PSALM 31:9-24 Cut Off from Your Sight?
PSALM 31:9-24
V. 22 "I had said in my alarm, 'I am cut off from your sight.'
Although we do not know the details, it is clear that David was in a difficult situation when he wrote these words. He says he was in a besieged city (v. 21). This may be taken figuratively, meaning that he was surrounded by enemies. It may also be taken literally, in which case it could be a reference to the time Saul came after David to besiege him in the city of Keilah (1 Sam. 23:1-14). It was a horrible experience for David, not only because Saul wanted to kill him but also because the citizens of Keilah would have handed him over to Saul just to save their own lives.
In times like these, when the whole world seems to be against you, it is easy to give in to despair. David became so desperate that he felt that God had abandoned him. 'I said in my alarm: 'I am cut off from your sight.' This is the worst despair of all—to feel that God has abandoned you. Sometimes believers feel that way, like Job, for example, who cried out, 'Why do you hide your face and count me as your enemy?' (Job 13:24).
It is remarkable that being abandoned by God is one of our worst fears while at the same time we often try to put some distance between ourselves and God. The same David who cried out for the Lord's presence in Psalm 31 was not so eager to be in the Lord's presence when he committed adultery with Bathsheba and then concocted a plan to get her lawful husband killed.
What a merciful and gracious God we have. He knows that we are not always eager to have him close at hand, yet he forgives and rescues us when we cry out to him. David's despair did not take long. The LORD responded to his plea, 'But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy when I cried to you for help' (v. 22). This was made possible because Jesus Christ, the Son of God, carried away the guilt of David and all God's people. He was truly abandoned at the cross, so that we would never be abandoned by God! So we are invited to sing, 'O love the LORD, all you his people!'
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