“Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly.”
The psalmist returns to lament, acknowledging that he is still distressed and crying out, though with confidence that comes from knowing God sees and responds. The verbs "I am in distress" and "My eyes grow weak" employ physical language of suffering. The phrases "my soul and my body grow weak" suggest that the suffering affects the whole person. The verb "my years pass in sorrow" indicates that suffering has duration. This verse demonstrates that confident faith and present suffering can coexist.
Church Fathers on Psalms 31:9
To the end, a psalm of David himself, an ecstasy. 1. To the end a Psalm of David Himself, the Mediator strong of hand in persecutions. For the word ecstasy, which is added to the title, signifies a transport of the mind, which is produced either by a panic, or by some revelation. But in this Psalm the panic of the people of God troubled by the persecution of all the heathen, and by the failing of faith throughout the world, is principally seen. But first the Mediator Himself…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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