Psalm 34 was a written after an interesting jaunt in Davids life. He’d been captured by the Philistines, and pretends insanity to get himself let go. It must have been a God inspired spark of genius because the crazy ploy worked, and David was driven out of the presence of King Abimelech rather than driven through with a spear!
After the masquerade of insanity performed by David in order to free him from king Abimelech, God inspired David to pen this psalm of praise and instruction. The essential instruction is how to live the good life, the life characterized by “the fear of the Lord” and a desire to live long and see good (vs 11-12).
Psalm 34
1 I WILL bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. 3 Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together. 4 I sought the LORD, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. 5 They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed. 6 This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them. 8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! 9 Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. 10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing. 11 Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. 12 Who is the man who desires life, And loves many days, that he may see good? 13 Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit. 14 Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. 15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry. 16 The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. 18 The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all. 20 He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken. 21 Evil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned. 22 The LORD redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned. NKJV
David praises the Lord in vs 1-3, gives testimony of how the Lord comes through in vs. 4-7, and begins instructing about how to experience the Lord coming through for you in the rest of the psalm.
Verses 8-10 account that God provides for those who trust in and fear the Lord.
But What is the fear of the Lord. That instruction follows in vs 11-14
“11 Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. 12 Who is the man who desires life, And loves many days, that he may see good? 13 Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit. 14 Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.”Psalm 34:11-14
Instructions for the good life
Fear the Lord in this way:
- “Keep your tongue from evil,” v 13a – How many ways can “evil” be spoken? Cursing and slandering are obvious, but what about gossip, complaining, tearing down with words rather than building up, clamorous yelling, negative talk rather than positive and hopeful talk. Can positive or negative talk be both internal and external? In what ways do you need to work on taming the unruly evil of your tongue?
- “And your lips from speaking deceit, ” vs 13b – Do not lie or mislead with your lips, nor your life. Avoid being a hypocrite.
- “Depart from evil and do good;” vs 14a – Just do not do what you know is evil, and do what you know is good.
- “Seek peace and pursue it.” vs 14b – Seek peace, pursue peace. Seek to be at peace with God by keeping sin confessed and conscience clear. Seek peace with people by loving them – doing right by people, doing to them as you’d have them do to you. But go further, pursue peace. Strive to cause peace where it was not before. Strive to be a peacemaker, and peace keeper. This doesn’t meaning being pushover. It means drawing people into living lovingly, responsibly, and well, in relation with God, with you, and with one another.
This kind of living promotes character traits that align with God’s goodness and results in the good life, as vs 15-18 reveals.
Godly Character Traits flow with Godly living.
- Righteousness, vs 15-16 “15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry. 16 The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.“
- Prayerfulness, v17 “The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles.”
- Humility, v 18 “The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.”
One thing to note, the good life is not the affliction free life
“17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles… 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all.”Psaslm 34:17, 19; emphasis mine
The good life does not avoid trouble, but does avoid the way of evil that destroys and condemns the wicked. Two ways of living are shown. One following evil, and wickedness, and the ways of ones whims; and one following the Lord. Following the good and upright ways of God opens and lays forth your opportunity to live well, and experience good —perhaps not easy, but good, oh so good.