Psalm 34:18-22 is teeming with God’s truth of which we can only touch briefly in a short meditation. It begins by saying “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart…” which means your inner being, your feelings and intellect become crushed and broken; then it goes on saying, “…And saves such as have a contrite spirit.” This is true of any brokenness poured out before the Lord, but primarily here it means contrite over our sinfulness; I think the Amplified Bible says it perfectly, “The Lord is close to those who are of a broken heart, and saves such as are crushed with sorrow for sin and are humbly, and thoroughly penitent.” Jesus talked along the same line in Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.” While mourn may also be applicable to a wide range of situations, I see it as primarily being grieved and experiencing great sorrow over sin, and so turning to the Lord in true repentance find great joy and blessing through His forgiveness, and reconciliation with Him! Psalm 34 goes on to say, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.” The Hebrew for afflictions means bad or evil, again let us draw upon the expertise of the Amplified Bible, “Many evils confront the [consistently] righteous; but the Lord delivers him out of them all”, Compare 1 Corinthians 10:13 where the Apostle speaks about temptation, meaning putting to proof and by implication adversity, and points out that God always provides a way of escape! Even when it looks like our battle is form a physical standpoint, always remember that it is spiritual as Ephesians 6:12 makes clear. The Psalmist concludes Psalm 19 looking at the righteous that have been Redeemed, and will not be condemned! What a glorious future awaits those that turn to Him in true repentance, with a contrite heart!
God’s loving care
By Rose Hill
God is near when our heart is breaking,
Our many afflictions He is taking.
Our trust in the Lord to Him is known,
And He wants to redeem the soul of His own.
Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are form the New King James Version copyright …1982 by Thomas Nelson Co. used by permission