Psalm 34
A-Z of Salvation
The opening three verses of this Psalm are particularly precious to me, for they were read and preached on at our wedding. I wanted this to be the invitation I extended to Sarah, to join me in glorifying and magnifying our God, not just on that day, but for the rest of our marriage to one another.
But before that, this is actually an invitation from our Risen King to all us, his beloved people, to consider and celebrate the fullness of God’s deliverance.
So let us see and savour our salvation.
Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelek, who drove him away, and he left.
1 I will extol the LORD at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
2 I will glory in the LORD;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the LORD with me:
let us exalt his name together.4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.8 Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
9 Fear the LORD, you his holy people,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
11 Come, my children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12 Whoever of you loves life
and desires to see many good days,
13 keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from telling lies.
14 Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
and his ears are attentive to their cry;
16 but the face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
to blot out their name from the earth.17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The LORD is close to the broken-hearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.19 The righteous person may have many troubles,
but the LORD delivers him from them all;
20 he protects all his bones,
not one of them will be broken.21 Evil will slay the wicked;
the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
22 The LORD will rescue his servants;
no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.
In this Psalm, David gives us the A-Z of salvation. That is, in the original Hebrew, each line of the Psalm begins with next letter of the alphabet. The idea is that it takes the whole alphabet and more to articulate and grasp the what God has done for his King and what he can do for us.
Notice in the the first three verses, it is evenly split into two. David announces his intention to commit himself to exalt and exult in his LORD. But then the next three lines open up and look outward to God’s people, calling on us to join with him in this worship. It is an invitation to the afflicted. David is saying that he knows personally where we have been. But he knows the certainty of God’s promises. In v19, he acknowledges that the righteous will struggle and suffer in this world. Yet he knows that ultimately there is deliverance.
This was the reality and is the testimony of the Son of David, Jesus our true and everlasting King. He suffered like us. He suffered for us. And God delivered him from the grave. And our Father will deliver us by his grace.
In 4-7, David details God’s deliverance of his anointed King. Twice he recounts how God heard his prayers (4&6). And God stepped in and acted. David’s experience is not of a distant and disinterested deity but of a faithful father who answers and intervenes for his people.
God saves and delivers his King. The word for ‘deliver’ means to tear away or plunder. The picture is of ripping something out of the hands or possession of another. That is what God has done. He plucks us out of the grip of our enemies and of death itself. And he transfers us into the Kingdom of light, life and love.
David then says, this isn’t just for me. This is for all those who fear the LORD, all who would put their trust in his promises, abiding in his love, collapsing on his grace and finding refuge in his mercy.
David says, experience this for yourself. This isn’t like watching the cooking show on TV. This isn’t the equivalent of walking past a Michelin Star restaurant window and thinking this is out of reach. David encourages us to know this reality for ourselves, to “taste and see that the LORD is good.”
And if we are a Christian, we can taste and have tasted of his goodness (1 Peter 2.3). It is freely available to us all (Isaiah 55.1-2). It is available to us in Christ Jesus, who is the Bread of Life, the one who nourishes and delights our souls.
And so having recounted God’s deliverance in his life, having invited others to experience it themselves, in the final section of this Psalm, David reiterates the promises of God that are available to all the righteous. The righteous are those who like David, and Abraham before him, have put their faith in Jesus, being justified through the cross (see Romans 4).
The promises here are precious to those struggling. God will defeat evil. But here we especially see his intimate care for his people. His eyes and ears are focussed on us. He draws near to us in our pain. He is close to us in our affliction. He does not desert us when we face evil. He delivers and protects. He is with us and for us.
This is a wonderful song for in it we hear the sweet words of our King. Jesus suffered and died at the hands of his enemies. Yet God raised him to new life for our justification (Romans 4.25). God’s work in Jesus’s life was not just for him. And it wasn’t just for our encouragement. It is through his death that no longer are we condemned but now stand before God forgiven and free. And the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work in us, bringing us into new life (Romans 8.11).
Therefore, let’s join together in magnifying and glorifying the God of our salvation!
Glory be to God the Father, who delivered his Son from the chords of the grave.
Glory be to God the Son, through whom we are delivered from the snares of death.
Glory be to God the Spirit, who ushers us into the resurrection life of Christ.
Ever three and ever One.