#714 Depart and Do

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. Psalm 34 NKJV

A Psalm of David when he pretended madness. The story from whence this song is inspired may be found in 1 Samuel 21.

Bless the Lord at all times - Given the title we are also given context, if you read the passage in 1 Samuel 21 you will see that David takes refuge in a strange place. He flees the persecution of Saul to the land of the Philistines but also carries the sword of their greatest hero, Goliath, whose head David removed. He is being hunted by the king whom he has served well, and he is seeking refuge in the land of his former enemies. Looking back at such a stressful situation, he concludes that he should bless the Lord no matter the circumstance, not only privately but also with his mouth. He does not lift up his own craftiness, but he compels others to magnify the Lord and exalt His name as well. He is after all greater than the circumstances.

And were radiant - The moon is not a burning ball of gas, but when it looks full upon the sun, it lights the evening sky. Those that look to God begin to reflect His light.  

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:17-18

This poor man cried out - David was in enemy territory, anointed long before this, yet without place to safely lay his head. He has had to eat of the shew bread, and here among the philistines, he is surrounded by those who would love to take his head from his shoulders. There is a shadow here, somewhat hidden by David's humanity, but he does take on the image of a fool, a madman. Now he could sit beside the campfire of old age and recount this as wisdom, as cunning, but instead of calling himself the hero, he admits of his utter despair, his lack of means. He praises God instead. He gives glory to God for his delivery. He admits that in all of this he cried out, and no matter how others may spin it, he was delivered. 

Taste and see - One part of this is the testimony of David's life, look here at what God brought about. I was anointed and chosen by God, no one else saw that coming. I fought a giant as a small boy, no one else was willing or thought it possible. I am being chased, hunted by a man of greater means, who would love to kill me, yet I am still alive. I am in the presence of my enemies, those who would gladly drink up the last drop of my life, yet I am still alive. Though I may have stumbled in this and shot from the hip at times, my cry was to the Lord, He is worthy of my trust. There is war without, but there is also a battle raging within, put your trust in God and see that He is good. 

But I see another law at work in my body, warring against the law of my mind and holding me captive to the law of sin that dwells within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I serve the law of God, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.…Romans 7: 23-25

Lips from speaking deceit - It may seem at the time, in the heat of things, by nature or by imitation of others, that this is a logical means to get what we want. David pretended to be less than what he was, yet God was the One Who truly delivered him. He was the One that anointed David and would preserve His anointed through this. Christ was among a people who would not accept Him for Who He was, His enemies were everyone. He was despised by men for being of low estate, yet God had anointed Him as well. He did not pretend at being God, for He was the second person of that Being, but He also did humble Himself, yet in truth. He, Who knew no sin, became sin for us that the justice of God might be fulfilled, that we would be saved, yet the honor of His holiness be left intact. 

“To teach men how to live and how to die, is the aim of all useful religious instruction. The rewards of virtue are the baits with which the young are to be drawn to morality. While we teach piety to God we should also dwell much upon morality towards man.” (Spurgeon)

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who,existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness.…Philippians 2: 5-7

The face of the Lord - God is Holy and that will be eternally and therefore infinitely against sin, so the man that persists in evil will always in the end come against an unchanging God. We should not confuse His patience and long suffering for condoning. 

Broken heart and contrite spirit - This is upside down to us, and to the men that followed David it would be as well, that God is with them. We tend to look upon wealth, the fat at our table, or the lack of struggle as a sign of God's blessing, though many of the wicked enjoy so much that this world has to offer as well. Some look at material riches and decide that there is no need of God. Jesus said He came to seek and save the lost, that it was the sick who needed a physician, it was those that mourn who would be comforted. If we could in any state desire to be a help to those in pain, and whether rich in this world's goods or not, see ourselves still and yet as beggars regarding the spiritual, then we would be most blessed of men for sure. Those that stayed with David must have felt unsteady, hungry and uncertain at times, much like those who follow Christ. He said, "if the world hated me it would hate you also, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world." No one can offer you more than the God of the universe, nothing in this dying world can ever compare with eternity. 

Shall be condemned - David knows to put his trust in God, not in himself for he is full of error, but God has brought him through the seemingly impossible, has loved him aside himself, and is faithful to the work He has started in David, bringing him to his calling. Where have you put your trust?

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.…Romans 8: 37-39

The one who saw it has testified to this, and his testimony is true. He knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. 36 Now these things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of His bones will be broken.” 37 And, as another Scripture says: “They will look on the One they have pierced.”…John 19: 35-37