Psalm 31:1 In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness.
My first social engagement with the lady who would later become my wife was at college when we went together to church on a Sunday morning! I waited for her at her dormitory, and it turned out that I was waiting at the wrong residence. So, she was waiting at the right dorm, I was waiting at the wrong dorm, and both of us were wondering about the other.
Have you ever suffered the shame of being stood up? Maybe you feel today as if God has stood you up. You have asked and waited; He has promised, but nothing has happened. If you have never felt that way, then you probably haven’t been praying for very long.
There was a time when David felt that way. David says in Psalm 31:1, “In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed.” The word “ashamed” means “to cause shame,” “to confound, confuse, delay, or disappoint.” Maybe you feel all those things.
In verse 2 David says, “Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily.” What he is asking for is an answer right now. I rarely ask for things that I am hoping to get in twenty years. I usually ask for what I want right now, yet I can’t see one day ahead, let alone twenty years ahead! Well, God will never stand you up.
In verse 3 we are reminded that when you belong to God, your name is tied to His, and vice versa. Verse 3 says, “For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me.” He says, “God, please do not let me be ashamed. I am waiting for You, and I am asking this for Your name’s sake. If I am ashamed when I am resting in You, what does that say about Your name?” So, there is a sense in which our names are tied together. We belong to Him.
In verses 11, 13, and 17 David says that he was reproached by enemies, neighbors, and acquaintances. He says, “For I have heard the slander of many… let me not be ashamed, O LORD; for I have called upon thee.” He is basically saying, “God, people know that I am trusting You.”
Now my part is trouble, but God’s part is mercy. Verse 9 says, “Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble.” What do I bring to this relationship? I bring trouble. What does God bring to this relationship? He brings mercy. If God never answered my prayer, it would be no more or less than I deserve.
Now there is no trusting when there is no waiting. In verse 15 David says, “My times are in thy hand.” He is saying, “My life belongs to You, and the timetable of all these things are beyond me. God, it is in Your hand.”
He comes to some sort of resolution mid-psalm, then he comes to praise at the end of the psalm. Verse 22 says, “For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee.” David said, “I asked for an answer speedily, as You well know. I thought I was cut off, but I thought that in my haste. In spite of my impatience, You heard me when I cried.” There is no trusting when there is no waiting, and there is no hope when there is no patience.
Verse 24 says, “Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.” The word “hope” means “to wait patiently.” David, whom God used to pen this psalm, had been anointed king, but he waited a long season. Did he ever receive opportunities to take things into his own hands? Yes, twice David had the chance to kill Saul and was urged to do so by others who were with him. But instead, he responded in patience, which gave him hope.
Faith plus patience equals hope. There is always hope for those who wait on God because God will never stand you up.