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Psalms 31:9-13

King James Version (KJV)

“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”
— D.L. Moody

Scripture focus

9. Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, [yea], my soul and my belly. 10. For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed. 11. 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. 12. I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I am like a broken vessel. 13. 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.

Psalms 31:9-13 — KJV

Commentary

Commentary on Psalms 31:9

Theological / Devotional

Have mercy upon me. In vs. 9–13 the psalmist turns from his strong assertion of faith in God to a poignant expression of his present sufferings. In his suffering he is tossed between hope and dejection. He seems to say, “Mine is a special case” (see Ps. 6).

Belly. Reference to physical suffering. “Soul” suggests mental distress. There seems to be at least a partial recognition of the interrelation of the mind and the body. Compare our modern psychosomatic emphasis in the diagnosis and treatment of disease, and the contemporary emphasis on psychiatry.

By SdaBc