TRV
Translation
American Standard Version
Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: Save me in thy lovingkindness.
World English Bible Messianic
Make your face to shine on your servant. Save me in your loving kindness.
In the KJVVerse 14,348 of 31,102
Study This Verse
Commentary on Psalms 31 verses 9–18
9 ¶ Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly.
10 For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed.
11 I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially among my neighbours, and a fear to mine acquaintance: they that did see me without fled from me.
12 I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I am like a broken vessel.
13 For I have heard the slander of many: fear was on every side: while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my life.
14 But I trusted in thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my God.
15 My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.
16 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy mercies' sake.
17 Let me not be ashamed, O LORD; for I have called upon thee: let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave.
18 Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.
In the foregoing verses David had appealed to God's righteousness, and pleaded his relation to him and dependence on him; here he appeals to his mercy, and pleads the greatness of his own misery, which made his case the proper object of that mercy. Observe,
I. The complaint he makes of his trouble and distress (Psa 31:9): "Have mercy upon me, O Lord! for I am in trouble, and need thy mercy." The remembrance he makes of his condition is not much unlike some even of Job's complaints. 1. His troubles had fixed a very deep impression upon his mind and made him a man of sorrows. So great was his grief that his very soul was consumed with it, and his life spent with it, and he was continually sighing, Psa 31:9, Psa 31:10. Herein he was a type of Christ, - who was intimately acquainted with grief and often in tears. We may guess by David's complexion, which was ruddy and sanguine, by his genius for music, and by his daring enterprises in his early days, that his natural disposition was both cheerful and firm, that he was apt to be cheerful, and not to lay trouble to his heart; yet here we see what he is brought to: he has almost wept out his eyes, and sighed away his breath. Let those that are airy and gay take heed of running into extremes, and never set sorrow at defiance; God can find out ways to make them melancholy if they will not otherwise learn to be serious. 2. His body was afflicted with the sorrows of his mind (Psa 31:10): My strength fails, my bones are consumed, and all because of my iniquity. As to Saul, and the quarrel he had with him, he could confidently insist upon his righteousness; but, as it was an affliction God laid upon him, he owns he had deserved it, and freely confesses his iniquity to have been the procuring cause of all his trouble; and the sense of sin touched him to the quick and wasted him more than all his calamities. 3. His friends were unkind and became shy of him. He was a fear to his acquaintance, when they saw him they fled from him, Psa 31:11. They durst not harbour him nor give him any assistance, durst not show him any countenance, nor so much as be seen in his company, for fear of being brought into trouble by it, now that Saul had proclaimed him a traitor and outlawed him. They saw how dearly Ahimelech the priest had paid for aiding and abetting him, though ignorantly; and therefore, though they could not but own he had a great deal of wrong done him, yet they had not the courage to appear for him. He was forgotten by them, as a dead man out of mind (Psa 31:12), and looked upon with contempt as a broken vessel. Those that showed him all possible respect when he was in honour at court, now that he had fallen into disgrace, though unjustly, were strange to him. Such swallow-friends the world is full of, that are gone in winter. Let those that fall on the losing side not think it strange if they be thus deserted, but make sure a friend in heaven, that will not fail them, and make use of him. 4. His enemies were unjust in their censures of him. They would not have persecuted him as they did if they had not first represented him as a bad man; he was a reproach among all his enemies, but especially among his neighbours, Psa 31:11. Those that had been the witnesses of his integrity, and could not but be convinced in their consciences that he was an honest man, were the most forward to represent him quite otherwise, that they might curry favour with Saul. Thus he heard the slander of many; every one had a stone to throw at him, because fear was in every side; that is, they durst not do otherwise, for he that would not join with his neighbours to accuse David was looked upon as disaffected to Saul. Thus the best of men have been represented under the worst characters by those that resolved to give them the worst treatment. 5. His life was aimed at and he went in continual peril of it. Fear was on every side, and he knew that, whatever counsel his enemies took against him, the design was not to take away his liberty, but to take away his life (Psa 31:13), a life so valuable, so useful, to the good services of which all Israel owed so much, and which was never forfeited. Thus, in all the plots of the Pharisees and Herodians against Christ, still the design was to take away his life, such are the enmity and cruelty of the serpent's seed.
II. His confidence in God in the midst of these troubles. Every thing looked black and dismal round about him, and threatened to drive him to despair: "But I trusted in thee, O Lord! (Psa 31:14) and was thereby kept from sinking." His enemies robbed him of his reputation among men, but they could not rob him of his comfort in God, because they could not drive him from his confidence in God. Two things he comforted himself with in his straits, and he went to God and pleaded them with him: - 1. "Thou art my God; I have chosen thee for mine, and thou hast promised to be mine;" and, if he be ours and we can by faith call him so, it is enough, when we can call nothing else ours. "Thou art my God; and therefore to whom shall I go for relief but to thee?" Those need not be straitened in their prayers who can plead this; for, if God undertake to be our God, he will do that for us which will answer the compass and vast extent of the engagement. 2. My times are in thy hand. Join this with the former and it makes the comfort complete. If God have our times in his hand, he can help us; and, if he be our God, he will help us; and then what can discourage us? It is a great support to those who have God for their God that their times are in his hand and he will be sure to order and dispose of them for the best, to all those who commit their spirits also into his hand, to suit them to their times, as David here, Psa 31:5. The time of life is in God's hands, to lengthen or shorten, embitter or sweeten, as he pleases, according to the counsel of his will. Our times (all events that concern us, and the timing of them) are at God's disposal; they are not in our own hands, for the way of man is not in himself, not in our friends' hands, nor in our enemies' hands, but in God's; every man's judgment proceedeth from him. David does not, in his prayers, prescribe to God, but subscribe to him. "Lord, my times are in thy hand, and I am well pleased that they are so; they could not be in a better hand. Thy will be done."
III. His petitions to God, in this faith and confidence, 1. He prays that God would deliver him out of the hand of his enemies (Psa 31:15), and save him (Psa 31:16), and this for his mercies' sake, and not for any merit of his own. Our opportunities are in God's hand (so some read it), and therefore he knows how to choose the best and fittest time for our deliverance, and we must be willing to wait that time. When David had Saul at his mercy in the cave those about him said, "This is the time in which God will deliver thee," Sa1 24:4. "No," says David, "the time has not come for my deliverance till it can be wrought without sin; and I will wait for that time; for it is God's time, and that is the best time." 2. That God would give him the comfort of his favour in the mean time (Psa 31:16): "Make they face to shine upon thy servant; let me have the comfortable tokens and evidences of thy favour to me, and that shall put gladness in my heart in the midst of all my griefs." 3. That his prayers to God might be answered and his hopes in God accomplished (Psa 31:17): "Let me not be ashamed of my hopes and prayers, for I have called upon thee, who never saidst to thy people, Seek in vain, and hope in vain." 4. That shame and silence might be the portion of wicked people, and particularly of his enemies. They were confident of their success against David, and that they should run him down and ruin him. "Lord," says he, "let them be made ashamed of that confidence by the disappointment of their expectations," as those that opposed the building of the wall about Jerusalem, when it was finished, were much cast down in their own eye, Neh 6:16. Let them be silent in the grave. Note, Death will silence the rage and clamour of cruel persecutors, whom reason would not silence. In the grave the wicked cease from troubling. Particularly, he prays for (that is, he prophesies) the silencing of those that reproach and calumniate the people of God ( Psa 31:18): Let lying lips be put to silence, that speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous. This is a very good prayer which, (1.) We have often occasion to put up to God; for those that set their mouth against the heavens commonly revile the heirs of heaven. Religion, in the strict and serious professors of it, are every where spoken against, [1.] With a great deal of malice: They speak grievous things, on purpose to vex them, and hoping, with what they say, to do them a real mischief. They speak hard things (so the word is), which bear hard upon them, and by which they hope to fasten indelible characters of infamy upon them. [2.] With a great deal of falsehood: They are lying lips, taught by the father of lies and serving his interest. [3.] With a great deal of scorn and disdain: They speak proudly and contemptuously, as if the righteous, whom God has honoured, were the most despicable people in the world, and not worthy to be set with the dogs of their flock. One would think they thought it no sin to tell a deliberate lie if it might but serve to expose a good man either to hatred or contempt. Hear, O our God! for we are despised. (2.) We may pray in faith; for these lying lips shall be put to silence. God has many ways of doing it. Sometimes he convinces the consciences of those that reproach his people, and turns their hearts. Sometimes by his providence he visibly confutes their calumnies, and brings forth the righteousness of his people as the light. However, there is a day coming when God will convince ungodly sinners of the falsehood of all the hard speeches that have spoken against his people and will execute judgment upon them, Jde 1:14, Jde 1:15. Then shall this prayer be fully answered, and to that day we should have an eye in the singing of it, engaging ourselves likewise by well-doing, if possible, to silence the ignorance of foolish men, Pe1 2:15.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 9–18. Public domain.
Copy as
Pseudo-Athanasius
EXPOSITION ON PSALM 31
In this I trust, that I shall be saved if you make your face to shine on me, hiding your back from me.
Diodorus of TarsusAD 390
COMMENTARY ON PSALM 31
Since it seemed as though God had turned away from them and was angry with them, he asks for reconciliation: Only have regard to me, he is saying, and it is sufficient for my salvation.
Augustine of HippoAD 430
Exposition on Psalm 31
"Make Your Face to shine upon Your servant" [Psalm 31:16]. Make it known to men, who do not think that I belong unto You, that Your Face is bent upon me, and that I serve You. "Save me in Your mercy."
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
Copy as
Continue studying Psalms 31:16 across the web’s major study libraries — every link below opens this exact verse, chapter, or book on the destination site.
Read & Compare
BibleGatewayThis verse in more than 200 translations and 70 languages.
Bible.comThe YouVersion reader — hundreds of translations, reading plans, and highlights.
ESV.orgCrossway's official English Standard Version reader.
NET BibleThe NET translation with 60,000+ translators' notes on every rendering decision.
STEP BibleTyndale House's free study tool — original text, vocabulary, and scholarly resources.
BibliaLogos Bible Software's free web reader.
USCCBThe New American Bible (Revised Edition) with the U.S. bishops' study notes.
Commentaries
BibleHub CommentariesDozens of classic commentaries on this verse, gathered on one page.
StudyLightMore than 100 commentary sets — the largest collection on the web.
BibleRefPlain-English commentary on what this verse means, verse by verse.
Enduring WordDavid Guzik's free commentary on this chapter, widely used by Bible teachers.
Bible Study ToolsVerse commentary alongside Greek and Hebrew study aids.
Original Language & Research
- BibleHub InterlinearThe verse word by word — original language, transliteration, and English.
- BibleHub LexiconEvery word's original-language definition and Strong's entry.
Blue Letter BibleDeep-study tools — Strong's numbers, concordance, and word studies.
SefariaThe Hebrew text with Rashi and centuries of Jewish commentary.
Sermons, Hymns & Audio
TrulyRandomVerse is not affiliated with these sites and doesn’t control their content. They’re linked because they’re genuinely useful.
SUMMARY
Psalm 31:16 articulates a profound and urgent plea from the psalmist, likely David, for God's manifest presence and saving intervention amidst overwhelming distress. This heartfelt petition appeals for God's benevolent favor to shine upon him as a devoted servant, grounding the desperate cry for salvation not in any personal merit or worthiness, but entirely in the boundless, unwavering, and covenantal mercies of God. The verse beautifully encapsulates a deep human vulnerability intertwined with an unshakeable trust in divine faithfulness and grace.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Psalm 31:16 employs several potent literary devices to convey its profound message and emotional depth. The phrase "Make thy face to shine upon thy servant" is a powerful metaphor for God's benevolent presence and favor, likening His disposition to radiant light that dispels darkness, brings blessing, and signifies approval. This specific imagery also functions as a clear allusion to the Aaronic blessing found in Numbers 6, invoking its profound connotations of divine peace, protection, and grace. The urgent plea "save me" utilizes holistic language, encompassing deliverance from all forms of distress—physical, emotional, and spiritual—rather than limiting the scope of salvation, thereby emphasizing the comprehensive nature of God's redemptive power. Finally, the concluding phrase "for thy mercies' sake" is a direct appeal to divine character, grounding the psalmist's petition not in his own merit or worthiness, but solely in God's immutable and unfailing chesed (steadfast love), thereby highlighting the theological principle of grace as the sole basis for divine intervention.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
This verse encapsulates the very essence of biblical prayer: a desperate cry for help rooted in unwavering trust in God's character. It highlights God's active involvement in the lives of His people, His willingness to hear and respond based on His own nature, not on human deservingness. The psalmist's appeal to God's "mercies" (chesed) underscores the foundational truth that salvation, favor, and deliverance are always gifts of divine grace, flowing from God's covenant faithfulness rather than human performance. It reminds us that even in our deepest struggles, we can confidently approach our sovereign God as His servants, relying on His unfailing compassion for salvation and peace. It affirms that God's light is the ultimate source of guidance and comfort in a world often shrouded in darkness.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Psalm 31:16 offers a timeless model for prayer in times of personal crisis, spiritual need, or overwhelming opposition. It encourages believers to bring their full distress and vulnerability before God, without pretense, yet with profound confidence in His character. It teaches us to earnestly desire God's active presence and favor, recognizing that His light alone can dispel any darkness, confusion, or despair we face. Furthermore, it powerfully instructs us to anchor our hope and petitions not in our own worthiness or perceived righteousness, but solely in the boundless mercy and steadfast love of God, knowing that His compassion is unfailing and His covenant faithfulness is eternal. This verse reminds us that true peace and comprehensive deliverance come from resting in God's grace, allowing His shining face to illuminate our path even when circumstances seem bleak and all human help fails. It calls us to a deeper reliance on His character, rather than our own performance.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What does "make thy face to shine" mean biblically?
Answer: Biblically, "make thy face to shine" is a profound and deeply significant metaphor for God's benevolent presence, active favor, and manifest blessing. It implies His approval, guidance, protection, and the dispelling of darkness or distress. It directly echoes the priestly blessing found in Numbers 6:25, which invokes God's light, grace, and peace upon His people. When God's face shines upon someone, it signifies His positive disposition towards them, bringing comfort, prosperity, and a tangible sense of His nearness and active involvement in their lives.
Why does the psalmist appeal to "thy mercies' sake" rather than his own righteousness?
Answer: The psalmist appeals to "thy mercies' sake" (Hebrew: chesed) to highlight a core theological truth that permeates all of Scripture: human salvation and divine intervention are rooted entirely in God's character, not in human merit or righteousness. The word chesed signifies God's steadfast love, covenant faithfulness, and unfailing kindness—a loyal love that endures despite human failings. By appealing to God's mercies, the psalmist acknowledges his own unworthiness and places his hope entirely on God's gracious and loyal nature. This reflects a deep understanding that God acts out of His own abundant compassion and commitment to His covenant, as powerfully revealed throughout Scripture, such as in Exodus 34:6-7, which describes God as "abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness."
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Psalm 31:16 finds its ultimate and most profound fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He is the very embodiment of God's "shining face," for in Him, "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" is revealed (2 Corinthians 4:6). Through Christ, God's benevolent favor is poured out upon humanity, dispelling the darkness of sin, despair, and death. Jesus is the ultimate "servant" of the Lord, who perfectly fulfilled God's will and, through His atoning sacrifice, secured our comprehensive salvation. The "mercies" (chesed) of God, which the psalmist appeals to, are most fully and gloriously demonstrated in Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. It is "for His mercies' sake" that God sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins, demonstrating the depth of His love (1 John 4:10). We are saved not by our own works or righteousness, but by grace through faith in Him (Ephesians 2:8-9), experiencing the full radiance of God's favor and the holistic salvation that only He can provide. In Christ, God's face truly shines upon us, granting us peace, eternal life, and an unbreakable covenant relationship.