Psalm 34:19 Complete Deliverance

We tell our kids and our congregations that God will be with us in all our trials and tribulations, but I don’t think we tell them enough that God wants to deliver us out of them rather than just letting us live with them.

Psalm 34:19 ¹⁹Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

The Hebrew word translated as ‘afflictions’ here can mean everything from evils, miseries, distresses, and afflictions.

Too broad?  The Greek Old Testament translates all the different Hebrew words for troubles in the Psalm here as ‘tribulations.’ 

So we could translate the verse as “Many are the tribulations of the righteous, but the Lord delivers them out of them all.”  Not some, not most of them, all of them.

I think many of us are afraid to say or teach that God will deliver us out of all our tribulations.  We are afraid that it might not happen.  I know that Philip Yancey wrote a famous book called Disappointment with God.  And I have been disappointed with God at times as well. 

But then again, my disappointments had nothing to do with God not delivering me from tribulations.  I’ve had disappointments from things not happening the way I expected.  But those weren’t tribulations. 

Does this include sicknesses?  I’ve had a heart attack, 3 strokes, cancer twice, stage 4 cancer once, a fibrosis diagnosis.  I never, ever thought I was going to die or be disabled.  I know though that you can’t take one person’s experience and simply make broad generalizations to everybody else.

But I teach the Bible.  I don’t see where the Bible talks about preparing yourself for disappointment with God by not trusting Him to deliver you from your problems, whatever they may be. 

Six times in this psalm it speaks of God’s deliverance: from all my fears [or, terrors] v.4, all his troubles [distresses, straits, oppressions, afflictions, tribulations] v.6, a general rescuing because of God’s angels having settled in all around you v. 7, all their troubles again [same as verse 6] v. 17, He saves those who are brokenhearted and crushed [or, contrite] in spirit v. 18, and then our verse: out of all their afflictions [tribulations] v. 19.

On top of all that, there is a challenge to taste and see how good God is.  v. 8   Like, put Him to the test!  Two verses saying that those who fear and seek God will not lack anything or any good thing. vv. 9,10

Verse 15: The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and His ears are open to their cry for help.  [ שַׁוְעָה shav - ah´  cry for help]

In Matthew 14, Peter got out of a boat and walked on water briefly, because Jesus told him to come.  He sank when he looked at the storm rather than at Jesus.

It’s the same thing here and everywhere else in your life.  You either look at your problems, or you look at God.  And part of looking at God is looking at His Word and standing on it.  If the Bible says that God will deliver you out of all your tribulations, your troubles, your fears, then expect Him to do that and stop worrying about stuff and begin rejoicing in the God who works on your behalf.