Psalm 31:14-18 meaning

Psalm 31, composed by David, is a personal declaration of absolute trust in the LORD and a cry for His help during a time of deep discouragement and extreme danger. It is a prayer to God organized into two sections of praise, with a series of grievances set between them. Psalm 31 concludes with an exhortation to trust and hope in the LORD.

• The First Praise is found in Psalm 31:1-8. 
• The Complaint to the LORD is found in Psalm 31:9-13. 
• The Final Praise is found in Psalm 31:14-22.
• The Concluding Exhortation is found in Psalm 31:23-24

Psalm 31 is also prophetic of Jesus's persecution and glorious exoneration as the Messiah. 

Most of The Bible Says commentaries for Psalm 31 are divided into two sections: one for how the psalm corresponds to David, and the other section explains its prophetic relationship to Jesus as the Messiah.

Psalm 31:14-18 as David's Praise

These verses of Psalm 31 introduce the psalm's final section of praise.

The final praise of Psalm 31 begins with two declarations of faith, followed by five petitions to the LORD.

The first declaration of faith is:

But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD,
I say, "You are my God" (v 13).

The psalmist is contrasting his trust in the LORD to his adversaries' trust in their own wicked schemes against David (Psalm 31:13).

This contrast is another assertion of Psalm 31's dominant theme of deep faith in the LORD amidst overwhelming troubles. Even though he is "a reproach…to [his] neighbors" (Psalm 31:11) and "terror is on every side" of him (Psalm 31:13), David does not despair. He remains confident that he will overcome his enemies. But his confidence is not in himself or his own ability to save himself. David's trust is in You, O LORD. 

David openly expresses the source of his confidence and speaks his faith with his own mouth: I say, "You are My God."

The second declaration of faith is:

My times are in Your hand (15a).

David recognizes his own limits and lack of control over the outcome even as he acknowledges God's infinite power and absolute control over his life.

The term: My times refers to David's lifespan and all the circumstances that affect him. And to say that something is in someone's hand expresses how they have control over it. 

The psalmist's expression My times are in Your hand is a confession that all the circumstances of his life—including those pertaining to his suffering and/or death—are under God's direct supervision. This statement is similar to what David had previously told the LORD, when he wrote: "Into your hand I commit my spirit" (Psalm 31:5a).

The psalmist then makes the first petition in this final praise of Psalm 31 (Psalm 31:14-24).

Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me (v 15b).

This is an appeal to God for David's physical deliverance from his adversaries. 

Those who persecute me is either a description of his enemies, or those who have succumbed to his enemies' perspective about David and are doing his enemies' bidding. To persecute someone is to treat them negatively for the "offense" of not agreeing with you. Persecution is an unjust attempt to change someone's behavior. 

The wicked often persecute the faithful for living by faith in God and seeking His righteousness. They attack the righteous for refusing to accommodate or participate with them in their wickedness. Jesus taught His disciples to rejoice whenever they were persecuted by others for following Him, because they would be greatly rewarded (Matthew 5:10-12).

When the psalmist petitions the LORD to: Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me, he is asking God to spare his life from his enemies. At the time of this prayer, David and his life were in the hand (i.e. under control) of his enemies. As he was in their custody, his enemies were in a position to abuse or even kill David. They controlled his suffering, his freedom, and whether he lived or died. 

David asks God to save him from his enemies and their goal of destroying him, so that David can live out the blessed destiny God has for his life. But even as David was in the hand of his enemies, in a greater sense he and his enemies were all in the hand of God. Like Satan who was given limited authority by God to harm Job (Job 1:12, 2:6), so too, David had faith to see that his enemies could do nothing to him that the LORD would not permit them to do.

The psalmist then petitions the LORD for a second time in Psalm 31's final praise (Psalm 31:14-24).

Make Your face to shine upon Your servant (v 16a).

The expression make your face to shine upon means to look favorably upon a person or their situation. David describes himself as Your servant because he seeks to obey the LORD and perform His will. 

If the LORD makes His face to shine upon David, then it indicates how the LORD agrees with David's petitions and will answer his petitions favorably. David's petition is rooted in what is called the "Aaronic Blessing" or the "Priestly Blessing": 

"The LORD bless you, and keep you;
The LORD make His face shine on you,
And be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up His countenance on you,
And give you peace.'"
(Numbers 6:24-26)

The third petition of the final section of Psalm 31 is: 

Save me in Your lovingkindness (v 16b).

This is an appeal to be saved from physical death and any physical or social harm David's enemies scheme to do to him. This petition reiterates his previous appeals to be rescued and delivered (v2, v 9, v 15): 

David knows that only God's lovingkindness and mercy can save him. 

For the fourth appeal of Psalm 31's final praise, David directly appeals to the LORD to be saved from the shameful death his enemies scheme for him:

Let me not be put to shame, O LORD, for I call upon You (17a).

David's enemies do not want to just kill him, they want to shame him so that no one will emulate his example of following the LORD instead of themselves. David's appeal to not be put to shame is based upon his faith in the LORD. He appeals to God to rescue him from humiliation and dishonor because he calls upon the LORD. If David, the LORD's servant, is put to shame for following God, then the LORD is, by proxy, also put to shame. 

Instead, David calls upon God to Let the wicked be put to shame (v 17b). This is the fifth appeal of Psalm 31's final praise (Psalm 31:14-24).

The wicked will be put to shame if the LORD delivers David from the hand of his enemies. If David escapes their intent to harm him, then it will be humiliating for his wicked enemies. 

The sixth petition begins when David calls upon the LORD to let his enemies receive what they have been scheming for him: let them be silent in Sheol (v 17c).

The expression silent in Sheol refers to death. Sheol is the place of the dead. Silence also can refer to death because the dead are unable to interact with the living. The dead are silent in Sheol. In verse 13, David said that his enemies had "schemed to take away my life." Here he is petitioning God to let his enemies be killed and to experience the pain that they tried to give David. 

The psalmist expands upon the sixth petition for the deadly silence of the wicked when he writes:

Let the lying lips be mute,
Which speak arrogantly against the righteous
With pride and contempt (v 18).

When the wicked speak they speak what is false. Their lips arrogantly slander the righteous. Their speech is full of pride in themselves, and they have scorn and contempt for anyone who follows the LORD instead of themselves. They speak against the LORD and His servant. 

David petitions for the LORD to mute their lies, arrogance, malice, and insolence. It is inferred from the prior verse that God's silencing of his enemies will transpire through their death—they will be silent in Sheol (the place of the dead). The psalmist petitions these things because of the harm their lying lips have caused/are causing God's people. 

David's prayer for the LORD to put their enemies to death may sound harsh. But it is important to remember that David is not taking matters into his own hands. He is leaving room for God's vengeance and wrath. 

David may have had King Saul and his followers in mind as he prayed or wrote Psalm 31. Saul was once David's ally and later out of jealously became his enemy and sought to kill David on multiple occasions. David had two chances to kill Saul, but he refused to harm the LORD's anointed king (1 Samuel 24:1-17, 26:1-25). 

When Saul was killed in battle against the Philistines, David mourned and wept for Saul because he had fallen in battle, and because his son Jonathan (who was also slain) was his friend (2 Samuel 1:12). It could be that David's prayer was answered when Saul fell, and David was genuinely remorseful because Saul falling to an enemy brought reproach upon Israel and its God. 

It is doubtful David had his rebellious son, Absalom, in mind as he prayed or wrote Psalm 31. He made strict orders that Absalom's life be spared and he openly wept and lamented when he heard that his enemy son was killed (2 Samuel 18:33). 

David's reluctance to kill Saul and active intercession to spare the life of Absalom both show how David loved his enemies, overcoming evil with good. David did this even while both sought his destruction. David left justice to God, and was blessed as a result. 

The final praise of Psalm 31 is from verses 14-24. 

The first half (Psalm 31:14-18) consists of two declarations of faith: 

• I trust in You, O LORD (v 14)
• My times are in Your hand (v 15a)

and six specific petitions:

• Deliver me from the hand of my enemies (v 15b)
• Make Your face shine upon Your servant (v 16a)
• Save me in Your lovingkindness (v 16b)
• Let me be not put to shame (v 17a)
• Let the wicked be put to shame (v 17b)
• Let the wicked be silent in Sheol and their lying lips mute (v 17c-18)

In the second half of Psalm 31's final praise (Psalm 31:19-24), David offers a flurry of prophetic praises to God and ends with an exhortation. 

Psalm 31:14-18 as Messianic Prophecy

Psalm 31:14-18 is prophetic of Jesus, the Messiah.

The Bible Says commentary for this section of scripture will continue numbering the multiple ways Psalm 31 is prophetic of Jesus the Messiah. The listing of Psalm 31's prophecies begins in The Bible Says commentary for Psalm 31:1-5. This section of scripture begins with the 23rd original Messianic prophecy of Psalm 31. 

The first prophetic allusion of this section is:

But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord,
I say, "You are my God" (v 14).

Strictly speaking, this is not a distinctly new Messianic prophecy within Psalm 31. It is a reiteration of the 9th Messianic prophecy which was: "The Messiah will trust the LORD." 

"But I trust in the LORD."
(Psalm 31:6b)

Both verse 6 and 14 are refrains of Psalm 31's central theme, which is David and the Messiah's complete trust in the LORD. The theme of trust is also expressed in Psalm 31:1, 3, 4, 5, 15b, 16, 23-24.

23.   The Messiah's choices and circumstances will be directed by the LORD.

My times are in Your hand (v 15a).

Jesus the Messiah's choices and circumstances were directed by the LORD.

As a prophecy, the expression my times refers to the life-circumstances and choices of the Messiah. When the psalmist says these things are in Your (the LORD's) hand, he is saying that they are under the direction and control of the LORD. 

As the sovereign, all-powerful Creator and Sustainer of the Universe (Colossians 1:16-17) our circumstances are completely in God's hand:

"In Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them."
(Psalm 139:16)

And this was equally true of Jesus, when He lived as a man upon the earth. 

Jesus acknowledged God's direction and plan for His life and consigned His will to follow it perfectly. That means Jesus not only lived in the reality that His Father was in control of His circumstances and times, Jesus also chose to subordinate His choices to His Father's plan. Consider His confession:

"For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me."
(John 6:38)

• Jesus only did what His Father wanted Him to do (John 5:19, 30).
• Jesus only spoke what His Father wanted Him to speak (John 12:49).
• Jesus chose to obey God even to the cross, instead of exercising His own wishes (Luke 22:42).
• Jesus's life—His times—were completely in the LORD's hand (John 10:18).

The second part of Psalm 31:15 is not a new Messianic prophecy of Psalm 31, rather it is a reiteration of a previously stated prophecy:

Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me (v 15b).

It reiterates how the Messiah will call out to the LORD during His distress and grief—which was the fourteenth Messianic prophecy of Psalm 31.

The Messiah's prayer is also another prime example of His trust in the LORD even in the most perilous circumstances—which is the theme of Psalm 31 (see Psalm 31:1, 3, 4, 5, 15b, 16, 23-24).

The persecution which the Messiah experiences as He prays to be delivered from His enemies is related to the danger and terror surrounding the Messiah as expressed in Psalm 31:8 and 31:13.

24.   The Messiah will have the LORD's favor and approval.

Make Your face to shine upon Your servant (v 16a).

The LORD's face and favor shined upon Jesus, the Messiah.

This prophecy has multiple fulfilments as it pertains to Jesus.

The expression Your servant is a Messianic expression (See Isaiah 42:1-4, 49:1-26, 50:4-11, 52:13-53-12). As the Messiah, Jesus is the LORD's servant.

The expression make your face to shine upon means to look favorably upon a person or their situation. The expression is rooted in what is called the "Aaronic Blessing" or the "Priestly Blessing" (Numbers 6:24-26).

It is fitting then that the first fulfillment of this prophecy happened when the LORD blessed Jesus upon His baptism at the beginning of His earthly ministry (Matthew 3:13-17),

"After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.'"
(Matthew 3:16-17)

A second fulfillment of the LORD's face shining upon Jesus, the Messiah, took place when He was transfigured on the Mountain (Matthew 17:1-8),

"a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, 'This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!'"
(Matthew 17:5)

A third fulfillment of this prophecy took place sometime after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem when Jesus predicted His death (John 12:27-30),

[Jesus said] "'Father, glorify Your name.' Then a voice came out of heaven: 'I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.'"
(John 12:28)

A fourth fulfillment of this prophecy took place when God raised Jesus from the dead. 

"God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory…"
(1 Peter 1:21)

A fifth fulfillment of this prophecy has yet to occur. It will take place on the day of Judgment, when the LORD will exalt Jesus's name above every name (Isaiah 53:12, Philippians 2:9-11). On that day, "every knee will bow" and "every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord" (Philippians 2:10-11). Jesus has already been granted authority to reign over the earth (Matthew 28:18, Hebrews 1:5, 8, 13, 2:9-10). But at the end of this age, Jesus will take up His reign upon the earth (Revelation 21:3). 

The second part of verse 16 is a petition to be saved or delivered. It is not a new Messianic prophecy within Psalm 31, but a reiteration of previous ones. From the previous context, this petition could apply to deliverance from death, enemies, shame, and distress. It likely applies to all these; Jesus was delivered from all of the above through His resurrection and ascension:

Save me in Your lovingkindness (v 16b).

This is a reiteration of multiple lines from Psalm 31 calling upon and signaling the LORD's deliverance of the Messiah and His trust in God,

• "Let me never be ashamed; In Your righteousness deliver me." (Psalm 31:1b)
• "Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have ransomed me, O LORD, God of truth." (Psalm 31:5)

• "Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress." (Psalm 31:9a)

• "Deliver me from the hand of my enemies." (Psalm 31:15b)

The first line of Psalm 31:17 is also a reiteration of a previously stated prophecy in Psalm 31:

Let me not be put to shame, O LORD, for I call upon You (v 17a).

This is a reiteration of the second Messianic prophecy of this psalm, which was, "The Messiah will never be ashamed once the LORD delivered Him in the LORD's righteousness."

"Let me never be ashamed;
In Your righteousness deliver me."
(Psalm 31:1b)

25.   The Messiah's enemies will be silenced and punished.

"Let the wicked be put to shame, let them be silent in Sheol (v 17b).
Let the lying lips be mute,
Which speak arrogantly against the righteous
With pride and contempt (v 18).

The enemies of Jesus, the Messiah, will be put to shame and their slanders and boasts against Him will be silenced.

Jesus was severely mocked by His enemies throughout His trials (Matthew 26:67-68, 27:27-31, Mark 14:65, 15:16-20, Luke 22:63-65, 23:11, John 19:2-3). He was also ridiculed by His executioners, accusers, those who passed by Him on the cross, and even the prisoners being executed on either side of Him (Matthew 27:35-44).

But all these scoffers' lying lips will be muted when they stand before Jesus on the day of judgment. At that time there will be no arrogant words spoken against Him with pride and contempt. Instead of mocking Jesus, they will confess His Lordship and righteousness over all creation (Philippians 2:9-11).

Some of His enemies who said these things repented—such as the penitent thief (Luke 23:39-43) who was mocking Him earlier (Matthew 27:38). Other mockers may have repented of their pride and believed in Jesus after He was resurrected from Sheol. Sheol is the place of the dead. In the New Testament "Hades" is used to translate "Sheol" in Acts 2:27, which is quoting Psalm 16:10. 

But even those who did not repent of their mockery will be put to shame. Because of the wide distribution and acceptance of the Bible throughout history, these people have been put to shame. Additionally, their arrogance and pride is muted in Sheol, which is the place of the afterlife. Those who did not repent will also be put to shame when they stand before Jesus on the day of Judgment. Even as the lying lips are muted, their voices will confess His Lordship and righteousness over creation (Philippians 2:9-11).