Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 31:24
Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.
24. Be strong, and let your heart take courage (R.V.), as in Psa 27:14.
all ye that hope in the Lord ] Or, wait for. The phrase links this Psalm to Psalms 33. See Psa 31:18 ; Psa 31:22. Comp. too Psa 33:18 with Psa 31:22.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Be of good courage – See a similar exhortation at the close of a psalm, in Psa 27:14. Compare the notes at that verse. As the result of all his own experience of the goodness of God, and of His gracious interposition in the time of danger, the psalmist exhorts others to be encouraged, and to feel assured that God would not leave or forsake them.
And he shall strengthen your heart – He will animate you; he will enable you to meet trial and opposition; he will keep you from becoming faint and disheartened.
All ye that hope in the Lord – All that put their trust in him, or all whose expectation is from him. It is a characteristic of true piety that all hope centers in God, or that the soul feels that there is no other ground of hope.
(a) The truly pious man despairs of success in anything else, or from any other quarter, for he feels that God alone can give success.
(b) He does hope in God – in reference to all that is needful for himself as an individual; all that will be for the good of his family; all that will tend to bless the world; all that he desires in heaven. Hope in God cheers him, sustains him, comforts him; makes life happy and prosperous; and makes death calm, serene, triumphant.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 31:24
Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.
The believers source of strength
Many are almost despairing because of their trials and their temptations. But be our circumstances what they may, here is an antidote to them all.
I. the promise–He shall strengthen your heart. We have duties, many, varied, arduous. Often they are very trying; but this promise is for us. And so in our temptations. These are continually occurring, and we know not how to overcome them. Again this promise is given. But you ask, How am I to attain this strength? Must I always go on sinning? No, for–
1. Faith is one grand means of victory over sin. Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh.
2. Watchfulness is another help; taking care to keep away from the occasions and inducements to sin: occupation in what is good and right, storing the mind with Gods truth.
3. Prayer. This must by no means be neglected, the more we pray the stronger we are.
4. In mortifying sin be careful to leave no part remaining. Cut down the tree, but not this only, pull up the roots.
5. Guard your thoughts and desires.
6. If sin has gained power over you, at once–delay not a day–in seeking to subdue it. The longer it is left the greater will be the difficulty. Today, if ye will hear His voice, etc. But in our own strength no one is sufficient for these things; but the grace of God will help us.
II. To whom this promise is made.
All ye that hope in the Lord. Not the sinless, the perfect, but, etc. They are such as put all their trust and confidence in Christ. (J. Marshall, M. A.)
Courage
The word comes from the Latin words, cor and ago, meaning, the heart, and to put in motion. Courage, therefore, means the active heart, or the spirit of the heart. For it is that spirit which enables us to encounter danger without fear, and bear adversity with calmness.
I. WE admire physical courage; but, after all, it is chiefly a constitutional endowment. If a man be full of animal courage, no credit to him; for he has to thank his father and mother for his vigorous body which inspires him to be brave. Physical, or animal courage is not a rare quality. Moral courage is the great thing, that which will inspire you to do right at all costs. It was that which Jesus had and which He helps us to acquire.
II. true courage will never swerve from that which it knows is right. Margaret Wilson, in the days of Charles II., was tied to a post on the shore at the flow of the tide, but offered her life if she would obey the Church. Higher and higher the water rose, but she would not yield, and she died, crying out with her last breath, Christ only is my Master. And many such martyrs there have been. That is moral courage. Dare to follow that which your conscience declares to be the truth; and be a Christian all out, though it may run you into risks of limb and life. It is the coward who is afraid to follow his convictions. Do not be a religious or political turn-coat against the secret conviction of your mind. Toe the mark in every sense in matters of truth and morals, and be brave enough to die rather than do wrong.
III. have you courage to show yourself a Christian? And how many there are who cannot do this. But wily should you fear. Oh, be brave, not cowards. No doubt it does need moral courage to stand against ridicule, but be not jeered from the right.
IV. if you possess true courage, you will not be ashamed of your humble but honourable surroundings. Dont have any false shame. Your hat may be battered, your shawl may be shabby, your coat may be an everyday one, but come up bravely to the house of God, and fear nobody. If the coat is the best God has given you, thank Him for it, and for all He has done for you.
V. let me urge you to have courage to decide for Jesus Christ. (W. Birch.)
Strength for the courageous who hope in the Lord
Note—
I. what is required in the exhortation–good courage. How this is founded on hope. (Rom 8:24; 1Th 5:8). How needful is it–
1. When a mans sins press heavily upon him, and the cares and sorrows of earth weigh him down, how miserable is he if he have not hope.
2. Courage so founded is enduring.
3. And we are made more than conquerors over our spiritual enemies.
II. the promise. He shall strengthen your heart.
1. We are ignorant of our own hearts, and–
2. We are unwilling to know.
3. Hence we cannot strengthen our hearts; the Gospel only can do this.
III. the persons to whom this promise is made,–those who hope in the Lord. Those also distrusting themselves hope for all in Christ. (G. C. Tomlinson.)
Consolation for the troubled
I. believers may have great need of strength from God.
1. David knew this, and from his own experience declares what God will do for His people.
2. There are many trials which the believer shares in common with the men of this world.
3. There are others peculiar to himself. He may be calumniated and despised; deprived of the fellowship of other Christians; cast down by reason of his departures from God, so that he walk in darkness and hath no light.
4. And there are sorrows which come to him through the sins of others. Those near and dear to him living in sin; the wickedness of the world; the divisions of the Church and her cold-heartedness.
II. the hope which the Christian has in God. It does not make him neglect means. It is founded on the Lord Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection and intercession. It implies that his life is free from presumption and that he prays for the Divine blessing.
III. conclusion.
1. Expect trials.
2. Maintain faith.
3. Remember the promises
4. Tell others of Christ. (B. W. Noel.)
The cure for a weak heart
I. an approved company. The text is addressed to–
1. Men of hope. They have not yet entered into possession of their full inheritance; they have a hope which is looking out for something better on before; they have a living hope which peers into the future beyond even the dark river of death, a hope with eyes so bright that it seeth things invisible to others, and gazes upon glories which the unaided human eye has never beheld. Have you this good hope?
2. They hope for good things, for this is implied when the psalmist speaks of those that hope in the Lord, for no man hopes for evil things whose hope is in the Lord.
3. If you are the persons spoken of in the text, this hope of yours is rooted, and grounded, and stablished in the Lord: all ye that hope in the Lord. You have not a hope apart from the ever-blessed Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
4. Some of them do not get much beyond hope, All ye that hope in the Lord. This passage picks up the hindermost, it seems to come, like the men with the ambulance, to look after the wounded, and carry them on at the same pace as those who march in the fulness of their strength.
II. There is An occasional weakness apparent in many of those that hope in the Lord.
1. It is a dangerous weakness, for it is a weakness of the heart. They lose their courage, their joy departs from them, and they become timorous and fearful.
2. This weakness occurs on many occasions.
(1) In the battle of life.
(2) In times of temptation.
(3) In the midst of great labour for the Lord.
The best of men are but men at the best; and, therefore, who wonders if their heart sometimes faileth them in the day of suffering, in the hour of battle, or under the broiling sun, when they are labouring for their Lord?
3. If this weakness of the heart should continue, it will be very injurious.
(1) At the present time, I believe that it restricts enterprise.
(2) It endangers the success of the best workers.
(3) It pleads many excuses.
III. A seasonable exhortation. I like the way this is put. It is not alone, Be of good courage; there is an and with it: and he shall strengthen your heart. At the same time, the exhortation is not omitted. It does not say, He shall comfort your heart, therefore you need do nothing. They err from the Scriptures who make the grace of God a reason for doing nothing; it is the reason for doing everything.
1. If you want to get out of diffidence, and timidity, and despondency, you must rouse yourselves up. Do not sit still, and rub your eyes, and say, I cannot help it, I must always be dull like this. You must not be so; in the name of God, you are commanded in the text to be of good courage.
2. Do you not think that your God deserves to be trusted? What has He ever done that you should doubt Him?
3. If thou art not of good courage, what will happen to thee? I would not have you deserve the cowards doom, and speak of it as retiring. No, get not into that class; be thou rather like that soldier of Alexander, who was always to the front, and the reason was that he bore about with him what was thought to be an incurable disease, and he suffered so much pain that he did not care whether he lived or died. Alexander took great pains to have him healed, and when he was quite well, he never exposed his precious life to any risk again. Oh, I would rather that you should be stung into courage by excessive pain than that you should be healed into cowardice! Christ ought not to be served by feather-bed soldiers.
IV. A cheering promise. He shall strengthen your heart. God alone can do this.
1. Sometimes by gracious providences.
2. By the kindly fellowship of friends.
3. By a precious promise.
4. Beside all that, God the Holy Spirit has a secret way of strengthening the courage of Gods people, which none of us can explain. Have you never felt it? You may have gone to your bed, sick at heart, weary, and worn, and sad, and you wake in the morning ready for anything. Perhaps, in the middle of the night, you awake, and the visitations of God are manifested to you, and you feel as happy as if everything went the way you would like it to go. Nay, you shall be more happy that everything should cross you than that everything should please you, if it be Gods sweet will. You feel a sudden strengthening of your spirit, so that you are perfectly resigned, satisfied, prepared, and ready. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
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Psa 32:1-11
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 24. Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart] In 1Co 16:13, St. Paul says, “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith; quit you like men; be strong:” , , , . The latter words he seems to have borrowed from the Septuagint, who translate, “Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart,” by “Act like men, and your hearts shall be strengthened.”
They that hope in God, and are endeavouring to walk carefully before him, may take courage at all times, and expect the fulness of the blessing of the Gospel of peace.
ANALYSIS OF THE THIRTY-FIRST PSALM
This Psalm is composed and mixed of divers affections; for David sometimes prays, sometimes gives thanks; now he complains, now he hopes; at one time fears, at another exults. This vicissitude of affection is six-fold, and it may very well divide the Psalm.
I. With great confidence he prays to God; Ps 31:1-6.
II. He exults for mercy and help received; Ps 31:7; Ps 31:8.
III. He grievously complains of the misery he was in; Ps 31:9-14.
IV. He prays again, upon the strength of God’s goodness; Ps 31:15-18.
V. He admires, exults in, and proclaims God’s goodness, Ps 31:19-22.
VI. He exhorts others to love God, and be courageous; Ps 31:23-24.
I. In the six first verses he prays to God, and shows his reasons: –
1. That he be never ashamed in his hope: “Let me never be ashamed.”
2. That he be delivered, “speedily delivered.”
3. That God would be “his rock, and a house of defence, to save him.”
4. That God would lead and guide him: “Lead me, and guide me.”
5. That God would “pull his feet out of the net which they had laid for him.”
The reasons on which he founds his prayer and expectations: –
1. His faith and confidence: “In thee, O Lord I put my trust.”
2. The reason of his faith: “Thou art my ROCK and FORTRESS.”
3. His deliverance would be to the honour of God: “For thy name’s sake.”
4. Thou art my strength; exert it in my behalf.
5. I rely upon thee: “Into thy hands I commit my spirit.”
6. I expect thee to do for me as thou hast ever done: “Thou hast redeemed me.”
7. I rely on thee alone, I seek no vain helps: “I have hated them that regard lying vanities; but I trust in the Lord.”
His petition and his reasons are in effect the same; his confidence in God to be his Deliverer, Fortress, Rock, Redeemer, c.
II. He exults for mercy and help already received, and by the experience of that, doubts the less in this: “I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy.” And his reason follows from his experience: 1. “For thou hast considered my trouble.” 2. “Thou hast known my soul in adversity.” 3. “Thou hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy.” 4. But “hast set my feet in a large room.”
III. He prays, and grievously complains of what he suffered within and without.
1. He prays: “Have mercy upon me, O Lord.”
2. Then he complains, and his complaint shows the reason of his prayer.
1. Within – at home, he was in a distressed state: “I am in trouble my eye is consumed with grief; my years with sighing; my strength faileth; my bones are consumed.”
2. Without – I have no comfort either from friends or enemies.
1. “I was a reproach among all my enemies.”
2. My friends stand afar off: “I was a reproach, especially among my neighbours.” “A fear to my acquaintance.” “They that did see me without fled from me.”
3. He shows the greatness of his grief, and the scorn he endured: “I am forgotten as a dead man;” “I am as a broken vessel,” vile and useless.
4. I am mocked by the people: “I have heard the slander of many.”
5. And the consequence was mischievous. 1. “Fear is on every side.” 2. While they conspired, or “took counsel against my life.” 3. And their counsel was, “to take away my life.” What more could my enemies do, or my friends permit?
IV. After his complaint he comforts himself with his chief reason, the goodness of God. I have trusted in thee, O Lord, and said, Thou art my God. Let them conspire, take counsel, and devise what they can; yet I know, except thou permit them, they are not able to do it. “My times are in thy hand,” not in theirs.
He then begins to pray again, and his prayer consists of three parts: 1. Deprecation. 2. Supplication. 3. Imprecation.
1. A deprecation: “Deliver me from the hands of my enemies,” c.
2. A supplication: “Make thy face to shine upon thy servant save me.” “Let me not be ashamed, for I have called upon thee.”
3. An imprecation: 1. “Let the wicked be ashamed, and be silent in the grave.” 2. “Let the lying lips be put to silence, which speak grievous things,” c.
In this imprecation four arguments are used to enforce it: –
1. The quality of their persons: “They are wicked, impious men.”
2. There is no truth in them: “They have lying lips.” 1. Their words are false. 2. Their actions are worse: They speak grievous things, and that against the righteous. 3. But their intention is worst of all, for they do it proudly, contemptuously, disdainfully, despitefully all proceeding from a bad heart.
V. In the fifth part he sets out the abundant goodness of the Lord to his people, and exclaims, in holy rapture, “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!”
This goodness of God is always treasured up and to be had at all times. But observe: 1. It is laid up for none, nor wrought for any one, but them that fear the Lord. 2. And for those who put their trust in him, and acknowledge him, his cause, his people, and his cross, before the sons of men. And the acts of his goodness are here specified: –
1. “Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man.”
2. “Thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.” Upon which consideration he breaks out into praise: 1. “Blessed be the Lord, for he hath showed me his marvellous kindness.” 2. He corrects his error, and former mistake: “I said in my haste, (rashly, imprudently,) I am cut off from before thine eyes; nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplication.”
VI. The last part is an exhortation to the saints: 1. That they love God. 2. That they be of good courage; for he was the same God still, and would be as good to others as he was to him.
1. That they love God, and that for two reasons: – 1. Because the “Lord preserveth the faithful.” This is his mercy. 2. That he “plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.” This is his justice.
2. That they be of good courage; for then “he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.” They were not to despair, but keep their hearts firmly fixed in the profession of the truth, which would be a seal of their hope.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Be of good courage; or, be strong in the Lord, and by confidence in his promises, which will not fail you; as I have found by experience.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart,….
[See comments on Ps 27:14]; by this instance of God’s wonderful kindness to the psalmist, he would have the saints take heart, and be of good cheer, even in the greatest distresses, since their case cannot be worse than his was; and yet he had deliverance out of it;
all ye that hope in the Lord; for the eye of the Lord is on such, and he takes delight in them, Ps 33:18. The Targum is, “who hope for”, or “trust in the word of the Lord”; the essential Word, the promised Messiah.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
24. Be of good courage. This exhortation is to be understood in the same way as the preceding; for the steadfastness which the Psalmist here enjoins is founded on the love of God of which he had spoken, when renouncing all the enticements of the world, we embrace with our whole hearts the defense and protection which he promises to us. Nor is his exhortation to courage and firmness unnecessary; because, when any one begins to rely on God, he must lay his account with and arm himself for sustaining many assaults from Satan. We are first, then, calmly to commit ourselves to the protection and guardianship of God, and to endeavor to have the experience of his goodness pervading our whole minds. Secondly, thus furnished with steady firmness and unfailing strength, we are to stand prepared to sustain every day new conflicts. As no man, however, is able of himself to sustain these conflicts, David urges us to hope for and ask the spirit of fortitude from God, a matter particularly worthy of our notice. For hence we are taught, that when the Spirit of God puts us in mind of our duty, he examines not what each man’s ability is, nor does he measure men’s services by their own strength, but stimulates us rather to pray and beseech God to correct our defects, as it is he alone who can do this.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(24) Be of good courage.Cf. Psa. 27:14.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
REFLECTIONS
S TAND still, my soul, and make a solemn pause over the perusal of this most precious Psalm. Did David, indeed, by the spirit of prophecy, here describe Christ? Was the Holy Ghost so graciously attentive to the interests of the church, as to cause such a treasure to be laid up, concerning the Redeemer’s exercises, so many ages before his incarnation? Well then mayest thou regard every portion of it as blessed, and while hearing Jesus, in those exercises, thus pleading with the Father, rejoice in contemplating the gracious fruits of his intercession. Yea, my soul, let such views of Christ, as thy Surety, support thee in all the lesser exercises of thy warfare, and give thee comfort in the assurance, that, as Christ was heard in that he feared, thy prayers in him will come up at all times with acceptance, upon that altar.
And oh! thou blessed Lord, didst thou indeed, in thy suretyship engagements, thus smart for it; and wert thou made a reproach and a derision? Was thy life consumed with grief, and thy years with trouble? Oh Lamb of God! cause me to contemplate with increasing earnestness, and increasing delight, at every renewed view, thy marvellous love in thus exposing thyself to evil for the everlasting happiness of thy redeemed.
And do thou, blessed Spirit, impress upon my mind such a deep sense of the infinite preciousness of Jesus and his salvation, that in him and in his righteousness I may go forth from day to day, humbly casting myself upon the covenant faithfulness of Jehovah, as my strong rock and house of defense against all my enemies. May my soul rejoice in the Lord, and triumph in the God of my salvation. And in all the exercises and events of this short pilgrimage state, may it be my joy that my times are in the Lord’s hands: and when he shall appoint the time of my departure, may I be enabled from long acquaintance, long proved and well-founded confidence in the merits and righteousness of Jesus for salvation, to make a full and perfect surrender of soul, body, and spirit unto him, humbly adopting the same blessed words: Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, thou God of truth.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 31:24 Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.
Ver. 24. Be of good courage, &c. ] Bear up, be stout, and steadfast in the faith under trials. See Psa 27:14 , with the note. Thus good courage cometh not but from the true love of God, Psa 31:23 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
hope in = wait for.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Be of: Psa 27:14, Isa 35:3, Isa 35:4, Luk 22:31, Luk 22:32, Heb 12:12, Heb 12:13, Jam 5:10, Jam 5:11
shall: Psa 29:11, Psa 138:3, Col 1:11
all ye: Psa 146:5, Rom 15:12, Rom 15:13, 1Pe 1:21
Reciprocal: Psa 112:8 – heart Lam 3:24 – therefore
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 31:24. Be of good courage Or, be strong, namely, in the Lord, and through confidence in his promises, which will not fail you, as I have found by experience. And he shall strengthen your heart The God you put your trust in, will, by that trust, impart fortitude and strength to you; all ye that hope in the Lord That rely on him for grace and glory, and the supply of all your wants. They that hope in the Lord have reason to be of good courage, and to be strengthened; for as nothing truly evil can befall them, so nothing truly good for them shall be withheld from them.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
31:24 Be of good courage, and he shall {r} strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.
(r) Be constant in your calling, and God will confirm you with heavenly strength.