The Fear of the Lord

Psalms 34:11-22

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.

This song continues from the first half which talked about praising without ceasing, to this half dealing with understanding the fear of the LORD.  He begins by inviting the hearers to take time to really listen to what he is saying in the psalm; by doing so, we can learn the fear of the LORD.  This means both what this fear is, as well as to learn it for ourselves.  This fear starts with asking if we want to have a long life, and to see good in those days of our lives.  The first way is to speak good and not evil things ourselves, to sow what we wish to reap.  This means not deceiving others or lying.  The second is to stop doing what God says is evil according to His word, and choosing to do good while actively seeking peace with God and each other (1 Peter 3:11, Romans 12:18, 14:19).  We are reminded that God looks for those seeking to please Him with a heart for God and His ways; these who fear Him He listens to, while those actively seeking to live contrary to what He says is good and right are not so regarded by Him.  In fact, those set against the LORD will be cut off from Him in judgment in the end.  But if we truly fear God, we will cry to Him for help to be saved from eternal judgment and from the circumstances of adversity we encounter.  He is close to those who are broken, humble, and meek in heart, not puffed up with pride or self-righteousness.  We who fear Him and seek to be holy as He is will suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12), but we can be assured that He will deliver us (2 Corinthians 1:10).  There is a hidden gem here as a prophecy of Christ’s crucifixion as well in verse 20, concerning not having His bones broken on the cross, which also is a picture of His work to preserve His saints whom are saved by that death.  Yes, evil kills the wicked set against God, condemning those hating Him, but He saves His who serve and fear Him through faith that relies on His work and goodness.  We will never be ashamed or condemned who trust in Christ Jesus our Lord!  Amen.