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greatest enlargements of soul, spiritual freedom, and clear
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perspective, precisely when their external affairs were in
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the greatest straits. Their spirits were in a large
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room even while their bodies were confined.
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God makes sure we are not delivered over absolutely to the
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enemy's final power now. In verse 9, David plunges into
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the terrifying reality of his personal condition.
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Have mercy upon me, O Lord aboard, for I am in trouble.
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He lays his wounds bare, starting with the visceral
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physical effects. My eye is consumed with grief.
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David is detailing the debilitator physical toll of
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continuous sorrow. Spurgeon notes that perpetual
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tears consume one's strength when physical suffering and
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mental distress meet. The believer needs to know the
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pilot at the helm is perfectly at home right in the middle of
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the water floods. And the distress is
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comprehensive. It hits both the spirit and the
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flesh. My life is spent with grief and
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my years with sighing. This relentless adversity was
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shortening his days, consuming the essence of His existence.
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But then comes this vital theological admission in verse
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10. My strength faileth because of
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mine iniquity. This is a critical pivot.
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David acknowledges that his trouble is profitable because it
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has led him to trouble himself about sin itself.
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This links physical and mental weakness not just to external
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circumstances, but to internal spiritual failure.
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So sin takes its toll on all fronts, physical, mental, moral
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and spiritual vigor. The sweetness of sin in the
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mouth always results in long term poison in the body.
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And the decay is deep. My bones are consumed.
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Weakness has penetrated the innermost structures of his
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system. This physical decrepitude forces
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the confession, which is precisely what leads to healing.
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The profitable trouble is the kind that turns our gaze back
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toward our own sin, leading to repentance rather than just self
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pity. Beyond the physical toll, verse
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11 details the unique sting of social rejection.
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I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially among my
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neighbors. Why are the neighbors worse than
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the distant enemies? Because those who are nearest
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can stab the sharpest. His neighbors, who should have
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offered sympathy or support, turned against him, afraid of
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being associated with his declining fortunes.
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Spurgeon points out this reveals the self-interest that rules
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most men. They want nothing to do with
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anyone subject to slanderous accusations.
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He became a fear to mine acquaintance, so the more
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intimate they were before, the more distant they became,
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fleeing as if you were carrying some contagious illness.
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Yeah, that kind of isolation is heartbreaking, David explains
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the deep rejection in verse 12. I'm forgotten as a dead man out
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of mind, and like a broken vessel, his past services are
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completely buried in oblivion. You see that sense of complete
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obsolescence, of being cast aside as useless.
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Popularity is evanescent, and the world has a short memory for
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those who fall from grace. And the source reminds us that
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this deep rejection paints a portrait of the King of kings.
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In his humiliation, Christ made himself of no reputation,
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becoming a thing cast aside. This allows us to share in the
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fellowship of his sufferings. The malice of his foes is
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underscored in verse 13. For I have heard the slander of
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many. It wasn't just a quiet whisper.
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It was a loud chorus of falsehoods breaking in on his
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quiet. And they acted in concert while
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they took counsel together against me.
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They devised to take away my life.
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They weren't content with ruining his reputation.
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They sought his blood. It's a sobering reminder that
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the ungodly often exhibit better agreement in their wicked work
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than the righteous sometimes do in holy enterprises.
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David felt completely encircled by constant attack.
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Fear was on every side. Yet we return to the fact that
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his faith, though tested, did not fail him and that resilience
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gives us hurt. So David has catalogued the
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absolute depth of his physical and social ruin.
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But in verse 14, he pulls back sharply with that saving clause.
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But I trusted in the O Lord. This is not the same declaration
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as verse one. This trust is hardened.
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It's confirmed by the actual experience of the storm.
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It is the shield that survived the fire.
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As long as faith is safe, the battles result is fixed.
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David's faith maintained its hold despite the evidence of his
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senses. This is followed by a determined
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personal allegiance, which he proclaims aloud.
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I said, Thou art my God. He fixes this allegiance as a
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principle in his mind, and he directs it to God himself.
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Spurgeon says that he who can truly say Thou art my God need
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not envy the most eloquent orator his speech or the richest
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man his wealth. It's a declaration worth more
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than 10,000 mines of gold. David struggled through terrible
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circumstances to make this confession, confirming that
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genuine faith holds fast even when the world derides it.
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We are constantly under God's protection, and this declaration
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secures our place. Verse 15 is the absolute heart
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of the doctrine of God's rule that is so central to Reformed
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thought. My times are in thy hand.
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This counters the dreadful idea that we are simply waves and
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strays upon the ocean of fate. This is maybe the greatest truth
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for the anxious soul. The Cloral Times is deliberate.
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It covers every variety of casualty and issue of life.
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Our whole existence, from birth to death, sickness to
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prosperity, war to peace, every single moment is held securely
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by the controlling hand of God. Spurgeon calls this Providence
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an anodyne for care, a soft pillow for anxious heads.
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How does knowing that our times are governed by God practically
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serve as a soft pillow for you, the listener?
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Right now it. Means that you were released
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from the anxiety of trying to manipulate every outcome.
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You are not tossed randomly on a cruel sea of circumstance.
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Every detail is anchored in the purpose of God, who is working
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all things for the good of those who belong to Him.
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And it forces a submission to God's timing.
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We see David waiting for deliverance from Saul, refusing
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to force God's hand. Exactly.
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Our duty is humble acceptance and waiting for God's time.
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The time isn't truly ripe until the deliverance can be done
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without us committing sin to achieve it.
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God's time is always the best time.
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This renewed trust becomes the foundation for His continued
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plea. Deliver me from the hand of mine
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enemies, and from them that persecute me.
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Next, David asks for the deepest relational intimacy in verse 16.
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Make thy face to shine upon thy servant.
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This is a request for the subjective experience of God's
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favor. If we have the sunshine of
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heaven in our soul, we can defy earthly Tempest and the strife
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of slanderers. The servant only needs to please
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his master and his ultimate plea.
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It remains fixed outside himself.
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Save me for Thy mercy's sake, never relying on personal merit.
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Verses 17 and 18 return to the call for justice.
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Let me not be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon Thee.
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He asked God not to allow his prayers to be put to the blush
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or fill profane mouths with jeers at his confidence.
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And this leads to the call for retributive justice.
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Let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave.
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Spurgeon understands this in a prophetic sense.
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Under the Christian dispensation, we know that shame
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and the silence of death are the expected portion of ungodly
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sinners who oppose God's people. David is expressing a desire for
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God's righteousness to be ultimately vindicated against
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the proud. And he describes the specific
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intolerable sin of the slanderers in verse 18, lying
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lips which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously
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against the righteous. Their offense is compounded by
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both the content cutting deep into feelings and the manner
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that arrogant contempt. They talk as if they are the
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most important people in society and the righteous are the mere
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scum of vulgarity. This kind of arrogance always
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leads to debasing estimates of others, and holy indignation
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prompts the desire for anything that might rid the world of such
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unbearable arrogance. Justice has to be served to
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maintain the moral order of the cosmos, and David trusts God for
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that outcome. It seems jarring to transition
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from pleading for the wicked silence to full throated
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adoration, But maybe David realizes that his certainty
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about God's future justice is precisely what allows him to
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pause and marvel at God's present goodness in verse 19.
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Oh, how great is thy goodness? He moves to full adoration,
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unable to measure the immeasurable.
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This transition, it shows the psychological movement of faith.
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The realization that God controls the times and promises
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justice, frees the heart to see God's provision.
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And David immediately divides this goodness into two parts,
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which is a powerful distinction we really need to examine
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carefully. OK, let's look at the first
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category. The goodness laid up for them
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that fear thee. What does this goodness in
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reserve entail? This refers to the supplies in
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reserve, the great treasury of the covenant, the field of
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redemption, the granaries of Providence.
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This is the store provided for all future needs.
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It is the assurance of your inheritance, the certainty of
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your future rest, and the unseen provision God has secured for
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you before you ever need it. It ensures that when you face an
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unforeseen calamity next year, the necessary grace is already
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waiting for you. So this is the goodness that
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assures our eternal security and future sustenance.
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What about the second part? The goodness wrought for them
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that trust in the before the sons of men.
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This is revealed mercy openly displayed in the present.
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This is the goodness that God has actively performed and
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displayed in your life, full of prodigies of grace, overwhelming
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visible proofs of the Lord's favor that are shown publicly to
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rebuke a faithless generation. Faith receives a large reward
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even now, not just in the future, proving that God is
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real. That distinction is vital.
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One is assurance laid up, and the other is daily provision and
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evidence wrought. And this goodness ensures a
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secret security described in verse 20.
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Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the
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pride of man. What a comforting image.
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Those who trust God are safely housed in the Holy of Holies,
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the innermost court where the foot of pride cannot disturb
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them. Dwellers at the foot of the
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cross grow callous to the sneers of the haughty.
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The wounds of Jesus heal the scars inflicted by human
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contempt. They're also protected from
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social attack. Thou shalt keep them secretly in
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a pavilion from the strife of tongues.
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We're reminded that tongues are often more to be dreaded than
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beasts of prey, especially when they strive like a pack of
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wolves trying to tear down a reputation.
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And the Lord himself is personally present for the
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rescue. He is the one who says, thou
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shalt hide and thou shalt keep. The Royal Pavilion of
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Sovereignty affords quiet shelter and serene security, and
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our worst distresses. The slanderers may attack, but
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they cannot enter the presence of the King where his servant is
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hidden. David acknowledges past help in
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verse 21. Blessed be the Lord, for He hath
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showed me His marvelous kindness.
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In a strong city, this could refer to a specific victory, but
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the larger lesson is that gratitude has to make us never
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forget the hallowed spots where God revealed himself in robes of
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love and proved His ability to protect.
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We must remember our personal strong cities, those points in
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life where God intervened so clearly that we cannot deny His
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hand. We have to anchor our present
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fears in those past undeniable manifestations of His kindness.
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And now we arrive at one of the most honest moments in
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Scripture, verse 22, a crucial confession of human frailty.
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For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes.
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This is the believer dropping the ball.
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We speak amiss most often when we are in a hurry, when we let
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our immediate feelings dictate our theology.
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Hasty words are brief on the tongue, but often lie for years
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on the conscience. This was an unworthy, dark
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suspicion of God's faithfulness, born of unbelief finding a
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corner even in the heart of the firmest believer.
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That's so relatable. We feel the immediate pressure
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and we conclude that God has forgotten us, that we are cut
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off. Does Spurgeon give us a
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practical way to deal with that inner voice that speaks so
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quickly? The dealing comes in the
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confession itself. David didn't just suppress the
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doubt. He articulated it and
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acknowledged its source, his own haste.
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But look at God's response. Nevertheless Thou hurt us, the
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voice of my supplications, when I cried unto thee.
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It is a wonder of wonders that God hears prayer even when it's
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mixed with infidelity. It's a powerful illustration of
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grace. God provided mercy when David
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had little faith left to expect it.
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We contribute no more to our spiritual restoration than we do
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to the rising of the sun. The power of the answer does not
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rely on the strength of the faith, but on the grace of the
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hearer. David now turns to instruct his
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audience, drawing out the final lesson in verse 23.
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O love the Lord, all ye his Saints.
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This is addressed to the entire saved family, regardless of
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their current status. And this love is required even
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for a smiting God who gives and takes away.
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It must be a love that many waters cannot quench.
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Why should they love Him? The reasons are twofold.
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First, for the Lord preserveth the faithful against all malice.
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Though we may have to wait, the recompense comes at last.
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And the second reason, really, It's to justice.
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Connecting back to the previous sections.
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The Lord plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.
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And this is cause for gratitude. Pride is detestable, and the
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righteous reward of the proud doer is necessary for all holy
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minds to love the Lord without cynicism.
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When justice is satisfied, the moral order is confirmed, giving
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the faithful reason for security and affection.
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The song concludes with the mandate for holy courage in
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verse 24. Be of good courage.
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Fear is weakening. Courage is strengthening.
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This is the undaunted audacity of a sanctified heart and
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undergoing hardships for a good cause upon God's call.
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This courage is not self generated bravado.
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It's a theological virtue rooted in love for God, and it comes
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with the immediate promise. And he shall make strong your
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heart. How does God make strong our
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heart internally? God draws near an adversity and
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puts His own might into US, administering force to the very
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fountain of vitality. He restores the inner man,
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giving a spiritual muscle and endurance we did not possess
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before the trial. This promise is for all ye that
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hope in the Lord. Everyone who simply hopes, even
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the little children in faith, should lift up their heads and
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sing for joy. This deep dive has shown as
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David moving through the pit of despair, grounded entirely not
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in his feelings or his miserable circumstances, but in the fixed,
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declared truth of God's redemptive faithfulness.
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He showed us how to appeal to God's righteousness and how to
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maintain hope when the world rejects us.
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The enduring lesson is 1 of transparency and grace.
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David confessed his small faith that moment he spoke in haste,
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saying I am cut off. Yet God heard the prayer despite
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the unbelief mixed within it. That confession didn't void the
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plea, it actually magnified God's grace in answering.
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So what small, hasty confession of doubt might God be waiting to
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forgive an answer in your life right now, even if you feel cut
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off from His sight? A compelling question to
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consider as you reflect on the the ultimate control of God over
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all your times. Thank you for joining us for
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this deep dive on Reformed thinking.
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We look forward to our next discussion.