“The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous,
And his ears are open unto their cry.” Psalm 34:15
Frankly, I find the context of this Psalm a bit difficult to comprehend – the title tells us that it was when David “changed his behavior before Abimelech” – a euphemistic way of saying that he acted like a raving madman in order to convince his enemies that he was no threat to them, thus escaping the very imminent danger facing him.
Hardly the behavior of a man trusting in his God – the dignified manner in which we might expect a king in waiting to behave! But then, how often do we act in self-reliance, how often fail to behave as sons of the King?
The content of the Psalm is, by contrast, exquisitely simple and wonderfully encouraging. We can only speculate as to when David actually penned these lines, and whether it was with some embarrassment that he recalled his actions on that occasion, however what confidence he now expresses in Jehovah, the Lord!
The Lord saves the poor man out of all his troubles (v6), He surrounds those that fear Him (v7), is sweet to the taste of those that trust Him (v8), and satisfies those who seek Him (v9-10).
In our verse, the Lord senses the need of his people – his eyes are upon them, watching from His heavenly vantage point and seeing each care in its proper context – and his ears are open to hear their heart-cries.
Though He sees as from afar, He is ever-near – present to succor the heart-broken (v18) and to save them – to strengthen them so that not one bone is broken (v20), no matter how difficult the trial.
If we were more mindful of these reflections of the Psalmist we would certainly be more dependant upon Him and less often behave as if completely out of our minds!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless passion we bear,
All because we do not carry,
Everything to God in prayer