A Song to Remember
Opening Prayer
Spirit of Truth, Spirit of Glory, thank You for loving, blessing and rescuing me. I love You, Lord.
Read Psalm 34:1–22
[1] Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelek, who drove him away, and he left.
Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
This psalm encourages us to praise the Lord (1–7), seek the Lord (8–14) and thank the Lord (15–22).
Think Further
Are you ever tempted to congratulate yourself? Psalmist David could understandably have felt proud of his clever, high-risk strategy in escaping from a Philistine king (1 Sam. 21:10–15), yet he knows his rescue is from God (4). The only boasting he will do is in God’s salvation (3). Here, he wants others to learn from and rejoice with him in this experience of God (2).
The poet takes his feelings of fear, grief and brokenness and controls them with the acrostic form (each line beginning with another letter of the Hebrew alphabet). The singer songwriter wants his readers or listeners to remember these words—and sing this song of testimony too. So, what reasons have we to praise God in our troubled twenty-first century? There is much to fear as we listen to the news, as we think about our families and our own lives. David found God to be a faithful, strong and powerful friend. As we travel through life, his angels journey with us, saving us from dangers of which we may not even be aware (7). Is there deep sadness and loss in our lives? Our loving Lord is “close to the brokenhearted” (18). The prophetic words of verse 20 remind us that God himself knew the pain of the death of his only Son.
In spite of dark times, David’s song encourages us: “Taste and see,” live holy lives, don’t speak evil, do good and seek peace (8–14). Sounds simple—but in the messiness of life it often isn’t. Praise God, he is on our side (15)! When we call to him, he hears; when we take refuge in him we will not be condemned (22).
Apply
Choose a verse or two from this psalm that speaks to your own situation. Use the words as your response to God throughout today.
Closing prayer
“I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips” (Psa. 34:1). Think back over this last week and praise God for his blessings.
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