Psalms 31:24

_BE OF GOOD COURAGE, AND HE SHALL STRENGTHEN YOUR HEART, ALL YE THAT HOPE IN THE LORD._ Be of good courage ... hope in the Lord. The Hebrew, "hope" х_ YAACHAL_ (H3176)], expresses intent waiting for Him (Psalms 33:20; Isaiah 42:4 cf. Matthew 12:21, waiting trust, and expectation: Genesis 8:10). Man's part, "Be of good courage," and God's part, "He shall strengthen your heart," here meet in unison, as in Philippians 2:12....

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,...

19-24 Instead of yielding to impatience or despondency under our troubles, we should turn our thoughts to the goodness of the Lord towards those who fear and trust in Him. All comes to sinners through the wondrous gift of the only-begotten Son of God, to be the atonement for their sins. Let not any yield to unbelief, or think, under discouraging circumstances, that they are cut off from before the eyes of the Lord, and left to the pride of men. Lord, pardon our complaints and fears; increase our faith, patience, love, and gratitude; teach us to rejoice in tribulation and in hope. The deliverance of Christ, with the destruction of his enemies, ought to strengthen and comfort the hearts of believers under all their afflictions here below, that having suffered courageously with their Master, they may triumphantly enter into his joy and glory...

Verse Psalms 31:24. _BE OF GOOD COURAGE, AND HE SHALL STRENGTHEN YOUR_ _HEART_] In 1 Corinthians 16:13, St. Paul says, "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith; quit you like men; be strong:" Γρηγορειτε, στηκετε εν τῃ πιστει, ανδριζεσθε, κραταιουσθε. The latter words he seems to have borrowed from the _Septuagint_, who translate, "Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart," by Ανδριζεσθε και κραταιουσθω ἡ καρδια ὑμων "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

BE OF GOOD COURAGE - See a similar exhortation at the close of a psalm, in Psalms 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) T

EXPOSITION THIS psalm is, in the main, a cry for deliverance out of pressing danger and trouble; but it is interspersed with passages of a more cheerful tone, expressive of faith and confidence (Psalms 31:5, Psalms 31:14,_ _Psalms 31:15); and it winds up with a eulogy of God's goodness (Psalms 31:19), and an exhortation to the saints of God to "be strong," and trust in him. The title declares it to be David's; and it both breathes his spirit, and has many of his turns of expression. It has been thought to belong to the period of his early persecution by Saul; but, on the whole, it seems rather su

BE OF GOOD COURAGE, AND HE SHALL STRENGTHEN YOUR HEART,.... Psalms 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, Psalms 33:18. The Targum is, "who hope for", or "trust in the word of the Lord"; the essential Word, the promised Messiah....

Psalms 31:1. _In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust;_ This is a good beginning; this is the fulcrum which will give us the necessary leverage for lifting any weight of sorrow or trouble that may be burdening us: «In thee, O Jehovah, do I put my trust.» Can each of us truthfully say that to begin with? If so, we may go on with David to the petitions that follow: Psalms 31:1. _Let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness._ It would be to us the shame of shames if God, in whom we put our trust, could fail us. Then, indeed, might the scoffers say, «Where is now their God?» and what should we then be able to say of the righteousness of God? He has pledged himself that he will never fail nor forsake anyone of his people; so, if he ever did fail them, what would become

Psalms 31 The Enemies of Israel and the Victory _ 1. The prayer for deliverance (Psalms 31:1)_ 2. The victory (Psalms 31:19) Psalms 31:1. Many saints have turned to this Psalm for encouragement in time of trouble and sorrow. And there is much in it which helps the trusting soul. Notice the different names of Jehovah--my rock--my house of defense--my strong rock--my fortress--my strength--God of truth. But like the previous Psalms this one also unfolds prophetically the sufferings of the remnant of Israel during the last days of this age. Yet likewise we may think of Him who endured the contradiction of sinne

XXXI. Prayer in distress strangely intermingled with such confidence in God that the deliverance seems to be already accomplished. PSALMS 31:1_ A_. Recurs with textual variants in Psalms 71:1. Psalms 31:5. The poet commends his spirit to God, that God may preserve it from death. In Luke 22:46 the application is different. TRUTH: _i.e._ faithfulness. Psalms 31:15. The crises of life are in the hands of Yahweh, and Israel has, therefore, no room for such comfort as, _e.g.,_ astrology....