17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
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.
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.
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.
Psalm 34:17-22 David
God knew that while we are living this side of heaven that there
would be people, events and issues that would break the hearts of His followers and so He has a plan for the most devastating moment in
your life.
The word "broken" in Hebrew is the word shabar and it
means "to rend violently, wreck or crush; to maim, cripple, to shatter
or break." The ancient Hebrew is a very descriptive language and so
this word shabar comes not only with a definition, but also with
situations that it was used in the description of. This word was used
to describe ships that had been splintered and torn from stem to stern
due to ferocious and wild winds. It was also used to describe the
action of tearing and ripping that wild, ravenous beasts performed upon
their prey. It could literally be translated "the ruptured hearted
ones."
The word for "heart" in this particular Scripture is the
word leb and it is referring to the soul or heart of a man. It
encompasses one's moral character, appetites, emotions, passions and
even the mind and the memory.
When David declares that "The
Lord is near to the brokenhearted," his words are words spoken with
tender care and great compassion. He is reminding all of Christendom that the Lord is lovingly attentive to those who
are enduring unimaginable pain. This pain may have been caused by a
great catastrophe in your life or by a wild and ferocious person, but the
Lord is standing attentively beside you paying diligent attention to
your shattered and bleeding heart.
If you have ever suffered from
this torturous condition, I can assure you that you were never out of
God's care. If, today, you are emotionally torn apart and wonder how
you will make it through one more today, I want to comfort you with the
surety that He is with you now.
