“Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.”
My Notes
What Does Psalms 31:5 Mean?
"Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth." David entrusts the most essential part of himself — his spirit (ruach) — into God's hands. The word "commit" (paqad — to deposit, entrust, charge to someone's care) is the language of a valuable item being placed in trustworthy keeping. David deposits himself with God the way you'd deposit treasure in a vault.
Jesus quotes this verse from the cross (Luke 23:46) as his final words: "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." What David spoke as a prayer of trust, Jesus spoke as a prayer of death. The psalm becomes the liturgy of the crucifixion. David committed his spirit while living. Jesus committed his while dying. Both trusted the same hands.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What would it feel like to genuinely deposit your spirit — your deepest self — into God's hands right now?
- 2.How does knowing Jesus used these same words on the cross deepen their meaning for you?
- 3.What makes God's hands the safest vault for your spirit — and do you actually trust that?
- 4.What are you holding onto (controlling, protecting, refusing to release) that God is asking you to commit to his keeping?
Devotional
Into your hands. My spirit. David takes the most precious thing he possesses — his own soul, his breath, his very self — and deposits it in God's hands. Not a casual handoff. A deliberate entrustment. Like placing a jewel in a vault. Like handing your child to the only person you trust completely.
The word "commit" means to deposit in safekeeping. David is saying: I can't keep myself safe. I can't protect my own spirit. I don't trust my own hands with my own soul. But I trust yours. So here — take it. Hold it. Keep it for me.
Thou hast redeemed me. Past tense. David deposits his spirit with a God who has already proven himself trustworthy through redemption. The entrustment isn't blind faith — it's evidence-based trust. You redeemed me before. I'm trusting you again. The track record justifies the deposit.
O LORD God of truth. The final qualifier. David deposits his spirit with a God whose defining characteristic is truth — reliability, faithfulness, the inability to lie or betray. You can trust the vault because you know the vault is made of truth. It won't corrode. It won't crack. It won't betray what's been placed inside.
Jesus said these exact words as he died. "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." The last words of God's Son on the cross are David's prayer of trust. If these words were sufficient for Jesus in the moment of greatest extremity — if the Son of God could deposit his spirit in the Father's hands while dying on a cross — they're sufficient for whatever you're facing.
Into your hands. My spirit. The safest place for the most precious thing you have.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Into thine hand I commit my spirit,.... Either his life, as to a faithful Creator and Preserver, who was the God of his…
Into thine hand I commit my spirit - The Saviour used this expression when on the cross, and when about to die: Luk…
Faith and prayer must go together. He that believes, let his pray - I believe, therefore I have spoken: and he that…
I commit&c. Or, as P.B.V. and R.V., I commend my spirit. To God's care he entrusts as a precious deposit the life…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture