463_Our times are in His hands Psalm 31 In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me! 2 Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily! Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me! 3 For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name's sake you lead me and guide me; 4 you take me out of the net they have hidden for me, for you are my refuge. 5 Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God. 14 But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.” 15 My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors! 16 Make your face shine on your servant; save me in your steadfast love! 21 Blessed be the Lord, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me when I was in a besieged city. 22 I had said in my alarm, “I am cut off from your sight.” But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy when I cried to you for help. 23 Love the Lord, all you his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride. 24 Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord! There are moments in life when the weight of circumstances threatens to crush our spirit—when pain, confusion, or uncertainty press so heavily that we wonder if God has forgotten us. Perhaps you’ve been there. Perhaps you’re there now. In times like these, Psalm 31 becomes more than just ancient poetry; it becomes a lifeline. Early in the 16th century, a German monk named Martin Luther—tormented by a deep awareness of his own sinfulness—began teaching through the Psalms, verse by verse, at the University of Wittenberg. One day, he came to Psalm 31:1, and he was perplexed. “In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me!” Luther could not comprehend how God's righteousness could deliver anyone. Wasn’t God’s righteousness the very thing that condemned sinners like him? That inner struggle continued until one night in the monastery tower. As he wrestled with this psalm and read Romans 1:17—“For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed”—light finally broke into his soul. He realized that the righteousness spoken of in the gospel was not just God’s justice to punish, but God’s gracious gift of righteousness to those who put their faith in Jesus. It wasn’t something earned, but something received by faith. Luther later said that when he understood this, it was as though he had passed through open gates into paradise. That moment of clarity became the spark that ignited the Reformation. It began, as all true reformations do, in the heart. Psalm 31, then, is not just a prayer; it is a place where people struggling with fear, failure, or faithlessness can find their footing again.