Devotional on Psalm 34:17-18
Today I want us to spend a few minutes meditating on Psalm 34:17-18:
17 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.
I mentioned in a sermon a few months back that this Psalm is full of different descriptions of the Lord's salvation and the kind of people the Lord saves. It's encouraging to go look at all of those. But in these two verses we see two main descriptions of salvation and those who are saved. I've bolded the salvation words and underlined the descriptions of those the Lord saves:
1) the Lord hears and delivers the righteous.
2) the Lord is near to and saves the brokenhearted and the crushed in spirit
First, think about these descriptions of those the Lord saves: At first glance, the fact that the Lord saves "the righteous" isn't good news. None of us fall in that category, so can any of us be saved? But then when you see that the Lord also saves the brokenhearted and crushed and spirit, the prospects begin to brighten. The very last verse of the Psalm says this:
The Lord redeems the life of his servants;
none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.
(Psalm 34:22 (ESV))
All of these descriptions expand our definition of who the righteous are. They are those who realize that the only refuge for sinners is God himself. At least part of what has broken their hearts and crushed their spirits is a realization of their own guilt of sin. They are those who submit to God as his servants, who find their refuge in him.
And these verses expand our definition of who the crushed in spirit are. Suffering alone doesn't save anyone. Being sad about sin doesn't save anyone. Salvation comes to those who repent and believe. Those who are saved are the brokenhearted who fear the Lord (see verses 8-9).
The picture we get of those who are saved is that they have come to see their sin and hate it. It grieves them, not because it wounds their pride, but because it is against their good God. They have come to see the Lord as the only refuge for sinners. Those who avoid condemnation are the crushed in spirit who seek refuge in the Lord. They can be called righteous because the Lord doesn't condemn them. And because they are saved by their good God, they now fear him by seeking peace.
These verses also expand our understanding of what salvation is. To be saved is to be heard by God. Instead of being exiled enemies of the Lord, he draws near to us. Salvation and Deliverance are power words. And knowing the power of sin, we need a powerful salvation. But the Savior is pictured as gentle and compassionate. He draws near. He hears our cries for help when we're in deep trouble.
Does "crushed in spirit" describe you this morning? We've felt like that in our home this last week. We're trying to sort through the news about how school will start next month for our kids. We're dealing with sick kids. We're dealing with sinning kids. And too often my response to these stresses is a sinful one, which only compounds the trouble. The question I face, and maybe you're facing today, is this: will I look to the Lord for refuge? In the middle of soul-crushing experiences, will we look and see how Christ has come near to save us? Will we take comfort and joy in the supernatural reality that Jesus, enthroned in heaven, hears our cry? Or will we settle for some fleeting pleasure of sin? Will we "taste and see that the Lord is good" (v 8), and "seek peace," or will we be ruled by our own desires and pride?
This is the battle with sin that we face every day. Pray for me that I will see the goodness of finding refuge in Christ today. I will be praying for you.
Prayer
O God our Refuge,
We come to you today because there is no salvation or lasting comfort apart from you. You are the only one who is powerful enough to deliver us out of the troubles we get ourselves into. You are the only one who can save us from our sin. And we come to you because you are the gentle Savior. You have drawn near to us in your Son, Jesus Christ. He paid the price of our sin, so that those who trust in you are not condemned. You hear us when we cry to you.
We ask you to help us lose our taste for the ways of pride. Help us turn away from speaking caustic or false words to those around us. And help us to taste and see that you are good.
In the name of Jesus who is the bread of life we pray. Amen.
Hymn
Come Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I07ujatGDBo&t=2s