WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.960 34, 22 verses, Psalm 34. 00:00:09.939 --> 00:00:16.039 The title says, Of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, so that he 00:00:16.039 --> 00:00:17.719 drove him out and he went away. 00:00:19.400 --> 00:00:20.800 I'll read it out loud. 00:00:23.339 --> 00:00:26.300 I will bless the Lord at all times. 00:00:26.300 --> 00:00:29.359 His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:32.679 My soul makes its boast in the Lord. 00:00:33.359 --> 00:00:35.240 Let the humble hear and be glad. 00:00:36.320 --> 00:00:40.620 O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. 00:00:41.519 --> 00:00:46.439 I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. 00:00:47.600 --> 00:00:51.519 Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. 00:00:52.179 --> 00:00:57.659 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. 00:00:57.659 --> 00:01:03.339 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and delivers them. 00:01:03.899 --> 00:01:06.780 We'll taste and see that the Lord is good. 00:01:07.819 --> 00:01:10.299 Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. 00:01:11.019 --> 00:01:15.340 O fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack. 00:01:15.340 --> 00:01:21.740 The young lions suffer want and hunger, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. 00:01:22.700 --> 00:01:24.680 Come, O children, listen to me. 00:01:25.100 --> 00:01:27.219 I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 00:01:28.020 --> 00:01:32.280 What man is there who desires life and loves many days that he may see good? 00:01:32.840 --> 00:01:36.080 Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. 00:01:36.620 --> 00:01:38.719 Turn away from evil and do good. 00:01:39.100 --> 00:01:41.020 Seek peace and pursue it. 00:01:41.019 --> 00:01:47.619 The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, and his ears toward their cry. 00:01:48.359 --> 00:01:54.359 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. 00:01:55.439 --> 00:02:01.599 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. 00:02:02.159 --> 00:02:07.319 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. 00:02:07.319 --> 00:02:13.560 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. 00:02:14.379 --> 00:02:15.680 He keeps all his bones. 00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:17.159 Not one of them is broken. 00:02:18.120 --> 00:02:22.359 Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. 00:02:23.000 --> 00:02:25.579 The Lord redeems the life of his servants. 00:02:26.120 --> 00:02:30.019 None of those who take refuge in him will be condemned. 00:02:30.020 --> 00:02:40.260 This psalm is about fearing God, that we are to fear God because God attends to the righteous but contends with the wicked. 00:02:41.219 --> 00:02:48.540 And fear is, as we know, a very powerful motivator, and that's why we see it everywhere around us. 00:02:48.620 --> 00:02:51.800 We see it in our politics from both the left and right side of the spectrum. 00:02:51.800 --> 00:02:59.520 Every election cycle seems we're on the verge of some kind of apocalyptic threats, right? 00:02:59.660 --> 00:03:04.580 Fears, fear-mongering in a way, too, because it generates interest. 00:03:04.719 --> 00:03:05.500 It generates money. 00:03:05.900 --> 00:03:07.660 It's a powerful motivator. 00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:12.800 So fears of terrorism, economic collapse, cyber warfare, global warming, government corruption. 00:03:13.520 --> 00:03:15.400 It's a rallying tool. 00:03:16.340 --> 00:03:19.080 And David himself wrote the psalm probably. 00:03:19.080 --> 00:03:21.440 He was familiar with many fears. 00:03:22.300 --> 00:03:25.260 And he wrote this one in one of the most fearful moments of his life, 00:03:25.320 --> 00:03:27.220 when he was fleeing for his life from Saul. 00:03:28.020 --> 00:03:31.180 And he fled to the territory of the Philistines. 00:03:31.820 --> 00:03:37.800 And there, because he feared for his life in the presence of the king Achish, the king of Gath, 00:03:38.220 --> 00:03:42.580 he changed his behavior, acted like a madman in order to avoid his attention. 00:03:43.200 --> 00:03:46.400 And here in the title, it says that he did this before Abimelech, 00:03:46.400 --> 00:03:52.879 which might seem like a contradiction at first, because it's actually Achish, according to 1 Samuel 21. 00:03:53.620 --> 00:03:58.900 But it's because Abimelech is most likely a title for Philistine kings, 00:03:59.140 --> 00:04:01.980 just like Pharaoh is a title for Egyptian kings. 00:04:01.979 --> 00:04:07.599 So that's why Abimelech appears so frequently throughout the book of Genesis and other parts. 00:04:08.060 --> 00:04:11.780 And so it's just referring to the king of Philistine, which was Achish at the time. 00:04:12.859 --> 00:04:17.319 And so the first part, it tells us that God attends to the righteous. 00:04:18.279 --> 00:04:21.860 And David kind of tells his first personal testimony in verses 1 to 4, 00:04:22.259 --> 00:04:26.199 telling us that he sought the Lord, and then God answered him and delivered him, 00:04:26.259 --> 00:04:27.480 which is a key word in the psalm. 00:04:27.579 --> 00:04:29.360 Deliver, deliver occurs many times. 00:04:29.360 --> 00:04:31.819 He delivered me from all my fears. 00:04:32.500 --> 00:04:34.639 And how did God deliver David from all his fears? 00:04:34.780 --> 00:04:39.500 And ironically, it's the fear of God that delivered David from fear of other things, 00:04:39.520 --> 00:04:42.939 because it's only fearing God that can deliver us from all the other fears. 00:04:43.360 --> 00:04:45.340 And he talks about this in verses 7 to 11. 00:04:45.840 --> 00:04:49.379 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and delivers them. 00:04:49.720 --> 00:04:51.379 Will taste and see that the Lord is good. 00:04:51.520 --> 00:04:53.240 Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. 00:04:53.319 --> 00:04:57.240 Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack. 00:04:57.240 --> 00:05:02.100 The young lions suffer want and hunger, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. 00:05:02.519 --> 00:05:03.759 Come, O Lord, listen to me. 00:05:04.019 --> 00:05:05.259 Come, O children, listen to me. 00:05:05.480 --> 00:05:07.240 I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 00:05:07.960 --> 00:05:14.079 And the young lions here is a metaphorical reference to kind of predatory people 00:05:14.079 --> 00:05:18.660 who are really powerful and self-sufficient, seemingly. 00:05:19.500 --> 00:05:21.680 And I mean, because if you think about it, out in the wild, 00:05:21.860 --> 00:05:24.519 if there's one animal that doesn't go hungry, it's the lions, right? 00:05:24.519 --> 00:05:28.519 I mean, they're the strongest, so they don't go hungry, especially the young lions, right? 00:05:28.539 --> 00:05:32.259 Maybe the old lions maybe can't hunt anymore, but the young lions never go hungry. 00:05:32.839 --> 00:05:38.099 But David's saying that even the young lions, even when they suffer want and hunger, 00:05:38.620 --> 00:05:42.599 yet even then those who seek the Lord lack no good thing, right? 00:05:42.639 --> 00:05:47.659 So self-sufficient predators will go hungry, but God-fearing people will be satisfied. 00:05:47.939 --> 00:05:48.560 That's what he's saying. 00:05:48.560 --> 00:05:53.780 And that's such a challenge to the predominant message in our culture, in our society, 00:05:53.980 --> 00:05:56.720 which is to lean in, go get it, right? 00:05:56.939 --> 00:05:59.220 It's to be aggressive, fight for it. 00:05:59.439 --> 00:06:03.439 But the message of the word of God instead is fear God, right? 00:06:04.120 --> 00:06:06.600 And to fear God, we talked about this on Sundays, 00:06:06.840 --> 00:06:09.819 to accord proper reverence and honor to God, 00:06:09.819 --> 00:06:13.180 and to live as if we're before him in his presence, 00:06:13.339 --> 00:06:19.259 with awareness of his sovereignty, goodness, you know, power, omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence. 00:06:19.759 --> 00:06:23.360 And when we live like that, the reason why that fear of God drives out all the other fears 00:06:23.360 --> 00:06:27.039 is because when we live as if God really is sovereign, really is good, 00:06:27.100 --> 00:06:30.159 and really is everywhere, and really is all-powerful and all-knowing, 00:06:30.159 --> 00:06:32.740 then uncontrollable and seemingly uncertain 00:06:32.740 --> 00:06:38.279 and even seemingly harmful circumstances in our lives are bearable, right? 00:06:38.279 --> 00:06:39.699 We don't have to be afraid of them. 00:06:39.819 --> 00:06:41.879 We don't have to fear them because God's in control. 00:06:43.359 --> 00:06:49.919 And this kind of presence of God in our midst is described in really personal terms in verse 15 to 18, 00:06:50.379 --> 00:06:51.419 very intimate terms. 00:06:51.919 --> 00:06:52.139 It says, 00:06:52.139 --> 00:06:57.299 The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. 00:06:58.239 --> 00:07:02.759 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. 00:07:03.279 --> 00:07:07.219 But when the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them 00:07:07.220 --> 00:07:08.620 out of all their troubles. 00:07:09.140 --> 00:07:12.840 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. 00:07:13.500 --> 00:07:13.580 Right? 00:07:13.660 --> 00:07:17.820 It's a, I mean, it's in, God's described in human terms, right, 00:07:17.860 --> 00:07:21.800 to really convey that relationship, personal and intimate relationship. 00:07:22.140 --> 00:07:23.360 He's looking at us. 00:07:23.400 --> 00:07:28.300 He's watching us throughout the day to make sure that he can respond when we're in need. 00:07:28.300 --> 00:07:32.020 He says his ears are toward our cry. 00:07:32.139 --> 00:07:40.220 It's almost like his strain is to hear anything, the faintest cry that we might voice in our troubles. 00:07:40.480 --> 00:07:41.540 And he's near us. 00:07:41.720 --> 00:07:42.600 He's not aloof. 00:07:43.000 --> 00:07:43.780 He's not indifferent. 00:07:44.319 --> 00:07:46.600 He's intimately involved in our lives and our welfare. 00:07:46.600 --> 00:07:51.980 In contrast, God, so God attends to the righteous, but he contends with the wicked. 00:07:52.200 --> 00:07:57.540 So he says in verse 16 that the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, 00:07:57.660 --> 00:07:59.860 to cut off the memory of them from the earth. 00:08:00.120 --> 00:08:07.360 So he still relates personally with the wicked, but instead of attending to them and caring for them, 00:08:07.720 --> 00:08:11.040 his face is set against them in opposition to them. 00:08:11.480 --> 00:08:14.320 And that's what sets the righteous apart from the wicked. 00:08:14.319 --> 00:08:19.599 They will both, on the surface, at least look very similar. 00:08:19.740 --> 00:08:22.719 They will all experience successes and failures in life, 00:08:22.759 --> 00:08:25.379 and they will both experience suffering and hardship. 00:08:25.920 --> 00:08:29.839 And you see this in verses 19 and 20, right? 00:08:29.899 --> 00:08:33.939 Because it says that both the righteous and the wicked experience affliction, the same word. 00:08:34.639 --> 00:08:38.059 It says that many are the afflictions of the righteous, right? 00:08:38.179 --> 00:08:42.659 But the difference, of course, is that the Lord delivers the righteous out of them all. 00:08:42.659 --> 00:08:46.279 But for the wicked, the affliction will slay them, and they will be condemned. 00:08:46.699 --> 00:08:55.519 So God won't keep the righteous from afflictions, but he will deliver them from them, through them, out of them. 00:08:56.100 --> 00:09:00.719 And this assurance, of course, is given only to the righteous. 00:09:00.720 --> 00:09:06.620 And that's troubling for people who know that we are not perfectly righteous. 00:09:07.139 --> 00:09:11.540 And that's where this psalm points to Jesus and finds its fulfillment in Jesus. 00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:14.980 Because it says in verse 20, God keeps all his bones. 00:09:15.100 --> 00:09:16.860 Not one of them is broken, right? 00:09:17.259 --> 00:09:21.100 It's a metaphorical way of referring to God's sustaining help and his protection. 00:09:21.100 --> 00:09:29.120 And this verse is quoted by Apostle John in John 19, 36, to describe Jesus' suffering on the cross. 00:09:29.620 --> 00:09:35.300 It says of him that not one, for these things took place that the scripture might be fulfilled, John 19, 36. 00:09:35.620 --> 00:09:38.019 Not one of his bones will be broken, right? 00:09:38.639 --> 00:09:44.800 And though Christ suffered pain and death, God ultimately delivered him and raised him from the dead by his spirit. 00:09:44.799 --> 00:09:50.339 And what he accomplished for us on the cross is the basis for our righteousness, our right standing with God. 00:09:50.539 --> 00:09:52.259 And then because of that, we can live with hope. 00:09:52.659 --> 00:09:54.240 Because of that, we can live with faith. 00:09:54.479 --> 00:09:56.319 And because of that, we can live in love. 00:09:57.899 --> 00:10:02.039 Because we know that through Jesus, we can look to God. 00:10:02.500 --> 00:10:07.019 And we can be assured that he's always attending to us as his people. 00:10:08.219 --> 00:10:10.599 So with that, let's turn to prayer.