The LORD, a Provider and Deliverer.
A Psalm of David when he feigned madness before Abimelech, who drove him away and he departed.
1I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2My soul will make its boast in the LORD; the humble will hear it and rejoice.
3O magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.
4I sought the LORD, and He answered me, And delivered me from all my fears.
5 They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces will never be ashamed.
6This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him And saved him out of all his troubles.
7The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them.
8O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
9O fear the LORD, you His saints; For to those who fear Him there is no want.
10The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; But they who seek the LORD shall not be in want of any good thing.
11Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12Who is the man who desires life And loves length of days that he may see good?
13Keep your tongue from evil And your lips from speaking deceit.
14Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.
15The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous And His ears are open to their cry.
16The face of the LORD is against evildoers, To cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17The righteous cry, and the LORD hears And delivers them out of all their troubles.
18The LORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit.
19Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all.
20He keeps all his bones, Not one of them is broken.
21Evil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22The LORD redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.
- Background: This psalm was written as an acrostic in the original language. This means that the verses begin with successive letters of the alphabet. It was a device used to help people with memorization. The last verse, 22, does not fall into the acrostic which causes us to ask, why? In the introduction, you see a note about when the psalm was written. The full story is in 1 Samuel 22 (the Breakaway podcast from 2/3/09 is about this text).
- Verses 1-8: Verse 3 says to “magnify the LORD”. How do you think you can magnify the Lord? How do verses 1 and 2 help accomplish that? David says “this poor man” speaking of himself. Why do you think David calls himself “poor”? What does this say about how he viewed himself in comparison to God? How does God respond to David?
- Verses 9-14: Look back at verse 4 and read verse 9. How is it that God delivers us from our fears when we seek Him yet tells us to fear Him? 1 Peter 1:17 says,”Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear“. What are some other definitions for these two different types of fear? How do verses 10-14 help show you what it means to fear the Lord? Verse 12 says that a man that fears God: desires life, loves length of days and wants to see good. Does this sound like a man that is enjoying life? When we fear God and operate within His will (look at verses 13 and 14 on how to do that), He gives us joy!
- Verses 15-22: There is a lot of personification of God in these verses. Circle the words that personify God and underline the actions He does (example: in verse 17 hears will be circled and delivered underlined). There are two groups of people talked about in these verses, the righteous and the evil. What does God promise to each of these groups? Throughout this psalm, some of the other ways God describes the righteous are: servants, saints, radiant, blessed, and humble. How do these words make you feel? Do you know if you are one of God’s righteous? Read verse 22. If you have accepted the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, all of this applies to you! I hope this makes your heart cry out the same as verses 1-4.