Daily Bible Reading Monday 3rd January 2022
by William Moody
Psalm 34
Taste and See That the Lord Is Good
1 Of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.
34:1 I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul makes its boast in the LORD;
let the humble hear and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
and let us exalt his name together!
4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him
and saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
9 Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!
10 The young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
11 Come, O children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12 What man is there 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 Turn away from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous
and his ears toward their cry.
16 The face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17 When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the LORD delivers him out of them all.
20 He keeps all his bones;
not one of them is broken.
21 Affliction will slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22 The LORD redeems the life of his servants;
none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.Footnotes
[1] 34:1
This psalm is an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet (ESV)
This Psalm was written after David, when fleeing from Saul, came to the Philistine King Achish of Gath and pretended to be mad to stay alive (1 Samuel 21 v10-15, Abimelech was probably a title for the Philistine Kings).
David after his deliverance was full of praise to the Lord and encourages others to join him (v1-3). He then moves on to a word of testimony about how he a poor man was saved out of his troubles (v4-7). Look at verse 7, it is surely a great encouragement for the believer.
David wants others to taste and see that the Lord is good (v8) because those who fear the Lord lack no good thing (v9-10). David is a prophet who wants to encourage others to be right with the Lord so as to know His blessing (v11-18). We can’t just live any old way and expect the blessing of God.
It is the righteous that the Lord blesses and it is the wicked that He slays (v19-22). Being righteous doesn’t mean we’re perfect but that we’re trusting in the One true righteous one Jesus. Verse 20 is a prophesy about Jesus who wouldn’t have His bones broken (John 19 v32-36). All was planned.
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