08/10/2016 STRENGTHEN YOUR HEART
Psalms 31:24 Be of good courage, and HE shall strengthen you heart, all ye that hope in the LORD. [King James translation.]
Summary:
Psalms 31 is one of the sacred hymns or songs of David. Psalms were and are still used in sacred Christian and Jewish worship. Like most hymns, Psalms 31 is a praise song to GOD. David had a lot to praise GOD for in his lifetime because David faced a number of trials, tribulations and challenges:
- It was David who faced his own person “life and death” Olympics against a foreign challenger named Goliath. (1Samuel 17)
- David was spent many years running for his life and in hiding from a jealous King Saul (1Samual 19:9; 20:24)
- David was homeless, living in caves and fields (1 Samuel 20:24; 22:1)
- David was hungry and had to ask for help from a priest (i.e. the “church” or “temple”) during those times. (1Samuel 21:6)
- David sinned and had to confront the situation he put himself in (2 Samuel 12)
- David lost a baby (2 Samuel 12:19)
- David had a child who rebelled against him (2 Samuel 15)
- David had family confusion and mayhem in his house, resulting in one son, Absalom, killing his brother, Ammon, who raped
his sister. (2Samuel 13:30).
- David grieved, mourned and suffered deeply when he lost his son Absalom, who was trying to unseat his father as king.
- David watched his own sins (rebellion against GOD, deceit, abused of power, manipulation, seduction of a woman, etc.)
seemingly being played out in his sons’ lives.