Daily Devotions

Psalm 34: 18

The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

When David wrote this psalm, he was being pursued by King Saul and his men and in one instance David even had to hide among the Philistines to escape from King Saul. We can imagine how broken hearted David had been; he had won many battles for King Saul who was also his father in law. Rightfully he should have been rewarded well for his exploits, loyalty and victory.

However, we see that it was the opposite. Saul was not only ungrateful, he was jealous and had contempt for David to the extent that he wanted David to be killed. David had to run away for his life and it was so for several years. It was not that David was weak, instead he was strong and his supporters were also might warriors. In fact there were several opportunities that David could have killed King Saul.

But David was a righteous and God fearing man and he was obedient to God’s law that we must not touch God’s anointed. King Saul was anointed by the prophet Samuel and God’s hand was upon him. David would rather run into hiding that to disobey the law of God. Therefore David was a very broken hearted man for all these while.

It was in such condition that he wrote this psalm and in vs 3-4 he wrote; ‘I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

They looked unto him, and were lightened and their faces were not ashamed.’

Then he wrote in verse 6 his personal status, ‘This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.’

So David wrote out of his personal experiences the confidence he had in God and the answers to his prayers. This is an encouragement to us that we can turn to God in our darkest hour and we can be assured that God will hear our cry and respond to us.