Psalm 34-35
Key Verse: Psalm 34:17

    These Psalms tell us how to live as God's people in a world infected with sin. It is not easy to live as God's holy people in a difficult world with people who hate the light and the truth of God. We must find the solution to these real everyday problems by coming to God as we are, putting aside falsehood. God hears his people. God can only be our real hope.

1. Those Who Fear Him Lack Nothing (Ps 34)
    Verses 34:1-3 say, "I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together." He said he made a decision to extol (or highly praise) the LORD. God's praise would always be on his lips. His soul will boast in the LORD. God's praise was coming off his lips. "Glorify the LORD with me." These Psalms sound very straightforward: to praise the Lord, but human nature praises something else. People praise gods of gold, silver and metal like their car or their computer, and bow down to the high-tech god, instead of seeing them as tools to do God's work. We see that he praised God, not because he had the most ideal human circumstances. He suffered many things. Many students think that they might seek God after they finish all their homework, after they pass all their classes, after they graduate, after they get the ideal job and after they're blessed and settle down, but I never saw such a person come to Bible study at that point. The Psalmist praised God no matter what his situation was at the time. He sought God's kingdom first. Verse 34:4 says, "I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears." He brought his fear to God.
    Verse 34:5 says, "Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame." When someone spends time with God and reads his word, their faces become radiant. When Moses spent time with God on Mount Sinai, when he returned, people noticed that his face was radiant (glowing). When we only look at the fallen people in the world or difficult situations in the world, we can become bitter and cynical.
    Verse 34:6 says, "This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles." David referred to himself as "This poor man." He needed God. He could not lift himself out on his own. In the modern world many young people and college students in places like the US rely on mind altering psychological drugs. They only treat the symptoms, disable young peoples' minds, and only create a dependency on the drug, while major drug companies profits. The Bible says the Psalmist made his own conscious decision to call on the Lord. It says God saved him out of all his troubles. He didn't get a government bailout. If you consider yourself a "poor man" or woman in more ways than one, perhaps it is time to call to God.
    In the rest of this chapter it tells us basically that God listens to his people's cries and needs. Verse 34:9 says, "Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing." God knows how God's people can be vulnerable in the world. God wants to bless his people and make them "lack nothing." How do we build this kind of life? According to verses 34:12-14 we must keep our tongue from evil and speaking lies. Worldly people controlled by evil spirits think lying is a necessary expedient way to get what they want. In the long term God is unable to bless them, because they do not embrace truth. God's people must be different than the world and do good and seek peace. God is listening to the cries of his people.
    Verse 34:17 says, "The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles." The righteous man cannot do everything on his own by his own effort. Only God can fully equip us to do the work of God. God delivers the righteous from all their troubles.

2. Vindicate Me In Your Righteousness, O LORD My God (Ps 35)
    This Psalm also teaches us to rely on God to carry out his justice on earth. It urges us not to follow the dark pattern of this world. Verse 35:4 says, "May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame; may those who plot my ruin be turned back in dismay." Why did he have to pray this? It's because ungodly looked powerful for a while. In this Psalm he realizes he is completely dependent on God to carry out his justice in the world. It is up to God to exalt or put to shame. The Psalmist didn't want to be put to shame, because he was a man who wanted God's favor. He had to pray for God's vindication, because he just saw the power of worldly people. He had to remind himself of God's truth in God's word every day.
    Verses 35:9-10 say, "Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD and delight in his salvation. My whole being will exclaim, 'Who is like you, O LORD ? You rescue the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob them.' " It says that God can rescue his people. We must rejoice in the LORD and delight in his salvation.
    Verse 35:11 says, "Ruthless witnesses come forward; they question me on things I know nothing about." Even David suffered false witnesses. David's suffering was a foreshadowing of Jesus' suffering. Jesus also was accused by false witnesses who did not love the truth. Basically God's people must love truth and repent of lying. We see that David's experiences were pointing to the kind of sufferings that Jesus would undergo. Verses 35:16-17 also point to and await the passion of Christ. "Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked; they gnashed their teeth at me. O Lord, how long will you look on? Rescue my life from their ravages, my precious life from these lions."
    Instead of reacting to evil with evil, it says he gave thanks to God in the great assembly. Verse 35:18 says, "I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among throngs of people I will praise you." The way to live as God's people is to give thanks to God and praise God. He wrote in verse 35:27b, "may they always say, 'The LORD be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant.' "
    We learn from this passage that evil doing leads to shame. David's sufferings reveal the kind of sufferings of the Messiah. God honors a life built on the truth of God, speaking the truth. May our tongues speak of God's righteousness. Our life on earth is limited and passing quickly. Kids are growing fast and quickly becoming adults. Evil doing leads to shame, a wasted life and God's judgment. While we are young and have strength, we must build a foundation of faith in God, rejecting telling lies and speaking the truth in love.