Psalm 34:15-22 ARE YOU LOOKING DOWN, OR UP?

YOU ARE IN THE HANDS OF A GOOD AND LOVING GOD

Psalm 34:15-22

        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.

        He keeps all his bones;

                not one of them is broken.

        Affliction will slay the wicked,

                and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.

        The LORD redeems the life of his servants;

                none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

David continues this psalm, after having invited true believers to praise God, and reminding us that it is appropriate and right to do. Now, he reminds us that the LORD is attentive to the plights of His own.

Isn’t it encouraging for us to know that God sees the righteous and listens to their cry? Yes, we need to be seen and yes, we cry out to Him. We need to remember that when the Bible talks favorably about the righteous, it’s not speaking of people who commit no sins, for there are none. But, rather, about those who have been declared righteous by the grace of God, not because of what they have done or will ever achieve, but because of the finished work of Christ, the only sinless Man, on the cross.

If you are like me, right now you know that there are some things that you need to know that the God is seeing, and you need to be reassured that He is hearing the cry of your heart. All through this psalm, the name with which God is addressed is the one that expresses His omnipotence. His power, wisdom, and love have no limits, and His character makes Him unable to do anything that is not good.

God not only is favorable and good to His own, but He is also against those who are unrighteous. Their end will come in due time. Today the unrighteous are running their lives without restraint, but even they cannot perpetrate evil without God’s permission, and even their evil is part of God’s overall good intentions for His purposes.

Joseph learned this after he had received the evil from his brothers:

Genesis 50:20

        20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

       

Jesus was killed by evil men, but this happened only because God allowed it (because) it fulfilled His purposes.

John 10:14-18

        14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

Remember this, friend: you are not at the mercy of angry and evil people, but you are in the hands of a good and loving God.

David repeats that God listens and delivers His people. He hears our cries and sees our troubles. And so, His children should be humbly depending upon Him.

Psalm 51:17

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

God wants us to recognize our utter sinfulness and our inability to do anything good apart from Him. He expects true repentance for our sins.

The Psalmist reminds us that even believers are plagued by many afflictions; we are not exempt. David had many afflictions, some because of his own sin, others because of the actions of evil people around him, but in all, he could rest assured that God was close to Him.

In due time, God will judge everyone. But right now, He wants to be our refuge, for no one who trusts Him will be condemned.

How do we protect ourselves from being discouraged? Philippians 4:4-9 gives us the answer. There are three actions we should do.

        4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

        8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

1 – Pray, take your request to God and trust Him for the results.

2 – Think correctly, have the Word of God inform your heart.

3 – Act righteously, practice godliness.

Dear friends, in this life, trials and difficulties will always be with you, evil people will always surround you, your fleshly desires will constantly pull you, but you are not a victim, you are in the hands of ‘the LORD who redeems the life of His servants’.

The greater the trials, the more powerful the enemies, the greater the striving for godliness, then our praise should be even greater. Where would we be today, without our God and our Savior Jesus Christ? If you and I are not praising, then one thing is sure: we are looking down, and not up!