Psalm 31 (also numbered Psalm 30 in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate) is an individual lament from the Book of Psalms, traditionally attributed to King David. Modern biblical scholarship, while acknowledging the Davidic superscription, dates its composition more cautiously to the post-exilic period or earlier, possibly reflecting the experiences of persecution faced by David during his flight from Saul or Absalom’s rebellion around the tenth century BCE. The psalm blends urgent pleas for deliverance with declarations of unwavering trust in God amid profound suffering, betrayal and isolation.

The selected verses for the responsorial psalm—31(30):2, 6, 12a-d, 12e-13, 15-16, 17, 25—vividly capture these themes. The psalmist seeks refuge, laments becoming “a reproach” and “object of scorn” to neighbours and friends, feels forgotten “like someone dead” and “a broken vessel”, yet affirms, “I trust in you, O Lord… You are my God.” Central is verse 6: “Into your hands I commend my spirit. You will redeem me, O Lord, O faithful God.” This line is quoted directly by Jesus on the cross in Luke 23:46, forming the refrain sung throughout.

In the liturgy, this responsorial psalm is prescribed for the Mass of the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday. Its use is deeply significant: it unites the assembly with Christ’s final act of trust and self-surrender at the moment of death. The verses mirror the humiliation, abandonment and physical torment of the crucifixion, while the refrain invites the faithful to enter into Jesus’s perfect obedience to the Father. Even in apparent defeat, the psalmist’s hope in God’s merciful love and the closing exhortation—“Be strong, let your heart take courage, all who hope in the Lord”—offer consolation and courage. Thus, Psalm 31 transforms personal lament into a powerful meditation on redemptive suffering, encouraging believers to commend their own lives into God’s hands on the day the Church commemorates the Lord’s Passion.