Psalm 34

Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelek, 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.

It isn’t filled with ” praise the Lord-s” after every stanza.

It isn’t so much a description of God’s many attributes.

It isn’t a lesson in Israel’s history.

This psalm is a heartfelt song of thanks.

David wrote it in an acrostic form (each stanza starts with a

letter of the Hebrew alphabet) and each one seems to be said

with a sigh of relief at his narrow escape from Saul, King of  Israel,

who was intent on David’s death AND at then avoiding the

traps set for him by Abimilek’s advisors.

David, in verses 1-14:

extolls, glories and glorifies the Lord.

He seeks, looks, calls, tastes,and fears the Lord.

And he gathers, preaches, teaches,counsels and advises all

that will listen to learn from his experiences..

In verses 15 through 22, he shares the wonderful

life giving and saving witness of the Lord at work

in the lives of His children.

We learn that God’s eyes and ears are constantly alert

to those who love Him.  That He will protect and deliver

and rescue His servants.

This psalm is one big THANK YOU, LORD!

I like it.  I have been in a rough spot, in need of rescue

and the Lord did exactly that.

And this is the correct response.

I have also been in a tough place and the Lord held my

hand and walked me through it.

And this is the correct response.

I have also been alone and abandoned and afraid and the

Lord spoke to my heart and gave me strength.

And this is the correct response.

And I have been angry and resentful and wondering why

the Lord doesn’t rescue me.

And He has guided me through that, as well.

And the response to that is

Thank you, Lord.