Psalms 31:16 - Make your face to shine on your servant. Save me in your loving kindness.
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What does "Psalms 31:16" mean?
Psalm 31:16, "Make your face to shine on your servant. Save me in your loving kindness," is a powerful plea for God's favor and protection. Let's break it down:
"Make your face to shine on your servant": This is a common Hebrew idiom. God's "face" is not literal, but refers to His presence, favor, approval, and blessing. When God's face "shines," it signifies that He is pleased, gracious, and willing to bestow blessings. To ask God to make his face to shine is to ask for His grace, guidance, and positive attention. It's a request for Him to be favorable and to bless the supplicant.
"Save me in your loving kindness": This is a declaration of faith and a plea for rescue. "Loving kindness" (Hebrew: chesed) is a key attribute of God in the Old Testament. It encompasses His steadfast love, mercy, grace, and covenant faithfulness. The psalmist is asking God to save him, not based on his own merit, but based on God's inherent and unwavering love and compassion.
In essence, the verse is a prayer for:
Divine Favor: The psalmist desires to be in God's good graces, experiencing His presence and blessing.
Salvation/Deliverance: He is in need of rescue from a difficult or dangerous situation, relying on God's power to save him.
Unmerited Grace: He acknowledges that he is undeserving of this help and depends entirely on God's chesed (loving kindness) as the basis for his hope.
Context within Psalm 31:
Understanding the broader context of Psalm 31 helps clarify the verse's meaning. The psalm is a lament and a prayer for deliverance from enemies and adversity. The psalmist is experiencing distress and seeks refuge in God. Verse 16 follows a series of expressions of trust in God and descriptions of the psalmist's suffering. It represents a renewed plea for God's intervention, highlighting the psalmist's faith that God's loving-kindness is the ultimate source of salvation.
In summary, Psalm 31:16 is a humble and heartfelt cry for God's blessing and deliverance, rooted in the conviction that God's steadfast love is the foundation of hope and salvation.
Psalms 31:16 - Make your face to shine on your servant. Save me in your loving kindness.
What does "Psalms 31:16" mean?
Psalm 31:16, "Make your face to shine on your servant. Save me in your loving kindness," is a powerful plea for God's favor and protection. Let's break it down:
"Make your face to shine on your servant": This is a common Hebrew idiom. God's "face" is not literal, but refers to His presence, favor, approval, and blessing. When God's face "shines," it signifies that He is pleased, gracious, and willing to bestow blessings. To ask God to make his face to shine is to ask for His grace, guidance, and positive attention. It's a request for Him to be favorable and to bless the supplicant.
"Save me in your loving kindness": This is a declaration of faith and a plea for rescue. "Loving kindness" (Hebrew: chesed) is a key attribute of God in the Old Testament. It encompasses His steadfast love, mercy, grace, and covenant faithfulness. The psalmist is asking God to save him, not based on his own merit, but based on God's inherent and unwavering love and compassion.
In essence, the verse is a prayer for:
Divine Favor: The psalmist desires to be in God's good graces, experiencing His presence and blessing.
Salvation/Deliverance: He is in need of rescue from a difficult or dangerous situation, relying on God's power to save him.
Unmerited Grace: He acknowledges that he is undeserving of this help and depends entirely on God's chesed (loving kindness) as the basis for his hope.
Context within Psalm 31:
Understanding the broader context of Psalm 31 helps clarify the verse's meaning. The psalm is a lament and a prayer for deliverance from enemies and adversity. The psalmist is experiencing distress and seeks refuge in God. Verse 16 follows a series of expressions of trust in God and descriptions of the psalmist's suffering. It represents a renewed plea for God's intervention, highlighting the psalmist's faith that God's loving-kindness is the ultimate source of salvation.
In summary, Psalm 31:16 is a humble and heartfelt cry for God's blessing and deliverance, rooted in the conviction that God's steadfast love is the foundation of hope and salvation.