XXXIV. Yahweh’ s Care for His Own.— An acrostic Ps., the letter Waw being omitted as in Psalms 25. Yahweh’ s care of the poor who fear Him. Psalms 34:5. Read with LXX, “ look to him,” “ be radiant,” “ your faces.” Psalms 34:7 . “ The angel,” i.e. the angel who represented Yahweh ( cf. Malachi 3:1, Isaiah 63:9).The acrostic is complete with Psalms 34:21; Psalms 34:22 is an addition for liturgical use ( cf. Psalms 25:22 *). read more
Heb. They cry, to wit, the righteous, as is manifest both from the nature of the thing, and from Psalms 34:15, where they are so called, and with which this verse is to be continued, the 16th verse coming in by way of parenthesis, as is very usual in many places of Scripture. read more
Nigh; ready to hear and succour them; though by the severe course of his providence towards them he seems to themselves and others to stand afar off, as David complains, Psalms 10:1. Such as be of a contrite spirit; by which he understands either, 1. Those whose spirits are oppressed, and even broken, with the greatness of their calamities. But this may be, and frequently is, the lot of wicked men. And therefore in this sense, and to such persons, this proposition and promise is not true. Or... read more
All his bones, i.e. all the parts and members of their bodies, which are synecdochically expressed by the bones, which are the stay and strength of the rest. God will not suffer any mischief to befall him; though he may be oft afflicted, yet he shall not be destroyed. But these words, though they are here spoken of the righteous men in general, of whom they are true in a metaphorical sense; yet they had a further meaning in them, being designed by the Spirit of God (which dictated to David, not... read more
INTRODUCTION“This psalm is assigned by the superscription to the occasion when David, persecuted by Saul, fled to the Philistines, and being brought before Achish was driven away by him as a madman (1 Samuel 21:12, see Psalms 7:0). There is no sufficient reason for rejecting the historical validity of this statement. The psalms generally rise above the level of the particular occasion, and dwell on general principles, and so it is here. This psalm is eucharistic and didactic. It is full of... read more
Psalms 34:18 One idea is embodied in these two sentences. According to a very common construction in the book of Psalms and in the book of Proverbs, and in other books of Holy Scripture, the latter sentence simply repeats the declaration of the former, in order to increase the emphasis and the force, for the "broken heart" is the same as the "contrite spirit," and the Lord being "nigh" is the same as the Lord "saveth." I. Consider the broken heart and contrite spirit. The heart before us may be... read more
Psalms 34:19-20 I. "Great are the troubles of the righteous," and who was ever so righteous as Jesus Christ? No wonder His troubles were so great, for we have all contributed something to them! The Lord hath afflicted Him therewith in the day of His fierce anger against our sins. If those troubles were nothing to us, we might well feel compassion for them; as it is, we may well feel compunction for them too. II. "The Lord delivereth Him out of all." The Pharisees and rulers did not think so; in... read more
DISCOURSE: 554THE BROKEN AND CONTRITE IN HEART ENCOURAGEDPsalms 34:18. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.THE objects of God’s favour are very frequently designated by the exalted title of “The righteous:” “The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous:” “Many are the afflictions of the righteous:” “They that hate the righteous shall be desolate [Note: ver. 34:19, 21.].” But, a person of an humble spirit finds it difficult to assume... read more
He keepeth See Exodus 12:46; John 19:36 read more
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Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 34:15-20
5). He Stresses YHWH’s Deep Concern For His Own And His Deep Hatred Of Evil (15-20). Psalms 34:15-20 GH ‘The eyes of YHWH are towards the righteous, And his ears are open to their cry. P The face of YHWH is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. TS The righteous cried, and YHWH heard, And delivered them out of all their troubles.’ Q ‘YHWH is near to those who are of a broken heart, And saves such as are of a contrite spirit. R Many are the afflictions of... read more