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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.
3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name together.
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.
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.
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.
By Mike Chaffin
Everyone has their favorites. A favorite book, poem, movie, or activity. This psalm has been a traditional favorite of Christians. Quoted by Peter and John, it not only teaches but prophecies about Jesus during the crucifixion.
David wrote this during an extremely stressful time in his life. He ran out of places to hide from King Saul, so went into Philistia, the home of the Philistines with whom Israel was at war. David was no fool though. When he arrived, the King of Gath was ready to put him to death, but David pretended to be insane. The King decided since David was mad, he wasn’t worth killing. David wrote this psalm in praise.
In tough times can we praise God like David did? I do not mean we have to write praise poetry that survives throughout the centuries but can we, in our daily battles, tell God we trust Him for our protection and provision no matter the outcome? David did. He started out the Psalm in Praise and David invites us all to share in his praise.
When times are tough. When troubles double up. When we are underwater with worries that demand our attention and dry up our bones can we praise God? David is a poster boy for the right answer. Yes we can!
David knows about turmoil and the troubles this world throws at us. Verses 17-19 tells how to live a successful Christian life. We submit our problems to the Lord and we walk through them, whatever the circumstances.
At the end of this psalm David’s words are prophetic, pointing to Jesus, our righteous redeemer. His legs were not broken to speed His death as He had already succumbed to the torture of the cross, making a way for our salvation.
