Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 31:23
O love the LORD, all ye his saints: [for] the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.
23, 24. Concluding exhortation to the faithful. Cp. Psa 30:4; Psa 27:14; Psa 32:11.
preserveth the faithful ] Or, keepeth faithfulness. Cf. Exo 34:7, note.
plentifully rewardeth the proud doer ] The judgment of the wicked is, in the view of the O.T., the necessary complement of the triumph of the saints. See Introd. p. xci.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
O love the Lord, all ye his saints – This is the application of all the truths suggested in the psalm. The experience of the psalmist had shown the wisdom of trusting in God in times of danger and trouble, and had laid the foundation for a proper exhortation to others to imitate his example; an argument why all the people of God should love him, and should be of good courage. The reason here assigned for their loving the Lord is, that he preserves those who are faithful to him, and rewards the proud doer. This is a reason for loving God, or for putting our trust in him, though the psalmist does not say that this is the only reason for doing it. The meaning here is, that the dealings of God toward the psalmist had established this truth in regard to the character of God, that he does preserve the faithful, and does punish the proud, and that this fact constitutes a reason why all his people should confide in him.
For the Lord preserveth the faithful – The faithful; those who put their trust in him; those who do not give up in despondency and despair in time of danger and trouble; those who do not forsake him even though for a time he seems to forsake them. What God looks for mainly in his people is confidence; faithfulness; trust; fidelity.
And plentifully rewardeth – Abundantly rewards. Literally, in plenty. That is, his punishment does not fall short of the desert of the wicked man. It is ample or full. He does full justice.
The proud doer – The man working pride. The reference is to the man who is confident in himself; who seeks to aggrandize himself, and who in doing this is regardless of the rights of others.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 31:23
O love the Lord, all ye His saints.
Constraining love
Love Jehovah–so the text runs. God the Father demands your love and deserves it, yea, the warmest affection of your hearts. And so also does the Son who redeemed you; and the Holy Spirit, by whom we are born again unto eternal life. But we speak, now, only of the Lord Jesus Christ, and of Him we say, O love the Lord, all, etc.
I. This sentiment should animate every mind.
1. Love the Lord because His Father loves Him. It must always be right for us to love whom God loves.
2. The angels love Him. But shall they love Him who never redeemed them, and shall we, whom He hath redeemed with His precious blood, not love Him?
3. The saints in heaven love Him. We have many friends, very dear to us, there, and they all love Him. And with what intense love. We are cold creatures; like icebergs are our hearts, but theirs are like flames of fire. Shall we not love Him when we think how they love Him?
4. Everything that could possibly enamour our souls and constrain our love is found in Him. Does beauty attract? But what beauty can be compared to His? Wisdom–but whose like His? Perfect character–but where such as His? It were impossible to know Christ and yet not to have the heart affected by Him.
5. And chief of all, because He first loved us. Think of His Incarnation, His agony, His cross. Think how He loved you when you were going on in sin. How, after having received you, He has loved you ever since, and what ill return you have made.
II. The excellencies of loving Jesus.
1. It will make you bear suffering for Him with joyousness.
2. And your service joyous also.
3. And obedience sweet.
4. And communion.
5. Love to Christ will make trust easy. Look at the childs love for its mother, and because of it, even in the midst of danger, it has no fear. But you who have never loved Him, you must trust Him first, give up your soul into His hands. Believe and live. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 23. O love the Lord, all ye his saints] It is only the saints that can love God, as they only are made partakers of the Divine nature. Holy spirits can love God, who is the fountain of their holiness; and the saints should love him.
Preserveth the faithful] Those who, being filled with the love of God, bring forth the fruits of that love – universal obedience to the will of God; for to such persons his commands are not grievous, their duty is their delight; while a man is faithful to the grace he has received, that is, uses and improves the talents with which God has intrusted him, God’s service is perfect freedom.
The proud doer.] The man of the proud heart, haughty and supercilious carriage, and insulting and outrageous conduct. A proud man is peculiarly odious in the sight of God; and in the sight of reason how absurd! A sinner, a fallen spirit, an heir of wretchedness and corruption-proud! Proud of what? Of an indwelling devil! Well; such persons shall be plentifully rewarded. They shall get their due, their whole due, and nothing but their due.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The Lord preserveth the faithful; or, keepeth faithfulness, or faithfulnesses, i.e. is faithful in fulfilling his promises; or rather, the faithful, who is opposed to the proud doer in the next clause of the verse.
Plentifully, Heb. with (for so the Hebrew al sometimes signifies) abundance.
The proud doer; the enemies and persecutors of Gods faithful ones before mentioned, whom he calls here proud doers, because of their rebellion against Gods will, and their contempt of his threatenings and judgments, and their most insolent and contemptuous carriage towards his people; all which proceeds from the pride of their heart, Psa 10:4.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
23, 24. the Lord . . . prouddoerliterally, “the Lord is keeping faith,” that is,with His people, and is repaying, c. Then let none despair, but takecourage their hopes shall not be in vain.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
O love the Lord, all ye his saints,…. To whom his goodness extends; who are favoured with the blessings of his grace, as pardon, peace, and righteousness; and who particularly are sanctified by his Spirit, and have principles of grace and holiness wrought in their hearts: these, even all of them, are called upon to love the Lord, having that grace implanted in their souls; that is, to express it, not by words, but by deeds, under a sense of the love and kindness of God to them; and to join with the psalmist in an affectionate reverence of him, trust in him, and thankfulness to him, on account of his marvellous kindness showed him;
[for] the Lord preserveth the faithful; such as trust in him, believe in Christ, and are faithful to his word and ordinances, abide by them, and stays near his people; these he not only preserves in a providential way, but he preserves them in a way of special grace; he keeps them “from evil”, as the Targum; from the evil of sin; from a total and final falling away by it; from the evil of the world, so as not to be drawn off from Christ and his ways, either by its frowns or flatteries; and from the evil one, Satan, from being destroyed by him and his temptations; and these are preserved safe to the kingdom and glory of Christ, by the mighty power of God: some render the words, “the Lord keepeth faithfulness” i; he will never suffer his own faithfulness to fail; he is a covenant keeping God, and is always true to his word and promise;
and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer; such as all self-righteous persons are, and all that speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the truly righteous, Ps 31:18; who bear hard upon them, and oppress them; and such as antichrist and his party, who exalts himself above all that is called God; but in what those deal proudly, God is above them, an more than a match for them, and he sets himself against them; he resists them, and will reward them according to their works.
i “fidelitatem”, Gejerus; or “fidelitles”, Ainsworth.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
23. O love Jehovah, all ye his meek ones! In my opinion, the Psalmist does not here exhort the saints to fear and reverence God, as many think, but encourages them to confide in him; or, in other words, to devote themselves wholly to him, to put all their hope in him, and to rely entirely upon him, without seeking to any other. Whence is it that our own fond devices delight us, but because we do not delight in God so much as we ought, and because our affections do not cleave to him? This love of God, therefore, comprehends in it all the desires of the heart. By nature, all men greatly desire to be in a prosperous or happy state; but while the greater number are fascinated by the allurements of the world, and prefer its lies and impostures, scarcely one in a hundred sets his heart on God. The reason which immediately follows confirms this interpretation; for the inspired Psalmist exhorts the meek to love God, because he preserves the faithful, which is as if he had desired them to rest satisfied with his guardianship, and to acknowledge that in it they had sufficient succor. (656) In the meantime, he admonishes them to keep a good conscience, and to cultivate uprightness, since God promises to preserve only such as are upright and faithful. On the other hand, he declares that he plentifully recompenses the proud, in order that when we observe them succeeding prosperously for a time, an unworthy emulation may not entice us to imitate them, and that their haughtiness, and the outrage they commit, while they think they are at liberty to do what they please, may not crush and break our spirits. The amount of the whole is this, Although the ungodly flatter themselves, while they proceed in their wickedness with impunity, and believers are harassed with many fears and dangers, yet devote yourselves to God, and rely upon his grace, for he will always defend the faithful, and reward the proud as they deserve. Concerning the meaning of the Hebrew word על-יתר, al-yether, which we have rendered plentifully, (657) interpreters are not agreed. Some translate it pride, meaning that to those who behave themselves proudly, God will render according to their pride; others translate it to overflowing, or beyond measure, because יתר , yether, signifies in Hebrew residue or remnant; instead of which I have translated it plentifully. Some understand it as extending to their children and children’s children, who shall remain the residue of their seed. Besides, as the same word is frequently used for excellence, (658) I have no doubt that the prophet elegantly rebukes the proud, who imagine that their fancied excellence is not only a shield to them, but, an invincible fortress against God. As their groundless authority and power blind, or rather bewitch them, so that they vaunt themselves intemperately and without measure against those who are lowly and feeble, the prophet elegantly says that there is a reward in store for them proportioned to the haughtiness with which they are puffed up.
(656) “ Et recognoistre qu’en icelle ils ont assez de secours.” — Fr.
(657) Literally, “with plenty.”
(658) The word גאה, gaäh, from which גאוה, gaävah, which we have rendered proudly, is derived, signifies elatus est, eminuit; and גאוה, gaävah, “is sometimes taken in a bad sense for pride or arrogance, as in Psa 10:2; and sometimes in a good sense for splendor, magnificence, strength, excellence. In the latter sense it is used of God, Psa 68:34, His height, or excellence and strength, are in the clouds.” — Hammond.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(23) Preserveth the faithful.Or, perhaps, by rendering by the abstract instead of the concrete, keeps faith. The LXX. and Vulg. have requireth truths.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
23, 24. Love the Lord, all ye his saints “After the psalmist had ended matters with God, he turns round to his brethren in the faith to set before them the lesson of the great drama which had been acted before his eyes.” Hengstenberg.
Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart Literally, Be strong, and he shall strengthen, etc. Two kinds of strength are noted: first, the strength of firmness, resolution, which we must exercise; secondly, the strength of grace, which is the direct gift of God. The text is parallel to Psa 27:14.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Oh love YHWH, all you his holy ones,
YHWH preserves those who are faithful,
And plentifully rewards him who deals arrogantly.
Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
All you who hope in YHWH.’
The Psalm finally closes with a cry to all God’s people, His ‘holy ones’, to love Him truly, and that because He preserves those who are faithful, while at the same time pouring out abundant judgment on those who behave arrogantly. God’s people are thus to be strong, and to take good courage, because their hope is in Him.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
These words will come home with double strength and recommendation, if we consider them as the words of our adorable Redeemer, dictated by the spirit of prophecy. And who but must love Father, Son, and Spirit, in such views of covenant love, and grace, and mercy, as are treasured up in his person; and secured to all his faithful, to all his redeemed, sinners made saints, and preserved, and called, in Christ Jesus? 1Co 1:2 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 31:23 O love the LORD, all ye his saints: [for] the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.
Ver. 23. O love the Lord ] Let not your hasty discontent beget in you hard thoughts of God or heavy thoughts against yourselves, as it hath done in me; but love him, trust him, and he will do you right.
And plentifully rewardeth
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 31:23-24
23O love the Lord, all you His godly ones!
The Lord preserves the faithful
And fully recompenses the proud doer.
24Be strong and let your heart take courage,
All you who hope in the Lord.
Psa 31:23-24 As is true so often in the Psalms the last strophe is
1. a warning
2. an admonition
3. a corporate prayer
Here it #Isaiah 2. The first verbs of both verses are plural imperatives.
1. love YHWH BDB 12, KB 17, Qal imperative; usually this verb refers to YHWH’s love or is singular of the psalmist’s love
2. be strong BDB 304, KB 302, Qal imperative; it is followed by a synonym, BDB 54, KB 5, Hiphil jussive (Hebrew parallelism)
Psa 31:23 His godly ones This refers to faithful followers (cf. Psa 30:4; Psa 37:28; Psa 50:5), not angels (cf. Psa 29:1).
The life experiences (and afterlife experiences) of
1. the faithful BDB 52 I
2. the proud doer BDB 793 I, KB 889, Qal participle construct BDB 144
are contrasted.
1. preserved BDB 665, KB 718, Qal participle
2. recompensed BDB 1022, KB 1521, Piel participle
Psa 31:24 What a wonderful admonition for all faithful followers (cf. Psa 27:14; Psa 37:34; Psa 62:5; Psa 130:5; Isa 25:9)!
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.
1. Why is the psalmist in such trouble?
2. List the physical and social consequences of sin.
3. Explain shame in an OT context.
4. Is Psa 31:21 literal or metaphorical?
5. Why do so many Psalms written by an individual end in a corporate way?
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
the LORD. Hebrew ‘eth Jehovah. App-4. (Objective.)
saints = favoured, or graced ones.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 31:23-24
Psa 31:23-24
EXHORTATION FOR ALL GOD’S SAINTS TO TRUST HIM
“Oh love Jehovah, all ye saints:
Jehovah preserveth the faithful,
And plentifully rewardeth him that dealeth proudly.
Be strong and let your heart take courage,
All ye that hope in Jehovah.”
In these verses we have the essence of the great lesson which all true believers should observe and take to heart. “It amounts to this: `Don’t ever lose faith in Him.’
Reason says, “Love and trust the Lord.”
Gratitude says, “Love and trust the Lord.”
Experience says, “Love and trust the Lord.”
Faith says, “Love and trust the Lord.”
All believers say, “Love and trust the Lord.”
The Bible says, “Love and trust the Lord.”
The wise say, “Love and trust the Lord.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 31:23. This is’ an exhortation for all of God’s people to love him in order to secure the preservation that can come from that source only. Plentifully rewardeth means that the proud or haughty person will get the full deserts of his deeds.
Psa 31:24. An old saying is, “God helps those who help themselves.” That idea is set forth in the exhortation to the saints. If they will gird up their courage the Lord will add to their heart’s desire.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
O love: Psa 34:9, Psa 97:10, Deu 10:12, Deu 30:16, Isa 56:6, Mar 12:23, 1Th 4:1
saints: Psa 30:4, Psa 89:7, Psa 97:10, Psa 145:10, Rev 19:5, Rev 19:6
for the: Deu 33:3, 1Sa 2:9, Joh 10:27-30, Jud 1:1
plentifully: Psa 54:5, Psa 94:2, Rev 18:6
Reciprocal: Exo 18:11 – proudly 1Ki 3:3 – loved Psa 16:1 – Preserve Psa 116:1 – because Psa 145:20 – preserveth
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 31:23. O love the Lord, all ye his saints Those that have their own hearts full of love to God, cannot but desire that others also should love him: for in his love there is no need to fear a rival. It is the character of all the saints, that they love God; and yet they must still be called upon to love him; to love him more, and to give better proofs of their love. For the Lord preserveth the faithful Who receive and walk in the truth, who are steady and constant in their attachment to God and his cause, and are faithful to every trust reposed in them by God and man. They are opposed to the proud doer mentioned in the next clause. The words, however,
, may be rendered, who keepeth faithfulness, or faithfulnesses, that is, is faithful in fulfilling his promises; and plentifully rewardeth Hebrew, , gnal jether, rewardeth with abundance, the proud doer The enemies and persecutors of Gods faithful ones, before mentioned, are here intended. These he terms proud doers, because of their rebellion against Gods will, and their contempt of his threatenings and judgments, and their most insolent and contemptuous conduct toward his people; all which proceeded from the pride of their hearts, Psa 10:4.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
6. David’s exhortation to the godly 31:23-24
David urged those who hope in God to love Him purposefully because He is faithful to save the godly. He wanted to encourage others as they waited for Yahweh’s salvation.
What about the godly who have perished at the hands of evil oppressors? Our lives do not end when we die. In the light of New Testament revelation we know that God will vindicate the righteous after death if He allows us to fall before the wicked in this life. When David lived he had the promises of the Mosaic Covenant that guaranteed the godly long life in the Promised Land (e.g., Exo 20:12; et al.). God will vindicate the godly who die prematurely-after death (Isa 26:19; Dan 12:2; 2Co 5:10).
In view of God’s consistent faithfulness to His promises to bless the righteous and punish the wicked, the godly can endure periods of persecution and suffering with strong confidence. We can trust in the Lord’s eventual deliverance, and even praise Him as we endure rough times.