Psalm 34

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!

Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints,

for those who fear him have no lack!

The young lions suffer want and hunger;

but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

Come, O children, listen to me;

I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

What man is there who desires life

and loves many days, that he may see good?

Keep your tongue from evil

and your lips from speaking deceit.

Turn away from evil and do good;

seek peace and pursue it.

(Psalm 34:8-14 ESV)

David writes this Psalm when he escapes the Philistines by pretending to be crazy. Of all times in his life it would seem as if he should not really be rejoicing. He's being chased by Saul. He's a fugitive and people are trying to kill him. His attempt to find safety and rest by trying to go to the Philistines has failed. People have called him a threat, accused him of being disloyal to the throne, and now he's being called crazy.

Oh how fickle I am when things are not going my way. When a snide comment or when I'm unappreciative comment I am not saying from the bottom of my heart, "Praise God from whom all blessings flow." How did David do it? How did he possess this character that would allow him to worship God when it seems as if God's not working?

But here's David, saying,

"I will bless the LORD at all times;

his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

My soul makes its boast in the LORD;

let the humble hear and be glad." Psalm 34:1-2

Two key words I see in David's Psalm- "fear" and "lack".

Fear-

He says to Fear the LORD. Fearing the Lord is not used in the same sense of being scared of something. Rather, it means to be in reverence of, respect, and yes a little trepidation. It's like the sermon I talked about last Sunday. It's like the Grand Canyon. It's beautiful, majestic. But you don't want to be playing too close to the edge. You respect it.

For David, he had an understanding that it isn't about what God can do for him. It was about God's sovereign plan. God is in control. God works all things for the good of those who love Him, to conform them to the image of Christ.

How do we fear? You watch what you say, and you watch what you do.

Watch what you say- what's what it means when you keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceit. It doesn't mean don't talk, it means to monitor the words that come out of our mouths. How often does Scripture talk about our mouths? "Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks." "A tongue is like a spark that sets a forest ablaze."

Watch what we do- Turn- change your direction from doing evil to "seeking peace and pursuing it." Literally, seek shalom. Peace with your relations, peace with God. But it is not just a personal peace within. Tim Keller has a great sermon on Justice. (Visit This Link) In it he presents the argument that biblically speaking, pursuing social justice in this world is means to pursue the shalom.

Lack-

What is lack? It is missing something. Falling short on what is needed. He calls himself a poor man. He is on the run. Yet he declares that those who fear the Lord, "lack no good thing."

What is this thing that they do not lack? It's definitely not material possessions. David has none at this point. It's not even necessarily the hope that God will take the situation and make it into something good. He has no assurance of that at that particular moment.

So then what are these things that they will not lack? Two things. The first is God himself. He writes that blessed are all who take refuge in Him not because of what God provides, but how the joy and the hope that he has is found in God. It is not just about seeking God's hand, it is about seeking His face. It's not just what God can give, but what God can give in Himself.

There is also another meaning to the word lack in the Bible. Sin. Sin is a falling short, it is a missing the mark. When we pursue sin, we will be missing something. That is the dissatisfaction we experience when we pursue other gods. There is a lack, a shortage. It is the hope in the cross and in the resurrection gives us satisfaction. What we lack and when we fall short, it is the cross that fills the gap. Thus we are able to fear the Lord, and yet have hope that the gap that sin creates, God is able to fill.

Taste and see that the LORD is good.