Psalm 34
-Theme: Bless the LORD at all times, continually. Be humble and boast only in the LORD and exalt His righteous Name. Seek the LORD for deliverance of fear and shame. Taste and see that the LORD is good. He blesses those who take refuge in Him. You will lack no good thing if you seek the LORD. He delivers the righteous out of all their troubles. He is near the brokenhearted and saves those crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers them out of them all. Evil shall overtake and conquer the wicked. Those who hate righteousness will be condemned, but the soul of His servant will be redeemed. None of those who take refuge in God will be condemned.
-*Messianic prophecy* “He keeps all His bones, not one of them is broken (Psalm 34:20).”
-*Application* David teaches us that we will see affliction and troubles, but it is the LORD that we must continually look to for help and rescue. He is the deliver that will save us in the end. Remember that life is a long process and there are no temporary fixes that endure. Only the LORD is the permanent solution to our brokenness and crushed spirit. Once again the plea is to turn to the One who does have the power to save. Don’t run to things that won’t last. Ultimately, they will fail you.
Psalm 35
-Theme: May the LORD rise up and protect from the enemies of the righteous who attempt to inflict pain and misery and injury to the LORD’s anointed. Stay true to the LORD and praise His salvation.
-*Application* David again is honest with God and prays imprecatory prayers against those who want to harm him for evil’s sake. The question for us revolves around Jesus’ command to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44). How can we possibly combine these two philosophies together in a unified whole? The answer lies in David’s continual resistance of evil that he saw ravaging the hearts of these individuals. Jesus also had many of these comments against the workers of iniquity if we care to take a look (Matthew 12:34; 23:27,33). His denunciation of the Pharisees is proof that Jesus was of the same ilk versus evil that His father David was. What then Jesus is purporting is our own personal view of these enemies. We must keep a pure heart and not be lead into improper motives toward those who do us wrong. God will handle the situation and vindicate us. He is the righteous judge and we can call on Him for that (Psalm 7:11; 9:8). What we learn is to not take matters into our own hands but to allow God to take care of the problem of sin in others (Romans 12:19).
Psalm 36
-Theme: God’s faithfulness, justice, and love are contrasted with the sinful hearts of people. In spite of man’s fallen condition, God pours His love out on those who know Him.
-*Application* Fear the LORD, don’t go against Him and devise evil of any kind. Even when we do, His lovingkindness extends to the heavens, His faithfulness to the skies, His righteousness is like a mighty mountain of God. His judgments are like a great deep, which means His patience is great (Micah 7:19). He preserves man and beast even though we don’t deserve it. In His light we see light.
Verse to Memorize: Psalm 34:8
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