1I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually
be in my mouth.
2My soul shall make its boast in the Lord;
The humble shall hear of it
and be glad.
3Oh, magnify the Lord with
me,
And let us exalt His name
together.
4I sought the Lord, and He
heard me,
And delivered me from all my
fears.
5They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces were not
ashamed.
6This poor man cried out, and the Lord
heard him,
And saved him out of all his
troubles.
7The angel of the Lord
encamps all around those who fear Him,
And delivers them.
8Oh, taste and see that the Lord
is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts
in Him!
9Oh, fear the Lord, you His
saints!
There is no want to those who
fear Him.
10The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
11Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of
the Lord.
12Who is the man who desires life,
And loves many days, that he
may see good?
13Keep your tongue from evil,
And your lips from speaking
deceit.
14Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.
15The eyes of the Lord are on
the righteous,
And His ears are open to their
cry.
16The face of the Lord is
against those who do evil,
To cut off the remembrance of
them from the earth.
17The righteous cry out, and the Lord
hears,
And delivers them out of all
their troubles.
18The Lord is near to those
who have a broken heart,
And saves such as have a
contrite spirit.
19Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
20He guards all his bones; Not one of
them is broken.
21Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate the
righteous shall be condemned.
22The Lord redeems the soul
of His servants,
And none of those who trust in
Him shall be condemned.
Preamble: This psalm was written by David sometime after he had pretended madness before Abimelech (or Achish), a Philistine king whom he fled too in great desperation in trying to escape Saul’s relentlessly pursuing him (see 1 Samuel 21). However, when David arrived in what he hoped would be a refuge for him from Saul, Abimelech’s counselors warned him of David being a potential threat to him, and so when David realized this, he knew that his life was now in grave danger and having no other means while in hostile territory to escape or fight his way out, he pretended to be insane when he was brought before Abimelech. It was upon seeing this that Abimelech disdained David and drove him out rather than having him be a servant warrior in his realm. Now whatever you think of David’s actions in doing so, you must concede that the Lord brought about a great Psalm through this most perilous event. As well, David would never again seek refuge in any other nation, except from within his own. Therefore, David upon reflection of these events, in great thanksgiving to the Lord for delivering Him from his own folly, would go on to write one of the most beloved Psalms.
Commentary
Vs.
1-2
1I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually
be in my mouth.
2My soul shall make its boast in the Lord;
The humble shall hear of it
and be glad.
How great is our thanksgiving when we receive the Lord’s salvation, it is as though we could never praise or thank Him enough. For truly God's praise arises from within the depths of our hearts and souls when we realize that we now have what our souls have always longed for, God’s remission of all of our sins, and new and everlasting life, which is something that we never thought we could have, or ever achieve ourselves!
Vs. 3 “Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name
together.”
True thanksgiving and praise always overflows us, it always wants to reach out far beyond us so that others may also experience what we ourselves now have, and thus join with us and believe in and worship the Lord with us forever!
Vs. 4 “I sought the Lord, and He heard me,
And delivered me from all my
fears.”
Along with heartfelt thanksgiving and praise, there is now a confident testimony, a holy boosting in the Lord if you will when He delivers us from all our fears, which is something that goes hand in hand in having new life through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. There is then no doubt as to the Lord’s exceeding great goodness to us when one experiences His salvation, a salvation which makes all things new!
Vs. 5 “They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces were not
ashamed.”
The redeemed, all the congregation in heaven and on earth who have believe in the Lord, who receive His salvation by God’s grace, have His radiance placed upon them, our faces then reflect our inner reality in worship and praise, for we are not ashamed at the mention of His Name!
Vs. 6 “This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his
troubles.”
The bold testimony of the redeemed sinner is seen here, the poor man, and not just the materially poor man, but here the poor in spirit (Matt. 5:3). Everyone and anyone then who cries out to the Lord in their desperation can have His salvation (Rom. 10:13), and thus can now boldly assert that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself has saved them out of all of their troubles!
Vs. 7 “The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him,
And delivers them.”
The angel of the Lord in O.T. times, but now the Lord Jesus Christ Himself in N.T. times encamps around all those who fear Him, and He delivers them. This is God’s Promise given us all in the Scriptures, not only here, but in so many passages. Now the fear of the Lord is choosing to believe, to trust, to do His Word. The man, woman, or child who does this is assured of His deliverance!
Vs. 8 “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts
in Him!”
God’s invitation always follows His exhortation, to not just believe someone’s testimony but to see for yourselves that the Lord is good (Psalm 66:5). For He is more than willing to forgive and save you (Isaiah 55:1-7; Matt. 11:28-30; Rev. 3:20; 21:6; 22:17 etc.), more than willing to make your past as though it had never been (2 Cor. 5:17). Are you willing than to believe and receive Him (John 1:12; 3:16). For God’s blessing truly rests upon everyone who trusts in Him, not themselves and what they have done or can do but trust what God has done for them through the Lord Jesus Christ's Crucifixion death and Resurrection from the dead. Therefore, taste for yourselves and see that the Lord is good, that trusting the Lord (i.e., believing in Him, and what He has done to save you) is the only way to have His freely given and everlasting salvation!
Vs. 9-10 9Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints!
There is no want to those who
fear Him.
10The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
Twice in this psalm we are exhorted, as God’s saints (God’s redeemed people), to fear Him. To not be unbelieving and rebellious like those who do not believe Him, but rather to fear Him. For there is no lack for those who fear God, who keep His Word in their hearts, minds, and lives. For God keeps and preserves all those who fear Him!
Vs. 11-12 11Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of
the Lord.
12Who is the man who desires life,
And loves many days, that he
may see good?
13Keep your tongue from evil,
And your lips from speaking
deceit.
14Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.
15The eyes of the Lord are on
the righteous,
And His ears are open to their
cry.
16The face of the Lord is
against those who do evil,
To cut off the remembrance of
them from the earth.
In this section we have the essence of fearing the Lord, so much so that the Apostle Peter cited this entire passage in his First Epistle to believers everywhere (see 1 Peter 3:8-12). It begins then with an exhortation to fear the Lord as the key to a long and good life which can be had by anyone who walks in these fundamental steps of peace. First then is to keep one’s tongue from evil, from speaking evil, speaking evil about anyone; speech then that is intended to harm another person directly, or their reputation indirectly, or induce people into doing evil, or violence, or sin, is evil and is not fearing the Lord! Same with blasphemy, vile speech, course jesting, lying, deceitful, misleading and or manipulative and hypocritical speech is utterly unfitting a Godly Christian who wants to live a long and peaceful life. For all such things God hates, and He will condemn all who practice and speak lies (Rev. 21:8). Now along with refraining one’s mouth from speaking evil is repentance from all evil (vs. 14). For in departing from evil and doing good is at the heart of the Gospel and is in the heart of everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, because having been transformed by His Spirit, we now want to do good not evil. Finally, there is the exhortation to peace, to seek peace and pursue it. For nothing defines the Gospel more than this. And God Himself has made the way of reconciliation and peace with us all through the blood of Christ’s Cross (Col. 1:20). That then is the spirit and message that is to define our persons and our ministries, “peace and good will towards all” (Luke 2:14). The finial two verses in this section then stand as a warning to us all not take God’s Word and warning lightly, for, “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.” (vs. 15-16)
Vs. 17 “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears,
And delivers them out of all
their troubles.”
The righteous person then will always have a willing ear from God, for He hears their cries, and He delivers them out of all of their troubles, the proud however He knows from afar (Psalm 138:6).
Vs. 18 “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as have a
contrite spirit.”
Vs. 19 “Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.”
If living Godly promised one a life of ease and comfort all would seek it, but in this broken and sinful world living Godly means that one will have to endure many afflictions (2 Tim. 3:12; Rev. 12:17). Nonetheless though we will be stricken we will never be forsaken (Deut. 31:6; Heb. 13:5-6).
Vs. 20 “He guards all his bones;
Not one of them is broken.”
God’s guarding of the righteous is self-evident in every generation, nonetheless this verse seems to foretell His guarding His Son Jesus from suffering any broken bones at the hands of the wicked (John 19:33, 36).
Vs. 21 “Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate the
righteous shall be condemned.”
In doing and living wickedly, the wicked person only assures themselves of an evil end. And as for those who hate the righteous, God Himself will condemn them.
Vs. 22 “The Lord redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who trust in
Him shall be condemned.”
Scripture Quotations
New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.
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