PSALM 34:14-17 - PART 6 - THE PURSUIT OF PEACE; THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED
In our previous study of this psalm we began verse 14 but we only did the first half of the verse that spoke about departing from evil and going good. Today we continue with verse 14. Let us look at it again. Psalm 34 is most instructive and a delightful psalm.
[1]. SEEK PEACE (NOT WAR OR STRIFE) AND CHASE AFTER IT
{{Psalm 34:14 “Depart from evil and do good. SEEK PEACE, AND PURSUE IT.”}}
Jesus said something significant (as He did always) – {{Matthew 5:9 “BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS, for they shall be called sons of God.”}} In the New Testament there is a very strong emphasis on peace because peace comes from God. Peace is not in our nature because the natural man is not peaceful because his range of sins. {{Galatians 5:19-21 “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, ENMITIES, STRIFE, JEALOUSY, outbursts of anger, DISPUTES, DISSENSIONS, FACTIONS, ENVYING, drunkenness, carousing . . .”}}
Have a look at the words highlighted above – 7 of them – key words for the destruction of peace. That is what composes our natures. That is why unregenerated people have no internal peace and no national or international peace.
(The wisdom here is ungodly) {{James 3:15-18 “This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. Where JEALOUSY AND SELFISH AMBITION EXIST, THERE IS DISORDER AND EVERY EVIL THING, but the wisdom from above is first pure, then PEACEABLE, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy, and the seed whose fruit is righteousness IS SOWN IN PEACE BY THOSE WHO MAKE PEACE.”}}. James says every evil thing comes from jealousy and selfish ambition, but it is the wisdom of God that results in peace associated with righteousness. All of us need to be sowers of peace.
Peace is one of the top three fruit gifts of the Spirit given to us – love, joy, peace – and the purpose of that is to cultivate peace among all men but especially our fellow Christians. Romans 12:18 –{{“If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.”}} Peace is important because we copy the God of peace who did this – {{Ephesians 2:13-15 “but now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ, FOR HE HIMSELF IS OUR PEACE, who MADE BOTH GROUPS INTO ONE, and BROKE DOWN THE BARRIER OF THE DIVIDING WALL by abolishing in His flesh the enmity which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, THUS ESTABLISHING PEACE”}}
Peace can only occur in mankind when God is in control. Man can not achieve his own peace for he is full of the fruit of the old nature, the flesh. Jesus Christ is our peace, and outside Him there is no peace. Paul persecuted the Church causing havoc but when he was converted he valued peace enormously because he was then at peace with God. He thrived on peace with God, and the peace of God from the God of peace. That went hand in hand with grace that extended to him the persecutor and saved him. Grace and peace became his greeting in all his letters; such was the value he placed on grace and peace.
The Psalm verse says to seek peace. That means seeking to abolish discord and all those things in the old nature from Galatians 5:19-21, among fellow Christians. When Jesus stilled the storm, there was peace, so stilling the storms in our churches is a start.
Psalm 34:14 commands to seek peace but it also says to pursue it. It means to run after it and I think with the sense of not letting it get away. The Study Bible says [[“The word "pursue" implies an active, ongoing effort, suggesting that PEACE IS NOT EASILY ATTAINED AND REQUIRES DILIGENCE AND PERSEVERANCE. This aligns with the New Testament exhortations to strive for peace with everyone (Hebrews 12:14) and to live at peace as much as it depends on you (Romans 12:18).”]]
[2]. THE ONES WHO ARE RIGHTEOUS ARE IN GOD’S SIGHT
{{Psalm 34:15 “The eyes of the LORD are toward THE RIGHTEOUS, and HIS EARS ARE OPEN to their cry.”}}
The eyes of the LORD are also towards the unrighteous but He will not entertain their cry unless it is in repentance, for the heart of man is wicked and seeks not the things that are spiritually good. Out of the heart comes all manner of evil.
There is an interesting passage in Isaiah where the righteous examine their situation. The whole of chapter 59 is so revealing and I can only select a minimum of verses. Firstly we will consider this – {{Isaiah 59:8 “They do not know THE WAY OF PEACE and there is no justice in their tracks. They have made their paths crooked. WHOEVER TREADS ON THEM DOES NOT KNOW PEACE.”}} In the previous verse of Psalm 34 above, we were thinking about peace. This verse speaks of the unrighteous and confirms again the man away from God has no personal, national or international peace.
In the next section I want to do, we could not get a better description of our times even though the setting is back 2 700 years. This is the righteous ones speaking, and it is to them that the eyes of the LORD watch out for them and His ears are open to their cries. This is what they say – {{Isaiah 59:11 “All of us growl like bears and moan sadly like doves. We hope for justice, but there is none, for salvation, but it is far from us.”}} Our salvation is sure if we belong to Christ but even now we long for salvation, the completion of it when in the very presence of God.
The next description is of Judah 2 700 years ago but it could be today. Speaking of the condition of society – {{Isaiah 59:9-10 “Therefore, JUSTICE IS FAR FROM US, and RIGHTEOUSNESS DOES NOT OVERTAKE US. We hope for light, but behold, darkness; for brightness, but we walk in gloom. We grope along the wall like blind men. We grope like those who have no eyes. We stumble at midday as in the twilight. Among those who are vigorous we are like dead men.”}} The Lord does know the state of our nations and His eyes are towards the unrighteous, but they do not repent so His ears can not be open to their cries.
The description of their/our society continues, but look how bad it is. Note the ending words of the verses underneath about justice, righteousness and truth. How that can so strongly apply to the United States is clear in recent years, especially in the revelations coming from investigations in 2025 into corruption in the Biden years, but these ills are not at all confined to the United States:-
Isaiah 59:12-14 “Our transgressions are multiplied before You, and OUR SINS TESTIFY AGAINST US for our transgressions are with us and we know our iniquities: transgressing and denying the LORD, and turning away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, CONCEIVING IN AND UTTERING FROM THE HEART LYING WORDS. JUSTICE IS TURNED BACK AND RIGHTEOUSNESS STANDS FAR AWAY FOR TRUTH HAS STUMBLED IN THE STREET, AND UPRIGHTNESS CANNOT ENTER.”}}
We live in our societies as strangers and pilgrims for our citizenship is in heaven. We know the evil state of the world, BUT we know also the mighty truth of Psalm 34:15. His eyes look kindly on us; His ears are open to our cries; He knows each one of His sheep and His rod and staff comfort us. He will never leave nor forsake us, but steps alongside to comfort us. We live in an ugly world, but in the Lord’s abiding presence there is beauty, for it is of the lovely Son of God.
[3]. WICKEDNESS WILL NEVER STAND BEFORE GOD
{{Psalm 34:16 “THE FACE OF THE LORD IS AGAINST EVILDOERS to cut off the memory of them from the earth.”}}
Verse 15 addresses the good hand of God for His righteous ones, but verse 16 declares what the fate of the unrighteous is. God will never sanction those who do evil, and destruction waits before them. They will be taken in their own deceits. Again in Isaiah 59 this is addressed (though the initial application is to Israel’s enemies) - {{Isaiah 59:17-18 “He put on righteousness like a breastplate and a helmet of salvation on His head. He put on GARMENTS OF VENGEANCE for clothing, and wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle. ACCORDING TO THEIR DEEDS, SO HE WILL REPAY - wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies. To the coastlands He will make recompense.”}}
The wicked think they get away with it because there is no fear of God before their eyes, but they don’t get away. There is recompense for all because of sin. There is recompense for me because of my sin, but the great gospel story is that Jesus took my recompense on the cross and I am declared righteous. Recompense is coming. {{Acts 17:30-31 “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, because HE HAS FIXED A DAY IN WHICH HE WILL JUDGE THE WORLD IN RIGHTEOUSNESS through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”}}
How do we understand the cutting off of the memory of the wicked from the earth? We remember Hitler and Stalin, and Mao-ze-Dong, the most wicked of all, whose memories have not been cut off. These three were responsible for the deaths of over 100 million people. History will keep their memories alive, so what are we looking at here. Most people say the names of wicked people will not be remembered. Commentator Gill wrote – [[“to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth; so that they shall be no more thought of, nor spoken of, but with contempt and reproach; an everlasting mark of infamy being upon their names.”]]
Alfred Barnes wrote – [[“The other idea is, that there is a state of things on earth which has a tendency to cause the remembrance of the wicked to die out, or to make people forget them. There is nothing to make men desire to retain their recollection, or to rear monuments to them. People are indeed remembered who are of bad eminence in crime; but the world will forget a wicked man just as soon as it can.”]]
This is a little difficult to know the precise idea but in eternity the names of the wicked are certainly cut off.
[4]. THE LORD DELIVERS – DAVID IS PROOF
{{Psalm 34:17 “The righteous cry and the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.”}}
This verse aligns with {{Psalm 34:6-7 “This poor man cried and the LORD heard him, and SAVED HIM OUT OF ALL HIS TROUBLES. The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, AND RESCUES THEM.”}}
What is being said here is very personal for David. It happened when he was stunningly delivered from the hands of Achish, the Abimelech. Can these promises be the way for everyone? I wrote in detail on this matter when looking at verses 7 and 8. That is in PART 3. I will repeat a section of that message -
How then are we to understand situations when we don’t see God’s deliverance for His people? Is this Psalm verse wrong that speaks of rescue? Job penned these words – {{Job 13:15 “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. Nevertheless I will argue my ways before Him,”}} and he understood God’s will transcended his own personal desire.
Daniel was delivered from a lion’s mouth, yet Paul was not delivered from a Roman prison. Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego were delivered from a blazing fiery furnace, but Stephen died by stoning from a satanic mob. Some missionaries were delivered from tricky and dangerous situations, yet others of them were eaten by greedy cannibals in the South Pacific Islands.
{{Psalm 22:1 “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? FAR FROM MY DELIVERANCE ARE THE WORDS OF MY GROANING.”}} (A Messianic Psalm on the cross).
It is unthinkable that the Lord was not delivered in His passion. Deliverance was not FROM the suffering of Calvary, but THROUGH the suffering. {{Romans 4:25 “He who was delivered UP because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.”}}
Jesus prayed for deliverance FROM the power of the sword, but His deliverance was the absolute defeat OF the power of the sword. In another way, His death conquered death forever. That was great deliverance, and His prayer was answered fully. From death to deliverance in resurrection.
When this Psalm verse says that the angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and RESCUES them, we need to understand this is in accordance with the will of God in a believer’s life. It is so important to understand that in this whole subject of deliverance. Psalm 34:17 is the same idea. Psalm 34:19 is yet another saying the Lord delivers us out of all afflictions. Let us appreciate that this Psalm is based on David’s experience. It is so true, but we know times when this does not appear to happen. The Lord is sovereign in all this and we look to him for deliverance but we know because of the almost 100 million martyrs last century, it may not always happen. I praise the Lord I have been delivered from eternal death.
Our verse says that the righteous cry and the Lord hears. That is so fundamental and true. Not one saint is left abandoned; or neglected; or unheard. The tender Shepherd hears the smallest bleat from His lambs. How the Lord responds is according to His will, not according to our desires. We must understand that without question.
