“The eyes of the
Lord are toward the righteous and His ears toward their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do
evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. When the righteous cry for help, the Lord
hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and
saves the crushed in spirit. Many are
the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” –Psalm 34:15-19 (ESV).
Here in Psalm 34 is heartening news for those of us who have
faithfully turned toward to Lord and prayed earnestly during this “40 Days
Unite in Prayer” period for our country.
The epigraph of Psalm 34 states that it is a psalm of David when he
‘changed his behavior before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he (David)
went away.’ Historically, the period was
when David wandered about as a fugitive, after he had been anointed by Samuel
to be King of Israel to follow Saul.
Saul became extremely jealous of the young David, and the fact that he
was successful in battle. The people
sang: “Saul has struck down his
thousands, and David his ten thousands” (I Samel 21:11b). David went alone to the priest Ahimelech
in Nob. The priest reprimanded David
because he had come alone, with no bodyguards to protect him. He was hungry and wanted bread, but the
priest had none except for the bread set apart as holy for the religious
ceremonies, the bread of the Presence.
This was given to David, along with the sword that had belonged to
Goliath the Philistine whom David had slain with his slingshot and a
stone. From Ahimelech the priest David
went next to Achish the King of Gath.
Another name for this king seems to have been Abimelech. Achish might have been a title for a tribal
ruler, and Abimelech his given name.
There David pretended to be mad, acting like a demented person. The result was that he was not harmed and he
soon left the presence of Achish (Abimelech) and went on to another place to
hide out from Saul, all the time drawing people into his band of protectors
until it numbered well over 400 people.
The whole psalm is an acrostic poem extolling God for His protection
over David.
What messages does Psalm 34:15-19 have
for us today? The verses declare with
assurance that God cares for those who are faithful to Him. Great assurance lies in this
declaration: “When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out
of all their troubles. The Lord is near
to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:17-18).
A full-page paid advertisement appeared
in the Sunday, October 21, 2012 Wall
Street Journal. It featured a
recent picture of the Rev. Dr. Billy Graham, almost 94 years of age, holding in
his hand the Bible. His message to
Americans stated:
The
legacy we leave behind for our children, grandchildren, and this great nation
is crucial. As I approach my 94th
birthday, I realize this election could be my last. I believe it is vitally important that we
cast our ballots for candidates who have their decisions on biblical principles
and support the nation of Israel. I urge
you to vote for those who protect the sanctity of life and support the biblical
definition of marriage between a man and a woman. Vote for biblical values this November 6, and
pray with me that America will remain one nation under God” –Billy Graham
Prayer. Lord, keep us alert and discerning for
last-minute transactions that may be a part of government operations and policies
but not be according to Your will and Your way.
May we heed the good advice of the Rev. Graham and discern those who
stand for biblical principles in their political leanings. At this crucial time in our nation, Lord, may
we stand firmly in the gap and hold steadfastly to what is righteous. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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