🎵WEB · Psalms 31:16
What does Psalms 31:16 mean?
"Make your face to shine on your servant. Save me in your loving kindness."
— Psalms 31:16 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
For I have heard the slander of many, terror on every side, while they conspire together against me, they plot to take away my life.
But I trust in you, Yahweh. I said, “You are my God.”
My times are in your hand. Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who persecute me.
Make your face to shine on your servant. Save me in your loving kindness.
Let me not be disappointed, Yahweh, for I have called on you. Let the wicked be disappointed. Let them be silent in Sheol.
Let the lying lips be mute, which speak against the righteous insolently, with pride and contempt.
Oh how great is your goodness, which you have laid up for those who fear you, which you have worked for those who take refuge in you, before the sons of men!
Explanation
Psalm 31:16 records David's plea to God, asking Him to turn His face toward him with favor and to rescue him because of His steadfast, covenant love. In plain language, David is saying: "Look on me with kindness rather than turning away from me, and deliver me not because I deserve it, but because that is who You are."
This psalm was written by David during a time of intense personal distress. Throughout the psalm, he describes being surrounded by enemies, feeling trapped like a besieged city, suffering from grief and physical weakness, and being slandered and plotted against by those around him. Verse 16 comes near the turning point of the psalm, after David has poured out his complaint and expressed trust in God ("But I trust in you, Yahweh," v. 14), and just before he moves into praise for God's goodness. The plea for God's face to shine reflects language found elsewhere in Scripture, most notably the Aaronic blessing in Numbers 6:25 ("Yahweh make his face shine on you"), where divine favor is pictured as light and presence rather than distance or judgment.
Theologically, the image of God's "face shining" conveys nearness, acceptance, and favor, in contrast to God hiding His face, which in the Psalms often signifies judgment, absence, or abandonment (as in Psalm 13:1 or Psalm 27:9). David is not asking for something he has earned; he grounds his request in God's "loving kindness" (Hebrew: chesed), a term describing God's covenant loyalty and mercy toward His people. This shows that David's
Compare translations
Go deeper with ScriptureCompanion AI
Ask questions about any verse, follow reading plans, write personal prayers, and track your daily habit — all grounded in verified scripture text.