Bible Strands
Psalms 31:14
But I trust in You, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The psalmist speaks directly to the LORD at a moment of acute peril, immediately following his description of widespread slander and a conspiracy to take his life. He issues this declaration as a deliberate counter-statement to the terror surrounding him.
The words — The Hebrew verb בָטַחְתִּי (bāṭaḥtî) literally means "I rely" or "I trust," combined with עָלֶי/ךָ ('alêkā), "on you." The psalmist also uses אָמַרְתִּי ('āmarṯî), "I say," to formally declare אֱלֹהַי אָתָּה ('ĕlōhay 'āṯṯā), "You are my God."
The thread — This movement from fear to trust follows the pattern established in Psalms 56:3, which pairs the experience of fear with the act of putting hope in God. The personal affirmation of God's identity also parallels the refuge and deliverance language found in Psalms 18:2 and Psalms 43:5.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to actively place reliance on the LORD rather than yielding to surrounding threats. It demands a conscious verbal affirmation of God's personal lordship as a prerequisite for receiving deliverance.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
But I trusted in thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my God.
Cross-references
- Psalms 56:3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.
- Psalms 18:2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
- Psalms 43:5 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.
- Psalms 16:1 A Miktam of David. Preserve me, O God, for in You I take refuge.
- Psalms 140:6 I say to the LORD, “You are my God.” Hear, O LORD, my cry for help.
- Matthew 26:42 A second time He went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cup cannot pass unless I drink it, may Your will be done.”
- Matthew 26:39 Going a little farther, He fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.”
- Psalms 63:1 A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You. My body yearns for You in a dry and weary land without water.
- Psalms 71:12 Be not far from me, O God. Hurry, O my God, to help me.
- Psalms 71:22 So I will praise You with the harp for Your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praise to You with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.