Truth Magazine

By Donnie V. Rader

Psalm 34 is a Psalm of David. It is an acrostic (Alphabetic) Psalm where in Hebrew each line begins with the successive Hebrew alphabet. However, it is irregular. One letter (vau) is missing and another (pe) is repeated. It is the second such Psalm. The twenty-fifth Psalm is one also.

The title of the Psalm says, “A Psalm of David when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.” This refers to the events of 1 Samuel 21:10-15 where David, because he was afraid, acted like he was crazy before Achish, the king of Gath. The Psalm does not indicate any attempt to vindicate David’s action. In fact, in the Psalm, David makes no reference to his conduct. He makes no comment upon it. He merely recalls his feelings at the time of his deliverance. We are not to assume that this was necessarily written at the time of the events of 1 Samuel 21.

A quick reading of this Psalm suggests there are two divisions: (1) vv. 1-10 and (2) vv. 11-22. Charles Spurgeon calls the first part a hymn and the second a sermon. The first ten verses deal with thanksgiving and praise for deliverance. The last twelve deal with instruction.

The Point Of Psalms 34

The point of the Psalm is that Jehovah is our provider, protector, and deliverer. Albert Barnes wrote, “The general purport and bearing of the Psalm, therefore, is to furnish an argument for trusting in God in the time of trouble, and for leading such a life that we may confidently trust him as our Protector and Friend” (Barnes Notes, Psalms, I:286).

We also learn some lessons about the fear of God and the blessings that those who fear receive.

An Outline

1. David’s Praise Toward God (vv. 1-10)

a. Pledge to praise God always (vv. 1-3).

b. David’s experience: The Lord heard and delivered

(vv. 4-7).

c. God blesses those who trust and fear (vv. 8-11).

2. Instructions To Fear (vv. 11-22)

a. How to fear God (vv. 11-14).

b. The blessings of those who fear (vv. 15-22).

A Closer Look At The Psalm

David begins with a pledge to praise God at all times (vv. 1-3). In every circumstance and situation whether in trials and darkness or calmness when all is bright. In this, he makes a statement of his dedication and devotion of which he is not ashamed (v. 2). He stirs others to magnify God’s name with him (v. 3).

In the next four verses David tells of how he cried to the Lord and the Lord heard and delivered him from his enemies. He shows his confidence in the Lord. It is in this section that he introduces us to the fear of the Lord (v. 7). His point is that the Lord protects and delivers those who fear God.

Verses 8-10 describe how God blesses those who trust him and fear his name. He said, “Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear him” (v. 9). He concludes the first part of this Psalm saying, “But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing” (v. 10).

The second part of the Psalm (vv. 11-22) is instructions to fear God. First, he invites all to come and learn about the fear of God (v. 11). In the next verse he tells us that those who fear God are the ones who truly enjoy life and see good days (v. 12). The writer then tells us how to see those good days (thus telling us how to fear God): (1) Control the tongue (v. 13). (2) Depart from evil (v. 14). (3) Do good (v. 14). (4) Seek peace, and pursue it (v. 14).

Verses 15-22 tell of the blessings that those who fear God receive. The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous (those who fear) and his ears are open to their prayer (v. 15, cf. 1 Pet. 3:12). The Lord delivers his people from their troubles (vv. 17, 19). He redeems the soul of his servants (v. 22).

Lessons About Fear From This Psalm

There are several practical lessons we learn from this Psalm about the fear of God.

1. Fear must be taught (v. 11). If we fear God, we have been taught to fear God. If we want our children to fear God, we must teach them to fear God. When we wonder why some of our children have no use for God or his word, we would do well to consider that maybe we didn’t teach them to fear God.

2. What it means to fear God. The term “fear” is equated with several other expressions in the context. These terms serve as a commentary on what is involved in fearing God. What verses 7, 9, and 11 refer to as one who “fears,” v. 8 describes as one who “trusts in him.” Verse 10 says “seek the Lord.” Verse 15 calls this one “righteous.” Verse 22 says he is a servant.

3. The Lord protects those who fear him (vv. 7, 15, 17, 19). The Lord cares about his people. He delivers them from their troubles.

4. The Lord blesses those who fear him (vv. 8-10). God gives us all that we need (2 Pet. 1:3). There is no promise that the Lord would give us all we want. He did promise that he would grant all we need. While the young lion may hunger, his people will not lack any good thing (v. 10).

5. Those who fear God are those who really enjoy life (v. 12). Those who seek pleasure from life without the fear of God, have no idea what real joy is. In fact, they don’t really understand what life itself is all about.

6. God’s listens to those who fear him (vv. 15-22). What a privilege to have God’s ear tuned to our request! Such an honor is not granted to just anyone. It is an honor bestowed only on those who fear God.

I don’t know if you read the following article but it is worthy of note. It appeared in the June 18, 1998 Arizona Republic.

“It’s the common dilemma every parent faces. You nurture them, guide them, lead by example, but once they reach their teen years, it often goes right out the window as adolescents try to reinvent themselves and recommit the mistakes their parents made.

Mike Balis, a Paradise Valley ophthalmologist, could see it coming. His younger daughter, Elizabeth, 14, was trying out her wings, and Balis wasn’t too sure he liked her cruising altitude.

Then something happened. The father found out that his usually-health- conscious daughter had sampled a cigarette. ‘When I found out she had experimented with smoking, I was disappointed.’ Balis said. ‘Initially, I was angry.

‘I decided that rather than confront her with rage or anger, that the best thing would be to write her a letter that was informational and instructive, and would convey to her my reasons for not wanting her to do it.’

Here is that letter . . .

“Dear Elizabeth:

I have written this letter to you because I love you. When I heard that you had smoked, I was not angry. I was sad, but mostly I was disappointed. You had led me to believe that you understood the risks involved in smoking, and that you would ‘never try it.’

I know how important peer pressure is, and how trying something new is exciting and fascinating. Exploring new territory is usually a positive endeavor, as long as the end result isn’t potentially self-destructive. Often our judgment is clouded by emotions that are stronger than wisdom or reason. We all make mistakes. I don’t want you to make a mistake that could affect the rest of your life.

Please take the time to read this letter in its entirety. I wrote it to inform you, not to harass you. Although everyone knows about lung cancer and smoking, there are many other considerations regarding this addiction that merit consideration.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a huge federal agency that studies disease patterns, nicotine addiction is more powerful than heroin or cocaine. One out of four intravenous cocaine users become addicted. One out of two smokers become addicted. There is no safe level of tobacco use.

Each day, 6,000 kids smoke for the first time. Three thousand of these kids become regular smokers, and the vast majority continue smoking for the rest of their lives. The CDC estimates that 5 million children living today will die early

because of the decision they make as adolescents to use tobacco.

Tobacco companies spend over $5 billion a year on advertising, and most of their ads are designed to appeal to kids. Virtually all adult smokers began their habit as children. Many internal memos and documents that have been circulated within the tobacco industry reveal the strong motivation that the cigarette manufacturers have to hook kids on smoking. Here are some examples:

Memo from a tobacco company:

Realistically, if our company is to survive and prosper, over the long term, we must get our share of the youth market. In my opinion, this will require new brands tailored to the youth market.

R.J.R. should make a substantial long-term commitment of manpower and money dedicated to younger adult smoker programs.

These companies recognize that the vast majority of smokers start before the age of 18.

Since older smokers either quit (if they can) or die from smoking-related illness, the youth market is the major source of replacement smokers.

Memo from another tobacco company:

Today’s teenager is tomorrow’s potential regular customer, and the overwhelming majority of smokers first begin to smoke while still in their teens. Tobacco advertising works, and children are the ultimate victims. The strategy of the manufacturers, marketing companies and retail stores is to hook kids on smoking. Health is not their concern — making money is their only motivation.

The average smoker begins at age 13 and becomes a daily smoker by age 14½. Cigarettes kill more than 400,000 people a year. Smoking causes more deaths in women than breast cancer. That’s more than from alcohol, crack, heroin, murders, suicide, car accidents and AIDS combined. Smoking is the most preventable cause of premature death in this country. Most adult smokers realize the dangers but they just cannot stop smoking. Indeed, the business of “stop- smoking” remedies is a multibillion-dollar industry.

Some of these remedies include hypnosis, biofeedback, psycho-therapy, subliminal tapes, motivational seminars, group therapy, stop-smoking clubs, and support groups. The store shelves are full of nicotine chewing gum, skin patches, tobaccoless cigarettes, and pills, all of which are designed to help ‘kick the habit.’ Few of these ‘cures’ work. Most smokers go right back to the habit after a brief period of time. Forty percent of teenagers who smoke daily have tried to quit and have failed. Forty-two percent of young people who smoke as few as three cigarettes go on to be- come regular smokers.

Why start smoking when the vast majority of existing smokers regret that they ever started, and are so desperate to stop that they are spending billions of dollars per year to free themselves from this horrible addiction?

Why start a habit that makes your breath bad, almost always causes a chronic cough, and stains your teeth and fingers? Why join that group of desperate individuals who, after a brief flight, run through the airport with an unlit cigarette dangling from their mouth, in desperate anticipation of lighting up? Why assemble in those little alleys outside office buildings with other nervous smokers get- ting their fix, as they stand around, inhaling those precious fumes amid piles of crushed cigarette butts? Tobacco use accounts for over one-third of all cancer-related deaths. Do you know what a carcinogen is? A carcinogen is a chemical that is known to induce cancer in healthy tissue. Cigarette smoke contains 43 known carcinogens. That means that these 43 agents have been proven, in laboratory tests, to cause cancer.

We all know about smoking and lung cancer. What about other cancers that are caused by smoking? The following list includes the cancers that are known to be associated with smoking: lung, colon, rectum, anus, liver, stomach, bladder, throat, tongue, lip, esophagus, breast, kidney, cervix, ureter, pancreas, leukemia, myeloma.

The negative effects of smoking are not limited to cancer causation. Some other disorders caused, or made worse by smoking, include: back pain due to lumbar disc disease, spinal fractures, hip fractures, emphysema, bronchitis, influenza, pneumonia, diabetes, high blood pressure, in- fertility, osteoporosis, stroke, heart attack, dental cavities, tooth loss from gum disease, premature wrinkling, delayed wound healing, ear infections, headaches, premature menopause, stomach ulcers.

Why are smokers at so much greater risk for heart disease and stroke? Because nicotine is a powerful vasoconstrictor. It causes blood vessels to narrow so that they carry less blood. Another effect of nicotine is that it raises blood pressure. High blood pressure is a known cause of heart attack and stroke. Smoking also causes atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), a condition that narrows and clogs blood vessels.

When I do an eye exam, I know if the person I’m examining is a smoker. I can determine this by looking inside their eyes. The blood vessels in the eyes are much smaller in smokers. They are very narrow and they contain many areas called focal constriction. The vessels look as if they are in spasm. Smokers also have a greater incidence of macular degeneration and ischemic optic neuropathy, two serious eye conditions that can often cause blindness.

You’re a great kid. You’re full of life and energy. You’re just a normal, rebellious teenager who wants to experience life to the fullest. That’s OK, but please consider the risks of some of your explorations. You have a healthy body — it is essentially brand new. Please consider the consequences of smoking before you try it again. Why start a habit that is responsible for more disease and death than any other voluntary endeavor?

I respect you immensely, and I love you as much as I respect you. Please choose wisely.

Love, Dad”

The letter you just read was not written by a Christian (at least I am unaware of him being a baptized believer) nor a preacher-type with something “spiritual” to prove. It was written by a doctor of medicine and a father to his daughter. Lessons can be learned from the letter.

If you are a Christian there are more considerations of smoking. It violates 1 Corinthians 3:16 which says we must take care of our body. It violates 2 Corinthians 6:17 which says we must come out and be separate from the world. Smoking is worldly. If you are an adult smoker you violate Luke 17:2 which says it would be better if you were drowned than for you to set a bad example, thus causing a little one to stumble. Smoking sets a bad example. Smoking is a waste of money and violates the principle of steward- ship outlined in 1 Corinthians 4:2.

Add to the things above that smoking makes your breath bad, your temper short and your clothes stink. I know, I was a smoker.

Some excuse and justify the conflicting and contradictory doctrines of denominationalism by saying that we cannot understand the Bible alike. Though God tells us we may understand the truth, some say it is impossible to do so (John 8:32; Eph. 3:4; 5:17; 1 Tim. 2:4). Let us see the inconsistency of those who say this.

Those who say we cannot understand the Bible alike will say that we must believe that Jesus is the divine Son of God. They will not permit disagreement. All alike must understand that Jesus died for our sins and that he was raised from the dead by the power of God (Rom. 4:25; 10:9, 10). Let them explain how it is that we are expected   to under- stand the Bible alike with respect to the life and      death of Jesus while they say it is impossible in other areas.

It is said that we cannot know the purpose of baptism. We cannot agree on whether or not baptism is one of the conditions of pardon, therefore, we may go our separate ways. You may believe that baptism is not essential for salvation, and I may believe that baptism is “for the remission of sins” (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16). However, it does not matter in God’s sight since we cannot understand it alike.

If that is true, if it does not matter, and if we are free to believe either way, what about the element in which we are baptized? Does it matter? If I believe baptism is valid if one is immersed in buttermilk, am I just as free to believe that as you are to believe that baptism is in water (Acts 8:36; 10:47)? Would you insist that for baptism to be acceptable it must be performed in water and not in a pile of leaves? Must we understand alike that baptism is in water and not in whipped cream?

Others say we cannot agree on which church is right. Hence, I may go to “my church” and you are free to “join the church of your choice.” If that be true, is one free to choose not to be a member of any church, not even the Lord’s (Acts 20:28; Eph. 2:16; 5:23, 30, 32)? If we cannot “bind” one church over another, then Jim Jones, who led his “church” to commit suicide, is as valid as the Lord’s body. What about those nut-case groups who kill themselves to hitch a ride on a spaceship tethered to a comet? Are those churches as good as the one for which Jesus suffered and bled and died (Eph. 5:25, 26)?

It has been said that some would justify adulterous marriages because there is no consensus on the knotty issue of marriage, divorce, and remarriage (Matt. 5:32; 19:9). Let us grant that since we cannot understand it alike that folks are allowed to enter into nearly any kind of question- able marriage relationship. Because there are many hard questions about divorce and remarriage, we will welcome nearly any married couple into our fellowship. Alright, then, suppose a fellow says he is not sure that marriage is limited to males and females. No, he is “not certain” that he can “understand it like you do.” He believes it is possible that God may allow marriages of men to men and women to women, not to mention the marriage of a man to a horse or a woman to a billygoat.

What now? Do we “demand” and insist that he under- stand with us that scriptural marriage can only be between a man and a woman (Matt. 19:3-6; 1 Cor. 7:2-5)? If so, what happens to the idea that we cannot understand the Bible alike?

By Donald P. Ames

Recently I was given a shoe box of old sermons on cassette, along with some old bulletins, etc. dated about 10-20 years ago. Among the bulletins, I found a newspaper clipping by a lady from Decatur, Illinois bearing the above heading. It was in reply to a previously submitted letter, but bore no date, so I have no real way of determining just when it was written. Nevertheless, she made a strong case for her position, and I thought it might be good to review it in Truth Magazine. Not only are we to be ready to give a reason for the hope within us (1 Pet. 3:15), but by such an examination, it may help us avoid being caught by surprise sometime in answering this position, which is bound to increase in popularity in the religious world today.

She begins by pointing out that Paul mentions Priscilla’s name before that of Aquila (see Acts 18:26), a practice “unheard of” at that time. And while the KJV reverses them again to list Aquila first, in the Greek, Priscilla is listed first! Such listings frequently show who was the more influential of those listed. From this fact, she boldly states it was “because Priscilla is the pre-eminent teacher over the church.” However, in this passage, while Priscilla may have taken the leadership in the study, it was not “over the church,” but rather they took Apollos aside and privately taught him “the way of God more perfectly.” The most that can be made from this passage is that a woman can study with a man privately. Our writer has assumed too much from the passage, and affirmed a position the passage does not teach.

She next affirms that Junia (Rom. 16:7) was a “woman missionary, started new churches and filled the role of pastor.” (While “pastor” is a term for an elder, I understand she is using it in the denominational sense of a “preacher.”) Now while the name is a woman’s name (as can be determined from the Greek word used), the only thing Paul says about her is that she and Adronicus were his “kinsmen . . . fellow prisoners . . . who were in Christ before me.” No sources I could find affirmed the role she alleges Junia filled. Again, she has assumed, asserted, but has not proven the argument.

“Tryphena, Tryphose, and Persis (Rom. 16:12) were women evangelists” she next boldly states. Again, granting they are womens’ names, and they “labored much in the Lord,” nowhere does the Bible refer to them as “evangelists.” There are many ways a woman could labor in the Lord without being an evangelist, as seem in 1 Timothy 5, etc. So again, she has assumed the point she is trying to make.

Next she alludes to Deborah as a prophetess from the O.T. book of Judges. However this shows nothing about whether or not a woman can be an evangelist or an elder in the N.T. age. We are not under the Law of Moses today (Col. 2:14; Eph. 2:15-16; 2 Cor. 3; Heb. 8), but under Christ (Matt. 28:18; Eph. 1:20-23; etc.). The O.T. is not our source of authority, hence this argument has no bearing on the point under study.

Her next point is that “Phoebe was a deacon.” This has reference to Romans 16:1, where the RSV did use the term “deacon” with reference to Phoebe. However all other reliable translations use the term “servant” instead. The word “deacon” can refer to the office of a deacon, or it can simply refer to one in the role of a “servant” (cf. John 2:5). As Paul set forth the qualifications for the office of a deacon in 1 Timothy 3, he states in v. 12: “Let the deacons be the husband of one wife.” That pretty well settles the gender question. There are no qualifications set forth for a female deacon, and no record of any ever serving as such. A footnote in the Nelson KJV Study Bible notes this problem and says: “No specific specifications however are given of such an office.”

Such women are better viewed as being either the wives of deacons (cf. 1 Tim. 3:11) or godly widows who were supported financially by the church (cf. 1 Tim. 5:9, 10). Here it is best to understand Phoebe’s role to be that of a “helper.”

The next argument she presents is that “Nympha was an elder.” Reference here is to Colossians 4:15, and she boldly states, “The churches met in the homes of the elder of that church.” (Again, elders are plural in the N.T. — there was no “the elder” of a church.) But again, one of the qualifications of an elder is that he is to be the “husband of one wife” (1 Tim. 3:2; Tit. 1:6). Again, the gender question is settled by Paul. And although the KJV plainly states “the church which is in his house,” I understand the Greek manuscripts are not quite so plain — some using the male form of the name, some the female; some saying “his house,” some “her house,” and some “their house.” However many Christians of that time opened their homes for brethren to have a place to meet (cf. Acts 12:12; 1 Cor. 16:19; etc.), often in small groups. But because they might have had the space for such a meeting is no proof they were “in charge” or served as “the elder” over that church. Again, it is assumed, affirmed, and asserted, but lacking in proof. Hospitality did not make one an “elder” of the church!

Then she states that the only reason Jesus chose men as apostles was “because oral Jewish law would not recognize a woman as a witness. Her testimony was worthless and Jesus needed witnesses the Jews would accept.” Yet she would have us to believe he would turn around and appoint them as evangelists and elders to bear testimony to the whole world. I hardly think so! She even turns around and notes that Jesus appeared first to Mary after his resurrec- tion and “commissioned her to apostle the Apostles.” Did she not bear “witness” that he had resurrected? Does our writer have inside information of Jesus’ motives the Bible doesn’t reveal to us? Did he reverse himself that quickly? Jesus selected men to serve as apostles, and while she would like to expand that role, the authority is going to have to come from God, not human supposition!

Paul plainly states that the evangelist is to preach “with all authority” (Tit. 2:15), that he is to preach the word and to reprove, rebuke, and exhort (2 Tim. 4:2). He also plainly states a woman is not to “usurp authority over the man” (1 Tim. 2:13). There is no reference to women serving as evangelists or elders in the N.T. and Paul has spelled out the reasons why, as we have noted in this study. Human speculation does not replace divine revelation. Our writer concludes by going to Mark 10:42-44, where Jesus says we are not to seek lordship, but be servants; and concludes he was dealing with “leadership in the spiritual realm” and clearing the way for women to later become evangelists. And while the Bible affirms there is “no difference” in Jew or Greek, bond or free, male or female (in acceptance or preference) in Christ (Gal. 3:28), God still has roles for each to fulfill (see Eph. 5:22f; 1 Cor. 11:3; 14:34-35; Tit. 2; etc.). Let us beware we do not try to add to the word of God to suit society today, or seek to achieve roles God has not assigned to us.