Out of Touch Psalm 34 (Read Online) 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. 5They 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. S=cripture How does it feel when you are out of touch with those that you love and care about? If a teenager is out late and you haven’t heard from them and can’t get in touch with them, what thoughts run through your head? What’s it like for you when you go through a South Louisiana hurricane and the power is out and your cell phone doesn’t work? We need connection and communication. When we can’t connect and communicate with those we love, we are frantic and unnerved. What’s your communication with God like these days? Are you feeling connected, or are you out of touch? The person we most need to connect with and to communicate with is our heavenly Father and our Creator. Psalm 34 is a great Psalm to read over and over again to connect and to communicate with your heavenly Father. Listen closely for God’s whisper to you. What word in the Psalm encourages you? What word in the Psalm convicts you? Write out the verses that stand out to you and think about them throughout your day. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to the truth that He wants to teach you. Invite the Holy Spirit to search your heart and to convict and cleanse you. O=bservation: Psalm 34 is another acrostic Psalm. The writer begins with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and then he works his way through the alphabet, beginning each verse with a different Hebrew letter. This Psalm is organized more around the acrostic format than it is around any single theme. There are some key words that God wants you to dwell on and pay attention to in this Psalm. When God wants to get your attention, He repeats Himself. The following terms are repeated three or more times: fear, good, evil and righteous. Spend some time looking at all the verses these key terms are found in, and meditate on their meaning for your life. A=pplication: There is an interesting little three letter word in Psalm 34, all. It almost seems like a blanket promise to those who fear the Lord. If you fear the Lord, you will be delivered from all your troubles. (Psalm 34:6, 17, 19) Does God promise to deliver you from all your troubles? If you experience troubles, is something wrong with your relationship with God? It is so important to remember that David lived under the Old Covenant. David knew the Mosaic covenant commands and promises. He knew the teaching of Deuteronomy 30:11-18 and he based his life on these truths. Read Deuteronomy 30:11-18, “For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?’ 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross the sea for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?’ 14 But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it.15 “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; 16 in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. 17 But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it.” It is so important for you to remember as a New Covenant believer that you don’t relate to God in the same way that David related to God. (Romans 6:14) The cross changed everything! Jesus says to New Covenant believers, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Paul goes on to tell New Covenant believers that our hope is not in this world. He says, “If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.” (1 Corinthians 15:19) If you are experiencing trouble in this world, you haven’t done anything wrong. Jesus wants to prepare you for the inevitable trouble that will come your way, and He wants to be your peace. Our hope and our confidence and our longing is in heaven. (Philippians 1:21; 3:20-21) P=rayer: Jesus, thank you for the promise of Your peace. I need Your presence and Your power to stand strong through times of trouble. I long for the day when there will be no more trouble, no more heartache. Come quickly, Lord Jesus! HPC Devotional 11/14/13
Posted on: Fri, 15 Nov 2013 12:45:04 +0000
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