Psalms 31:16

Psa 31:16 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy mercies’ sake.

Ver. 16. Make thy face to shine, &c.] Which by reason of the clouds of affliction clustering about me, I cannot for present perceive. {See Trapp on "Psa 4:6"} {See Trapp on "Psa 30:7"}

Save me, &c.] i.e. Deliver me out of these dangers.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

17. (Psa 31:16). Let thy face shine on thy servant; save me in thy mercy. The first clause contains an allusion to the sacerdotal benediction recorded in Num 6:25. See above, on Psa 4:7 (6), where we have a similar allusion to that passage. "Grant me a sensible assurance of thy favour." This he asks because he is his servant, a relation implying the necessity of God's interposition in his favour. While God is God, he cannot leave his faithful servants to perish. Even here, however, his appeal is to God's mercy, as, the only source or means of safety.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Make . . . shine--(Compare Num 6:25; Psa 4:6). Deprecating from himself, he imprecates on the wicked God's displeasure, and prays that their virulent persecution of him may be stopped.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 16. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant] Only let me know that thou art reconciled to and pleased with me, and then, come what will, all must be well.

Save me for thy mercies' sake.] Literally, Save me in thy mercy.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

16. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant. We have said formerly, and we shall see in many instances hereafter, that this form of speech is taken from the common apprehension of men, who think that God regards them not, unless he really show his care of them by its effects. According to the judgment of sense, afflictions hide his countenance, just as clouds obscure the brightness of the sun. David therefore supplicates that God, by affording him immediate assistance, would make it evident to him that he enjoyed his grace and favor, which it is not very easy to discern amidst the darkness of afflictions. Now, God is said to lift the light of his countenance upon us in two ways; either when he opens his eyes to take care of our affairs, or when he shows to us his favor. These two things are indeed inseparable, or rather, the one depends upon the other. But by the first mode of speech, we, according to our carnal conceptions, attribute to God a mutability which, properly speaking, does not belong to him: whereas the second form of speech indicates, that our own eyes, rather than the eyes of God, are shut or heavy when he seems to have no regard to our afflictions. By the word preserve David explains what he meant by the former expression; but as there was at that time no way of safety apparent to him, he encourages himself to hope for it by setting before him the goodness of God.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(16) Make thy face to shine.—As in Psa_4:6, an echo of the priestly blessing. (Num_6:24-26.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16. Comp. the paraphrase in P.B.V., Shew thy servant the light of thy countenance: and see note on Psa_4:6.

for thy mercy’s sake] R.V. in thy lovingkindness, as in Psa_31:7; Psa_31:21.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Make thy face to shine upon thy servant,.... In which he prays for the gracious presence of God, the manifestations of himself unto him, the discoveries of his love, the enjoyment of him in Christ, communion with him, the comforts of his Spirit, and joys of his salvation; see Num 6:25;

save me for thy mercies' sake; not for any merit and righteousness of his own, but for the sake of the grace and goodness of the Lord; which is putting salvation, whether temporal or spiritual, upon its right foot and foundation; which is never wrought out by, or is for works of righteousness done by men, but according to the grace and mercy of God.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Make thy face to shine upon thy servant - That is, show me thy favor, or be kind and merciful to me. See the notes at Psa 4:6.

Save me for thy mercies’ sake - On account of thy mercy; or that thy mercy may be manifested. This is always a just ground of appeal to God by a sinner or a sufferer, that God would make our sins and trials an “occasion” for displaying his own character. There are, indeed, other grounds of appeal; but there is no one that is more pure or exalted than this.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Manifest thy love and favour to me, by answering my prayers, and saving me from all mine enemies.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 16. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant. Give me the sunshine of heaven in my soul, and I will defy the tempests of earth. Permit me to enjoy a sense of thy favour, O Lord, and a consciousness that thou art pleased with my manner of life, and all men may frown and slander as they will. It is always enough for a servant if he pleases his master; others may be dissatisfied, but he is not their servant, they do not pay him his wages, and their opinions have no weight with him. Save me for thy mercies' sake. The good man knows no plea but mercy; whoever might urge legal pleas David never dreamed of it.

Ver. 16. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant. When the cloud of trouble hideth the Lord's favour, faith knoweth it may shine again, and therefore prayeth through the cloud for the dissolving of it. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant. David Dickson.

Ver. 16. A sense of divine favour.

1. Its value.

2. How to lose it.

3. How to obtain a renewal of it.

4. How to retain it.

The heavenly servant's best reward.

Ver. 16. (last clause). A prayer for saints in all stages. Note its object, save me; and its plea, Thy mercies' sake. Suitable to the penitent, the sick, the doubting, the tried, the advanced believer, the dying saint.

Psalms 31:17*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

16. Make thy face to shine—A part of the Levitical benediction.

Num_6:25. See note on Psa_4:7

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Make thy face to shine upon thy servant. This expression is first used in the blessing of Moses. (Num_6:25) Its intrinsic beauty and poetry recommended it to the psalmists, with whom it recurs frequently. (comp. Psa_4:6 Psa_67:1 Psa_80:5, Psa_80:7, 19 119:135) It may be regarded as equivalent to "Be thou favourable and gracious unto thy servant." Save me for thy mercies" sake; literally, save me in thy mercy.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

My times are in Your hands The times that pass over me are through Your orders and by Your decrees.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.