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The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
    and his ears are attentive to their cry;
¹⁶ but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
    to blot out their name 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 broken-hearted
    and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

¹⁹ The righteous person 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 will rescue his servants;
    no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned. NIVUK

As in earlier verses, the closing paragraphs of this psalm give more than ample encouragement to ‘take it to the Lord in prayer.’

‘The onset of trouble must be matched by the onset of prayer and the prayer of the righteous summons the God of deliverance to our aid (17).’ Alec Motyer

Tom Hale writes, ‘Nowhere does David (or the Bible) promise that the righteous will be free of trouble. What David does teach is that God will be present with the righteous in their troubles, and that in due time He will deliver them from their troubles…In verse 20, David says that the Lord protects all the righteous man’s bones, not one of them will be broken. This is a way of saying that the Lord will protect and care for the righteous man’s body. In a literal sense, this protection was also given to Jesus, the most righteous man who ever lived; not one of his bones was broken (John 19:32-33,36).’

We can take comfort from verse 18. What a precious truth. God is not distant from us in our troubles. His ‘watching’ and ‘hearing’ (15) are not from some aloof position. The word ”close” apparently suggests a ‘Next of Kin’ relationship. We need to hold these truths about God ‘in tension’: that He is transcendent (high above and beyond us) yet also immanent (close and nearby).

”For this is what the high and exalted One says— he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.” Isaiah 57:15

Another hymn that comes to mind as I read these verses is, ‘Who is on the Lord’s side?’ by Frances Ridley Havergal. I think, seeing the stark alternatives spelled out in our text, who not want to respond with these sentiments?

”By Thy call of mercy, by Thy grace divine,
We are on the Lord’s side—Saviour, we are Thine!”

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

Let’s consider the character of this teacher. We know that he is a humble man, seeking to glorify God; one who recognises his intense need of the Lord. This is instructive for the church. These are the sort of teachers we need.

Furthermore, we cannot look at this passage and think it just belongs in the Old Testament, for the apostle Peter quotes it in an extended section in 1 Peter 3:8ff, where he is dealing with the subject of living under persecution.

For David (and for Peter) ‘the good life’ entails:

a.) Our speech (13);

b.) Our lives (14a): i.e. living in repentance;

c.) Our posture/approach (14b): peaceful peacemakers (”If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” Rom. 12:18). ‘Those who live this way can count on the Lord to punish those who do evil (verse 16).’ Tom Hale

“We are called to reflect the Lord’s beauty through our lives as much as through our words, and God will use this in His own perfect time.” Dr. Helen Roseveare

It was Helen Roseveare who also defined a missionary as someone called to live the Christian life in another land – and, she said, the emphasis is on the living.

Taste and see that the Lord is good;
    blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
⁹ Fear the Lord, you his holy people,
    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. NIVUK

David’s experience is encapsulated in verse 8. He had ‘tasted’ and ‘seen’ and he encouraged others to do the same.

Notice that to ‘fear’ the Lord, and to ‘seek’ Him are two sides of the same coin. This is a reverential fear that takes God seriously, believes in His awesome reality and takes Him at His Word. It therefore inevitably involves seeking Him.

Verses 9,10 are not the basis for ‘prosperity teaching’, but they do underline a truth that those who trust God’s promises have proved (often many times over): namely that His provision is remarkable, miraculous and timely. (Tom Hale comments that these two verses are the equivalent to Jesus’ teaching in Matt.6:33. If we ‘seek first’ God’s Kingdom and righteousness we will have all we need).

”For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
    the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
    from those whose walk is blameless.” Psalm 84:11NIV

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

God’s angel sets up a circle
of protection around us while we pray. The Message

‘One person’s testimony is only valuable to others if it rests on a changeless truth about God. So why was David able to enjoy such experiences? Because the angel of the LORD is the ever-present rescuing agent (7). Appearing to Hagar, the Angel of the Lord spoke about the Lord (Gn.16:11) and yet was the Lord (Gn.16:13…) Thus David’s testimony can be anyone’s because the Angel encamps (lives in a mobile home so as to move with the people of God in their earthly pilgrimage) with all who fear him. Hence, all are invited to taste and see, to take refuge (8), and find sufficiency (9-10).’ Alec Motyer

Many Bible commentators believe that, in the Old Testament, there are a number of pre-incarnate visitation of the Lord Jesus Christ as ‘”The angel of the LORD”. But also there are numerous other references to angels.

Amy Grant sang, and I think part wrote, a song called ‘Angels’. I’ve often thought about these words:

‘ “Take this man to prison,” the man heard Herod say
And then four squads of soldiers came and carried him away
Chained up between two watchmen, Peter tried to sleep
But beyond the walls an endless prayer was lifting for his keep
Then a light cut through the darkness of a lonely prison cell
And the chains that bound the man of God just opened up and fell
And running to his people before the break of day
There was only one thing on his mind, only one thing to say

Angels watching over me every move I make
Angels watching over me
Angels watching over me every step I take
Angels watching over me

God only knows the times my life was threatened just today
A reckless car ran out of gas before it ran my way
Near misses all around me, accidents unknown
Though I never see with human eyes the hands that lead me home
God, I know they’re all around me all day and through the night
When the enemy is closing in I know sometimes they fight
To keep my feet from falling I’ll never turn away
If you’re asking what’s protecting me then you’re gonna hear me say

Angels watching over me
Angels watching over me
Angels watching over me
Angels watching over me
Though I never see with human eyes the hands that lead me home.’

Who can say how many times angels are dispatched in answer to the fervent believing prayers of God’s people? We are dealing here with a realm of wonder and mystery.

”Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14 NIVUK).

‘The angels are servants of the saints today and minister to us in ways we will never know about until we get to heaven (Heb.1:14).’ Warren Wiersbe