Devotional – learning and reflecting on the Psalms Pastor Mauren Juliao

Week 5: Psalm 34
“I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise
will always be on my lips. 2I will glory in the Lord; “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall
let the afflicted hear and rejoice. 3Glorify the Lord continually be in my mouth. 2My soul makes its
with me; let us exalt his name together. boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad.
3
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I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his
delivered me from all my fears. 5Those who look name together. 4I sought the Lord, and he answered
to him are radiant their faces are never covered me, and delivered me from all my fears. 5Look to
with shame. 6This poor man called, and the Lord him, and be radiant; so your faces shall never be
heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. ashamed. 6This poor soul cried, and was heard by
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The angel of the Lord encamps around those the Lord, and was saved from every trouble. 7The
who fear him, and he delivers them. 8Taste and angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear
see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who him, and delivers them. 8O taste and see that the
takes refuge in him. 9Fear the Lord, you his holy Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in
people, for those who fear him lack nothing. 10The him. 9O fear the Lord, you his holy ones, for those
lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who who fear him have no want. 10The young lions suffer
seek the Lord lack no good thing. 11Come, my want and hunger, but those who seek the Lord lack
children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of no good thing. 11Come, O children, listen to me; I will
the Lord. 12Whoever of you loves life and desires teach you the fear of the Lord. 12Which of you
to see many good days, 13keep your tongue from desires life, and covets many days to enjoy good?
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evil and your lips from telling lies. 14Turn from evil Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from
and do good; seek peace and pursue it. 15The speaking deceit. 14Depart from evil, and do good;
eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his seek peace, and pursue it. 15The eyes of the Lord
ears are attentive to their cry; 16but the face of the are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their
Lord is against those who do evil, to blot out their cry. 16The face of the Lord is against evildoers, to cut
name from the earth. 17The righteous cry out, and off the remembrance of them from the earth.
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the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears,
their troubles. 18The Lord is close to the and rescues them from all their troubles. 18The Lord
brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed
in spirit. 19The righteous person may have many in spirit. 19Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all; but the Lord rescues them from them all. 20He keeps
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he protects all his bones, not one of them will be all their bones; not one of them will be broken. 21Evil
broken. 21Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the brings death to the wicked, and those who hate the
righteous will be condemned. 22The Lord will righteous will be condemned. 22The Lord redeems
rescue his servants; no one who takes refuge in the life of his servants; none of those who take
him will be condemned.” (NIV) refuge in him will be condemned.” (NRSV)

Overview
According to the Bible, this psalm was written by David when he pretended to be insane before
Ahimelechi, who drove him away, and he left (1 Samuel 21.10-22.1). Even though it is considered an
individual psalm of thanksgiving, its emphasis is on the exhortation and testimony of the community.
This is one of the alphabetic acrostic poemsii in the book of Psalms, also called Psalter. This structure
strongly suggests that this poem is a theological composition. Rather than a prayer composed by one
who has freshly passed through a crisis, it is more likely a poem composed on behalf of a community -
written to instruct the community on how to move in and out of such crisesiii.
The psalmist: Declares his willingness to bless the Lord always and extends the invitation to the
people to praise in unison (v. 1-3); from the testimony of his experience, invites and encourages them
to look to the Lord and experience the fruit of God's goodness in their lives (vv.4-10); gives instruction
on the fear of the Lord, which leads to life and involves obedience (vv.11-14); shows the difference in
the lives of those who follow God and those who don't (vv.15-22)iv.
“In striking contrast to what our culture may teach us, Psalm 34 teaches us that life begins with fearing
God – life is a gift from God for which God makes gracious provision (vv. 8-9). (…) Psalm 34 offers a
sharp contrast, as Peter Craigie points out: ‘The fear of the Lord establishes joy and fulfillment in all of
life's experiences. It may mend the broken heart, but it does not prevent the heart from being broken; it
may restore the spiritually crushed, but it does not crush the forces that may create oppression. The
psalm, if fully grasped, dispels the naiveté of that faith which does not contain within it the strength to
stand against the onslaught of evil’”.v
Reflection
Psalm 34 is both a psalm of gratitude for and a profession of faith by the psalmist about the Covenant
God who is the Lord. While the psalmist invites people to experience the goodness of the Lord and
gives instructions to live in God's presence and have a long and blessed life, he points out who God is
through God's actions in the life of the righteous.
The psalmist doesn't hide the fact that following the Lord doesn't free us from life's problems or
feelings like fear. Whether the psalmist's fears were about others or the consequences of his own
actions, we learn from his testimony that the Lord welcomes us when we seek him, regardless of our
condition. How comforting to know that God is the same, and through Jesus, has guaranteed us free
access to God's presence. Hallelujah!
Yes, life isn't easy, and we're not easy either. We believe in God, but we often falter in the face of
difficulties. Sometimes people get us into trouble, sometimes we do it ourselves. But the psalmist
testifies that we can trust in God and take refuge in God in times of difficulty, fear, or even doubt. We
can cry and God will listen. God preserves us, supports us, and provides for us. Furthermore, God
rescues us (when we turn away) and does not condemn us (when we sin). God has a way of return
and reconciliation for all those who seek him and trust in the Lord. Blessed be the Lord!
This psalm inspires us to bear witness to God's power in our lives – a power that doesn't make us
superheroes or turn our lives into a fairy tale but strengthens us to live life to the full in our humanity.
“Although we live in a world today that is obsessed with self-narrative, we often shut down our stories.
Or we tailor them so as not to tell our stories in such a way that the Lord can be seen, heard, and felt
walking next to us. The psalm teaches us to tell our stories in such a way that others will see the Lord
taking a closer walk with us and learn that the LORD is near (v. 18)” vi.
Prayer: We praise your name ó, Lord, for your grace and your mercy, which we experience in our lives.
Please help us to recognize who you are and who we can be in your presence. Inspire us and give us
opportunities to share with others your goodness. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
During your week:
➢ Read the Psalm again and list God's actions mentioned. What does this tell you about God?
➢ Think about some answered prayer you have, or a situation when you experienced God’s grace
in your life. Share your experience with others.

i
When we read the episode in 1 Samuel, we see that Ahimelech was the priest and the king was Achish.
ii
Each verse begins with another letter of the Hebrew alphabet, except for the letter waw. The purpose of the acrostic format
seems to be to encourage learning and memorization. (The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik @2020).
iii
ROLF A. JACOBSON. In The Book of Psalms. Published 2014 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. p. 321. vi Idem. P. 329
iv
The concepts of righteousness and wickedness in the Bible are related to whether one follows or not follows God.
Righteousness is the fruit of life for those who follow the Lord's counsel, while wickedness is typical of those who don't follow it.
v
The New Interpreter of the Bible, Vol IV, p. 815.