Psalm 34

Taught by Jan
Notes by Linda

Before delving into Psalm 34, Jan gave a general overview of the Book of Psalms as a whole. Jan likened the psalms to ‘poetry unfolding in song’. She said that the reading of the psalms is a sacred moments between the Lord and ourselves. Jan defined three components of the Psalms as a whole.

Praise - recognizing and appreciation of God’s greatness
Worship – praising God and devoting ourselves to Him
Confession – declaring one’s wrong doings, a statement of our beliefs

Jan divided the authors of the Psalms into four different groups. Approximately 73 of the 150 psalms have been attributed to King David.. They were also written by the sons of Korah, Asaph, and anonymous. (A note from Linda, with the understanding that they were written by man under the inspiration and anointing of the Holy Spirit.) The time period covered in this book span the time of Moses through the return of the Israelites from captivity in Babylon.

In the early Christian church the Psalms were adopted as part of their liturgy and are still used today. As an example, Jan pointed out that Gregorian chant is the Psalms being sung in Latin. Jan also emphasized that the Psalms speak to the root of our humanity – our emotions, which are both basic and complicated.

Jan gave us a handout that drew parallels between the first five books of the bible (The Pentateuch) to the Psalms, divided into five sections. (The following information is taken directly from this handout which was adapted from the Life application Bible.)

Section 1
Section 1 covers Psalms 1 through 41. The major themes of this section are: confidence in God’s justice, compassion, and forgiveness, and the depravity of humans. Book 1 of the Pentateuch is Genesis. It’s major themes are: human creation, fall of humankind in sin, and the promised redemption. Jan gave the following Psalms as examples of ways they could minister to us individually: Psalm 23 – comfort, Psalm 5 – how to come to God each day, Psalm 15 – how to please God, and Psalm 34 – freedom from fear.

Section 2
Section 2 covers Psalms 42 – 72. The major themes of this section are: prayers for rescue and confession of sin. Jan compared this to Exodus. The major themes of this book relate to the nation of Israel and its times of distress and ruin as well as its recovery. Jan gave the following Psalm as examples of ways they could minister to us individually: Psalm 51 – a plea for God’s mercy, cleansing, and forgiveness of sin.

Section 3
Section 3 covers Psalms 78 through 89. The major themes of this section are: God’s temple and God’s enthronement & majesty. Book 3 of the Pentateuch is Leviticus . Its major themes are: God’s holiness and sovereignty and God’s faithfulness. Jan gave the following Psalm as examples of ways they could minister to us individually: Psalm 73 – trusting God for our future rewards and a prayer for revival and restoration after experiencing destruction (God is in charge).

Section 4
Section 4 covers Psalms 90 through 106. The major themes of this section are: a prayer of Moses, oppressors to God’s people, and God as king. Book 4 of the Pentateuch is Numbers . Its major themes are: Israel’s relationship with the surrounding nations and God bringing Israel to the Promised Land. Jan gave the following Psalms as examples of ways they could minister to us individually: Psalm 103 – a description of God’s love and benefits, Psalm 91 – protection in the midst of danger, and Psalm 105 – history of God’s mighty deeds as Israel comes to the Promised Land. Psalms – Section 4

Section 5
Section 5 covers Psalms 107 through 150. The major themes of this section are: God’s word is love and praise for the Lord. Book 5 of the Pentateuch is Deuteronomy. Its major themes are: thanks for God’s word and God’s decrees are just and righteous. Jan gave the following Psalms as examples of ways they could minister to us individually: Psalm 134 & 145 – praise to God, Psalm 146 – knowledge that God is in control, and Psalm 119 – God’s word guides us.

Psalm 34

Jan spoke on the importance of this Psalm in her life. She recounted that this was written by David at the time in his life where he had pretended to be insane in the presence of King Abimelech of the Philistines. Prior to this encounter, David had been killing the Philistines. Jan spoke on the root causes of depression, as David experienced. When the Lord reveals the root it is the beginning of healing. Jan expressed that fear could be a root of depression. Jan highlighted the following verses from the psalm.

Verse 6 – God saved him from all of his troubles.

Verse 7 – The fear that the psalmist speaks of is not fear as an emotion, rather it is fear as a sign of respect and reverence.

Verse 8 – That we see that God is good, and that ‘seeing’ is understanding. Jan reminded us that God is good and His mercy endures forever. She stressed that God can use every experience for our good.

Verse 11 – God will teach us how to have fear and reverence for him.

Verse 13 – An admonition to keep from speaking evil.

Verse 14 – That we should depart from evil and do good. That we should seek the peace that only god can give.

Verse 19 – That will all be afflicted.

Verse 20 – This is a prophecy concerning the death of Jesus. Although it was customary for the legs of the one being crucified to be broken, not one of Jesus’ bones were broken.

Verse 22 – None that trust in the Lord will be desolate.