Psalm 31 contains the words Jesus prayed as he died on the Cross: “Into thy hands I commend my spirit.” It begins with trust, “In thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me never be confounded,” and the Church prays its words every night before sleep. In the Douay-Rheims it is numbered Psalm 30. Below is the full Catholic text, what the psalm means, how the Church uses it, and a prayer.
Psalm 31 in the Douay-Rheims Bible
Unto the end, a psalm for David, in an ecstasy.
In thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me never be confounded: deliver me in thy justice.
Bow down thy ear to me: make haste to deliver me. Be thou unto me a God, a protector, and a house of refuge, to save me.
For thou art my strength and my refuge; and for thy name’s sake thou wilt lead me, and nourish me.
Thou wilt bring me out of this snare, which they have hidden for me: for thou art my protector.
Into thy hands I commend my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth.
Thou hast hated them that regard vanities, to no purpose. But I have hoped in the Lord:
I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy. For thou hast regarded my humility, thou hast saved my soul out of distresses.
And thou hast not shut me up in the hands of the enemy: thou hast set my feet in a spacious place.
Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am afflicted: my eye is troubled with wrath, my soul, and my belly:
For my life is wasted with grief: and my years in sighs. My strength is weakened through poverty and my bones are disturbed.
I am become a reproach among all my enemies, and very much to my neighbours; and a fear to my acquaintance. They that saw me without fled from me.
I am forgotten as one dead from the heart. I am become as a vessel that is destroyed.
For I have heard the blame of many that dwell round about. While they assembled together against me, they consulted to take away my life.
But I have put my trust in thee, O Lord: I said: Thou art my God.
My lots are in thy hands. Deliver me out of the hands of my enemies; and from them that persecute me.
Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; save me in thy mercy.
Let me not be confounded, O Lord, for I have called upon thee. Let the wicked be ashamed, and be brought down to hell.
Let deceitful lips be made dumb. Which speak iniquity against the just, with pride and abuse.
O how great is the multitude of thy sweetness, O Lord, which thou hast hidden for them that fear thee! Which thou hast wrought for them that hope in thee, in the sight of the sons of men.
Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy face, from the disturbance of men. Thou shalt protect them in thy tabernacle from the contradiction of tongues.
Blessed be the Lord, for he hath shewn his wonderful mercy to me in a fortified city.
But I said in the excess of my mind: I am cast away from before thy eyes. Therefore thou hast heard the voice of my prayer, when I cried to thee.
O love the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord will require truth, and will repay them abundantly that act proudly.
Do ye manfully, and let your heart be strengthened, all ye that hope in the Lord.
Psalm 31 or Psalm 30?
The Douay-Rheims Bible follows the numbering of the Latin Vulgate and the Greek Septuagint, while most modern Bibles follow the Hebrew. So the Douay’s Psalm 30 is Psalm 31 in the New American Bible and other modern translations. In Latin the psalm begins In te, Domine, speravi. See how many psalms are there?
The last words of Jesus
On the Cross, Jesus made this psalm his own final prayer:
And Jesus crying out with a loud voice, said: Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. And saying this, he gave up the ghost.
St. Stephen, the first martyr, prayed in the same spirit, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:58), and for centuries Christians have prayed it at the hour of death. See prayers for the dying.
What the psalm means
- Trust: “In thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me never be confounded.” The Te Deum ends with these words.
- God our refuge: “Be thou unto me a God, a protector, and a house of refuge.”
- Surrender: “Into thy hands I commend my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth.”
- “My lots are in thy hands”: our times and our future belong to God.
- Courage: “Do ye manfully, and let your heart be strengthened, all ye that hope in the Lord.”
How the Church uses Psalm 31
- On Good Friday, as the responsorial psalm: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” See Good Friday.
- At Night Prayer (Compline), where “Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit” is the short responsory every night. See Compline.
- At Mass on other days, including the Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A).
A prayer with Psalm 31
Written for this page:
Lord, in you I take refuge; let me never be put to shame.
My times are in your hands; deliver me and protect me.
Into your hands I commend my spirit, tonight and at the hour of my death.
You have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God. Amen.
Frequently asked questions
Where does “Into your hands I commend my spirit” come from?
Psalm 31:6 (30:6 in the Douay-Rheims). Jesus prayed it on the Cross (Luke 23:46).
Why is Psalm 31 prayed at night?
Because entrusting our spirit to God before sleep is a small rehearsal of trusting him at death. It is the responsory of Night Prayer.
More psalms and prayers
Texts and sources
- Scripture: Psalm 30 (31); Luke 23:46, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
- The prayer was written for this page.