Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 31:19
[Oh] how great [is] thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; [which] thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!
19, 20. God’s goodness to those who fear Him is like an inexhaustible treasure stored up, and at the proper time brought out and used for them that take refuge (as Psa 31:1) in Him; and this publicly in the sight of man. Cf. Psa 23:5. With R.V. place a comma after trust in thee, and connect before the sons of men with wrought.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
19 24. Can the author of this serenely joyous thanksgiving be the despised and downcast sufferer of Psa 31:9-18? If so, it was surely not at the same moment. An interval has elapsed; his prayer has been answered; the danger is past.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Oh how great is thy goodness – That is, in view of the divine protection and favor in such cases, or when thus assailed. The psalmist seems to have felt that it was an inexpressible privilege thus to be permitted to appeal to God with the assurance of the divine protection. In few circumstances do people feel more grateful for the opportunity of appealing to God than when they are reviled and calumniated. As there is nothing which we feel more keenly than calumny and reproach, so there can be no circumstances when we more appreciate the privilege of having such a Refuge and Friend as God.
Which thou hast laid up – Which thou hast treasured up, for so the Hebrew word means. That is, goodness and mercy had been, as it were, treasured up for such an emergency – as a man treasures up food in autumn for the wants of winter, or wealth for the wants of old age. The goodness of God is thus a treasure garnered up for the needs of His people – a treasure always accessible; a treasure that can never be exhausted.
For them that fear thee – Or reverence thee – fear or reverence being often used to denote friendship with God, or religion. See the notes at Psa 5:7.
Which thou hast wrought for them – Which thou hast made for them (Hebrew); or, which thou hast secured as if by labor; that is, by plan and arrangement. It was not by chance that that goodness had been provided; God had done it in a manner resembling the act of a man who lays up treasure for his future use by plan and by toil. The idea is, that all this was the work of a benevolent God; a God who had carefully anticipated the wants of his people.
For them that trust in thee – who rely upon Thee in trouble, in danger, and in want; who feel that their only reliance is upon Thee, and who do actually trust in Thee.
Before the sons of men – That is, Thou hast performed this in the presence of the sons of men, or in the presence of mankind. God had not only laid it up in secret, making provision for the wants of His people, but he had worked out this deliverance before people, or had shown His goodness to them openly. The acts of benevolence or goodness in the case were – first, that he had treasured up the resources of His goodness by previous arrangement, or by anticipation, for them; and second, that he had wrought out deliverance, or had manifested his goodness by interposing to save, and by doing it openly that it might be seen by mankind.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 31:19
O how great is Thy goodness which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee; which Thou hast wrought for them that trust in Thee before the sons of men.
Of hearing God and trusting in Him
I. explain these duties.
1. The fear of God. This sometimes comprehends the whole duty of man, but is more properly taken for a religious reverence of the Divine being and government. It is not dread of God that destroys the foundation of religion, because it looks upon God as arbitrary and cruel. But the fear Of God ever consists in an habitual sense of His glory and perfections. None can be said to fear God who do not obey Him, and submit to His providential will. Such are the genuine effects of a godly fear.
2. Trusting in God. This implies dependence upon Him for all we need and a believing expectation that we shall not be disappointed.
II. recommend their practice.
1. SO we shall secure to ourselves the Divine presence in all conditions of life.
2. This will support and compose our spirits under affliction.
3. It is the way to have our afflictions sanctified.
4. The practice of these duties will support and comfort us in a dying hour.
5. We shall secure to ourselves an undoubted title to eternal life.
III. conclusion. Learn–
1. The excellency of the Christian institution which has so revealed God to us.
2. How miserable the state of those who fear not God.
3. Because of trusting too much to the creature.
4. Practice these duties. (Daniel Neal.)
Goodness wrought and goodness laid up
There are, as it were, two great masses of what the psalmist calls goodness; one of them which has been plainly manifested before the sons of men, the other which is laid up in store. There are a great many notes in circulation, but there is far more bullion in the strong-room. Much goodness has been exhibited; far more lies concealed. If we take that antithesis, then, I think we may turn it in two or three directions.
I. the goodness already disposed–wrought before the sons of men; and that laid up, yet to be manifested. That distinction just points to the old familiar thought of the inexhaustibleness of the Divine nature. Gods riches are not like the worlds wealth. You very soon get to the bottom of its purse. Its goodness is very soon run dry.
II. The contrast here suggests the goodness that is publicly given and that which is experienced in secret. God does not put His best gifts, so to speak, in the shop-windows; He keeps these in the inner chambers. He does not arrange His gifts as dishonest traders do their wares, putting the finest outside or on the top, and the less good beneath. It is they who inhabit the secret place of the Most High, and whose lives are filled with the communion of Him, who taste the selected dainties from Gods gracious hands.
III. the goodness wrought of death, and the goodness laid up in heaven. Here we see, sometimes, the messengers coming with the one cluster of grapes on the polo. There we shall live in the vineyard. Here we drink from the river as it flows; there we shall be at the fountain-head. Heavens least goodness is more than earths greatest blessedness. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
Davids holy wonder at the Lords great goodness
I. the subject of holy wonder. Thy goodness.
1. David is astonished at the great goodness of God which is laid up; the goodness of God which David had not as yet tasted, had not actually received, but which his faith realized, and looked upon as its fixed and settled heritage.
(1) Think of how much He laid up in His eternal purpose, when He chose His people, and laid up for them the grand intention (Mal 3:17).
(2) How great is the goodness of God, which He laid up in the covenant of grace.
(3) Think of what He has laid up in the person of His Son–the same treasure, only now more clearly revealed to us, and brought forth in the person of the Well Beloved, so that we may the more readily partake of it. Pardon for all your sins; justification through faith in His sacrifice; life through His death; sanctifying power is in the blood of Jesus. All that you can want, for the whole journey from the place where you now are right up to the right hand of the Most High–all this is laid up for you. Ye are complete in Him.
(4) Think of what is laid up for you in the work, office, and mission of the Holy Spirit. Do not imagine that the standard of your attainment is the maximum of a Christian. Do not consider that you have obtained all that God is willing to bestow. The laid-up treasures in the Holy Spirit are probably vastly greater than any of us have ever been enabled to conceive.
(5) The greatest goodness of all, we sometimes think, but perhaps improperly, is that goodness which is to be revealed when this life is over, which God has laid up for them that fear Him. The night lasts not for ever: the morning cometh.
2. There are some treasures which we enjoy now.
(1) Think of that which Christ wrought out before the sons of men in Gethsemanes sweat and blood, in Gabbathas scourging, in Golgothas death.
(2) Think of what God has wrought out for you in your own experience in the work of the Holy Spirit upon your soul. Blessed be God, with a thousand imperfections and faults, still I find in my soul some kindlings of love towards His name.
(3) We have also another instance of what God has wrought out for us in the shape of providential mercies. We have all some providences to remember which seem very special to us.
II. the favoured persons who enjoy the Lords great goodness. Why is it put so–Laid up for them that fear Thee; wrought for them that trust in Thee; unless it be true that he who trusts God fears God? The whole compass of the fear of God is gathered up into a centre in that point of trust. Why so?
1. Because trust is the root of true fear. To trust God is the root of all genuine religion. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Faith is the foundation of all the other graces.
2. Faith or trust is the test of the genuineness of religion.
3. Trust is the flower of the fear of God. The highest morality is to trust Christ.
III. some things that make us see that greatness.
1. Observe the multitude of these people. The goodness of God to any one of them is quite unsearchable, but what must be the great goodness which He has laid up for all His people!
2. Think of the undeservingness of each one of these. Many of them the chief of sinners.
3. Remember the need they were in.
4. Think of the great goodness of God to His saints in contrast to the great evil of man to them. Some of these saints have died cruel deaths. The most of them have had to pass through obloquy and scorn; but oh! bow great is Thy goodness which Thou hast wrought in them, sustaining them all, and making them more than conquerors through Him that loved them!
IV. what should this teach us?
1. Should it not make us grateful to God for such wondrous kindness? Can you not afford a song?
2. Let it inspire us with confidence. All that you can want is provided in Christ. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The treasury of Gods goodness
Many years ago the ambassador of Spain, then the wealthiest country in Europe, once visited the court of Venice to arrange a treaty. One of the chief men of the palace led the Spanish ambassador to seethe sights, and amongst others took him to the treasury–huge coffers filled with heaps of gold and precious stones. The Spaniard asked for a staff; and thrust it down amongst the coins. The Venetian prince said, Why are you doing that? The ambassador replied, I want to see if there be any bottom here! Ah, there is a bottom! But, O prince, there is no bottom to the treasures of my king!–alluding to the gold and silver mines which then belonged to Spain. So, we say, there is an everlasting fulness in the treasury of Gods goodness. His promises are always sure; His words are ever reliable; His goodness reaches to all.
I. Notice the overflowing goodness of God in his favour towards men. Some will only show favour to their friends. But God has no line of exclusion. Standing before all men, He says, I am the Friend of all. I think it is Mr. Goldwin Smith that says, Society is formed of many circles. In the outermost ring, a man hangs on to the coat tails of the other above him, while he holds on to somebody elses coat tails higher still, until in the most exclusive circle sits the king. But with God and angels and perfect men there is world-wide friendship. God communes with every soul; and though we are the poorest outcast, we are within the circle of the loved ones for whom Jesus died. With God, there is no special favouritism.
II. remember the greatness of his forgiveness. See the miracle on the sick of the palsy, and the words Christ spoke to him. If men knew the infinite compassion and love of God, they would starve to death or be burned alive rather than grieve Him by sin.
III. comfort yourselves with the goodness of his power. To the most enslaved of Satans captives, the fallen, the drunkard, He will give power to resist sin. There was said–not falsely–to be a reserve in the City of Glasgow bank. It only existed on paper. But there is a reserve, inexhaustible, in Gods goodness. When you were born lie gave to you the fortune of everlasting love; and that fortune is laid up for you. The prodigal thought he had spent all in the far country, but he found an ocean of love still flowing in his fathers heart. (W. Birch.)
Gods resettle of goodness
The Divine goodness is not emptied out in heaps at our feet, when we first start in faiths pathway. Rather, it is kept in reserve for us until we need it, and then disbursed.
1. He laid up goodness in the creation and preparation of the earth. Think, for example, of the vast beds of coal laid up among earths strata, ages and ages since, in loving forethought, that our homes may be warmed and brightened in these late centuries. Think of the minerals that were piled away in the rocks and hills, before there was a human footprint on the sand. Think of the laws of nature, as we call them, all arranged to minister to mans pleasure and benefit. Think of all the latent forces and properties that were lodged in matter, to be brought out from time to time, at the call of human need. Look at the medicinal and healing virtues, stored away in leaf, in root, in fruit, in bark, in mineral.
2. God laid up goodness for His people in His eternal covenant. It is a wonderful thought that before the world was made the plan of redemption was arranged, and blessings were laid up in the covenant of love for Gods children.
3. The goodness of God was laid up for us by Jesus Christ, in His incarnation, obedience, sufferings and death. There is not a hope or joy of our Christian faith that does not come to us out of the treasures laid up by the obedience and the sorrows of our blessed Lord.
4. God has laid up His goodness. The word means hidden or reserved. The treasuries were not all opened at the beginning. The world is many centuries old, but every new century has seen new storehouses unlocked; and still we have not received all that God has to give.
(1) This is true of the world of nature. Originally the wants of men were few and simple; but as the race multiplied and civilization advanced, new needs continually arose; and to meet these new needs, new supplies have been brought forth from Gods treasuries. To illustrate: when primitive materials for light were about to be exhausted, the great reservoirs of oil in the bowels of the earth were disclosed; they were not then new made–they had been gathering there for ages–but the hidden stores were now first unlocked. And, further back, when the forests were being fast cut down and there seemed danger of a scarcity of fuel, the vast coal beds were found. In like manner, in these recent days, men are just discovering the powers of electricity–not a new creation, but an energy which has flowed silent and unseen through all space from the beginning, only to become known in these late days.
(2) The same is true of the supply of the needs of individuals. No devout person can look back over the years of his own life and not see, how, always, just at the right moment, a treasure-house of goodness has been opened to meet his want.
(3) The same is true of spiritual goodness. Take the Bible for illustration. It is a great treasury of hidden and reserved blessing. There has not been a chapter, not a line, added to the Bible, since the pen of inspiration wrote the last words; yet we know that every generation finds new things in the blessed Book. A young Christian cannot understand the deeper truths of spiritual life until he advances further in personal experience. There are many things that can be learned only when the heart has been prepared to receive them.
5. It follows, then, that the storehouses of goodness are not opened until we come to where they are. They are placed, so to speak, at different points along our path; the right supply always at the right place. At every river there is a bridge. In every desert there are oases, with their springs of water and their palm trees. For those who fear God and walk in His ways there is not a real need of any kind along the entire path to heavens gate, without its goodness laid up in reserve. But we shall not get the goodness until we reach the point of need, where the supply is laid up.
6. Gods goodness is laid up in heaven. The Rabbins say that when Joseph had gathered much corn in Egypt, and the famine came on, he threw the chaff into the Nile, that when the people who lived in the cities below saw it on the water they would know there was corn laid up for them. So, what we have in this world of Divine goodness is little more than the husks of the heavenly fruits, which God sends down upon the river of Grace as intimations to us and assurances of glorious supplies laid up for us beyond the grave. Life is full of unfulfilled hopes. But if we are Gods children we shall find in heaven the blessed substance of every empty shadow we have chased in this world in vain, and the full fruition of every fair hope that on earth seemed to fade. The best is yet on before, and to the Christian, death, instead of being a loss, or a going away from goodness, is a glorious gain and a going to the richest, fullest, most soul-satisfying good. (J. R. Miller, D. D.)
The goodness of the Lord
I. As A spectacle of surpassing beauty. Creation, providence, redemption, call forth wonder, love, praise.
II. As A treasury of inexhaustible wealth. What is seen, may, as it were, be measured; but what is unseen, is boundless. What is a river to the ocean! What is the landscape, that the eye can reach, to the vast unseen realms of the earth! What are the thousand stars that crowd the winter sky, to the millions upon millions that are hid in the depths of space! So with the goodness of God.
III. As A work of infinite beneficence. (W. Forsyth, M. A.)
Goodness laid up
We can all understand what is meant by goodness bestowed, for it comes within the range of our own experience. And we could form an idea, though vague and indefinite, perhaps, of goodness promised. But goodness laid up is evidently that which we have not yet experienced and which is beyond all our expectations. Note, then, some of its marks and characteristics.
I. it cannot be known until experienced. We fret ourselves to know what the future shall bring, but we cannot know, only that there is goodness laid up for us. And this for special as well as ordinary wants.
II. it is inexhaustible; it is always laid up. It is there for us through all time and eternity. There is no experience through which we may be called to pass, whether in life or death, against which God has not provided.
III. see what this teaches us of God.
1. His graciousness. Even for the holiest of men it is all of grace.
2. His wisdom–how He knows and understands us and all our ways.
3. The fulness of His love.
IV. and as to our own duty. Seek for a full experience of the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. Taste and see that the Lord is good. All our past experience confirms the truth of our text. Then seek to know the Lord yet more and more. (W. Cadman, M. A.)
Gods goodness
How much there is in God to excite our admiration. His power, but yet more His goodness. Let us, then, contemplate it. In the past, the present, the future. And think to how many God is good. And how long He has been so. Goodness is one of His essential, eternal attributes. And how uninterrupted. He never tires. And its abundance. He filleth His creatures with good. Its condescension. What is man, etc. Its facility–He but opens His hand and the desire of every living thing is satisfied. To whom He shows this goodness–to those who were dead in sin. And this notwithstanding their habitual ingratitude. The ox knoweth his owner, etc. And then think of His reserved goodness–laid up for them that fear Thee. What is earth to heaven, grace to glory! But though offered to all, it will be enjoyed only by those who fear and trust Him, and who do this openly before the sons of men. Then how sinful is all sin, considering the goodness of Him against whom we sin. How evil our hearts must be that we do not repent. How reasonable that His laws should be obeyed. What an appeal the Bible makes to our hopes! Let US not only admire but imitate the goodness of God. (W. Nevins, D. D.)
Hidden treasure
If our lives are hid with Christ in God then we shall get our share of far better things than any outward prosperity or external deliverance or visible answers to petitions. The front rooms of the house which lie visible to the passers-by on the pavement may be richly enough furnished to indicate that well-to-do people dwell there. But away at the back, in rooms that no strange eye ever looks into, there are far rarer and more wonderful things. We must go deep into God, if we are to get all that God is able to give us. I will give to him the treasures of darkness, and the hidden riches of secret places. Hide in God, that you may find the treasure that He has laid up for them that fear Him. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 19. O how great is thy goodness] God’s goodness is infinite; there is enough for all. enough for each, enough for evermore. It is laid up where neither devils nor men can reach it, and it is laid up for them that fear the Lord; therefore every one who trembles at his word, may expect all he needs from this Fountain that can never be dried up.
Which thou hast wrought] Thou hast already prepared it; it is the work of thy own hands; thou hast provided it and proportioned it to the necessities of men, and all who trust in thee shall have it. And for them especially it is prepared who trust in thee before men-who boldly confess thee amidst a crooked and perverse generation.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
How great is thy goodness! no words can express the greatness of thy love and blessings. Laid up, or hidden, to wit, with thyself, or in thy own breast. The word is very emphatical, and removes an objection of ungodly men, taken from the present calamities of good men. His favour, it is true, is not always manifested to or for them but it is laid up for them in his treasure, whence it shall be drawn forth when they need it, and he sees it fit.
Thou hast wrought; or, hast prepared, as Exo 15:17. Or, wilt work; the past time being put for the future, to note the certainty of it, as is common in the prophetical writings.
Before the sons of men, i.e. publicly. and in the view of the world, their very enemies seeing, and admiring, and envying it, but not being able to hinder it.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
19-21. God displays openly Hispurposed goodness to His people.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
[O] how great [is] thy goodness,…. Not the natural and essential goodness of God; for though that is large and abundant, yea, infinite, as every perfection of his is, yet it cannot with propriety be said to be laid up and wrought out; but rather the effects of his goodness, and not those which appear in Providence, for they, though very large and plenteous, are common to all, and are not restrained to them that fear the Lord, and trust in him; but such as are displayed in a way of special grace and favour to his own people, and which the psalmist saw his interest in and was affected with; and which supported his faith under his present troubles, and appeared to be so great, both for quality and quantity, that he could not well say how great the blessings of his goodness were;
which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; both grace and glory; the blessings of grace were laid up in God’s heart, in his thoughts and purposes, from everlasting; and in Christ, in whom the fulness of all grace dwells; he was loaded with the blessings of goodness, and his people were blessed in him with all spiritual blessings, and had all grace given them in him before the world was; and these were likewise laid up in the covenant of grace, ordered in all things, and sure; eternal glory is the hope and crown of righteousness laid up in heaven, where it is reserved for the saints, who are heirs of it: and the laying up of all this goodness shows it to be a treasure, riches of grace, and riches of glory; and that it is an hidden treasure, and riches of secret places, which are out of the view of carnal men, and not perfectly seen and enjoyed by the people of God themselves as yet; and also that it is safe and secure for them, and can never be lost; and it expresses the paternal care of God, his great love and affection for them, to lay up so early so much goodness for them: and this is said to be “for them that fear [him]”; not naturally, but by his grace; for the fear of God is not in man naturally, but is put there by the grace of God; and such who have it are those who are brought to a true sight and sense of sin, so as to loathe it and forsake it; for the fear of the Lord is to hate evil, and by it men depart from it, and because of it cannot sin as others do; such have an humble sense of themselves, their own insufficiency and weakness, and trust in the grace of God and righteousness of Christ; they have a filial reverence of God, and worship him in spirit and in truth: but now this fear of the Lord is not the cause of goodness being laid up for them, for that only is the will of God; and besides the fear of God is a part of the goodness which is laid up in promise in the covenant of grace, Jer 32:39; and it is the goodness of God displayed in the blessings of it, such as pardon of sin, c. which influences, promotes, and increases the fear of God, Ho 3:5 but, goodness being manifested to and bestowed upon them that fear the Lord, it appears eventually to be laid up for them;
[which] thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! by which may be meant the work of redemption, in which the goodness of God greatly appears; in calling and appointing Christ unto it, in sending him to effect it, in strengthening him as man and Mediator to do it; and in the work itself, in which many things are wrought, the law is fulfilled, justice satisfied, a righteousness brought in, peace made, pardon procured, and everlasting salvation obtained. And whereas this is said to be “wrought for them that trust in” the Lord, it is not to be understood as if trusting in the Lord was the cause of this work being wrought out, which is the love of God and grace of Christ; but inasmuch as those that trust in the Lord have openly an interest in redemption, and they that believe in Christ shall be saved; therefore it clearly appears in the issue of things to be wrought out for them. The phrase “before the sons of men”, may be connected either with the goodness wrought, and so signifies that the work of redemption was done in a most public manner, openly before men, even the enemies of God’s people; nor was it in the power of men and devils to hinder it; or else with trusting in the Lord, and so is expressive of a public profession of faith and confidence in the Lord before men, which ought to be done: moreover this goodness wrought may include the good work of grace upon the soul; and the Lord’s fulfilling the good pleasure of his goodness in the hearts of his people, and the work of faith with power on them; and also the many deliverances of them out of afflictions and temptations, and the many salvations from their enemies he works for them in the earth, before the sons of men.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(Heb.: 31:20-25) In this part well-grounded hope expands to triumphant certainty; and this breaks forth into grateful praise of the goodness of God to His own, and an exhortation to all to wait with steadfast faith on Jahve. The thought: how gracious hath Jahve been to me, takes a more universal form in Psa 31:20. It is an exclamation ( , as in Psa 36:8) of adoring admiration. is the sum of the good which God has treasured up for the constant and ever increasing use and enjoyment of His saints. is used in the same sense as in Psa 17:14; cf. , Rev 2:17. Instead of it ought strictly to be ; for we can say , but not . What is meant is, the doing or manifesting of springing from this , which is the treasure of grace. Jahve thus makes Himself known to His saints for the confounding of their enemies and in defiance of all the world besides, Psa 23:5. He takes those who are His under His protection from the , confederations of men (from , Arab. rks , magna copia ), from the wrangling, i.e., the slanderous scourging, of tongues. Elsewhere it is said, that God hides one in (Psa 27:5), or in (Psa 61:5), or in His shadow ( , Psa 91:1); in this passage it is: in the defence and protection of His countenance, i.e., in the region of the unapproachable light that emanates from His presence. The is the safe and comfortable protection of the Almighty which spans over the persecuted one like an arbour or rich foliage. With David again passes over to his own personal experience. The unity of the Psalm requires us to refer the praise to the fact of the deliverance which is anticipated by faith. Jahve has shown him wondrous favour, inasmuch as He has given him a as a place of abode. , from to shut in (Arabic misr with the denominative verb massara , to found a fortified city), signifies both a siege, i.e., a shutting in by siege-works, and a fortifying (cf. Psa 60:11 with Psa 108:11), i.e., a shutting in by fortified works against the attack of the enemy, 2Ch 8:5. The fenced city is mostly interpreted as God Himself and His powerful and gracious protection. We might then compare Isa 33:21 and other passages. But why may not an actual city be intended, viz., Ziklag? The fact, that after long and troublous days David there found a strong and sure resting-place, he here celebrates beforehand, and unconsciously prophetically, as a wondrous token of divine favour. To him Ziklag was indeed the turning-point between his degradation and exaltation. He had already said in his trepidation ( , trepidare), cf. Psa 116:11: I am cut away from the range of Thine eyes. is explained according to , an axe; Lam 3:54, , and Jon 2:5, , favour this interpretation. He thought in his fear and despair, that God would never more care about him. , verum enim vero , but Jahve heard the cry of his entreaty, when he cried unto Him (the same words as in Psa 28:2). On the ground of these experiences he calls upon all the godly to love the God who has done such gracious things, i.e., to love Love itself. On the one hand, He preserves the faithful ( , from = , , as in Psa 12:2), who keep faith with Him, by also proving to them His faithfulness by protection in every danger; on the other hand, not scantily, but plentifully ( as in Isa 60:7; Jer 6:14: ) He rewardeth those that practise pride-in the sight of God, the Lord, the sin of sins. An animating appeal to the godly (metamorphosed out of the usual form of the expression , macte esto ), resembling the animating call to his own heart in Psa 27:14, closes the Psalm. The godly and faithful are here called “those who wait upon Jahve.” They are to wait patiently, for this waiting has a glorious end; the bright, spring sun at length breaks through the dark, angry aspect of the heavens, and the esto mihi is changed into halleluja. This eye of hope patiently directed towards Jahve is the characteristic of the Old Testament faith. The substantial unity, however, of the Old Testament order of grace, or mercy, with that of the New Testament, is set before us in Psa 32:1-11, which, in its New Testament and Pauline character, is the counterpart of Psa 19:1-14.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Triumphant Praise. | |
19 Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! 20 Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues. 21 Blessed be the LORD: for he hath showed me his marvellous kindness in a strong city. 22 For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee. 23 O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer. 24 Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.
We have three things in these verses:–
I. The believing acknowledgment which David makes of God’s goodness to his people in general, Psa 31:19; Psa 31:20.
1. God is good to all, but he is, in a special manner, good to Israel. His goodness to them is wonderful, and will be, to eternity, matter of admiration: O how great is thy goodness! How profound are the counsels of it! how rich are the treasures of it! how free and extensive are the communications of it! Those very persons whom men load with slanders God loads with benefits and honours. Those who are interested in this goodness are described to be such as fear God and trust in him, as stand in awe of his greatness and rely on his grace. This goodness is said to be laid up for them and wrought for them. (1.) There is a goodness laid up for them in the other world, an inheritance reserved in heaven (1 Pet. i. 4), and there is a goodness wrought for them in this world, goodness wrought in them. There is enough in God’s goodness both for the portion and inheritance of all his children when they come to their full age, and for their maintenance and education during their minority. There is enough in bank and enough in hand. (2.) This goodness is laid up in his promise for all that fear God, to whom assurance is given that they shall want no good thing. But it is wrought, in the actual performance of the promise, for those that trust in him–that by faith take hold of the promise, put it in suit, and draw out to themselves the benefit and comfort of it. If what is laid up for us in the treasures of the everlasting covenant be not wrought for us, it is our own fault, because we do not believe. But those that trust in God, as they have the comfort of his goodness in their own bosoms, so they have the credit of it (and the credit of an estate goes far with some); it is wrought for them before the sons of men. God’s goodness to them puts an honour upon them and rolls away their reproach; for all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed, Isa. lxi. 9.
2. God preserves man and beast; but he is, in a special manner, the protector of his own people (v. 20): Thou shalt hide them. As his goodness is hid and reserved for them, so they are hid and preserved for it. The saints are God’s hidden ones. See here, (1.) The danger they are in, which arises from the pride of man and from the strife of tongues; proud men insult over them and would trample on them and tread them down; contentious men pick quarrels with them; and, when tongues are at strife, good people often go by the worst. The pride of men endangers their liberty; the strife of tongues in perverse disputings endangers truth. But, (2.) See the defence they are under: Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence, in a pavilion. God’s providence shall keep them safe form the malice of their enemies. He has many ways of sheltering them. When Baruch and Jeremiah were sought for the Lord hid them, Jer. xxxvi. 26. God’s grace shall keep them safe from the evil of the judgments that are abroad; to them they have no sting; and they shall hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger, for there is no anger at them. His comforts shall keep them easy and cheerful; his sanctuary, where they have communion with him, shelters then from the fiery darts of terror and temptation; and the mansions in his house above shall be shortly, shall be eternally, their hiding-place from all danger and fear.
II. The thankful returns which David makes for God’s goodness to him in particular, Psa 31:21; Psa 31:22. Having admired God’s goodness to all the saints, he here owns how good he had found him. 1. Without were fightings; but God had wonderfully preserved his life: “He has shown me his marvellous loving-kindness, he has given me an instance of his care for me and favour to me, beyond what I could have expected.” God’s loving-kindness to his people, all things considered, is wonderful; but some instances of it, even in this world, are in a special manner marvelous in their eyes; as this here, when God preserved David from the sword of Saul, in caves and woods, as safe as if he had been in a strong city. In Keilah, that strong city, God showed him great mercy, both in making him an instrument to rescue the inhabitants out of the hands of the Philistines and then in rescuing him from the same men who would have ungratefully delivered him up into the hand of Saul, 1Sa 23:5; 1Sa 23:12. This was marvellous loving-kindness indeed, upon which he writes, with wonder and thankfulness, Blessed be the Lord. Special preservations call for particular thanksgivings. 2. Within were fears; but God was better to him than his fears, v. 22. He here keeps an account, (1.) Of his own folly, in distrusting God, which he acknowledges, to his shame. Though he had express promises to build upon, and great experience of God’s care concerning him in many straits, yet he had entertained this hard and jealous thought of God, and could not forbear telling it him to his face. “I am cut off before thy eyes; thou hast quite forsaken me, and I must not expect to be looked upon or regarded by thee any more. I shall one day perish by the hand of Saul, and so be cut off before thy eyes, be ruined while thou lookest on,” 1 Sam. xxvii. 1. This he said in his flight (so some read it), which denotes the distress of his affairs. Saul was just at his back, and ready to seize him, which made the temptation strong. In my haste (so we read it), which denotes the disturbance and discomposure of his mind, which made the temptation surprising, so that it found him off his guard. Note, It is a common thing to speak amiss when we speak in haste and without consideration; but what we speak amiss in haste we must repent of at leisure, particularly that which we have spoken distrustfully of God. (2.) Of God’s wonderful goodness to him notwithstanding. Though his faith failed, God’s promise did not: Thou hearest the voice of my supplication, for all this. He mentions his own unbelief as a foil to God’s fidelity, serving to make his loving-kindness the more marvellous, the more illustrious. When we have thus distrusted God he might justly take us at our word, and bring our fears upon us, as he did on Israel, Num 14:28; Isa 66:4. But he has pitied and pardoned us, and our unbelief has not made his promise and grace of no effect; for he knows our frame.
III. The exhortation and encouragement which he hereupon gives to all the saints, Psa 31:23; Psa 31:24. 1. He would have them set their love on God (v. 23): O love the Lord! all you his saints. Those that have their own hearts full of love to God cannot but desire that others also may be in love with him; for in his favour there is no need to fear a rival. It is the character of the saints that they do love God; and yet they must still be called upon to love him, to love him more and love him better, and give proofs of their love. We must love him, not only for his goodness, because he preserves the faithful, but for his justice, because he plentifully rewards the proud doer (who would ruin those whom he preserves), according to their pride. Some take it in a good sense; he plentifully rewards the magnificent (or excellent) doer, that is daringly good, whose heart, like Jehoshaphat’s, is lifted up in the ways of the Lord. He rewards him that does well, but plentifully rewards him that does excellently well. 2. He would have them set their hope in God ( v. 24): “Be of good courage; have a good heart on it; whatever difficulties or dangers you may meet with, the God you trust in shall by that trust strengthen your heart.” Those that hope in God have reason to be of good courage, and let their hearts be strong, for, as nothing truly evil can befal them, so nothing truly good for them shall be wanting to them.
In singing this we should animate ourselves and one another to proceed and persevere in our Christian course, whatever threatens us, and whoever frowns upon us.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
19. O how great is thy goodness which thou hast hidden for them that fear thee! In this verse the Psalmist exclaims that God is incomprehensibly good and beneficent towards his servants. Goodness here means those divine blessings which are the effects of it. The interrogatory form of the sentence has a peculiar emphasis; for David not only asserts that God is good, but he is ravished with admiration of the goodness which he had experienced. It was this experience, undoubtedly, which caused him break out into the rapturous language of this verse; for he had been marvellously and unexpectedly delivered from his calamities. By his example, therefore, he enjoins believers to rise above the apprehension of their own understanding, in order that they may promise themselves, and expect far more from the grace of God than human reason is able to conceive. He says that the goodness of God is hidden for his servants, because it is a treasure which is peculiar to them. It, no doubt, extends itself in various ways to the irreligious and unworthy, and is set before them indiscriminately; but it displays itself much more plenteously and clearly towards the faithful, because it is they alone who enjoy all God’s benefits for their salvation. God
“
maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good,” (Mat 5:45,)
and shows himself bountiful even to the irrational creation; but he declares himself a Father, in the true and full sense of the term, to those only who are his servants. It is not without reason, therefore, that the goodness of God is said to be hidden for the faithful, whom alone he accounts worthy of enjoying his favor most intimately and tenderly. Some give a more subtle interpretation of the phrase, the goodness of God is hidden, explaining it as meaning that God, by often exercising his children with crosses and afflictions, hides his favor from them, although, at the same time, he does not forget them. It is more probable, however, that it should be understood of a treasure which God has set apart and laid up in store for them, unless perhaps we choose to refer it to the experience of the saints, because they alone, as I have said, experience in their souls the fruit of divine goodness; whereas brutish stupidity hinders the wicked from acknowledging God as a beneficent Father, even while they are devouring greedily his good things. And thus it comes to pass, that while the goodness of God fills and overspreads all parts of the world, it is notwithstanding generally unknown. But the mind of the sacred writer will be more clearly perceived from the contrast which exists between the faithful and those who are strangers to God’s love. As a provident man will regulate his liberality towards all men in such a manner as not to defraud his children or family, nor impoverish his own house, by spending his substance prodigally on others; so God, in like manner, in exercising his beneficence to aliens from his family, knows well how to reserve for his own children that which belongs to them as it were by hereditary right; that is to say, because of their adoption. (649) The attempt of Augustine to prove from these words that those who unbelievingly dread God’s judgment have no experience of his goodness, is most inappropriate. To perceive his mistaken view of the passage, it is only necessary to look to the following clause, in which David says that God makes the world to perceive that he exercises inestimable goodness towards those who serve him, both in protecting them and in providing for their welfare. Whence we learn, that it is not of the everlasting blessedness which is reserved for the godly in heaven that the Psalmist here speaks, but of the protection and other blessings which belong to the preservation of the present life; which he declares to be so manifest that even the ungodly themselves are forced to become eye-witnesses of them. The world, I admit, passes over all the works of God with its eyes shut, and is especially ignorant of his fatherly care of the saints; still it is certain that there shine forth such daily proofs of it, that even the reprobate cannot but see them, except in so far as they willingly shut their eyes against the light. David, therefore, speaks according to truth, when he declares that God gives evidences of his goodness to his people before the sons of men, that it may be clearly seen that they do not serve him unadvisedly or in vain. (650)
(649) “ C’est a dire, a cause de leur adoption.” — Fr.
(650) “Before the sons of men, i.e. openly, so that the world must acknowledge ‘there is a reward for the righteous man.’ Compare Psa 58:11.” — French and Skinner.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(19) Laid up.Better, hidden, (Heb. tsaphan; comp. Psa. 17:14; Oba. 1:6), as a treasure for the faithful, and now brought out and displayed in the presence of the sons of men.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
19. From a review of the corruptions of persecuting men the psalmist turns, in these verses, lovingly and confidingly, to a survey of the tender beneficence of God. Of its vastness he says, How great! Of its preciousness he declares, It is laid up for them that fear thee. Of its certainty he asserts, Thou hast wrought it. Of its manifestation he avows it to be before the sons of men.
‘Oh how great is your goodness,
Which you have laid up for those who fear you,
Which you have wrought for those who take refuge in you,
Before the sons of men!’
In the covert of your presence will you hide them,
From the plottings of man,
You will keep them secretly in a pavilion,
From the strife of tongues.
Now the Psalmist, fully restored in his thoughts and filled with a sense of God’s goodness, gives praise to God. He exalts in the greatness of that goodness, a goodness which God has stored up for those who fear Him, and which He has wrought for those who take refuge in YHWH, and that before the sons of men. So God is now seen as active on behalf of all His true people, and he is confident that as a result God will hide His people from the plottings of men in ‘the hiding-place of His face’ (the place where God meets only with those who are His own), and will keep them hidden away in His pavilion where none can hurt them, safe from the activities of men’s tongues.
Psa 31:19. Thy goodness, which thou hast laid up, &c. Which thou treasurest up for those who fear thee; which thou providest for those who make thee their refuge, before the sons of men. Mudge and Green. The next verse should be rendered also in the present tense, Thou hidest them, thou keepest them. The phrase, In the secret of thy presence, refers to the sanctuary, the peculiar place of God’s residence. “Those who trust in him shall be as safe in his protection, as if they were immediately lodged in the sanctuary.”
DISCOURSE: 545 Psa 31:19-20. Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee, before the sons of men! Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.
THE salvation of the Gospel is a present salvation: the godliness which it inspires is profitable unto all things, having the promise of the life which now is, as well as that which is to come. It is needless to say that the trials of life are great; and that men in every situation of life need the supports and consolations of religion to carry them through the difficulties which they have to encounter. But of the extent to which these supports and consolations are administered to Gods chosen people, very little idea can be formed by those who have never experienced a communication of them to their souls. David was highly favoured in this respect. He lived in a state of near and habitual fellowship with God; spreading before him all his wants, and receiving from him such supplies of grace and peace as his daily necessities required. Hence with devout rapture he expresses his admiration of Gods goodness to his believing people. I.
In a general view
The terms by which the Lords people are characterized sufficiently distinguish them from all others, since none but they do truly fear God, or unfeignedly put their trust in him. They are the true Israel; in reference to whom it is said, God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart [Note: Psa 73:1.].
In speaking of his goodness to them, we shall notice,
1.
That which is laid up for them
[In the time of David the great truths of the Gospel were but indistinctly known; the fuller manifestation of them being reserved for the Apostolic age: as St. Paul, quoting a remarkable passage from the Prophet Isaiah, says; Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him; and then adds, But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit [Note: Isa 64:4. with 1Co 2:9-10]. To the Jewish Church therefore these things are only laid up, as it were, in types and prophecies: and though made known in the Gospel, they are still but imperfectly viewed by the Christian world; and may be considered as laid up for the Church at this time, no less than in former ages: for it is only by slow degrees that any one attains to the knowledge of them; and whatever attainments any one may have made, he sees only as in a glass darkly, and knows only in part; there being in it a length and breadth and depth and height utterly beyond the power of any finite intelligence to explore [Note: Eph 3:18-19.]. The riches that are stored up for us in Christ even in this world are altogether unsearchable [Note: Eph 3:8.]: what then must the glories be which are reserved in heaven for us! The more we contemplate the blessings which God has treasured up for us in the Son of his love , the more shall we exclaim with David, Oh how great is his goodness!]
2.
That which God has actually wrought for them
[Every believer was once dead in trespasses and sins, even as others. But he has been quickened by the mighty energy of Gods Spirit, and been raised up to newness of life. He is a new creature in Christ Jesus; all his views, his desires, his purposes, being altogether changed He has the heart of stone taken from him, and a heart of flesh substituted in its place. He has been made a partaker of the divine nature, and been renewed after Gods image; and that, not in knowledge only, but in righteousness also and true holiness. He is brought altogether into a new state, having been translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of Gods dear Son, and been made an heir of God, and a joint-heir with Christ. In a word, he is begotten to an inheritance which is incorruptible and undefiled and never-fading, reserved in heaven for him; and for the full possession of which he also is reserved by the power of God, through the simple exercise of faith [Note: 2Pe 1:4.] All this he has wrought for them before the sons of men. They are evidently a seed which the Lord has blessed: they are lights in a dark world, epistles of Christ, known and read of all men ]
But in the latter part of our text, we are called to consider the goodness of God towards his people,
II.
With a particular reference to their intercourse
with the ungodly world But against these does God provide for his people an effectual antidote Address Let us seek to attain the character here drawn
[To fear God is the duty, and to trust in him the privilege, of every child of man Learn then to tremble for fear of his judgments, and to rely on his mercy as revealed to you in his Gospel for then only can you experience the blessings of his goodness, when you surrender up yourselves to him to be saved by his grace ]
2.
Let us enjoy the privileges conferred upon us
[For a fuller discovery of the believers privileges, we may consult the declarations of David in the Psalms [Note: Psa 91:1-4; Psa 91:9-16; Psa 55:21-22.] Let us not rest in any thing short of them. Let us get such a sense of them as shall overwhelm us with wonder, and gratitude, and praise ]
These words seem to speak the security of the church, in the chambers of the everlasting covenant, into which she is invited to enter in times of trouble. There is laid up, and there will be brought forth in due season, all the blessings of redemption; for it is a covenant ordered in all things, and sure. Isa 26:20 ; 2Sa 23:5 .
Psa 31:19 [Oh] how great [is] thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; [which] thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!
Ver. 19. Oh how great is thy goodness ] The prophet venteth himself by way of exclamation, as finding it unspeakable; fitter to be believed than possible to be discoursed; words are too weak to utter it. What shall we say to these things? quoth that great apostle, Rom 8:31 .
Which thou hast laid up
For them that fear thee; that trust in thee Psalms
GOODNESS WROUGHT AND GOODNESS LAID UP
Psa 31:19 The Psalmist has been describing, with the eloquence of misery, his own desperate condition, in all manner of metaphors which he heaps together-’sickness,’ ‘captivity,’ ‘like a broken vessel,’ ‘as a dead man out of mind.’ But in the depth of desolation he grasps at God’s hand, and that lifts him up out of the pit. ‘I trusted in Thee, O Lord! Thou art my God.’ So he struggles up on to the green earth again, and he feels the sunshine; and then he breaks out-’Oh! how great is Thy goodness which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee.’ So the psalm that began with such grief, ends with the ringing call, ‘Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.’
Now these great words which I have read for my text, and which derive even additional lustre from their setting, do not convey to the hasty English reader the precise force of the antithesis which lies in them. The contrast in the two clauses is between goodness laid up and goodness wrought; and that would come out a little more clearly if we transposed the last words of the text, and instead of reading, as our Authorised Version does, ‘which Thou hast wrought for them that trusted in Thee before the sons of men,’ read ‘which Thou hast wrought before the sons of men for them that trusted in Thee.’
So I think there are, as it were, two great masses of what the Psalmist calls ‘goodness’; one of them which has been plainly manifested ‘before the sons of men,’ the other which is ‘laid up’ in store. There are a great many notes in circulation, but there is far more bullion in the strong-room. Much ‘goodness’ has been exhibited; far more lies concealed.
If we take that antithesis, then, I think we may turn it in two or three directions, like a light in a man’s hand; and look at it as suggesting-
I. First, the goodness already disposed-’wrought before the sons of men’; and that ‘laid up,’ yet to be manifested.
And as we look upon our daily lives, and travel back in thought, some of us over the many years which have all been crowded with instances and illustrations of divine faithfulness and favouring care, we have to grasp both these exclamations of our text, ‘Oh! how great is Thy goodness which Thou hast wrought,’ how much greater ‘is Thy goodness which is laid up!’ The table has been spread in the wilderness, and the verities of Christian experience more than surpass the legends of hungry knights finding banquets prepared by unseen hands in desert places. It is as when Jesus made the multitude sit down on the green grass and feast to the full, and yet abundance remained undiminished after satisfying all the hungry applicants. The bread that was broken yielded more basketfuls for to-morrow than the original quantity in the lad’s hands. The fountain rises, and the whole camp, ‘themselves and their children and their cattle,’ slake their thirst at it, and yet it is full as ever. The goodness wrought is but the fringe and first beginnings of the mass that is laid up. All the gold that has been coined and put into circulation is as nothing compared with the wedges and ingots of massive bullion that lie in the strong room. God’s riches are not like the world’s wealth. You very soon get to the bottom of its purse. Its ‘goodness,’ is very soon run dry; and nothing will yield an unintermittent stream of satisfaction and blessing to a poor soul except the ‘river of the water of life that proceedeth out of the Throne of God and of the Lamb.’
So, dear brethren! that contrast may suggest to us how quietly and peacefully we may look forward to all the unknown future; and hold up to it so as to enable us to scan its general outlines, the light of the known and experienced past. Let our trustful prayer be; ‘Thou hast been my help: leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation!’ and the answer will certainly be: ‘I will not leave thee, till I have done unto thee that which I have spoken to thee of.’ Our Memory ought to be the mother of our Hope; and we should paint the future in the hues of the past. Thou hast goodness ‘laid up,’ more than enough to match ‘the goodness Thou hast wrought.’ God’s past is the prophecy of God’s future; and my past, if I understand it aright, ought to rebuke every fear and calm every anxiety. We, and only we, have the right to say, ‘To-morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant.’ That is delusion if said by any but by those that fear and trust in the Inexhaustible God.
II. Now let us turn our light in a somewhat different direction. The contrast here suggests the goodness that is publicly given and that which is experienced in secret.
How foolish, then, to order life on the principle upon which we are all tempted to do it, and to yield to the temptation to which some of us have yielded far too much, of fancying that the best good is the good that we can touch and taste and handle and that men can see! No! no! Deep down in our hearts a joy that strangers never intermeddle with nor know, a peace that passes understanding, a present Christ and a Heaven all but present, because Christ is present-these are the good things for men, and these are the things which God does not, because He cannot, fling broadcast into the world, but which He keeps, because He must, for those that desire them, and are fit for them. ‘He causeth His sun to shine, and His rain to fall on the unthankful and on the disobedient,’ but the goodness laid up is better than the sunshine, and more refreshing and fertilising and cleansing than the rain, and it comes, and comes only, to them that trust Him, and live near Him.
III. And so, lastly, we may turn our light in yet another direction, and take this contrast as suggesting the goodness wrought on earth, and the goodness laid up in heaven.
Only let us take heed to the conditions-’them that fear Him, them that trust in Him.’ If we will do these things through each moment of the experiences of a growing Christian life, and at the moment of the experience of a Christian death, and through the eternities of the experience of a Christian heaven, Jesus Christ will whisper to us, ‘Thou shalt see greater things than these.’
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 31:19-22
19How great is Your goodness,
Which You have stored up for those who fear You,
Which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You,
Before the sons of men!
20You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the conspiracies of man;
You keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues.
21Blessed be the Lord,
For He has made marvelous His lovingkindness to me in a besieged city.
22As for me, I said in my alarm,
I am cut off from before Your eyes;
Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications
When I cried to You.
Psa 31:19-22 This strophe describes YHWH’s goodness (BDB 375, cf. Psa 145:7). Probably this strophe is to be understood after YHWH has answered the psalmist’s prayer requests found early in the psalm.
1. It is stored up for those who fear YHWH.
2. It is for those who take refuge in YHWH.
3. YHWH hides His people
a. in a secret place of His presence
b. in a shelter/pavilion
4. YHWH made His lovingkindness marvelous to the psalmist.
5. YHWH heard his supplications.
Psa 31:19 before the sons of men Not only does YHWH defend and protect, but He acknowledges our special relationship to Him before our enemies (cf. Psa 23:5).
Psa 31:20 The secret place is the inner (or back) shrine of the temple/tabernacle (cf. Psa 27:5). This was a special place where the personal presence of YHWH was manifested (i.e., ark of the covenant).
Psa 31:21 in a besieged city Although we do not know the historical setting of this Psalm, this phrase seems to be metaphorical. It describes a person who feels surrounded by wicked, evil, lying people.
Even though the psalmist feels isolated, he believes YHWH hears and will act on his behalf.
The UBS Text Project (p. 213) gives this reading an A rating versus through distress, found in NEB.
The JPSOA translates this phrase as if it characterized why YHWH should be blessed, Psa 31:21 a. He is strong and unchanging (i.e., a veritable bastion). The Jewish Study Bible margin links this to YHWH as a rock of strength, a stronghold, a crag (i.e., rock), and a fortress in Psa 31:2-3 (p. 1316).
Psa 31:22 I am cut off from before Your eyes The Jewish Study Bible (p. 1316) interprets this phrase as meaning absent from the temple (i.e., 2Ch 26:21, where the same phrasing is used of Uzziah being unable, as a leper, to go into the temple). The Niphal form of this verb (BDB 173, KB 202) is found only here in the OT.
trust = put their trust. Same word as Psa 31:1.
men. Hebrew. ‘adam.
Psa 31:19-22
Psa 31:19-22
PRAISE OF GOD’S GOODNESS TO HIS PEOPLE
“Oh how great is thy goodness,
Which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee,
Which thou hast wrought for them that take refuge in thee.
In the covert of thy presence wilt thou hide them from the plottings of man:
Thou wilt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.
Blessed be Jehovah; for he hath showed me his marvelous lovingkindness in a strong city.
As for me, I said in my haste,
I am cut off from before thine eyes:
Nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications,
When I cried unto thee.”
“Great is thy goodness … laid up” (Psa 31:19). This is a theme often reiterated in the words of the apostles and of Christ himself. Jesus said, “Great is your reward in heaven” (Mat 5:12); and Paul, quoting from Isa 64:4, or perhaps inspired by such lines, elaborated them as follows:
“Things which eye saw not, and ear heard not,
And which entered not into the heart of man.
Whatsoever things God prepared for them that love him”
(1Co 2:9).
The full meaning of such passages exceeds the boundaries of human imagination. The goodness of God stored up for the redeemed is far superior to anything conceivable in finite minds.
“From the strife of tongues” (Psa 31:20). This is a reference to the vicious slanderers who took sides with king Saul and by their slanderous words against David brought great sorrow and apprehension upon him.
“He has showed me his marvelous lovingkindness in a strong city” (Psa 31:21). Radical critics by their late-dating of this psalm and denying David as its author are unable to interpret it. Addis stated that “This reference to `a strong city’ makes no sense. Of course, it wouldn’t make any sense to anyone trying to understand it as having been written by anyone other than David. On the other hand, any believer may understand it with no trouble whatever. DeHoff explained the meaning perfectly:
“This is probably a reference to David’s taking refuge with Achish, king of Gath, who gave him Ziklag, a fortified city where David dwelt with his men during the period of his flight from Saul (1Sa 27:6). The passage also may teach in a figurative sense that David was as safe in the hands of God as he would have been in a fortified city.
These verses are also another link in the chain of evidence that points to the time of David’s efforts to escape the jealous hatred of king Saul as the most acceptable understanding of the occasion when the psalm was written.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 31:19. Laid up means reserved. Goodness does not refer primarily to character, but to the good things that the Lord has to give. He reserves them for the ones who respect and serve him. God has wrought or brought about these good things for those who trust in him, and he has done so in the sight of other human beings.
Psa 31:20. The first clause of this verse means that God will take his faithful servants into his confidence and shield them from harm. Pride is often the result of envy. David had many foes who envied him his standing with God and in revenge wished to injure him. Pavilion means a covering or protection from danger.
Psa 31:21. Strong city has reference to a fortified one. David likened the favor of God’s care over him to the security of that kind of a city. When he blessed the Lord he meant to ascribe all blessings to Him.
Psa 31:22. In my haste referred to those times when David’s persecutions almost caused him to despair. One definition of the word is “distraction.” But even in such times he looked to the Lord in earnest prayer and was heard. In the most trying hours of distress David never forgot to appeal to the divine throne for help.
fear
(See Scofield “Psa 19:9”)
Oh: Psa 36:7-10, Psa 73:1, Psa 73:24-26, Psa 145:7-9, Isa 64:4, Lam 3:23-25, 1Co 2:9, 1Jo 3:1, 1Jo 3:2
laid up: Psa 16:11, Isa 35:10, Col 3:2-4, Heb 10:34, Jam 2:5, 1Pe 1:4, 1Pe 1:5
wrought: Psa 68:28, Psa 126:2, Psa 126:3, Num 23:23, Isa 26:12, Joh 3:21, Act 15:12, 2Co 5:5
Reciprocal: Exo 1:17 – feared God Exo 34:6 – abundant 2Ch 9:6 – the one half Psa 21:3 – blessings Psa 23:5 – preparest Psa 25:13 – dwell at ease Psa 139:17 – how great Zec 9:17 – how great is his goodness Luk 1:50 – General 2Co 4:17 – far Eph 3:8 – unsearchable Col 1:5 – laid 2Ti 4:8 – there 1Jo 4:16 – we
Psa 31:19. O, how great is thy goodness No words can express the greatness of thy love and blessings; which thou hast laid up Hebrew, , tzapanta, hast hid, namely, with thyself, or in thy own breast. The word is very emphatical, and removes an objection of ungodly men taken from the present calamities of good men. His favour, it is true, is not always manifested to them, but it is laid up for them in his treasure, whence it shall be drawn forth when they need it, and he sees it fit. Which thou hast wrought Or hast prepared, or wilt prepare, the past time being put for the future, to signify the certainty of it, as is very common in the prophetical writings; before the sons of men Publicly, and in the view of the world, their very enemies seeing, admiring, and envying it, but not being able to hinder it.
31:19 [Oh] how great [is] thy goodness, which thou {n} hast laid up for them that fear thee; [which] thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!
(n) The treasures of God’s mercy are always laid up in store for his children, even at all times they do not enjoy them.
5. David’s praise of God 31:19-22
The psalmist extolled Yahweh for His goodness to those who seek refuge in Him. God protects them from evil conspiracies and verbal attacks. The Lord had been faithful to David under attack. The reference to the besieged city (Psa 31:21) could be figurative or literal. Even though David’s faith had faltered, God still supported and saved him.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
THE GOODNESS OF GOD TO HIS BELIEVING PEOPLE
This is the subject which we propose for our present meditation; and which, in correspondence with the words of our text, we shall consider,
Exceeding bitter are those pains which men inflict on each other by calumnies and reproaches
[To speak good one of another affords no particular pleasure; but to hear and circulate some evil report affords to the carnal mind the highest gratification: and in such employment all the corruptions of our fallen nature find ample scope for exercise and indulgence. Who can estimate the evils arising from pride, and the strife of tongues? Some little idea may be formed from the description given of the tongue by an inspired Apostle: Behold, says he, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue amongst our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell [Note: Jam 3:5-6.]. How exceedingly strong are these terms! Yet it is by no means an exaggerated statement of the evils proceeding from calumny in the world at large: but as representing the virulence and malignity with which men calumniate the people of God, they come yet nearer to the truth. In the very words preceding my text, David faintly portrays the conduct of the ungodly in relation to this matter: Let the lying lips be put to silence, which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous. In another psalm he speaks in far stronger terms: My soul, says he, is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword [Note: Psa 57:4.]. The truth is, that men can inflict, and often do inflict, far deeper wounds with their tongue than they could with the most powerful weapon. With a sword they can only wound the body: but with bitter and cruel words they wound the inmost soul. Under the former we may easily support ourselves; but a wounded spirit who can bear?]
[Though more exposed than others to the venomous assaults of slander, they have a refuge which the worldling knows not of. They carry their trials to the Lord, and spread them before him; and from him they receive such supports and consolations as more than counterbalance the evils they sustain. In the secret of Gods presence they are hid. When nigh to him in prayer, they are hid as in a pavilion, or a royal tent, protected by armed hosts, and furnished with the richest viands [Note: Psa 27:5-6.]. But the full import of these terms cannot adequately be expressed. Who shall say what is implied in those words, The secret of Gods presence? who shall declare what a fulness of joy is there possessed by the believing suppliant? How powerless are the fiery darts which are hurled at him by the most envenomed foes, whilst God himself is a wall of fire round about him, and the glory of God irradiates his soul, inspiring it with a foretaste of heaven itself! Some little idea of his enjoyment may be formed from the history of Hezekiah at the time of Sennacheribs invasion. It was a day of trouble, and of rebuke and blasphemy; and the feelings excited in the bosom of Hezekiah were most distressing: but scarcely had he spread before the Lord the letter which the blaspheming Rabshakeh had sent him, than he was encouraged by God to return this triumphant answer; The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee [Note: Isa 37:3; Isa 37:14; Isa 37:21-22.]. Thus, like one who saw the heavens filled with horses of fire and chariots of fire for his protection, he set at nought the vain boasts of his enemies, and anticipated a certain triumph. Thus, how malignant soever the believers enemies may be, he is hid from them as in an impregnable fortress, and looks down on their fruitless efforts with pity and contempt.]
1.
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)