Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Psalm 34

 I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
 My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.
 O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.
 I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
 They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.
 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
 The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
 O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
 O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.
 The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.
 Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
 What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?
 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.
 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
 The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
 The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
 The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
 The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.
 He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.
 Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.
 The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

          I love this chapter more than I can express.  This Psalm holds in it promises from The Lord to those who love Him and those who despise Him as well as the duties of those who profess to love Him.  It is a comfort to those who love Him and it is also a litmus test to determine whether your heart truly is where you profess it to be.  It is also a beautiful and poetic description of a very active relationship between a people and their God.  Because our God is alive and active, and if we are living in His love we will be actively participating in that love.  Love is an action, not a location.  I could go on and on about this chapter, but instead I will give you an explanation of the words I have highlighted and how they speak to me personally.

Blue - The overt actions of someone who's heart has been touched by the Lord.  They will actively bless, praise, boast about, magnify and exalt His presence in their life.

Purple - The actions we must take if we love the Lord and seek to serve Him.  If you want a personal relationship with God you must.  Seek, look, cry out to Him, fear Him (If you look up the definition of fear in this chapter, it is not fear in the sense of terror but respect and honor.), taste, see, trust, come, hearken, desire, love, keep your tongue, depart from evil, do good, seek peace, pursue, have a broken heart and a contrite spirit.  This list may seem long, but in return for your efforts God promises to always:

Green - God's promises to those who love Him.  He will always hear you, deliver you, lighten you, save you, send his angels to encamp around you, be good, bless you, ensure that you do not want, teach you, keep His eyes always on you, have His ears always open to you, be nigh unto you (near you), keep you and redeem you.

Red - God also has promises to those who despise Him and choose to do evil.  He will always have his face set against them, cut off their remembrance, allow their evil choices to slay them, and leave them desolate.