You Are Not the Only One

Psalms Chapter 34 #BlessTheLord #OurRedeemer (Unless otherwise stated all Scriptures in this devotional are from the King James Version of the Bible.)

Psalms Chapter 34

Context

Psalm 34 is a Psalm of Thanksgiving. Although the Psalmist identifies himself as a poor man “This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles” he also show that God heard his cry and saved him from his troubles.

Experience God and Know that He is Good!

• 1 (A Psalm of David, when he changed his behaviour 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.
• 2 My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.
• 3 O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.

Verse 1  David proclaims that he will “I will bless the LORD at all times.”  What does “all times” mean to us?  Go back to all of the Psalms that we have studied so far.  Have you noticed the same thread, frequency of events, and David’s response regardless of the situation? He begins a lament with prayers and pleads for God’s protection, but each psalm always ends with a statement of trust, and praise to God. Now think about your personal life. Each time that you suffer how does it affect you spiritually? IS your soul downcast, or do you grow closer to God thus resulting in you lifting up your “eyes to the hills from when comes your help?”

https://youtu.be/p3xnIa7TteE

• 4 I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
• 5 They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.
• 6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.

Having declared that he “will bless the Lord at all times,” the Psalmist continued by explaining why. “4 I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” This is not a figure of speech “And delivered me from all my fears.” In every Psalm that we have read so far, God has delivered David!  Look at what the psalmist declared, “5 They [the people of God] looked unto him, and were lightened: [Their spirits were uplifted, and as a result of their uplifted spirits] their faces were not ashamed.” Can I hear a PRAISE HIM? 

David punctuated his previous statement by proposing that “6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.”  My friends, it does not matter who we are or what we own, when we are in spiritual or physical trouble, we feel spiritually and physically poor. There are some things that money cannot buy. Money cannot bring us back from the arms of death. It cannot bring our loved ones back to us. It cannot take away the emotional pain of deception, abandonment, or humiliation. David experienced all of those things.  In each instance, he felt lost until God presented an answer to His prayers. It is highly probable that tragedies force us to our knees and enriches our relationships with God and man. 

When was the last time that you received a medical diagnosis that “rocked your world?” What was your response? Did you “seek the Lord where He may be found?” Did you call upon Him because He is always near?

David also showed that the congregation or people also looked to God. “5 They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.”  To ensure that the congregation/nation understood him well David accentuated the previous statement by stating “7 The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him and delivereth them.” 

Cayce proposes that “The angel of the Lord” is a special manifestation of Yahweh/Jesus Himself at strategic historical junctures.”

• Gen. 16:7 “And the angel of the Lord found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.”
• Gen. 16:18-19 “But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.”
• Gen. 31:11 “And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I.”
• Joshua chapter 5
• Judges chapters 6
• Judges Chapter 13

Visualize the presence of the Lord surrounding you the next time that you are in a severe spiritual or physical battle. Do you know how to fight like David?

• 8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
• 9 O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.
• 10 The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing. 

Have you noticed that David likes to repeat the same thing over, and over, and over again? It may be because he has experienced deliverance because of his trust in God over, and over, and over again. “8 O taste and see that the LORD is good:  [Just try the spiritual delicacy that is God. Remember the commercial that said something was “hmm, hmm, good!?” That is what David is saying here. Having tasted the presence and protection of the Lord one will  be “blessed [because they]  trusted in him.” Just in case we did not get it the psalmist reiterates ” 9 O fear the LORD, ye his saints: [WHY?] for there is no want to them that fear him.”

• Ps 2:12 “Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.”
• Ps 84:12“Blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.”
• Proverbs 16:20 “…whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he.”
• Jer. 17:7 “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.”

• 10 The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.  Remember that we are His children. Matthew 6:33 reminds us to “. . .seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”  Matthew 5:6 tells us “Blessed [are] they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”

• 11 Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
• 12 What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?
• 13 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.
• 14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.

Verses 11-14 use the basiC tenets of wisdom literature. Listen I am about to teach you something. The most important thing that we will ever learn in your life. ” I will teach you the fear of the LORD. [WHY?]12  [Because if you] desireth life, and loveth many days, [and want to] see good, there are certain things that one must do.

• 13 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.
• 14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.

1 Corinthians 1:21 explains “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”

A life of internal peace and abundance is cultured by a proper vertical relationship with God. A life that is built on “the fear of God, integrity, morals and ethical behavior results in a rich relationship with God and others. We live at a time in this nation’s history where irreprehensible behaviors are acceptable if “the person who committed them is wealthy, well, known, or perceived as someone who is good for our personal gain!” John 8:44 iterated what unrighteous looks like and where it comes from. “Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” However, scripture tells us that we must not live. 

James 1:

• ²³ For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
• ²⁴ For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
• ²⁵ But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

• 15 The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
• 16 The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

Romans 8:15 “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”  When we cry to our Abba, He hears us. He heard David, and He still hears His children.  John 8:44 “Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”

• 17 The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
• 18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
• 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.
• 20 He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.

Are you hurt and broken inside? Remember that you are among “the righteous[who] cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.” Also, remember that God hears the prayers of the righteous and “18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” 

As a society, we have thrown the broken in spirit and the psychologically and emotionally damaged or vulnerable on the trash heap of life. But not God! Yes, “19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all. Also, “20 He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.” Verse 20 may be referring to what happened to Christ on the cross. However, we can be e confident that he hs not forgotten us either. We will remain unscathed from all of the fiery darts that the devouring enemy aims at us.

• 21 Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.
• 22 The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

21 Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.

Cayce excellently frames this verse. “Evil man destroys himself. We are a free agent. God will not force Heaven upon any of us. The wicked have no hope of everlasting life, unless they repent and turn from their wicked ways. Instead of reaching out to the righteous who could lead them to the truth, they hate them. They have sealed their own doom. They chose evil over good. They rejected Jesus and will wind up in hell” (Psalms 34:21). But just look at what happens to those who are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.”

• 22 The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

Humanity has a redeemer. His name is Jesus Christ. But He is only the redeemer of those who believes in Him and handed their lives over to Him. He paid the price for our lives with His own blood.

• Romans 6:18 “Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.”
• Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

 

Do you know my Savior? Do you know my redeemer?

 

Everything in the Bible points to Jesus. Here’s why that matters:

Watch this video and say the sinner’s prayer. English

Всё в Библии указывает на Иисуса. Вот почему это важно: Russian

References

Cayce, Ken. 2017. “Books of the Bible.”  Psalms: Cayce|Accessed August 29, 2018

Longman, Tremper, III. 2014. Psalms: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press. Accessed September 15, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central.