An open Psalter showing Psalm 31, with a burgundy ribbon and Scottish thistles beside a Highland loch at dawn, beneath the gold title My Times Are in Your Hands.

BeShiny Psalms · Scottish-inspired psalmody

My Times Are in Your HandsPsalm 31

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A cry from a life under pressure becomes a confession of trust. My Times Are in Your Hands follows Psalm 31 through refuge, grief and danger into thanksgiving and courage. Its returning chorus places our lives before the faithful God who hears His people and answers their cry.

Read the lyricsLyrics downloadsRead Psalm 31

The story behind the song

Psalm 31 gives words to anguish that reaches the body, the memory and the bonds of friendship. The psalmist feels forgotten, hears accusing voices and calls for rescue. He remembers that God has seen his suffering and given him room to stand. Through every return to prayer, the same confession gathers strength: his life rests in the hands of the One he calls his God.

This sung adaptation follows all twenty-four verses, with a returning chorus drawn from verses 14-16. The bridge keeps the sudden cry of verse 22 and the testimony that follows: God heard his plea for mercy. The closing movement turns towards the whole household of faith, calling those who hope in the Lord to take courage. Lament, petition, remembrance, praise and proclamation belong together within the psalm's prayer.

The musical setting

The arrangement is shaped around a low Scottish female contralto and two answering female voices. Scottish smallpipes, wire-strung clarsach, lyrical fiddle and low cello carry the lament, while a restrained frame drum supports the rising sections. A flowing 6/8 pulse opens into a recurring chorus and a broad final call to courage.

Production credits

Adapted from Psalm 31. Lyrics developed with substantial ChatGPT drafting, then revised under the editorial oversight and rigorous theological direction of Steven Forsberg. Source consulted: the public-domain Berean Standard Bible (BSB). The sung text is an adaptation. Musical composition, vocals and instrumental audio generated using Suno under human musical direction. Cover artwork generated using AI under human direction.

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Lyrics & lyric sheet

Adapted from all twenty-four verses of Psalm 31, with a recurring chorus drawn from verses 14-16.

Lyrics downloads

Choose a printable PDF or a plain-text file for copying and editing.

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Read the complete lyrics

In You, O LORD, I find my refuge;
let me never be ashamed;
in Your righteousness, deliver me.

Bend Your ear and hear me;
come quickly to my rescue.
Be the rock where I find shelter,
the fortress that will save me.

You are my rock and my fortress;
for the honour of Your name,
lead me and guide my steps.

You free me from the net they laid for me,
for You are my shelter.

Into Your hands I entrust my spirit;
You have redeemed me, LORD, my faithful God.

I reject those who cling to empty idols;
I place my trust in You, O LORD.

I will rejoice in Your unfailing love;
You have seen my suffering
and known the anguish of my soul.

You have kept me from the enemy
and set my feet where there is room to stand.

Lord, I place my trust in You;
You alone are my God.
My times are in Your hands;
rescue me from my enemies,
from all who hunt me down.

Let Your face shine upon Your servant;
save me in Your faithful love.

Have mercy on me, O LORD,
for trouble weighs upon me.
My eyes grow dim with sorrow;
grief wears my soul and body down.

My life is spent in grief,
my years are filled with sighing.
My sin has worn away my strength;
my very bones grow weak.

My enemies despise me,
my neighbours turn away.
Even friends are frightened of me;
they flee when I pass by.

I am forgotten like the dead,
discarded like a broken jar.

Whispers of slander reach me;
fear surrounds me on every side.
They gather and conspire against me,
plotting how to take my life.

Lord, I place my trust in You;
You alone are my God.
My times are in Your hands;
rescue me from my enemies,
from all who hunt me down.

Let Your face shine upon Your servant;
save me in Your faithful love.

Lord, keep me from disgrace,
for I have called upon You.
Let shame fall on the wicked;
let them fall silent in the grave.

Silence every lying tongue
that speaks against the righteous
with arrogance and scorn.

How abundant is Your goodness,
stored for those who fear Your name,
poured out for all the world to see
on those who find their refuge in You!

Within Your presence You conceal them
from the schemes that others weave.
You keep them safe beneath Your shelter
from accusing tongues.

All praise to You, O LORD;
You showed the wonder of Your faithful love
within a city under siege.

In my fear I cried,
“I am cut off from Your sight!”
Yet You heard my cry for mercy
when I called to You for help.

Love the LORD, all you His people.
He watches over those who keep faith
and repays the proud in full.

Take courage and be strong,
all whose hope is in the LORD.

Lord, I place my trust in You;
You alone are my God.
My times are in Your hands;
rescue me from my enemies,
from all who hunt me down.

Let Your face shine upon Your servant;
save me in Your faithful love.

Take courage and be strong,
all whose hope is in the LORD.

Take courage and be strong,
all whose hope is in the LORD.

Adapted from Psalm 31. Recurring chorus: verses 14-16. This is the sung adaptation.

The Scripture behind the song

The confession that our times are in God's hands stands beside an urgent prayer for deliverance. It entrusts endangered life to His faithful care and asks Him to act. The lament's language gives suffering a truthful place in prayer; its remembered mercies strengthen present faith. Jesus takes Psalm 31:5 upon His lips at the cross, giving Christian prayer a direct point of communion with His self-offering to the Father. In the crucified and risen Christ, His household learns to entrust itself to God, resist evil, seek healing and rescue, and strengthen one another in hope. The psalm's appeals against violent enemies are brought before God as we obey Christ's call to love our enemies and entrust judgement to Him.

Read Psalm 31:1-24 (BSB)

Psalm 31

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
save me by Your righteousness.

2Incline Your ear to me;
come quickly to my rescue.
Be my rock of refuge,
the stronghold of my deliverance.

3For You are my rock and my fortress;
lead me and guide me for the sake of Your name.

4You free me from the net laid out for me,
for You are my refuge.

5Into Your hands I commit my spirit;
You have redeemed me, O LORD, God of truth.

6I hate those who cling to worthless idols,
but in the LORD I trust.

7I will be glad and rejoice in Your loving devotion,
for You have seen my affliction;
You have known the anguish of my soul.

8You have not delivered me to the enemy;
You have set my feet in the open.

9Be merciful to me, O LORD,
for I am in distress;
my eyes fail from sorrow,
my soul and body as well.

10For my life is consumed with grief
and my years with groaning;
my iniquity has drained my strength,
and my bones are wasting away.

11Among all my enemies I am a disgrace,
and among my neighbors even more.
I am dreaded by my friends—
they flee when they see me on the street.

12I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind.
I am like a broken vessel.

13For I hear the slander of many;
there is terror on every side.
They conspire against me
and plot to take my life.

14But I trust in You, O LORD;
I say, “You are my God.”

15My times are in Your hands;
deliver me from my enemies
and from those who pursue me.

16Make Your face shine on Your servant;
save me by Your loving devotion.

17O LORD, let me not be ashamed,
for I have called on You.
Let the wicked be put to shame;
let them lie silent in Sheol.

18May lying lips be silenced—
lips that speak with arrogance against the righteous,
full of pride and contempt.

19How great is Your goodness
which You have laid up for those who fear You,
which You have bestowed before the sons of men
on those who take refuge in You!

20You hide them in the secret place of Your presence
from the schemes of men.
You conceal them in Your shelter
from accusing tongues.

21Blessed be the LORD,
for He has shown me His loving devotion
in a city under siege.

22In my alarm I said,
“I am cut off from Your sight!”
But You heard my plea for mercy
when I called to You for help.

23Love the LORD, all His saints.
The LORD preserves the faithful,
but fully repays the arrogant.

24Be strong and courageous,
all you who hope in the LORD.

Berean Standard Bible (BSB). Scripture text in the public domain. Verse 5 is cited in Luke 23:46. In verse 6, one Hebrew manuscript, the Septuagint and Syriac read “You hate”.