Let your face shine on your servant
Psalms 31:15-16 - God’s love and devotion to His people was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, whose sacrificial love saves all who believe!
Image generated by ChatGPT (OpenAI) using the DALL·E model.
“My times are in your hands; deliver me from the hands of my enemies, from those who pursue me. Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love.”
Psalms 31:15-16 NIV
I find myself smiling every time God points me at Psalms, because I know that I’m going to learn something new and be blessed by the sheer beauty of the writing. Psalm 31 is one of the Psalms of David, written by the King as a way of praising the Lord and providing a lasting legacy of worship that continues to this day.
20th century evangelist and preacher G. Campbell Morgan is cited on Enduring Word with this insight into Psalm 31:
iv. G. Campbell Morgan saw in the words “my times” and in the entire psalm an allusion to the seasons of Christian experience. Morgan added the thought, “We need them all to complete our year!”
Autumn (Psalm 31:1-8): “With its winds and gathering clouds, yet having sunlight and a golden fruitage even though the breath of death is everywhere.”
Winter (Psalm 31:9-13): “Chill and lifeless, full of sobs and sighing.”
Spring (Psalm 31:14-18): “With its hope and expectation and its sweeping rains and bursting sun gleams.”
Summer (Psalm 31:19-24): “At last the bright and golden summer.”
Today’s verses come from the “Spring” of the Christian experience according to Morgan. What does David mean by “My times are in Your hands?” Well, he obviously trusts God’s sovereignty over everything. David knows from experience that every part of his life is under God’s authority; every event, good and bad, from birth to death.
For David, those events also included many times when his enemies would be used to test his faith in God, so he includes the words “deliver me from the hands of my enemies, from those who pursue me”. He’s not only praying for safety for himself and his family, but for God’s justice against those who wished to destroy His chosen people. David was intimately familiar with the history of the people of Israel from the history found in Exodus, when God delivered Israel from Egypt.
In New Testament terms, this prayer is an expression of the “deliverance from evil” that believers in Jesus Christ gain, defeating spiritual enemies, sin, and death itself.
It’s the next phrase in verse 16 that I called upon to have my AI buddy create today’s image. The sun (or Son) shining on the face of King David as he prays for God’s presence and favor is a visual representation of the “priestly blessing” found in Numbers 6:24-26:
“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”
In the culture of the time, having the face of a king or deity shining on someone was a metaphor for both protection and favor. David is seeking the Lord’s favor, with full knowledge and life-long experience that God’s presence is the source of all of the blessings he has received, especially his life.
David also shows great humility and submission in this verse. He knows that although he is a mighty and powerful king, he is simply God’s servant and must submit to God’s will — as must we all!
Verse 16 ends with David’s plea to God, to “save me in your unfailing love.” It’s a plea for salvation, rooted in the knowledge that God’s love never fails.
Word study time! Unfailing love is a translation of the Hebrew word חֶסֶד (ḥeseḏ), which is used frequently in Scripture to mean mercy, kindness, or goodness. God’s loving relationship with His people, whether it be through the old Mosaic covenant or the current Christian covenant, is unwavering and eternal.
David is making his appeal to God as a man who knows that salvation comes from God’s love for His people. Humanity doesn’t earn salvation; it is a gift reflecting that love. That love and devotion to His people was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, whose sacrificial love saves all who believe!
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Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Today’s prayer was so beautifully written that I am posting it here with full attribution to Pastor Don Patterson and his online devotional/sermon website A Reason For Hope.
Dear Heavenly Father,
It’s good for a weak and weary soul like mine to be reminded that my times are in your hands and nobody else’s. I can spend way too much time worrying about how my life will go. Your unfailing love covers me. You bought me because you wanted me. You own my life. You have a plan on how you want it to go. You fit me into your masterpiece. I am content to be your child and servant. Help me let go of fear, worry and doubt and to enjoy the moments you have granted me. Give me a good word to share with others today that will make their burden a little lighter.
Amen