Psalms 34 is The Shelter We Can Take Refuge In
As part of my regular Bible study, today I read Psalm 34. God has put it on my heart to share this with you.
Psalm 34,
Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he left.
1 I will extol the LORD at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
2 I will glory in the LORD;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the LORD with me;
let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.
8 Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
9 Fear the LORD, you his holy people,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
11 Come, my children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12 Whoever of you loves life
and desires to see many good days,
13 keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from telling lies.
14 Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
and his ears are attentive to their cry;
16 but the face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
to blot out their name from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
19 The righteous person may have many troubles,
but the LORD delivers him from them all;
20 he protects all his bones,
not one of them will be broken.
21 Evil will slay the wicked;
the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
22 The LORD will rescue his servants;
no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned. – Psalms 34 NIV
This Psalm, oddly enough comes from a perilous time in David’s life. David had fled from Saul, who was trying to kill him over jealously. David flees to Gath, a Philistine city ruled by King Achish.
When Achish’s servants recognize David as the famous warrior ‘who killed his tens of thousands’, David fears for his life. He pretends to be insane, scribbling on floors and drooling on his beard; the king believes David is a madman.
In this Psalm, David demonstrates his dependence on God, rather than complaining about his predicament. The psalm then becomes David’s testimony: He sought the Lord and was delivered from his fears, even though he resorted to desperate tactics to survive among enemies.
4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.
David starts off with his own testimony, stating he was in trouble, and the first thing he did was seek God’s help. We see someone very different from the rest of us here. This is a man who God Himself called “a man after my own heart”. What an accolade! But here is a key to his mentality; when he faces trials and problems, he doesn’t complain, but he seeks God, and expects God to answer him. And God does.
Then David shifts from giving us his narrative of what happened to him, and gives us God’s promises that we can use in the face of our trials. Living in this day and age is enough to cause any person, Christian or not, severe anxiety, and paralyzing fear. But this is the time to remember David’s faith and more importantly, God’s promises.
“Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame”
Those who depend on God, those who turn to him in their times of trouble will never face the shame of being let down. No matter what trials you’re facing, no matter how badly your situation is, this is a powerful promise: God will never let your trust in him make you feel ashamed.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.
8 Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
9 Fear the LORD, you his holy people,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
David then tells us to what extent the Lord will go to in order to insure that his chosen ones are protected. He tells us that the angel of the Lord surrounds us and delivers us. What more would we ever need? According to the Bible, in one night, an angel of the Lord kills 185,000 Assyrians soldiers. Our troubles, our enemies are no match for even one angel! (2 Kings 19:35, Isaiah 37:36)
“Taste and see that the Lord is good;” David is telling us, ‘try it, try and see’: Trust the Lord your God and depend on him in times of trouble, make God your refuge, and he assures us that God will not let us down. The lions, the most fearsome predator that walks the wild, that predator may grow weak from hunger; but those who seek God will never experience lack.
David is making a clear comparison: in effect, he is saying, ‘even the lions may get to the point where they can’t take care of themselves, but those who depend on the Lord to take care of them lack nothing.‘ And isn’t this true? There may be times when we have gone without something we thought we needed at the time, or God may have worked out a problem for us in a way other than what we were expecting, but God always comes through for those who put their trust in him.
What is Our Role?
So that is the question, what is it we have to do in order to receive the blessings that were obviously intended for the Jewish people under the law of Moses at that time? The answer is nothing: We are not required to do anything in order to receive these promises. In this passage, David gives us a list of instructions, does that mean we have to follow those things in order to receive God’s protection?
No, a thousand times no! As a Christian, you are living under the blood of Christ. You have been redeemed from the curse of the law? What is the curse of the law? The curses come upon us through disobedience. That is called sin; and we are redeemed from those curses.
13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. – Galatians 3:13-14 ESV
The promises and blessings of Abraham are to come up us through Jesus, not through our individual efforts or actions. In another place in the Bible we’re told we are joint heirs through Jesus and heirs according to the promise. What promise is that? The promises given to Abraham, and detailed to Moses. We don’t have to depend on our own behavior, our own efforts of righteousness, in order to secure the promises of the Old Testament!
This is as simple as I can put it: Because Jesus obeyed the law, without sin, he earned those promises through his obedience. But as we are joint heirs with Jesus, and heirs according to the promise, that means we rely through faith, on Jesus’ accomplished work in order to receive the promises of the Old Testament.
So take this passage: Study its promises until they get down into your heart. As you read, and confess them out loud they will become part of you. Just as the Bible says, revelation in God’s word brings faith. And once these verses become revelation to you, you can, just like David, call upon them with not only faith, but the confidence David had. You too, can become a man or woman after God’s own heart.
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