Psalm 34:1-22

O taste and see.

Psalms 34:8

It was Canon Holmes, of India, who more than twenty-five years ago called attention to the inferential character of the average man's faith in God. To most people God is an inference, not a reality. He is a deduction from evidence which they consider adequate; but He remains personally unknown to the individual. `He must be,' they say, `therefore we believe He is.' Others do not go even so far as this;...

I insist that the effective preaching of Jesus Christ, rightly understood, will produce Christian experience in Christian believers. Moreover, if preaching does not produce spiritual experience and maturing in the believer, that preaching is not being faithful to the Christ revealed in the Scriptures. Let me say it again another way: the Christ of the Bible is not rightly known until there is an experience of Him within the believer, for our Savior and Lord offers Himself to human...

WHAT a comfortable promise is this to the poor, weak, and timid Christian; he has not attained to a state of assurance, but he is seeking the Lord, and here his God promises him that he shall not want any good thing. He feels that he has no good thing in him, finds he can do no good thing of himself, fears that good will never be enjoyed by him; but his God assures him, no good thing shall be withheld from him. His God will pardon his sin, justify his person, strengthen his soul, supply his...

"The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them." Psalms 34:7

We cannot see the angels, but it is enough that they can see us. There is one great Angel of the Covenant, whom not having seen we love, and His eye is always upon us both day and night. He has a host of holy ones under Him, and He causes these to be watchers over His saints and to guard them from all ill.If devils do us mischief,...

"He keepeth all His bones; not one of them is broken." Psalms 34:20

This promise by the context is referred to the much afflicted righteous man: "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivereth him out of them all." He may suffer skin wounds and flesh wounds, but no great harm shall be done; "not a bone of him shall be broken."

This is great comfort to a tried child of God, and comfort which I dare...

Who was this poor man? Let us see if we can find out; if we can ascertain the characteristics of those poor people whom God so honorably mentions in his word.

Mere penury of worldly goods is not a sufficient title. He must be poor in spirit - poor contentedly. His must be a spirit cheerfully acquiescent in the allotments of God - with all that he is reputed to have, placed unreservedly at his disposal; sensible that he is not even his own, but bought with a price; his abilities and...

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
    and saves those who are crushed in spirit. - Psalm 34:18 NIV

Here again, the parallelism tells us something.

He is nigh to save. His presence is salvation. Their misery is not nearer to them than their deliverer. To their broken heart, the whole universe seems broken; to their desolate...

The Bible does not mock the anguish-bitten soul by telling it that the Christian cannot experience unhappiness or disappointment; or by telling it that it has no business to be wretched. The followers of the righteous Jesus are told distinctly that there are afflictions for them; and that these afflictions are many. So in drawing up an inventory of what belongs to them, they may put down many afflictions. These are a part of their property.

We see that it is not a disreputable thing...

The parallelism shows us that his servants are those that trust in him. How can a man enter upon this service without trusting in him? To acknowledge this master is rebellion to the world. Thousands are ready to spring to their arms when they see us put away from our forehead and from our hand the sign of our submission to the powers of this world. A man that would serve God, has no longer sword or spear to trust in; riches or luck or cunning; rank or favor; the multitude or the prince; a...

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but out of them all the Lord delivereth them. If worldly men are competent to effect the deliverance, the Lord accomplishes it by them. If saints are needed, saints are employed. If the impediments cannot be removed in this way, if supernatural aid is necessary, then the angels receive their commission. If an army of these invincible ones are needed, they are sent, and under the guidance of their leader they encamp around about the imperiled...