What does Psalm 31:17 mean?

David asks the Lord to not allow him to experience shame. This is more than emotion: it is also an expression that means being defeated and struck down. It would certainly be humiliating and disastrous if David fell victim to his enemies and forfeited his crown. Yet his trust in the Lord is clear. David bases his desire for vindication on the fact that he was calling upon the Lord. Rather than being the one to experience defeat and disgrace—"shame"—David asks that the Lord bring that fate to his enemies.

He asks also that their fate be accompanied by silence. In earlier verses David noted that his enemies were whispering plots and schemes (Psalm 31:13). The Lord could silence them by consigning them to the realm of the dead. In Psalm 63:7 David testifies how the Lord has helped him, so he will sing joyfully under that protection. He also writes, "Those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth" (Psalm 63:9). Someday, the Lord will judge the wicked, consigning them forever to endless suffering in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10–15).

Verse 18