Posts Tagged: Psalm 34
DTEB, “Get Your Glow On!”
Psa. 34:0 Of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.
Psa. 34:1 I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul makes its boast in the LORD;
let the humble hear and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
and let us exalt his name together!
Psa. 34:4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him
and saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Psa. 34:8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
9 Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!
10 The young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
Psa. 34:11 Come, O children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12 What man is there 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 Turn away from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
Psa. 34:15 The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous
and his ears toward their cry.
16 The face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17 When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.
Psa. 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the LORD delivers him out of them all.
20 He keeps all his bones;
not one of them is broken.
21 Affliction will slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22 The LORD redeems the life of his servants;
none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.” (Psalm 34, English Standard Version)
The verses for today in the YouVersion app are Psalm 34:4-5. I was especially struck by the words,
“I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant, . . . .”
From fears to a radiant face—oh my!
I suppose we all radiate something. Some people can walk into a room, and it seems as if someone turned off a light. Some of us radiate misery.
And then, there are the others. When my wife smiles or gives me a tender look, she radiates joy and kindness.
One of the many good results of trusting God is that our faces become radiant. The story is told about that Moses that, when he came out of the tent of meeting from being with God, Moses’ face was shining. Well, yeah!
Today, I am spending some time with God. Got to get my glow on!
“Radiant!”
Have you ever known someone who was radiant? I’ve known a few people who were like that.
The word “radiant” is often reserved for brides and new mothers. However, most of the radiant people I’ve known were older folks. Many of them had not lived easy lives, but they knew God. To the best of their ability, they humbly followed God. To be in their presence was a delight.
E. Stanley Jones spoke of a young lady who looked as if she had swallowed a lightbulb. Yes!
The psalmist says that those who look to the LORD are radiant (Psalm 34:5). Derek Kidner has some good thoughts about the Hebrew word that is translated “radiant.”
“Radiant is a word found again in Isaiah 60:5, where it describes a mother’s face lighting up at the sight of her children, long given up for lost. Using other terms, Exodus 34:29 tells of Moses’ face shining as he came down from the mountain, and 2 Corinthians 3:18 relates this to a Christian’s growing likeness to his Lord. In other words, radiance is delight but also glory: a transformation of the whole person.”
Did you catch that? Radiance is “. . . a transformation of the whole person.”
Of course, such radiant transformation does not happen without some cooperation from us. This psalm tells us that we need to seek the LORD, call on God, take refuge in God.
However, this psalm also tells us that we must fear the LORD. The psalmist even tells us what he means by “fearing the LORD.”
Psa. 34:11 Come, O children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12 What man is there 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 Turn away from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it. (English Standard Version)
What we say and what we seek—if we are saying and seeking the right things—helps us to become radiant. Makes you want to be more careful about what you say and seek, doesn’t it?
DOWN TO EARTH BELIEVER
- DTEB, “Getting Christ and Ourselves Back in Focus” November 11, 2024“Col. 3:1 ¶ If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Col. 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Col. 3:3 For you have died, and your life is hidden […]
- “Search Me!” October 27, 2024“Psa. 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23-24, English Standard Version) I am participating in a Bible study, and this is a prayer […]
- “Christian Speech” October 26, 2024“Eph. 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” Foulkes, in his excellent commentary on the Book of Ephesians, writes the following, which I quote at some length: “29. Now the […]
- “God is in the Details” October 11, 2024“The devil is in the details.” (A general saying, often quoted by lawyers, reporters, and negotiators.) “God is in the details.” (Me, almost certainly not original.) “Luke 12:7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Jesus) God does not micromanage, but God […]
- “Grandma’s Pump” October 8, 2024When I was a little critter, I would stay at my grandma’s house for a night or two sometimes. I liked this for a lot for many reasons. One thing I liked about staying with her was that Grandma’s house was much more technologically advanced than ours was. For one thing, she had indoor water—sort […]
- “Wearing the #14 Wrong-Side-Out” October 5, 2024Pete Rose, #14, is dead. Many of the old guys with whom I play softball watched him play and appreciated him greatly. I do as well. He was one of the greatest players who ever played the game. Yes, he admitted (eventually) to betting on baseball. But many of us still regard him as one […]
- “Passing Along the Love (and a Link)” October 4, 2024Several years ago, a friend of mine put me onto a daily meditation by Richard Rohr and friends. I don’t read them all the time, but I probably should. They are good! I thought that today’s writing was especially good, and I also figured that this would be a good way to post something. I […]
- “Witnessing Versus Being Witnesses” September 19, 2024“Acts 1:1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, Acts 1:2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. Acts 1:3 He presented himself alive to them after […]
- “A Bathroom Prayer for Hurting Hands” September 11, 2024A week ago Sunday, my hands were hurting so badly at church that I went to the bathroom to run hot water over my hands. Arthritis perhaps, or carpal tunnel, or general orneriness—I don’t know why my hands hurt, but they do. They have for years. So, while I was running hot water over my […]
- “Waiting and Seeking” September 10, 2024“Lam. 3:19 ¶ Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! Lam. 3:20 My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. Lam. 3:21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: Lam. 3:22 ¶ The steadfast love of the LORD […]
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