DOWN BUT NOT OUT (Psalm 34:1-10)

Look closely: the bees are busy--as is God in the details of our lives.

(An ongoing series on the 48 psalms listed as “recommended reading” for times of depression, as listed in counselor/pastor David Seamands’ book Healing for Damaged Emotions.)
I’ve lost track of the times I’ve gone back to Psalm 34:18:The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

It provides perspective and hope when life doesn’t always go as we think it should. In this psalm David wrestles with the coulda-woulda-shouldas of his life. 

The psalm’s inscription describes his circumstances: “Of David.  When He feigned insanity before Abimilech, who drove him away, and he left.” First Samuel 21 tells how, after King Saul threatened to kill David (his already-anointed successor), David fled a nearby town whose worship center also housed the enormous sword of the Philistine giant Goliath, whom David had killed during his boyhood. He took that sword along to a Philistine town where he hoped to find refuge. Bad idea. His reputation preceded him, and his life was again at stake. Despite their bloodthirsty reputation, the Philistines did grant immunity to crazy people. So David pretended to be mentally off, scratching the doors of the gate and drooling all over his beard. The ruse worked and they shoved him out of the city.  From there he found his way to wilderness caves where he could hide.

David was the one who was brokenhearted and crushed. Yet He doesn’t blame God. Instead he praises Him:

I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.

My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. (vv. 1-2 NIV)

His ability to trust God in the worst of times may be why this psalm is among those suggested for study by those prone to a sad and hopeless outlook on life. When we’re down, we’re less likely to perceive two graces of God: His protection and His blessing.

UNSEEN PROTECTION 

The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. (v. 7)

David’s experience of divine protection wasn’t unique.  Sometime later in Bible history, the prophet Elisha was a marked man for prophecies the king of Aram didn’t like. When the prophet and his servant got up one morning, their town was surrounded by the enemy. The servant reacted as I might have: “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?”  Elisha replied with prophetic coolness: “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (2 Kings 5:16). Then the servant’s eyes were supernaturally opened to see the hills full of angelic defenders.

That’s not just a Bible history event. Another such story came from Dr. Clyde Taylor, founder of the National Association of Evangelicals. As a young missionary in Peru, he called on a tribal chief to explain their presence in the area. Later, at dusk, he noticed a big canoe with several men whistling what he knew were signals. Sensing something amiss, he and his friends decided to stay in the jungle that night, not in a hut.  Two years later, when the chief became a Christian, he admitted to Dr. Taylor: “We intended to kill you that night.  But you were too many. On your roof were crowds of men, all in white robes.” (1)

UNLIMITED BLESSING

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. (v. 8)

Many claim this verse like a Costco tasting station. They make the rounds of the carts where helpers in white netted caps encourage shoppers to try those tooth-picked or mini-cup food samples. We do the same in sharing Christ when we say, “Try God.” But God can’t be chopped into spiritual samples. Truly knowing Him and His goodness means taking that first step of obedience to follow Him, finding out that He is indeed good. To those who know and trust Him, He offers “good things.”  Not “entitlements” or luxuries, but “good things” that rise from a trusting relationship with the One who holds our futures in loving Hands.

 Next: Psalm 34:11-22

(1) Leslie B. Flynn, Thanks: Seeing God’s Word with a Thankful Heart (Carlsbad, CA: Magnus Press, 2005), p. 143.