Psa 31:21 | KingComments | STEP | So far it has been about the prospect that God will give salvation. From now on it is about looking back how God has given salvation (cf. ). We can therefore consider the section from as a psalm of thanksgiving (see introduction to this psalm). After David has expressed his distress because of the wicked, he speaks again in about the goodness of God. He is impressed by the “goodness” of God Himself that He has “stored up for those who fear” Him. This “goodness” includes all blessings. God has stored these up for His own, which means that He has secured them against any corruption or loss. What He has stored up, He has also prepared Himself, the whole package of blessings He Himself composed ( ). Here it is again clear that to fear God does not mean to be afraid of Him, but to be in awe of Him in confidence. Indeed, those who fear Him take refuge in Him. This happens “before the sons of men”. People see believers taking refuge in a God they do not see. They see His blessing and preservation for those who trust Him. There comes a time when God will make believers, along with the blessings He has stored up and prepared for them, visible to the people of the world. God’s children, now misunderstood by the world, and the treasures of heaven, now despised by the world, will be exhibited to the world in Christ Himself when He appears on the clouds ( ). Those who take their refuge in Him He hides “in the secret place of Your presence”, that is, He protects them with His presence ( ; cf. ). God’s presence not only gives light, as in , but also a place of refuge. Those who take refuge in Him are safely hidden with Him. He is the guarantee of their hiding. Thus we see that God keeps the “goodness” for His own ( ) and that He keeps His own for the “goodness” ( ). This ‘double keeping’ applies to both Old Testament and New Testament believers. Peter writes about this in his first letter ( ). Because God hides the believing remnant (cf. ), they are untouchable “from the conspiracies of man”. This “man” is the antichrist. As in Psalm 27, David also speaks here of “keep them secretly in a shelter” ( ). This shelter provides not only protection, but also intimacy or fellowship with God. This is the counterbalance to “the strife of tongues” of which the God-fearing are the object. Again David bursts into a song of praise ( ). The occasion, indicated by the word “for”, are the wonders God has done to him. He further describes those wonders as wonders of “His lovingkindness”, by which God has brought him “in a besieged city”. As a result, he has not become the prey of his adversaries, and the strife of tongues, though deeply wounded by it, has not caused him any permanent damage. He has been, because of the pressure of his enemies, in doubt for a moment whether God had an eye for the seriousness of his situation. This led him to the hasty statement to God that he had been cut off from before His eyes ( ). For a moment it seemed that he would fall victim to the enmity he was experiencing after all, as if God did not hear his cry. Immediately he corrects himself and says that God did hear the voice of his supplications when he cried to Him.

‏ Psalms 31:21

Song of Praise

So far it has been about the prospect that God will give salvation. From now on it is about looking back how God has given salvation (cf. Psa 31:22). We can therefore consider the section from Psa 31:19 as a psalm of thanksgiving (see introduction to this psalm).

After David has expressed his distress because of the wicked, he speaks again in Psa 31:19 about the goodness of God. He is impressed by the “goodness” of God Himself that He has “stored up for those who fear” Him. This “goodness” includes all blessings. God has stored these up for His own, which means that He has secured them against any corruption or loss. What He has stored up, He has also prepared Himself, the whole package of blessings He Himself composed (1Cor 2:9).

Here it is again clear that to fear God does not mean to be afraid of Him, but to be in awe of Him in confidence. Indeed, those who fear Him take refuge in Him. This happens “before the sons of men”. People see believers taking refuge in a God they do not see. They see His blessing and preservation for those who trust Him.

There comes a time when God will make believers, along with the blessings He has stored up and prepared for them, visible to the people of the world. God’s children, now misunderstood by the world, and the treasures of heaven, now despised by the world, will be exhibited to the world in Christ Himself when He appears on the clouds (2Thes 1:9-10).

Those who take their refuge in Him He hides “in the secret place of Your presence”, that is, He protects them with His presence (Psa 31:20; cf. Jer 36:26). God’s presence not only gives light, as in Psa 31:16, but also a place of refuge. Those who take refuge in Him are safely hidden with Him. He is the guarantee of their hiding.

Thus we see that God keeps the “goodness” for His own (Psa 31:19) and that He keeps His own for the “goodness” (Psa 31:20). This ‘double keeping’ applies to both Old Testament and New Testament believers. Peter writes about this in his first letter (1Pet 1:3-5).

Because God hides the believing remnant (cf. Rev 12:13-14), they are untouchable “from the conspiracies of man”. This “man” is the antichrist. As in Psalm 27, David also speaks here of “keep them secretly in a shelter” (Psa 27:5). This shelter provides not only protection, but also intimacy or fellowship with God. This is the counterbalance to “the strife of tongues” of which the God-fearing are the object.

Again David bursts into a song of praise (Psa 31:21). The occasion, indicated by the word “for”, are the wonders God has done to him. He further describes those wonders as wonders of “His lovingkindness”, by which God has brought him “in a besieged city”. As a result, he has not become the prey of his adversaries, and the strife of tongues, though deeply wounded by it, has not caused him any permanent damage.

He has been, because of the pressure of his enemies, in doubt for a moment whether God had an eye for the seriousness of his situation. This led him to the hasty statement to God that he had been cut off from before His eyes (Psa 31:22). For a moment it seemed that he would fall victim to the enmity he was experiencing after all, as if God did not hear his cry. Immediately he corrects himself and says that God did hear the voice of his supplications when he cried to Him.