Psalm 34:20-22 - Part 8 – Delivered And Kept; The Redeemed Have Refuge In The Lord But The Wicked Are Condemned Series

PSALM 34:20-22 - PART 8 – DELIVERED AND KEPT; THE REDEEMED HAVE REFUGE IN THE LORD BUT THE WICKED ARE CONDEMNED

With this message we come to the end of this study in Psalm 34. I have obtained much blessing from the series I wanted to share in the 8 sermons.

[1]. UNDER 24 HOUR CARE

{{Psalm 34:20 “He keeps all his bones. Not one of them is broken.”}}

This verse does not stand in isolation but is married to the previous verse – {{Psalm 34:19 “Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the LORD delivers him out of them all.”}} The idea is the theme of this Psalm, which is the deliverance of the LORD experienced by David in the course of his life, but very especially in regards to Achish, the Philistine Abimelech.

The blessed child of God is delivered so that not one of his bones is broken. That would mean the Lord delivered so well that the person came out of it unscathed. It hints at the unbelievable rescues today by Mossad where hostages are brought out unscathed.

A grazier or rancher keeps cattle or sheep but can not guarantee that every single one of them is preserved. There are wild animals and snakes and accidents in the paddocks and fields. The true shepherd guards his flock day and night, but again can not guarantee that in the course of a year, every single sheep is preserved and delivered from lurking dangers such as thieves or wolves.

However when it comes to the Chief Shepherd and the Good Shepherd and the LORD Shepherd, and the Shepherd of the sheep, every single animal is safe. Every single saint is safe in the Shepherd’s care. Not one bone will be broken. Not one sheep will be lost. Not one sheep will fall out of the Father’s hand.

Now along comes the skeptic who thinks he has you cornered and says, “I know many who say they are Christians but they are in trouble and have not been delivered. You talk rubbish.” Let us pass to 100 years in the future when all the skeptic’s generation has passed from the scene and let us take an inventory. It will show that every single saint (Christian, believer, sheep) is safe with the Lord Jesus Christ having been delivered through death – not one of them lost. Not one has a broken bone.

David’s deliverance was physical, but I am sure he realised that not everyone who trusted the LORD was delivered. One sad and cutting example was that of Uriah the Hittite, a godly man who fell victim to David himself and thus was not delivered.

There is a deliverance we look forward to very much. It is in this verse – {{Galatians 1:4 “who gave Himself for our sins THAT HE MIGHT DELIVER US OUT OF THIS PRESENT EVIL AGE according to the will of our God and Father”}}. The expression here is “out of” NOT “in”. Our true deliverance is not always in the world, but from the world, and into the glory of heaven.

This is a short quote from Barnes – [[“The language is of a general character, such as often occurs in the Scriptures, and it should, in all fairness, be so construed. It cannot mean that the bones of a righteous man are never broken, or that the fact that a man has a broken bone proves that he is not righteous; but it means that, as a general principle, religion conduces to safety, or that the righteous are under the protection of God.”]]

That might seem elementary, but scripture must be approached wholly, not in focussed parts. Through this psalm I have examined this matter of the righteous being delivered out of all his troubles. I will not cover that again – it is in several verses earlier in this study.

Why did David use the expression, “He keeps all his bones. Not one of them is broken?” The bones of the Passover lambs were never to be broken, and so CHRIST THE PASSOVER LAMB was preserved from that – {{John 19:36 These things came to pass that the Scripture might be fulfilled, “NOT A BONE OF HIM SHALL BE BROKEN,”}}. Jesus was not delivered from the cross, but delivered up to the cross and delivered through suffering into resurrection.

Paul knew that deliverance was according to the will of God and that is where deliverance rests! {{Romans 15:30-31 “Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me, THAT I MAY BE DELIVERED from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints.”}}