In Psalm 34, David reflects on a story from his life and realizes that God rescued Him. So David chooses to bless God and not stress tomorrow.
Read Psalm 34. This Psalm is a Hebrew acrostic poem; each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. David recognized an important lesson and wrote a poem in a way that would make it easier to remember.
What is the story here (Psalm 34 referring to)? The editor of Psalms includes a notation at the top. In 1 Samuel 20, we read that David realized King Saul was determined to kill him. In 1 Samuel 21:1-9, David runs from King Saul in Jerusalem to the town of Nob which is a new place of worship. (Under Eli and his sons, their place of meeting God called the “Tabernacle” had been destroyed and the Ark of the Covenant had been taken by the Philistines.) Now David visits the priest Ahimelech (the grandson of Eli) at this place of worship. The priest is afraid of King Saul. David lies to the priest about his purpose and protection. David asks the priest for provision and a weapon. David receives the holy bread and Goliath’s sword. Then David goes to Goliath’s hometown of Gath and its King Achish (who carried the royal title of Abimelech). In 1 Samuel 21:10-15, David feared what the Philistine enemy king might do to him. David deceived the king by pretending to be crazy. Did David start his escape from Saul by running to a place of worship only to change his mind by a lack of trust in God? Did David think that he could defeat the Philistines alone? Did David think that deception was necessary to his safety? King Saul represented a problem that was beyond David’s control. In Psalm 34, David reflects on a story from his life and realizes that God rescued Him. David learned that he had not rescued himself by his own cunning. God was his rescue. So David chooses to bless God and not stress tomorrow.
David learned:
- “Bless the Lord at all times.” – Psalm 34:1 principle of praise
- “Be still, and know that I am God!” – Psalm 46:10
- “Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.” – Psalm 22:3
We should “bless the Lord” for who God is and all that God is doing.
What have we learned about God?
Let’s read Psalm 34 and consider: who God is and what God is doing.
Who: good, great, Creator, Provider, Rescue, Refuge, Guard, Redeemer
What God is doing:
- “answered prayer, freed me from all my fears,” Psalm 34:4
- “listened, saved me from all my troubles,” Psalm 34:6
- “surrounds, defends,” Psalm 34:7
- “watches over, listens” Psalm 34:15
- “rescues from trouble,” Psalm 34:17
- “close to the brokenhearted, rescues those whose spirits are crushed,” Psalm 34:18
- “rescue” Psalm 34:19
- “protect” Psalm 34:20
- “redeems” Psalm 34:22
What should we do?
Let’s read Psalm 34 and consider how we should respond. What does David do? What does David suggest that we do?
- Praise Psalm 34:1-3
- Pray Psalm 34:6
- Trust Psalm 34:10
- Watch your Mouth Psalm 34:11-14
- Serve Psalm 34:22