Psalm 34 – I Will Bless!
The Hebrew community was a blessed nation, a people chosen by God and blessed by God. We are blessed as well. As blessed, we are called to bless our God in return, as indicated by the first line of Psalm 34 – I will bless the Lord at all times.
Historical Context of Psalm 34
Psalm 34 begins with the superscript – “Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelek, who drove him away, and he left.” This references the account in 1 Samuel 21. (Abimelek was a scribal error for Achish)
First David asks Ahimelech for food for him and his men. The only food the priest had was holy bread. He gave this to David along with Goliath’s sword. David then moved on, running from Saul who sought to kill him. When he went to Achish, king of Gath, he was recognized by the king’s servants so he pretended to be insane in order to escape.
“When David realized that he had been recognized, he panicked, fearing the worst from Achish, king of Gath. So right there, while they were looking at him, he pretended to go crazy, pounding his head on the city gate and foaming at the mouth, spit dripping from his beard. Achish took one look at him and said to his servants, “Can’t you see he’s crazy? Why did you let him in here? Don’t you think I have enough crazy people to put up with as it is without adding another? Get him out of here!” (12-15)
In this psalm David blesses God for saving him. David was on the run from Saul for seven years, a long time to be in hiding, fearing for your life and the life of the men you lead. David credits God with saving him and blesses God.
Psalm 34
Psalm 34 is an acrostic poem in praise of God. Each new verse begins with another letter of the Hebrew alphabet, though in this case the letter waw or W, is missing and it ends with pe or P as a final verse was added to end on a more positive note: “The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.” (22)
The psalm begins with David saying he will bless the Lord at all times, not just because God saved him from Saul, but at all times, in every way, for everything.
“I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul shall make its boast in the Lord;
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name together.” (1-3)
He calls upon others to magnify/praise God with him. He then lists some of the reasons to bless God:
“I sought the Lord, and He heard me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces were not ashamed.
This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him,
And delivers them.” (4-7)
Other reasons to bless God from this psalm:
“But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.” (10b)
“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their cry.” (15)
“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears,
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
He guards all his bones;
Not one of them is broken.” (17-20) (See John 19:36)
And then the concluding verse mentioned above, where the Lord redeems the soul of his servants.
Psalm 34 – I Will Bless the Lord at all Times!
Psalm 34 reminds us that it is not enough to bless the Lord for favors bestowed in good times. We are to bless God at all times, even in the midst of tragedy. Hard to do, yet possible. Amid all of Job’s troubles, he refused to curse the Lord, holding to his faith.
“He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked I shall return there.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away.
Blessed be the name of the LORD.”
Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.” (Job 1:21-22)
David certainly had reasons to blame God for all of his sufferings, but like Job, he neither sinned or blamed God, rather holding onto his faith and blessing God at all times. In the same way we are challenged to bless God, even during the most difficult times of our life.
Blessing is a Gift and Obligation
To be blessed is both a gift and an obligation. As we have been given, so we are to give in return. We bless God, not because God needs our blessing, but because it is good for us to do so. Thanking God for all God’s gifts and blessing God reminds us of the One who gave us everything we have. It helps us when, like Job, we are in dire circumstances and close to despair.
What reasons do you have for blessing God today?
(For another take on this psalm, see Psalm 34 – God Preserves the Bones of the Righteous – Patricia M Robertson)
This post is part of a series of blog posts on the Psalms. Sign up to follow this blog and and receive a free copy of Still Dancing, the second book in my Dancing through Life Series. click here to sign up
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