THE LORD IS WATCHING OVER
Psalm 34:1-22 NLT
[1] I will praise the LORD at all times. I will constantly speak his praises. [2] I will boast only in the LORD; let all who are helpless take heart. [3] Come, let us tell of the LORD’s greatness; let us exalt his name together. [4] I prayed to the LORD, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears. [5] Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces. [6] In my desperation I prayed, and the LORD listened; he saved me from all my troubles. [7] For the angel of the LORD is a guard; he surrounds and defends all who fear him. [8] Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him! [9] Fear the LORD, you his godly people, for those who fear him will have all they need. [10] Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the LORD will lack no good thing. [11] Come, my children, and listen to me, and I will teach you to fear the LORD. [12] Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous? [13] Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies! [14] Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it. [15] The eyes of the LORD watch over those who do right; his ears are open to their cries for help. [16] But the LORD turns his face against those who do evil; he will erase their memory from the earth. [17] The LORD hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. [18] The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. [19] The righteous person faces many troubles, but the LORD comes to the rescue each time. [20] For the LORD protects the bones of the righteous; not one of them is broken! [21] Calamity will surely destroy the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be punished. [22] But the LORD will redeem those who serve him. No one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.
W.H. Auden, in one of his poems, talked about the “faces along the bar” and how they reflected the lives of their owners, “who have never been happy or good.” Auden’s insights were accurate. While some eyes dance with intelligence, more seem weary with looking. While smiles lurk perpetually at the corner of some lips, potential snarls curl downward on others. And the brows of many are permanently creased with furrows of worry, rather than displaying the relaxed muscles of a contented life.
David, the psalm writer, recognized that faces, including his own, tell a story. He talked about “those who look to [the Lord] for help will be radiant with joy” (Psalm 34:5 NLT). He believed that looking to the Lord changes the way you look!
Paul outlined a similar idea when he said,
“We can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT).
Throughout his life David had been exposed to dangers and sorrows that had driven him deeper into a life of trust and dependence on the Lord. As a result, David was able to say, “I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me, freeing me from all my fears” (Psalm 34:4 NLT). There was a definite connection between looking to the Lord in prayer and the radiant joy on David’s face when delivered from the fears that had gripped him. Facial muscles long accustomed to being knotted with tension were relaxed by joy, and David became radiant!
In the past, fear had contorted David’s features, and shame had darkened his face. The burden of unforgiven sin had shown with the heaviness of unrelieved shame. But as he had looked to the Lord for forgiveness, he had been relieved of guilt and released from shame. And he promised others that if they, too, looked to the Lord, “no shadow of shame [would] darken their faces” (Psalm 34:5 NLT). The furtive look that fears exposure would flee, and the worried frown that dreads discovery would disappear.
When all has been exposed and forgiven, there is nothing to fear. Release and relief are free to relax the face, and smiles are born.
The faces along the bar of life belong to people looking for solace in their pain, longing for friendship in their loneliness, hoping for joy in the midst of their disappointments. They need a smile, a touch, a message of encouragement. Who better to bring it than the man who can say with conviction, “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8 NLT).
From an Unworthy servant,
Chris Chloupek
Lead Evangelist