Psalm 34:15-22

Scripture:

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.

Devotion:

Psalm 34 carries a superscription connecting it to one of the most desperate seasons in David's life, the time he fled from Saul and pretended to be insane before the Philistine king Achish in order to escape with his life. Out of that experience of fear and humiliation, David writes a song of praise, one that moves in its final verses toward instruction for anyone who wants to walk in the fear of the Lord.

These closing verses draw a sharp line between the righteous and the wicked, describing how God relates to His people in the middle of a hard life rather than promising them an easy one. The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, David writes, and His ears are open to their cry. When they call for help, He hears and delivers them. When they are brokenhearted and crushed in spirit, He draws near.

Verse 19 is worth lingering over: many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. David is honest that following God does not exempt anyone from suffering, and he points instead to a God who stays present through affliction and brings His people out the other side of it. Verse 20 carries a detail that later Scripture picks up directly, that the Lord keeps all his bones, not one of them broken, a line the Gospel of John applies to Jesus on the cross, whose bones remained unbroken even in His suffering and death.

This is the Old Testament soil out of which James grows his teaching about trials producing joy. He is standing in a long tradition that begins here, with a shepherd king who learned in his own affliction that the Lord hears, delivers, and stays near, even when the trouble does not disappear right away.

HEAR about it:

Explain:

What connection do you see between Isaiah 40:28-31 and Psalm 145? What new light does it shed on the main passage? How does David's experience of affliction and God's nearness deepen your understanding of what it means to count trials as joy?

Prayer and Reflection:

Take a few minutes to sit quietly and reflect on the passage you read today. Let the Holy Spirit bring to mind what stood out to you and why. Then spend some time in prayer. Pray for the people around you, for your outlook on this day, and for the needs you are carrying in your own life.

Lord, thank You that Your eyes are toward the righteous and Your ears are open to our cry. I bring You the afflictions I am carrying today and ask You to draw near the way You drew near to David. Keep me from believing that trouble means You have moved away. Deliver me in Your timing, and until You do, let me feel Your nearness in the middle of it. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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