Year 8, Day 179: Psalms 34-35

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Psalms 34 and 35 give us two sides of the same coin.  David wants us to praise God for upholding the cause of the righteous.  He also wants us to praise God for punishing the cause of the unrighteous.

Within this greater context we can see a few neat working assumptions that David uses.  For example, look at those who are within God’s favor and who will listen to David’s words.  The humble hear and are glad.  The poor find salvation in Him. Those who fear the Lord have no lack.  Children listen and are taught. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and crushed.  There’s a trend here.  God is a God of the oppressed, those in need, and those who live humbly.

On the other hand, look at those with whom God contends.  There are those who seek the lives of others. There are the ones who devise evil schemes. There are those who act without cause. There are the malicious witnesses.  There are people who repay good with evil.  There are people who rejoice when another stumbles.  There are people who do not speak words of peace.

The dichotomy is pretty easy to see.  People who live humbly and do not take away from the community around them can find God – even find themselves within God’s embrace!  People who think more of themselves than they should and seek to lift themselves up above those around them often find themselves opposed by God.

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