faith

Psalm 34

/ Omar C. Garcia / Leave a comment

NASB

The LORD a Provider and Deliverer.


A Psalm of David when he feigned madness before Abimelech, who drove him away and he departed.

Note: When David feared that Saul would kill him, he fled to Gath and sought the protection of the enemy — King Abimelech (or Achish) (1 Sam. 21:10—22:2). He should have run to the Lord instead. Once in Gath, David had to lie in order to escape. This Psalm is David’s testimony of what God did for him.

This psalm is an acrostic in which each verse begins with the succeeding letter of the Hebrew alphabet.


34:1 I will bless [the first thing David did when God delivered him from his troubles] the LORD at all times;
His praise shall continually [an indication of deep gratitude] be in my mouth [we should speak and not be silent].

34:2 My soul shall make its boast in the LORD [cf. 1 Cor. 1:31];

The humble shall hear it and rejoice.

34:3 [an exhortation] O magnify the LORD with me,

And let us exalt His name together.

34:4 [David’s testimony begins with this verse] I sought the LORD, and He answered me, 
And delivered [or snatched from danger just in the nick of time] me from all my fears.

34:5 They [perhaps refers to the humble of verse 2 or those who fear God in verse 7] looked to Him and were radiant [our countenance will reveal who we are trusting],
And their faces shall never be ashamed.



34:6 This poor man cried and the LORD heard him,

And saved him out of all his troubles.

34:7 The angel of the LORD [read Ps. 103:20-21 regarding the role of angels] encamps around those who fear [to have reverence for] Him, 

And rescues them.

34:8 O taste [to know by personal experience; an invitation to others to experience God for themselves] and see that the LORD is good;

How blessed is the man who takes refuge [cf. Ps. 5:11] in Him!

34:9 O fear [have reverence for] the LORD, you His saints [believers];

For to those who fear Him, there is no want.

34:10 [see 1 Peter 3:10-12 cf. Ps. 34:12-16] The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; 

But [unlike the young lions] they who seek the LORD shall not be in want of any good thing.

34:11 Come, you children, listen to me; 

I will teach [David used his experience to teach the next generation to trust in God] you the fear of the LORD.

34:12 [these questions are answered in verses 13-14] Who is the man who desires life, 

And loves length of days that he may see good?

34:13 [cf. Ps. 141:3] Keep your tongue from evil,

And your lips from speaking deceit.

34:14 Depart [to create distance] from evil, and do good;

Seek peace, and pursue it.

34:15 The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous, 

And His ears are open to their cry [cf. Ps. 34:6].

34:16 The face [represents God’s favor] of the LORD is against [because God is holy] evildoers, 
To cut off the memory of them from the earth.

34:17 The righteous [those in right standing with God] cry and the LORD hears,

And delivers them out of all their troubles.

34:18 The LORD is near [when we are brokenhearted it is easy to think that God is not near when indeed He is closer to us than ever] to the brokenhearted [the Hebrew word for “broken” in this verse is “nishberei” and comes from a root that means “birth” or “breakthrough” — when we are brokenhearted God draws near to us to birth something new in our lives; God can turn our breakdowns into breakthroughs; cf. Ps. 51:17], 

And saves those who are crushed in spirit.

34:19 Many [and varied] are the afflictions of the righteous [the righteous are not exempted from troubles]; 

But the LORD delivers him [cf. Heb. 4:16 — God is able to rescue in the nick of time] out of them all [out of every sort of affliction].

34:20 He keeps all his bones [a general principle rather than a guarantee; God guards the righteous or the righteous are under the protection of God]; 

Not one of them is broken [not a guarantee that our physical bones will never be broken but a general principle to assure us that the righteous are under God’s care].

34:21 Evil [has within it the seeds of decay and destruction] shall slay [the misconduct of the wicked will put them in peril] the wicked [those who are out of touch with God]; 

And those who hate [who are so opposed to the character of the righteous] the righteous will be condemned [will suffer the consequences of their hatred].

34:22 The LORD redeems [to set free by paying a price] the soul of His servants; 

And none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned [to be held guilty].

Psalm 31

/ Omar C. Garcia / Leave a comment

NASB

A Psalm of Complaint and of Praise
For the music director. A Psalm of David

A Cry for Deliverance (31:1-18)

31:1 In You, Lord, I [where we take refuge in difficult times is a personal choice] have taken refuge [your safety in times of trouble is only as good as your refuge)];

Let me never be put to shame;

In Your righteousness rescue me.



31:2  Incline Your ear to me [the only thing worse than being in a tight spot is being in a tight spot with no one listening to your cries for help], rescue me quickly [time is always of the essence in difficulties];

Be a rock of strength for me,

A stronghold to save me.


31:3 For You are my rock and my fortress;

For the sake of Your name [David reminded God that His reputation was at stake] You will lead me and guide me.

31:4  You will pull me out of the net [analogy of a hunter in search of prey] which they have secretly laid for me,

For You are my strength.

31:5  [cf. Jesus’ last words in Luke 23:46; see also Acts 7:59 re Stephen] Into Your hand I entrust my spirit [David’s expression of trusting God in the midst of danger];

You have redeemed me, Lord, God of truth.



31:6  I hate [cf. Ps. 139:21-22] those who devote themselves to worthless idols [incapable to hearing or helping],

But [in contrast to those who trust in what is untrustworthy] I trust in the Lord [who is capable of hearing and helping].



31:7  I will rejoice and be glad in Your faithfulness [God is completely reliable; it is helpful to regularly “Count Your Many Blessings”],

Because You have seen [nothing ever happens behind God’s back] my misery;

You have known [God is never taken by surprise or caught off guard; cf. Ps. 139:1-8] the troubles [as well as the triumphs] of my soul,



31:8  And [knowing everything about me and my troubles] You have not handed me over to the enemy [because God is faithful];

You have [instead] set my feet [a symbol of stability (Ps. 121:3) and also of vulnerability (Ps. 38:16] in a large place [expresses the longing of those who find themselves in a tight spot].



A Lament (31:9-18)

31:9  Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am in distress […in trouble];

[note the physical effects of being hated and hunted…] My eye is wasted away from grief, my soul and my body too.



31:10  For my life is spent with sorrow

And my years with sighing;

My strength has failed [sin depletes strength] because of my guilt [the product of sin],

And my body has wasted away.



31:11 Because of all my adversaries [“The best of men may have the bitterest foes and be subjected to the most cruel taunts.” (Spurgeon); note the social effects of being hated and hunted…], I have become a disgrace,

Especially to my neighbors [sometimes those closest to us harm us the most],

And an object of dread to my acquaintances;

Those who see me in the street flee from me [a few will in our direction when we are maligned and hurting but many will distance themselves from us].



31:12  I am forgotten like a dead person, out of mind [the dead are soon forgotten; in 100 years no one will likely know that we ever lived];

I am like a broken vessel [useless].



31:13  [the threat against David was real] For I have heard the slander of many [the slander of one is bad enough],

Terror is on every side [complete vulnerability];

While they took counsel together [an increased risk of danger from many] against me [the object or target of the scorn of others],

They schemed to take away my life [a serious threat; cf. Acts 9:23-25].



31:14  But [this conjunction signals a change in attitude] as for me [David affirmed his trust in God], I trust in You, Lord,

I say, “You are my God [David affirmed his relationship with God; this is a comforting confession, especially in times of trouble].”



31:15  My times [cf. Ps. 139:16] are in Your hand [“I am immortal until God’s work for me to do is done. The Lord reigns” (Henry Martyn)];

Rescue [deliver] me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.



31:16  Make Your face shine [an expression of favor with God; cf. Num. 6:24-26] upon Your servant;

Save me in Your faithfulness.



31:17  Let me not be put to shame [as is the desire of those who persecute and trouble us], Lord, for I call upon You;

Let the wicked [those who are out of touch with God] be put to shame, let them be silent in Sheol.



31:18  Let the lying lips be speechless,

Which speak arrogantly against the righteous
With pride and contempt [“What wickedness is it that unworthy characters should always be the loudest in railing at good men!” (Spurgeon)].



Thanksgiving (31:19-24)

31:19  How great [God’s goodness is abundant] is Your goodness,

Which You have stored up [in abundance] for those who fear You [blessings are found in proximity to God],

Which You have performed for those who take refuge in You [an act of trust and acknowledgement of God’s goodness],

Before the sons of mankind!

31:20  You hide them in the secret place [securely hidden from those who intend to harm] of Your presence from the conspiracies of mankind;

You keep them secretly [known only to God] in a shelter from the strife of tongues.



31:21  Blessed be the Lord,

For He has shown His marvelous faithfulness to me in a besieged city [the context in which God’s faithfulness was expressed].



31:22  As for me, I said in my alarm,

“I am cut off from Your eyes” [fear and alarm can cause us to lose perspective];

Nevertheless You heard [beautiful words indeed: “You heard”] the sound of my pleadings
When I called to You for help [the most important thing when calling for help is knowing that someone has heard you].



31:23  Love the Lord, all His godly ones [“Love is the universal debt of all the saved family…” (Spurgeon)]!

The Lord watches over the faithful [one of the many blessings of being faithful]

But fully repays the one who acts arrogantly [“Snares are made and pits are rigged by the proud for themselves commonly…” (Spurgeon)].



31:24  Be strong and let your heart take courage [cf. Josh. 1:6-9],

All you who wait for the Lord.