Saturday, August 17, 2024

Psalm 34:9-10

9          Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints,

                        for those who fear him have no lack!

10        The young lions suffer want and hunger;

                        but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

            “Have you ever considered yourself a saint?” I ask this question quite a bit in Bible and adult instruction classes, and to people when the opportunity arises. The usual answer I receive is, “No” with looks staring down. I get it. Been there.

            No one is a saint on their own. You’re not and I’m not either. We’re far from sainthood since we are sinners. Nevertheless, the Christian is a saint by virtue of his Baptismal faith. In Baptism God does all the work. He delivers the “great exchange” that Christ Jesus secured for us on the cross. God delivers the necessary righteousness to you because of His Son. God delivers the necessary holiness of Christ to you because of His Son. In short, God turns sinners into saints in Baptism because that’s what He enjoys doing and takes pleasure in doing so.

            This is why the Christian fears, or honors and reveres the LORD. But we’re still in this world broken by the consequences of our sins. And we’re still quite capable of giving into temptations and sin, such as the sin of anxiety and fear, as we listen to the narratives of the world and the kingdom of darkness. In doing so, the Christian begins to doubt the sovereignty of God, and worse, that God might not be as powerful as He claims to be. Another side of that afraidness-fear is that “maybe God has abandoned me because of my past and my sins.” NOT TRUE! Here are some words from some of the Early Church Fathers and scholars concerning these verses.

LACKING NOTHING. ARNOBIUS THE YOUNGER: Fear the Lord, all his saints, because the ones fearing him lack nothing—nothing of excellence in the present, nothing of perfection, nothing of future joy. COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 34.³⁵

THE FAITH OF FEAR. AUGUSTINE: There are plenty of people who hesitate to fear the Lord, because they think they may go hungry if they do. They are told, “Do not cheat.” And they protest, “How am I to eat, then? Handicrafts need a little dishonesty to succeed, and business cannot flourish without fraud . . . if I fear God, I will not have enough to live on.” . . . If we entertain thoughts like these we are in danger of being throttled by the noose of scandal. We are seeking on earth food that will perish, and not seeking the true recompense in heaven. We are putting our head into the devil’s noose; it tightens round our throat, and the devil holds us enslaved to wrongdoing. EXPOSITIONS OF THE PSALMS 34.14.³⁶

SUCCESS OF FEAR. DIODORE OF TARSUS: It is not possible for the one who fears God and hopes in him to fail. COMMENTARY ON PSALMS 34.³⁸

34:10 Lacking No Good Thing

THE RICHES GOD GIVES. ARNOBIUS THE YOUNGER: The rich dwell in uncertainty concerning the things the world gives. The riches that God gives do not fail, but they remain because these riches arise in the fear of the Lord. COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 34.³⁹

TRUE WEALTH. BASIL THE GREAT: Wealth is unstable and like a wave accustomed to change hither and thither by the violence of the wind. . . . God himself is absolute Good, and they who seek him will not be without him. HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 16.7 (PS 34)[1]

Rev. Dr. Tim Saleska puts it very pastorally in his commentary on this Psalm:

Don’t think that Yhwh doesn’t intervene in even the humblest life. Don’t think that he no longer hears and answers prayer. Don’t fail to see his extraordinary hand at work even in the ordinary provision of our lives. Learn to fear him as a child (which entails trust and love), because Yhwh loves to give good things to his children. If your heart is broken and your spirit is crushed and your life is full of troubles (34:19–20 [18–19]), remember that Yhwh is near (34:19 [18]); trust him to deliver you from it all (34:19–20, 23 [18–19, 22]). These are important lessons for us to live by.

Contrary to what we are tempted to believe, Yhwh does not always and forever remain behind the scenes, hidden and unavailable. Jesus is Yhwh come to us in the flesh (Philippians 2). As John says: “we have beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14). His physical death and resurrection are mighty deeds done to save his people, like Israel of old. And he promises to come again, just as his disciples saw him depart. And when he does, all his people will see the salvation of our God.^[2]

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[1] Blaising, Craig A. and Carmen S. Hardin, eds., Psalms 1–50. ACCS 7. ICCS/Accordance electronic edition, version 2.6. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2008. Old Testament Vol. 7, 263.

^[2] Timothy E. Saleska, Psalms 1–50, ed. Christopher W. Mitchell, Concordia Commentary (Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2020), 551–552.