Psalm 34:15-22 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 34:15-22 on biblegateway.com
Verse 15The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry.
Verse 16The face of the Lord is against evildoers, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
Verse 17When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles.
Verse 18The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.
Verse 19Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord rescues them from them all.
Verse 20He keeps all their bones; not one of them will be broken.
Verse 21Evil brings death to the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
Verse 22The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.
Devotion
Have you ever done a puzzle, only to discover that the last piece is missing? It is frustrating, disappointing, and a reminder that true completeness takes every part of the picture.
This Psalm is a bit of a puzzle itself. It is an acrostic; each line starts with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. If you remove any of the lines, the acrostic is incomplete and the puzzle is left unfinished.
It is a fitting representation of the Psalm’s content. It is a song of praise for deliverance from trouble. The Psalmist recognizes that sometimes in life we find ourselves in tough spots, but that even when those hard times arise, God is there.
Therein lies the puzzle: try and wish though we might, we cannot always avoid betrayal, jealousy, physical and emotional pain. But living a full and complete life means learning to persevere through these things, and especially, learning to trust that God is with you in the midst of them so that we can say with the Psalmist, “I will bless the Lord at all times” (v 1).
Prayer
God, thank you for never leaving me, and for making my life complete. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.