Psalm 34

1 I will extol the LORD at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.

2 My soul will boast in the LORD;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

3 Glorify the LORD with me;
let us exalt his name together.

4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.

5 Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.

6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.

7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.

8 Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

9 Fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him lack nothing.

10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

11 Come, my children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

12 Whoever of you loves life
and desires to see many good days,

13 keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking lies.

14 Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.

15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their cry;

16 the face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.

18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

19 A righteous man may have many troubles,
but the LORD delivers him from them all;

20 he protects all his bones,
not one of them will be broken.

21 Evil will slay the wicked;
the foes of the righteous will be condemned.

22 The LORD redeems his servants;
no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.

As I meditate upon the psalm, one of the things that God spoke to me was regarding the fear of the Lord - FotL. Isn't it interesting? That the psalmist wrote this in verse 9: "Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing."

What exactly is FotL? I really don't think that I'm qualified enough to do a teaching on this. But I just want to share my own understanding, and hope that it will encourage us.

For a start, FotL has been repeatedly mentioned in the Bible, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. Hence, we really have to take FotL seriously.

I believe FotL can be taken to mean that we have a deep sense of reverence and love for God. So much so that we always want to please Him. Consequently, we will have this fear of displeasing Him, and avoid doing so at all cost. For instance, we know that God hates sins, and we avoid them so that we will not cause God to be displeased with us.


On top of that, I also think that FotL means we fear the Lord's discipline upon us. When we sinned against God, we will go through the dire consequences that God had set beforehand. Yes, we will be forgiven when we confess and repent, because of Jesus. But consequences are still there. This is important because we all have a sinful nature within us, and need some form of deterrence to prevent us from sinning repeatedly.

Futhermore, God absolutely hates sins. If there are no consequences when we sin, then it doesn't reflect God's standards and characteristics at all.


Sometimes, I really lack FotL. Especially when I'm so caught up with things at work or even at ministry. I may fear the world, fear man instead of fearing Him. I really need to pray that I will walk in the FotL evey single moment in my life, just like in Acts 9:31. God will provide me with everything I need. 100% guaranteed!!

I want to teach people FotL too - Psalm 34:11.


Things to ponder
1. How much do you fear the Lord? Rate yourself 1 to 10 (10 means fear Him a lot a lot).
2. What are two things that stop you from fearing God? Is it pride or other things? Elaborate.
3. Pray for FotL to be upon you all the days of your life.

Click here for Pastor YC's reflection on Psalm 34