Wednesday, July 10

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Psalm 34:1-8

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.

These words were written by King David.  David writes this Psalm under duress.  Saul has become completely jealous of David and the popularity that he has gained in the kingdom and has already made attempts to kill David.  David has no option but to flee and it is in the midst of all of this that David writes these words...” The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.”

It is very easy to live completely consumed by fear and if we are honest, there is a lot to be afraid of.  Watching the news for 30 minutes in the evening seems to breed fear.  There are reports of violence all around us, unrest in unstable nations, economic concerns, environmental issues and it goes on and on.  Everyday it feels like I hear about how the air we breath and the food that we eat is killing us.  It’s overwhelming.  If you have children, the fear has a tendency to increase exponentially.  Will we be able to protect them, to provide for them, etc?  We can find ourselves living in a culture dominated by fear and it can become crippling to our faith and to our lives.

Psalm 34 and the presence of the Angel of the Lord speaks directly into this culture of fear.  David has every right to be afraid.  The most powerful man in the Kingdom of Israel has decided that he wants David dead and there is very little that David can do to convince him otherwise.  But this would not be the fear that would define David.  David describes the Angel of the Lord as “encamping around those who fear him”.  David’s concern was rightly placed.  Even in an effort to preserve his own life, David’s primary concern was to honor God above all. He understood what it meant to “fear the Lord” above all else.  The result of this for David is clear....deliverance.  David was delivered from his fear and would ultimately be delivered from his enemy.  This of course is not a promise that we will be delivered from experiences of pain and sorrow, we know too well that this is not the case, but rather the we will not be left alone in our fear.  The fear of the Lord for David produced a fuller perspective of his circumstances. He was able to see more that the threats that were surrounding him.  He was able to see how the Angel of the Lord was protecting and providing for Him in the midst of the threats and as a result, he exclaims “I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.”

Jesus is the sufficient one.  He know our fears and meets us in the midst of them.  He redirects out attention back to matters of first priority so that we like David can experience our deliverance in Him.  Then we too will say, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”

Sterling Moore