Paul McKenzie

Memory Verse, Friday, February 27, Psalm 34:17

Zade: "The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, And delivereth them out of all their troubles."

"And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;" (1 Peter 3:13-14)

The more I compare this Psalm to 1 Peter 3, the more I can imagine God breathing Psalm 34 into the heart of Peter as he pens His words into this small letter.

We imagine David in a cave with the outcasts of Saul's Israel. We know that many Christians were hiding and meeting in caves and catacombs in Nero's Rome. And while God breathed words of comfort sung by David, He also breathed words of comfort into the Apostle He first designated to preach the gospel to the Jews, while Paul preached to the Gentiles.

And after Paul's miraculous conversion in Acts 9, we found in Acts 10-11 that the Holy Spirit convinced Peter that the Gentiles were to be grafted in as well. And then in Acts 15 we found the council led by James, Peter and John resulted in the decision that the Gentiles were not bound by the Mosaic strictures, but by the Law of Christ, and the great awakening of the Gospel continued to penetrate the whole world of that time. (Which, by the way, is one way you can remember the book order of the General Letters: 1-2-3: one by James, two by Peter, three by John: See Galatians 2:9).

So the church went from "Jerusalem, and in Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth," just as Jesus said before He ascended to His Father. (Acts 1:8b)

We can see a parallel of David establishing the Kingdom through great tribulation, and Christ's Kingdom being spread throughout the world as well. And this will continue throughout "the times of the Gentiles" as Christ prophesied in Luke 21:24. And even though the throne had already been given, David did not sit upon that throne until God removed Saul. And He will do the same to the Dark Prince of this world.

So, we continue as ambassadors for Christ until He establishes His Kingdom. And the leader of the "principalities and powers in heavenly places" (Ephesians 6) is quite uncomfortable, for he knows that his time is short. And he does all he can to make our lives miserable on this earth, so our focus turns toward ourselves instead of the mission of the Kingdom.

We may cry in this life, but we know we are heard, and our future is bright. Those who believe have been delivered from themselves, made righteous, and will also be delivered from this present darkness, when the purposes of God are fulfilled.

What do we do? "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ." (1 Peter 3:15-17)

So, keep your tongue from evil, seek peace and offer the peace of God to those who are causing you harm. Eternity is a long time, and they are headed on the dark path to a lake of fire.

If you are on that path, and your heart is yearning to be free, repent and turn to Christ for mercy. He will give you rest.

Today if you hear His voice, harden not your heart.

*KJV used*

Memory Helps

Zade:

"The righteous cry,
and the LORD heareth,
And delivereth them
out of all their troubles."

Who cry? Who hears? Who delivers? Out of what?

Answer those four questions, using hand actions to help.

Put your hands to your eyes because "the righteous cry"

Now put your hand to your ear while pointing up with the other, for "and the Lord heareth"

Then, with your hand still raised, pretend you are putting a letter in a mailbox, for you are "delivering" a letter to go "out"

For troubles, I'll put a "sad face" on the letter with "troubles" written on it. Honestly, I think of the old spiritual where the man sings in a low bass "Nobody knows the trouble I've seen". You could even use that melody on the verse if you like.

If you act that "out", reciting the passage "OUT" LOUD, it won't take long to remember the verse.

To link the numbers, my "memory character" is my friend "DouG", for D=1 and the hard G=7. He's acting it out, and singing the "trouble" spiritual in a low voice as he is delivering the letter. But instead of a mailbox, he is part of the "Pony Express", with the "Singing MaRe" as his "pony", singing with him as they race "out" to the Lord, who has heard his "righteous cry". "Singing" for Psalm, and M-R = 3-4. Now you have linked Psalm 34:17 to the verse.