Psalm 34

New week. First Monday of August, the second month of the third quarter of 2026.

How is life for all of us so far? Is everything okay, better or worse compared to the first day of the year?

All I can say for sure is that through all we’ve seen in these past weeks and months, the Lord has been as the Word says; The Lord has been Faithful and True. Willing and able to help. Present, and powerful.

Yes, He has. Not according to our expectations or preferences, but definitely according to His eternal wisdom, His infinite power, and His everlasting love.

Now, as in the first day of the year, as in forever, He truly is worthy of all the praise, glory, worship and honor. We are thankful for all that He is, and all He has done.

We are thankful for His Word.

Thank You, Lord, for the reading of Your Word.

Instead of going back to Psalm 3 (because it’s August 3), I decided that we’d keep on going – that we’d read and reflect on Psalm 34 (That is, Psalm 31 plus 3 days).

The Happiness of Those Who Trust in God

A Psalm of David when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed. (this is from 1 Samuel 21:10-15)

Take that in. David was pretending to be mad before Abimelech, King of the Philistines at the time. David was doing this because he was in Philistine territory, versus staying constantly on the run in Israelite land, where he was being hunted down by King Saul.

Consider that David had physical strength, combat skill, and even political leverage, but he still decided to plead insanity. Now that I think about it I suppose he didn’t want to be caught by Saul, nor did he want to present himself as useful before Abimelech.

Consider that, with all this possibly in mind, David still composed this Psalm, giving it the title: The Happiness of Those Who Trust in God.

1 I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

2 My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; The humble shall hear of it and be glad.

A composition whose title encourages trust in the Lord begins with praise. It’s as if to say that trusting in the Lord is not without worship… and, consequently, worshipping the Lord will always involve trusting Him. Trust and worship come together like that.

And, true enough, when we worship, it’s natural for us to encourage others to worship along with us. That’s one thing I’ve learned when ‘leading’ worship – true worship encourages others around you to recognize God’s goodness and greatness. From our own strength, we may get folks to sing along… but when we allow the Holy Spirit to flow, it’s pretty natural for us to proclaim:

3 Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.

And what was written so many generations ago, resonates to so many folks today:

4 I sought the LORD, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.

5 They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed.

6 This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles.

The trials of David led Him to trusting the Lord, worshipping Him, and thousands of years later, we’re singing the same chorus. As he sang, so we sing: I sought the Lord, and He heard, and He answered. Not sure of David’s melody in his original composition, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was along the tune of C, Am, F, Dm, as the fine folks in Elevation Worship prepared today.

And, really, when we sang it the couple of times we led it in our services so far this year, sure, hands were raised, and you could count the number of folks without teary eyes across the sanctuary, but one thing was for sure – everyone was looking to Him. Everyone’s faces, who were trusting in the Lord, were radiant and not ashamed.

This is not to give credit to Elevation Worship, nor is it to highlight our choice in worship songs, more than it is to underline the critical importance of allowing the Holy Spirit to move in and through us – to worship the Lord and trust Him, to trust in the Lord and worship Him.

7 The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them.

8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

9 Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him.

10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.

Here I’m reminded that we trust the Lord, and He cares for us as a Good Shepherd. For apparently, while the angel of the Lord encamps around us, it’s the Lord who prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies. Not only are we nurtured, but by His angel(s) we are protected. We are delivered.

He is our Shepherd, and we shall not want, because we fear Him; That is, we hear His voice, and we follow Him. And even the young lions lack and are hungry… But we who trust in Him, seek Him, and are not found wanting; Our Shepherd ensures that we are well taken care of, not lacking any good thing.

I hope we’re getting something from this so far – I hope we’re seeing the depth of what there is to gain when we place our trust in the Lord. By the Spirit we are reminded that we are well taken care of, to the point that we flow in worship, and encourage those who see us to praise Him as well.

11 Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

12 Who is the man who desires life, And loves many days, that he may see good?

13 Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit.

14 Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.

15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry.

16 The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles.

18 The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.

19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all.

20 He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken.

21 Evil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.

22 The LORD redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.

David was in quite stressful times, proportionate, if not heavier than the stress we experience today. He was kicked out of his comfort zone, captured and taken into in the inner sanctum of his country’s sworn enemies; Brought into a situation coercing him to behave as the lowest of the low, not only to evade capture, but also to escape becoming a traitor to the nation he still loved.

Reading through this length of verses, I feel as if David was reminding himself, just as much as he wanted to tell anyone who would stumble upon his songs – that even in the most hopeless of situations, the fear of the Lord remains to be the beginning of wisdom. Yes, it was his son, Solomon, who would eventually write that down as a Proverb, but as early as here, in Psalm 34, we read of how David was the one who gave us an idea of what it meant to fear the Lord: it’s to flee from evil and lies, and to do good, and to seek peace.

David was telling himself, just as much as he was telling all of us, that even the most anxious and frustrating moments – when we are left alone without any explanation – these are actually key moments when we behold how the Lord’s eyes are upon us; These are the best times for us to realize that the Lord hears our cries, and delivers us out of our troubles.

In the moments where we are left with broken hearts and contrite spirits, when much affliction threatens us, and when condemnation surrounds us… It is during these times where we place our trust in Him, and behold His redemption.

Personally, I’m feeling intense feelings of anxiety, overlapped with heavy waves of excitement in an upcoming venture… But here’s where we’re reminded that even Christ slept in the boat, as the storm roared, and as the waves raged.

Indeed, happy are those who trust in God.

Father, You are good. You are great, and You are glorious. You are worthy of all the praise. You are worthy of all worship and honor. You are worthy of all gratitude.

And, yes, we thank You, Lord. We thank You, God – Thank You, Father; Thank You, Jesus, Thank You, Holy Spirit. For by mentioning that, I say we may not fully understand You, but thank You – for Your unsearchable nature actually gives us more grounds to trust You.

Foolish as it may sound in a secular sense, we give You even more glory, Jesus – because it’s only through You that we are able to make such ridiculous, audacious claims of God as our Father; We give You thanks, and recognize that it was not by any means due to our deeds, but by Your finished work that we come boldly to the one true God, running to His throne of grace as dependent children.

We give You thanks, because You are the Author and Finisher of our Faith; You are the Catalyst and the Origin of our hearing, and naturally living out the Truth of our salvation, purchased by Your body and blood.

Yes, Jesus, we thank You, because through You we have received the Holy Spirit, who causes us to look, full of faith as a child, towards the Creator of the Universe, calling Him our Abba, our Father.

We thank You, Jesus, because it’s only through You that we are able to appreciate the sheer power, wisdom and love of our Father, even across the Old Testament.

Father, I pray for anyone and everyone who stumbles upon this wall of text. I am thankful for their patience so far. I pray, Father, that You continue to minister to their needs; I join them in raising all their desires to You, knowing in full Christ-bought faith that You are able to respond according to Your eternal wisdom, infinite strength, and everlasting love.

I pray – we pray, Father, for Your goodness to be seen without any doubts… and for those who behold Your goodness to be led into repentance unto salvation, to be led into righteousness unto eternal life.

Work in us. Work in our hearts. Open our ears to Your Word, and let faith come by hearing. Remove the scales from our eyes, and let us behold Christ, our Savior.

Do not allow the enemy’s lies and deceit to ruin our lives any further. Break the chains. Foil the plans and plots of the enemy. Let Your light shine. Let Your love flow. Break the hardness of hearts of stone. Open the eyes of the blind. Confound the schemes of the wicked. Set captives free. Let those whom we love and remember find hope and salvation in and through You.

And all this we pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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