Psalm 34 – The Happiness of Those Who Trust in God
A Psalm of David when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.
I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul shall make its boast in the Lord;
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name together.
I sought the Lord, and He heard me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces were not ashamed.
This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him,
And delivers them.
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints!
There is no want to those who fear Him.
The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is the man who desires life,
And loves many days, that he may see good?
Keep your tongue from evil,
And your lips from speaking deceit.
Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their cry.
The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears,
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
He guards all his bones;
Not one of them is broken.
Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
The Lord redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.
What are you afraid of?
- Losing a loved one?
- Losing your possessions?
- Not getting what you desire?
- Not living up to expectations?
- Not getting what you need?
- Missing out?
- Being misunderstood?
- Being rejected?
- Making mistakes in your life?
- Being let down?
- Failure?
- Losing your job or means of livelihood?
The list can go on and on.
The question is, why are we so fearful? We are fearful because we believe we have no one but ourselves to rely on to make things happen in our lives.
Experience has taught most of us that human beings more often than not let us down, and so we have to rely on our abilities and ourselves. Even the Bible cautions us – “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.” Psalm 146:3
But is this the case? Due to the material nature of day-to-day living, we often forget that there is a spiritual side to life and that the material world we live in has been made out of the unseen. Paul tells us in Hebrews 11:3 – “By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.”
We seem to have forgotten this – that the universe was created by God and it is on Him we must rely – “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3: 5 – 6. David knew that God exists and that “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6
- In Psalm 34, David is full of praises for God because God had delivered him from all his fears. David gives us guidance on how we can be delivered from our fears as well:
- David sought the Lord in the midst of his fears.
- The Lord answered (“And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear” – Isaiah 65:24)
- The Lord delivered David from his fears
When we are afraid, do we seek the Lord, so that the Lord can answer us?
- When we seek God, God answers – “Speak to Him, thou, for He hears, and Spirit with Spirit can meet- Closer is He than breathing, and nearer than hands and feet.” – Alfred, Lord Tennyson, The Higher Pantheism
- However, seeking God must not be perfunctory – “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13
- When God answers, we discover we are not alone – “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41: 10
- When we realize we are not alone, our fear disappears – “ You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.” – Isaiah 26:3
We should not be paralyzed by our fears. We should seek God sincerely and ask him to rescue you from all your fears.
Who is God?
God is love. (1: John 4:8)
Perfect love casts out fear. (1 John 4:18)