PSALM 34:9-11 - PART 4 - A DEEPER STUDY OF VERSES 9-11 – WHAT DOES IT MEAN NOT TO BE IN WANT OF ANY GOOD THING?
[1]. THE INTRODUCTION FOR PSALM 34 REVISED
VERSES 1 – 7. We are introduced here to personal deliverance and because of that we draw promises for ALL of God’s people. The Psalm derives from David’s deliverance out of the hands of Achish, king of Gath, when escape seemed non-existent. David speaks with inspirational authority because he had experienced the great mercy of the LORD.
Too many speak what they do not know. Yes, they know church rituals and procedures, but what about a personal walk with the Lord? Some churches are so dead that they should allow the archeologists in for examination. Others are promoters of false teaching and anti-biblical betrayal. I know one denomination that advocates every aspect of the WOKE culture with full acceptance of “human rights” by which they mean acceptance of all gender positions and homosexual marriage and climate change support and total support for Palestinian rioters on our streets meaning they are enemies of Israel. The list goes on.
The beauty of these first 7 verses should warm the heart of every true Christian as it is like being in the throne room of the Lord. These verses are so precious and ought to be the subject of long meditation. I can only draw certain facts from them, but let each one dwell on the verses and let them uplift you and give you great understanding. Refer to the previous three messages for a deeper examination.
[2]. THE VERSE THAT SOARS US TO HEAVEN
VERSE 5. This is one of the most beautiful verses in the psalms; indeed in the whole bible for relationship. {{Psalm 34:5 “THEY looked to Him and were RADIANT, and their faces SHALL NEVER be ashamed.”}} The “They” here are those who are in a relationship with the Lord and have know His presence especially in deliverance (and by that we can apply it to salvation, being born again; delivered from the clutches of sin.)
The word “radiant” (NASB) is translated as “lightened” (AV); but in nearly every other version the word “radiant” is used. The word expresses shining, light, burning, beaming, streaming, and all those expressions are associated with joy. That is how the child of God should be. When you go into some churches it is like attending a funeral and those there seems miserable. Then again, the opposite end of emotions is being hyped up at Charismatic meetings with a false joy, some being run like rock concerts. The child of God is moderate or as Paul said -
{{1 Thessalonians 5:5-8 “for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of (the) night nor of darkness, so then let us not sleep as others do, BUT LET US BE ALERT AND SOBER for those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night, but since we are of the day, LET US BE SOBER, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.”}}
Peter expresses the same thing in different words – {{1 Peter 1:8-9 “Though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with JOY INEXPRESSIBLE AND FULL OF GLORY, obtaining as the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”}} Sobriety does not mean being miserable but clear-minded and joyful.
What we have just described in Psalm 34 verse 5 – the joy and radiance of a child of God - would not be possible without having the steps of the ladder in place, and here are 5 steps on that ladder in this Psalm 34:
Verse 2 - “my soul MAKES its boast in the Lord.”
Verse 3 - “MAGNIFYING the LORD” and “exalting His name.”
Verses (4,10) - “SEEKING the LORD.”
Verses (7, 9) - “FEARING the LORD” as in reverence and awe.
Verse 8 - “TASTING to see that the LORD is good.”
Make no mistake. Those efforts must be in place first. God does not reward laziness or a careless spirit. So much in the New Testament is taken up with injunctions, those commands that we must take to heart and be disciplined about in order to grow, and show ourselves approved before God. Then we can look to God with radiant faces and not be ashamed. Being ashamed of what we are, and of our failure, even grievous failure, is a sad condition of lurking sin, but God has the remedy for dealing with sin in our lives. He cleanses us from all unrighteousness and restores us to the place of fellowship again.
[3]. OUTCOMES AND INSTRUCTIONS FROM VERSE 9 ONWARDS
There are outcomes, and the rest of this psalm is taken up with outcomes and practical instructions. We are going to look at verses 12 to 14 in the next message. I have listed these directives for us and here is the summary – (These are based on the NASB wording. Your version might have different words, other synonyms) -
VERSE 9 – fear
VERSE 10 – seek
VERSE 11 – listen
VERSE 13 – keep
VERSE 14 – depart, seek, pursue
[4]. VERSE 9 - THERE IS NO WANT OF WHAT?
{{Psalm 34:9 “O FEAR THE LORD, you His saints, for to those who fear Him, THERE IS NO WANT.”}}
How difficult would this verse be to explain to others, especially to Christians who are going through difficulty in their lives and particularly in the matter of persecution and poverty? How do you explain this to Christians in Nigeria and Sudan who are seeing their families murdered by Islam and their lives left with nothing? The verse says clearly that those who fear Him will have no want.
The empty promises and lies of word of faith preachers prey on this verse, by telling their hearers that the more they give “in faith”, (sow a seed) means God will give back to them; their debts paid; and great material blessing waiting them – full health as well. All around the world people have come to ruin who have given their life savings in the hope God will repay them many times more, or will heal them, because this is what they are told.
At the 2024 Southwest Believers' Convention at the Fort Worth Convention Center, 29 July – 3 August, charlatans Moore, Copeland, and Duplantis kept flaunting their wealth, boasting about it, showing their Rolexes, telling the hearers there they have no want and encourage the hearers to give more that they can attain the same position. This is the devil’s pyramid scheme with Copeland and all the rest sitting at the top. 1,136,399 dollars were given there in the hope of cargo cult blessing from God (called “sowing a seed”). Disgraceful. Their godless greed will do them no good in hell. The voices of the fleeced will cry out against them. This word of faith movement is nothing more than greedy humanism parading in a Christian dress.
The above has absolutely nothing to do with the ones fearing the LORD and not being in want. We are not doing verse 10 yet, but a similar expression appears – “shall not be in want of any good thing.” In the great Shepherd Psalm we encounter this right at the start – {{Psalm 23:1 “The LORD is my shepherd. I SHALL NOT WANT.”}} The Lord told us not to be anxious about what to eat or to wear for the Father knows and supplies these things.
However in the physical needs of life Paul could write this – {{2 Corinthians 6:4-5 “but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, IN BEATINGS, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, IN SLEEPLESSNESS, IN HUNGER,”}}. Paul was in want. He suffered hunger. He certainly did not appear to meet the statement in Psalm 34 – {{Psalm 34:10 “The young lions do lack and suffer hunger but they who seek the LORD SHALL NOT BE IN WANT OF ANY GOOD THING.”}}
Could that mean that our understanding of these verses is tainted by our own materialism? I have been seeing statements lately coming from the United States, that America has so much influence on the world and sets the standard for the world, and that the world should emulate the United States. You will find many postings like this all over the media. Be honest about it. Many of the ills of the world actually originate in the United States with its great materialism and greed and status and pride and corruption, and this is being passed to the world. The artificiality of Hollywood and the greedy corporate world is not a blessing. It is a curse, and the world is infected by this.
So, let us put away the notion that the verses we looked at (and verse 10 to follow) apply to materialism. That being the case, what does “not wanting any good thing” apply to?
Would there be a hint in this verse – {{Job 24:13 “Others have been with those who rebel against the light. They DO NOT WANT to know its ways, nor abide in its paths.”}} The want these people have is for rebellion and rejection of God. They do not want to walk in God’s path and in His ways. This idea takes us back to Psalm 1, the Psalm of the two ways. One set of people there wants to follow the Lord; the other wants to walk in darkness.
I am thinking that {{Psalm 34:9 “O FEAR THE LORD, you His saints, for to those who fear Him, there is no want,”}} means there is no wanting of the goodness and grace of God; no wanting of His love and promises; no wanting of the green pastures and the quiet waters, and the Lord’s guiding in righteousness, and in the Lord’s restoration. There is no want of God’s comfort, or of the Lord’s table in the face of hardship and enemies; no want of the head being anointed and of my cup overflowing with joy, peace and love. That is what I am thinking “no want” means. It is not materialism or comforts in this earthly life. {{Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has BLESSED US WITH EVERY SPIRITUAL BLESSING IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES IN CHRIST,”}}
[5]. THE PROMISE FOR THOSE WHO SEEK THE LORD
{{Psalm 34:10 “The young lions do lack and suffer hunger but they WHO SEEK THE LORD shall NOT BE IN WANT OF ANY GOOD THING.”}}
We continue with the thought of not wanting, but now there is a qualification and it centres around the phrase “seek the Lord”.
Did Adam seek the Lord? No, he did not. In the garden in fellowship with God, there was no seeking, just contented enjoyment in sinless rest, but when Adam and Eve sinned, they hid from the Lord. They had no desire to seek Him then. Since that time mankind does not want to seek God. They run away in the opposite direction and they keep running. {{Romans 3:10-11 as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one. There is none who understands. THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD.”}}
God is not willing that any should perish and the Holy Spirit prompts men and women to consider their lost condition before God. It is at that point a decision must be made. Does one seek the Lord according to the light already given, or does rebellion take over that drives people further from God?
{{Luke 19:10 “The Son of Man has COME TO SEEK and to save that which was lost.”}} This was always the mission of the Son of Man who came to seek, and through His death on the cross, to save to the uttermost. The Lord came seeking man, in order that man might seek the Lord. As I said that is the work of the Holy Spirit and He uses circumstances and nature and other means to wake man up in order that lost souls turn towards God to seek him. Jesus said when the Holy Spirit would come, He would convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgement. This is the work of the Spirit to convict/convince of sin. That is the goad that sets man on the path of seeking God.
It is an uphill battle to get men to seek God. Isaiah knew that – {{Isaiah 9:13 “Yet the people do not turn back to Him who struck them, NOR DO THEY SEEK THE LORD OF HOSTS.”}} Paul could say, WHILE we were yet enemies, meaning that while in that state Christ died for the ungodly and man is the enemy of God. Most continue their lives as rebels with no intention of seeking God. God’s redemption is a deep mystery to us. Yes, we do understand it, but not the intense depth of it. God is at work in this world touching the consciences of men and women, giving them the opportunity to turn to Him.
Isaiah again takes up this theme – {{Isaiah 55:6-7 “SEEK THE LORD WHILE HE MAY BE FOUND. Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return to the LORD, and He will have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.”}} Jeremiah added another aspect in this seeking God – {{Jeremiah 29:13 “And YOU WILL SEEK ME and find Me, when you search for Me WITH ALL YOUR HEART.”}} After Judah’s overthrow and under the Babylonians, the prophet wrote this – {{Lamentations 3:25 “The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who SEEKS HIM.”}} Do not miss out. Seek Him while he may be found.
We must look at the second part of Psalm 34:10 where it says, “shall not be in want of any good thing”, remembering this is similar to verse 9. This is not materialism as some like to think it is, worldly-minded people who think they have the right to every material blessing from God. Paul reminded us – {{1 Timothy 6:8 “If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.”}}
Consider what Paul said here – {{Philippians 4:11-12 “not that I speak from want for I HAVE LEARNED TO BE CONTENT IN WHATEVER CIRCUMSTANCES I AM. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity. In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.”}} The Apostle did not want in any good thing, yet his external world could be rough often. These verses are not about an earthly inheritance, or worldliness or materialism but they are about things that are eternal. Let us seek for the Lord and we will find in Him our perfect peace in not being in want of His blessing through the Spirit in our life.
[6]. LEARN THE FEAR OF THE LORD
{{Psalm 34:11 “Come, you children, listen to me. I will teach you THE FEAR OF THE LORD.”}}
This Psalm is in two parts. The first 11 verses flow out of David’s experience with Abimelech (Achish) and contain deep material for a godly life. The second set of 11 verses is teaching children how to follow the Lord and to become worthy followers of the LORD. Some of these instructions are similar to verses in Proverbs.
Spurgeon, in his Treasury of David, makes these observations -
[[ "Come, ye children." Though a warrior and a king, the Psalmist was not ashamed to teach children. Teachers of youth belong to the true peerage; their work is honourable, and their reward shall be glorious. Children are the most hopeful persons to teach - wise men who wish to propagate their principles take care to win the ear of the young. "Hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord." So far as they can be taught by word of mouth, or learned by the hearing of the ear, we are to communicate the faith and fear of God, inculcating upon the rising generation the principles and practices of piety.
This verse may be the address of every Sunday School teacher to his class, of every parent to his children. It is not without instruction in the art of teaching. We should be winning and attractive to the youngsters, bidding them "come," and not repelling them with harsh terms.
We must get them away, apart from toys and sports, and try to occupy their minds with better pursuits; for we cannot well teach them while their minds are full of other things. We must drive at the main point always, and keep the fear of the Lord ever uppermost in our teachings, and in so doing we may discreetly cast our own personality into the scale by narrating our own experiences and convictions.” ]]
We know the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge, and one strong reason why this world is so godless and becoming more dangerous and violent, is because the fear of God is missing. {{Proverbs 1:29 “because they hated knowledge AND DID NOT CHOOSE the fear of the LORD.”}} Many decades ago the world despised teaching children about the fear of the Lord and now the world reaps the results. {{Romans 3:18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”}}
Some people are too irreverent in churches and flippant when addressing the Lord. They think it is all one casual experience. Where is the awe and fear of the Lord in all this? To close, I will leave you with this verse for an interesting consideration as to what it means – {{Proverbs 10:27 “The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be shortened.”}}
