Understanding Our Fear

Studies in the Psalms

Psalm 34

Title: Understanding Our Fear

Introduction

Certain Psalms take on a special meaning when viewed in the light of their superscriptions, Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he left. This is an uncommon Psalm. It is an acrostic Psalm where each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew Alphabet which means that it was especially intended to be remembered. It is one thing to learn from your mistakes, but few are willing to publicize their folly in order that others can learn the lesson. I think that is what David is doing here. He is reflecting on a past experience. The story referred to in the superscription is brief and it is found in I Samuel 21: 10-15, That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. But the servants of Achish said to him, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Isn’t he the one they sing about in their dances: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands’?” David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard. Achish said to his servants, “Look at the man! He is insane! Why bring him to me? Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house?” I call to your attention that David “took these words to heart” and he was “very much afraid,” which is the way both the New International and the New King James translate the Hebrew. The King James says “sore afraid.” David’s subsequent behavior indicates the depth of his terror. Psalm 34 is all about trusting the Lord to deliver and David came short in I Samuel 21. Like David we pray to the Lord in extremity and then act out of fear. David wants to demonstrate that the deliverance he experienced was not due to his subterfuge but to the watchful care of his God. This Psalm testifies to the fact that God uses even our mistakes to bless us. His favor is not withdrawn when we act out of fear. He still delivers His people! David begins by saying. I will bless the Lord at all times and near the end of the Psalm he says verse 19, Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers him out of them all. So we should really ask, what is the purpose of the many afflictions of the righteous? What are we to learn? The answer is brokenness, bravery, and boasting.

I. Brokenness

It may not seem obvious, but I think the heart of the matter is in verse 18 which says, The Lord is close to the brokenhearted The entire Psalm is talking about the fact that God hears His people because he is near to His people, verses 4-7, I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. But, the people he is near are a people who have broken hearts and contrite spirits as in 15-22, The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all; he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken. Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned. The LORD redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him. All the troubles of this life, which David says are many, have the effect of humbling us. The fact that David says none of our bones will be broken or that we will not be desolate does not mean we will not face affliction, it just means that we like Job will not be totally abandoned. God says to Satan in the book of Job, you may attempt to defraud Job, but you cannot take his life. The point of our sufferings, like those of Job is that we should come to the place of a broken heart and a contrite Spirit. Isaiah 57:13-15 reminds us, But the man who makes me his refuge will inherit the land and possess my holy mountain. And it will be said: “Build up, build up, prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.” For this is what the high and lofty One says-he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.” This is the essence of faith, of trust, and of confidence. This is the place to which David came as he pondered his experience in the hands of the Philistines. If he was truly broken hearted and contrite he would not have dissimulated. He only came to this position because of his failure, because of his pride, or in other words he learned humility through his afflictions.

II. Bravery

If the believer is properly humbled, he will pursue truth and peace regardless of the dangers that surround him. This is exactly what David did earlier when he went forth to defeat the Philistine giant, Goliath. This is precisely what David failed to do in I Samuel 21. God overruled to protect his servant, but the behavior of David was abominable. You might say that you would do the same thing in these circumstances. Perhaps so, but just remember the martyrs for the faith past and present who could have escaped an awful fate by reciting a simple formula, in other words, by telling a lie. Furthermore, David was the anointed King of Israel, and even the Philistines knew this. Saul was in power, but David was God’s chosen one. We need to see the Old Testament perspective on this. The Philistines are the enemies of Israel. For the anointed King who is the Son and representative of Yahweh to be so humiliated before these pagans is a terrible thing. It’s really vile. No wonder David feels the need to set the record straight. So when he gives counsel to God’s people, and teaches the little ones, he says, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Vs. 8-14, Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. There are two things that David emphasizes. The first is fearing the Lord. The only way to avoid fearing men is to fear the Lord. Jesus taught His disciples that they should not fear those that can kill the body, but Him who can cast both soul and body into hell. The second thing David emphasizes is truthfulness. I want to suggest to you that most lies are told in order to protect. It may be to protect our lives as in the case of David, but for us, more often, it’s to protect our reputation. David says the lesson he learned from his experience was to be brave and tell the truth and trust the Lord. So the afflictions of the righteous are to teach them humility and then confidence to do God’s will regardless of the cost.

III. Boasting

Yes God wants us to learn the lesson of humility through our sufferings. And God wants us to learn through our trials abandon the attachment to comfort and safety which leads to sin. But most of all God wants praise. This is exactly what he gets out of David. And this is why the afflictions of the righteous are many. David says he will boast in the Lord, the afflicted will hear and rejoice, verses 1-3, 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. Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together. We may wonder why God allows suffering in the world and especially in the lives of His dear children. It seems harsh for us to say that He does it for his glory. Yet this is a fallen world. The object of creation is to display God’s glory. Sin has entered and men do not glorify God. The way in which the proper order is restored in our lives is through suffering. Then we boast in the Lord. The proper perspective is that God alone is worthy of praise. God deserves all the glory. In Galatians 6:14 Paul says, May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. The Apostle is saying that the cross has cut him off from worldly fulfillment. Henceforth he will know nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified. Thus Paul was prepared to suffer the loss of all things for the excellency of knowing Jesus Christ. He understood more perfectly the sentiment David is expressing in Psalm 34. The only thing that really matters is to boast in God. In this present life this is a hard lesson.

Summary of Psalm 34

Psalm 34 is David’s recollection of an unpleasant experience in his life. He was persecuted and pursued by Saul and when he fell into the hands of Philistines he played the madman to escape. It was an embarrassment for the anointed King of God’s people to play the fool before his enemies. But David turns his folly into a grand lesson of trust in the Lord. He boasts in the Lord because God always delivers His people, even when they fear men instead of God. He uses this occasion to remind us to fear God alone. Reverence for God produces two dissimilar effects. In relation to God it produces broken hearts and crushed Spirits. The high and lofty One who inhabits eternity dwells with those who are contrite and lowly in spirit. In relation to men reverence for God produces boldness so that the child of God confidently speaks the truth and does not pretend to be something other than he is. Through the coming of Christ and His saving work we now see more clearly the need for contrition and confession. Jesus said in Luke 12:8, Whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God.