Albert Barnes Commentary Psalms 31:1

"In thee, O Jehovah, do I take refuge; Let me never be put to shame: Deliver me in thy righteousness." — Psalms 31:1 (ASV)

In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust - This is the ground of the petitions that follow, or the reason why the psalmist thus appeals to God. It was his firm confidence in Him: in His character, in His promises, and in His ability to deliver Him in the time of danger. (Compare the notes at Psalms 7:1).

Let me never be ashamed - That is, let me never have occasion to be ashamed for having put this confidence in You. Let Your dealings toward me be such as to show that my confidence was well founded. The word is not used here in the sense of being unwilling to confess his faith in God, or his love for Him, as it is often now (Romans 5:5; and 2 Timothy 1:12), but in the sense of being so “disappointed” as to make one ashamed that he had thus relied on that which was unworthy of confidence.

See the notes at Job 6:20; compare also Isaiah 30:5, Jeremiah 2:26, and Jeremiah 14:3-4. The psalmist prays that God would intervene on his behalf in answer to his prayers. He asks that God would show He was worthy of the confidence placed in Him, or that He was a God who might be trusted in the time of trial. In other words, he prays that he might not be subjected to the reproach of the wicked for having relied upon such a God in his troubles.

Deliver me in thy righteousness - In the manifestation of Your righteous character; in the exhibition of that character as righteous; as doing justice between man and man; and as pronouncing a just sentence between me and my enemies.