The past few weeks have been a bit trying; we found out that my Son-in-Law’s transplant did not take. There was only a 17% match, and there needed to be a 90% match or better to really help him. We were all disappointed, and now the next step is to keep him from getting too, too sick and helping him hold on for another year before they can try a more invasive transplant.
On top of that, my dad passed away and went home to the Lord. It was an unexpected passing; he was in decent health and spirits, but the Lord took him home. I have not been writing a lot, as these things were front and center in our lives for a bit. We will celebrate my dad this coming week, and then maybe things can get back to a bit of normalcy. I hate missing these writings, as they help me to learn the scriptures better.
Psalm 34 was written after the events of 1 Samuel 21. To understand this, we will see that in 1 Samuel 17, we see the account of David and Goliath; at first there is a lot of joy over the victory, but soon, Saul becomes very jealous of David and tries to kill him. David ends up running for his life and, as such, ends up in the city of Nob. There he is helped by one of the priests who thinks he, David, is on an errand for Saul. Saul ends up having all the priests and their families killed, and David runs to Gath in 1 Samuel 21: 1-15, and there he fakes being insane and finds peace there in Gath. David writes this Psalm in reference to what is happening in his life:
Verses 1-3: I will bless the Lord at all times. What a lesson for us! No matter the circumstances, whether good, bad, or ugly, I will bless the Lord at all times.
Can you and I honestly say that this is how we approach life? Sadly, a lot of us only bless the Lord when things are good, money is in the bank, the family is healthy, and things are going our way. But what happens when your son-in-law is sick and nothing helps, or when your dad suddenly dies and there was no way to say goodbye? What happens when work is hard, every sale takes every ounce of strength you have, while others seem to have it so easy? What happens when you pastor a church that never seems to grow; week to week, the numbers don’t seem to get bigger, but you see other churches baptizing 2, 3, 10, 30 all in one Sunday. Can you bless the Lord when everybody else’s Goliaths get killed, but yours is alive and well?
Verses 4-7: God always hears our cries. No matter how much you may think your cries hit the ceiling, God hears. He hears the humble and the broken, those who come to the end of themselves and seek Him in faith. David says, I sought the Lord, and He heard me.
Verses 8-9: The Lord is good. When we take the time to check, the time to truly take account, we will see that the Lord is good. He provides, He is there, He is near, He has all under control, and the chaos is His way of fixing things. There is no want Psalm 23:1); there are no needs for those whose Shepherd is the Lord.
Verses 11-14: We are to teach others to fear and respect the Lord. Don’t shy away from letting your kids see some of the struggles, and rejoice with them when the Lord solves the problems and comes to the rescue. Let them see the Lord’s hand as well and grow confident from their youth that He is there, that He provides, and that He is a trusted friend.
Verses 15-18: God is watching over us. God is good, not because we are worthy, but simply because He is good. His eye, they say, is on the sparrow. We are told that God knows even the number of hairs on our heads and all about us. We have no secrets with Him, and still He loves us, is near to us, protects us, and is all we will ever need.
Verses 19-22: The Righteous will go through afflictions. This is one of the hardest things to understand. We have too many religious organizations – I will not call them churches – who have conned people in thinking that salvation is a ticket out of troubles. BUT the opposite is truer. God tells us we will be afflicted; Jesus warns us that in this life we will have troubles. But don’t finish there; not only will we have afflictions, BUT God, YHWH, will deliver us from it all. Hold on; help is coming. Like Job 42:16, there will be an “after this” in your life as well.
In verse 20, David prophesies about Jesus’ bones not being broken, 1000 years before the crucifixion. Evil will seem to win for a time; read the opening verses of Psalm 73, but look at Psalm 34:22: NONE who trust in Him shall be condemned. What a wonderful Psalm written by a man, a righteous man, who was on the run from his father-in-law; he was running for his life, and yet in the middle of that he wrote that God is good. God is good!!! Maybe you have been through some stuff; maybe you are going through some stuff. Can you cry out God is good? I hope you can and mean it.
Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Bethany Baptist Church
70 Victoria Street, Elora, Ontario