Psalm 34
How can we live life to the full? David knows the secret: it’s ‘the fear of the LORD’!
“Come, my children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD…” (verse 11)
The ‘fear of the LORD’ doesn’t come naturally to inherently sinful human beings; we have to learn how to live it out. Our ‘teachers’ are those older in the faith – those with many years of experience in the ups and downs of walking with Jesus. Our ‘pupils’ are those younger in the faith – those, that is, who are willing to listen and learn!
For righteous living isn’t something that we can just drift into; it’s fundamentally a matter of personal choice. The first step is to turn our backs on evil (otherwise known as ‘repentance’), for “to fear the LORD is to hate evil” (Proverbs 8:13). We then automatically find ourselves facing in the right direction, ready for the next step: to do those things that are right and good (verse 14). And if our words and actions are congruent with the loving and righteous nature of our God, we can reasonably expect to enjoy His blessing (verse 9). For when we live our lives under His authority, He takes responsibility for our welfare. “Those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.” (verse 10) We may not (indeed, we probably won’t) get everything that we want; but we will receive everything that we really need – plus a lot more!
Discovering the Bible 