Thoughts on Psalm 34 - All The LORD is near Daily Devotionals for 2024

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.
Psalm 34:11-16

Thoughts on Psalm 34
This passage teaches us the connection between good words and good days. We enjoy the good blessings of God as we keep our tongues from evil and deceit. It follows that good words will lead us into good deeds and peaceful motives. This lifestyle honors the Lord, who faithfully responds to every cry for His help.

But now consider the psalm's title. That divinely inspired introduction reveals that this is actually David's song of confession "when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed." David had sought refuge among the Philistines; but when he felt unsafe even there, he faked insanity in order to escape. What shame, as the Lord's anointed king deceitfully pretended to be someone he was not, denying his own identity! Yet this is a psalm of praise, which shows that David had repented and returned to the Lord, who had never forsaken him, despite his failures.

Do you know who loved this psalm? The apostle Peter did. By the Spirit's guidance, nearly the entire passage above is quoted in . The man who with curses and oaths had also once denied his own identity, rejecting any association with his beloved Master, found a refuge in this psalm. We could imagine him weeping as he saw himself in its title, then rejoicing over the lessons of God's faithfulness which David described.

Reading the Scriptures should not be an academic exercise, but a personal one. The Spirit of God uses them to teach us and restore our souls.

Stephen Campbell