Journal for Christ: February 2021

January 23, 2021

Worship in WORD

Ps 31:5

Into your hands I commit my spirit;

redeem me, O Lord, the God of truth.

NIV

Ps 31:5

I entrust my spirit into your hand. Rescue me, Lord, for you are a faithful God.

Ps 31:5

Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.

KJV

Ps 31:5

Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.

ESV

I. Hope – vv. 1-8

A. Verse 1: Action

B. Verse 2: Appeal

C. Verses 3 & 4: Acknowledge

D. Verse 5: Abandon

II. Help! – vv. 9-20

III. Hail – vv. 21-22

IV. Heart – vv. 23-24

D. Abandon

Throughout the prayer the Lord is addressed in covenant terms. Even in his great need, the psalmist has not lost heart, because he knows his God. His trust in the Lord is an act of abandonment: “Into your hands I commit my spirit” (v. 5).

VanGemeren, W. A. (1991). Psalms. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Vol. 5, p. 264). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

The quotation above supports my choice of “abandon” in my alliterative outline. Following this declaration of commitment is either a request or affirmation—an affirmation with more profound implications.

Request Declaration

1. redeem me, O LORD (NIV) 1. thou hast redeemed me, O LORD (KJV)

2. Rescue me, LORD (NLT) 2. you have redeemed me, O LORD (ESV)

So which is it, a prayer or a proclamation? If you peruse various translations, you might conclude that the past tense is the correct translation. A third option is found in the TEV and NET.

You will save me, Lord (TEV)

you will rescue me, O LORD (NET)

Finally, the HCSB has the present tense (You redeem me, LORD).

All past, present, and future tenses in our translations stem from one word in the Hebrew (padah), which is in the perfect tense. Hebrew verbs only have two tenses: Perfect and Imperfect. The perfect can refer to a one-time action or an action that has taken place but has ongoing effects. There is a lot more that can be said here, but that would be a distraction. It is also beyond my realm of knowledge, which would entail me taking at least a year or two of a Hebrew language course. I don’t think that will be necessary here. I believe that all three ways that translations handle this verse have their legitimate use.

In consulting various resources, I have concluded that the ESV and KJV are probably the most literal way to translate the perfect tense in this passage. However, that does not mean that they convey more accurately what David is saying here in verse five. Some grammarians prefer the NLT and NIV, but others do not feel that this is a legitimate use of the perfect tense. Let me stop here and quote from some resources to clarify what I am saying. In doing so, it will become clear, I think, as to what David is saying here.

Keil and Delitzsch have this to say:

The perfect paadiytaah is not used here, as in Ps 4:2, of that which is past, but of that which is already as good as past; it is not precative[i] (Ew. §223, b), but, like the perfects in vv. 8, 9, an expression of believing anticipation of redemption. It is the praet. confidentiae[ii] which is closely related to the praet. prophet.[iii]; for the spirit of faith, like the spirit of the prophets, speaks of the future with historic certainty.

(from Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament: New Updated Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1996 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.)

A footnote in the NET (New English Translation) says:

The perfect verbal form is understood here as anticipatory, indicating rhetorically the psalmist's certitude and confidence that God will intervene. The psalmist is so confident of God's positive response to his prayer that he can describe his deliverance as if it had already happened. Another option is to take the perfect as precative, expressing a wish or request ("rescue me"; cf. NIV) ... However, not all grammarians are convinced that the perfect is used as a precative in biblical Hebrew.

(from The NET Bible®, Copyright © 1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C., Dallas, Texas, www.bible.org. All rights reserved. Used by permission.)

The UBS says:

"You will save me" is how TEV translates thou hast redeemed me (also AT, NAB); NJV, BJ, Mft translate in the present tense; SPCL, NIV, and Dahood translate as a plea, in the imperative mood; RSV, NJV, NEB, and FRCL translate it as a statement of a past fact. In the context a petition is appropriate; a strong affirmation of trust, however, seems the best choice.

(from UBS Old Testament Handbook Series. Copyright © 1978-2004 by United Bible Societies. All rights reserved.)

From all this, I glean that David, based on past personal experiences and that of Israel, confidently expects to be rescued or redeemed from his predicament. He is so confident he speaks of the future deliverance as already occurring. Thus, he confidently yields his spirit into the almighty hand of God. Even if we take this as a petition, we must do so with the understanding that David is praying with an attitude of confident expectation or hope. Perhaps the TEV and NET best convey the meaning in this passage.

[i] Precative: Expressing entreaty or desire; supplicatory; (specifically in Grammar, of a word, particle, mood, etc.) expressing a request or wish. https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/precative

[ii] praet. confidentiae – Confident past tense (source: https://www.thefaithlog.com/2011/01/)

[iii] praet. prophet. – Prophetic past tense (source: https://www.thefaithlog.com/2011/01/)

Worship in Witness:

With all this said, what are its implications for me? For you?

For me, it is a call again to sober introspection. Does my faith arise to the level of David’s here? Do I pray with a confident expectation (Biblical hope – hence the first heading in my outline)? Or do my petitions come with a cringing spirit, fearful that my prayer will go unheard? Unheard because of weak faith, a sinful attitude, sinful practice, or... or... or because I am not His child (or the ultimate worse)? These are the darts the devil throws at me. These are the questions that mount up in my mind from time to time.

In times like these, when I battle with unbelief, I double down in prayer and do not flee from my God. When I cower in the comfort of His refuge, I call upon my Rock and Redeemer for strength and salvation.

I remind myself what David prays:

In you, O Lord, do I take refuge;

let me never be put to shame;

in your righteousness deliver me!

²Incline your ear to me;

rescue me speedily!

Be a rock of refuge for me,

a strong fortress to save me!

³ For you are my rock and my fortress;

and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me;

⁴ you take me out of the net they have hidden for me,

for you are my refuge.

⁵Into your hand I commit my spirit;

you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.
Ps 31:1-5 ESV

I remind myself of His promises:

My hand will sustain him;

surely my arm will strengthen him.

Ps 89:21 NIV

But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.

2 Thess 3:3 NIV

I remind myself to pray the Scriptures:

I pray that out of his [Your] glorious riches he [You] may strengthen you [me] with power through his [Your] Spirit in your [my] inner being

Eph 3:16 NIV

May he [Christ]] strengthen your [my] hearts [heart] so that you [I] will be blameless and holy in the presence of our [my] God and Father when our [You] Lord Jesus comes [come] with all his [Your] holy ones.

1 Thess 3:13 NIV

¹⁶ May our [my] Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our [my] Father, who loved us [me] and by his grace gave us [me] eternal encouragement and good hope, ¹⁷ en-courage your [my] hearts [heart] and strengthen you [me] in every good deed and word.

2 Thess 2:16-17 NIV

I remind myself of the exhortations and pronouncements of warnings in the Word:

Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.

Rev 3:2 NIV

⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. ⁶ But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸ he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

James 1:5-8 NIV

I pray the prayer of the demoniac’s dad:

Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"

Mark 9:24 NIV

I pray as our Lord taught and exhibited:

'Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Matt 6:10 NASU

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."
Matt 26:39 NIV

He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."

Matt 26:42 NIV

Worship in Promise, Poetry, Prayer, and Praise:

https://externalcontent.duckduckgo.com/iu/u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2F04%2Fb3%2F30%2F04b3308cbceadbf022a56a001691609a.jpg&f=1&nofb=1

I Am Not Silent

The sun dimly lights a clear blue sky

As autumn wanes and winter draws nigh

A cold breeze chills my thin clad flesh

I try to pray, but my words don’t seem to mesh

My hope is waning like the light of winter

And sadness festers from an emotional splinter

Embedded deeply with the jagged edges of rejection

Only a sliver of hope left to fight its infection

I pray, and I pray, but silence fills the air

Oh God can’t You hear me, don’t You care?

The enemy’s taunts billow around me

“God doesn’t care, don’t you see?”

Then I opened the book and heard God speak

“The enemy is a liar; your good he does not seek.”

“And I am not silent to those who have ears to hear.”

“To the humble in heart, to those who draw near.”

“I may shout in your pain; I may whisper in your fears.”

“I am there in all your struggles; I store up all your tears.”

“I will not leave you; of this, you can be sure.”

“Just stand upon my promises; my words are true and pure.”

*******************************

Come, Lord Jesus, be my life

Amidst the sorrows and the strife

Be my strength all the day

In the battles, among the fray

- Amen

Lord of Eternity by Fernando Ortega

Blessed is the man

Who walks in Your favor

Who loves all Your words

And hides them like treasure

In the darkest place

Of his desperate heart

They are a light

A strong, sure light

Sometimes I call out Your name

But I cannot find You

I look for Your face

But You are not there

By my sorrows Lord

Lift me to You

Lift up me to Your side

Lord of Eternity

Father of mercy

Look on my fainting soul

Keeper of all the stars

Friend of the poorest heart

Touch me and make me whole

If You are my defender

Who is against me?

No one can trouble or harm me

If You are my strength

All I ask, all I desire

Is to live in Your house all my days

Lord of Eternity

God of all mercy

Come to my troubled soul

Keeper of all the stars

Friend of the poorest heart

Touch me and make me whole

Lord of Eternity

Father of mercy

Come to my troubled soul

Keeper of all the stars

Friend of the poorest heart

Touch me and make me whole

Lyrics: https://www.christian-lyrics.net/fernando-ortega/lord-of-eternity-lyrics.html

[corrected]

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLJc9NrPB9c

Some Further Notes & Quotes:

Throughout the prayer the Lord is addressed in covenant terms. Even in his great need, the psalmist has not lost heart, because he knows his God. His trust in the Lord is an act of abandonment: “Into your hands I commit my spirit” (v. 5). These words were spoken by our Lord on the cross (Luke 23:46) as an expression of trust, when he had completed his suffering. God’s expectation of his people, before and after Christ, remains the same. Since Jesus submitted himself freely to the Father’s will unto death, he expects nothing less from his followers when they suffer for his name (cf. 1 Peter 4:19).

VanGemeren, W. A. (1991). Psalms. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Vol. 5, p. 264). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

"Into thy hands I commend my spirit for thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth." I give my soul to thee, for it is thine: thou hast redeemed it by thy blood; it is safe nowhere but in thy hand.

Note to self: prayer is prayed in light of the power and person of God.

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