Psalm 34 - a No Condemnation acrostic

 




Psalm 34 is no random assortment of verses.  This is another acrostic psalm. David very intentionally started each successive line with the next letter in the Hebrew alphabet.  

So, I’ve attempted to take the heart of each line and write it using the English alphabet. Since there are only 22 Hebrew letters, I did not complete all 26 of the English alphabet. And David’s acrostic wasn’t perfect (the “w” verse was missing, and he replaced the last verse with a “p”), so I decided that it would be ok to skip “Q”.


1 A heart of praise shall continually fill my mouth,

2 boasting in him is my soul’s desire; let the humble join in on the praise.

3 Come, let us together make God look good; let us exalt his name together.

4 Deliverance came to me when I sought him; he has delivered me from my greatest fears.

5 Eyes that look to you beam with light; their faces shall never look down in shame.

6 Famished, I cried to you, and you heard me; you saved me out of my troubles.

7 Grace surrounds all those who fear you, and you deliver them.

8 Help yourself to feast on the Lord and see that he is good; those who go to him as their refuge are blessed.

9 I lack nothing when I fear the Lord.

10 Just look at the lions who have lack; but those who fear the Lord will never lack God’s ultimate good.

11 Knowing the fear of the Lord, children, is what I will teach you;

12 Long life and goodness are what everyone desires, right?

13 Move away from a tongue filled with evil and deceit;

14 No more let evil win in you, but rather do good, seeking a pursuing peace.

15 Open your eyes to see how the Lord’s eyes are looking toward the righteous who cry to him.

16 People who continually do evil will find God’s face against them as he will cut off even the memory of them from the earth.

17 Responding to their cries, the Lord hears the righteous and delivers them out of their troubles.

18 Seeing the crushed in spirit, the Lord draws near to the broken-hearted.

19 The afflictions and troubles of the righteous are many, but the Lord delivers the righteous out of them all.

20 Under his care, the Lord will faithfully protect even their bones from being broken.

21 Violence will be done to the wicked; and those who hate the righteous will face condemnation;

22 While the Lord will faithfully redeem the life of his servants; none of those who seek him for refuge will be condemned!

Amen

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