When Christians tell about God’s mercies to them, it provides tremendous encouragement to others who are seeking to live by faith. In Psalm 34:6, we find just such a testimony: “This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.” Three brief observations about this verse will serve as helpful reminders for our Christian walk.
First, we all have troubles. No one in our families, workplaces, or churches lives a trouble-free life. If we were to take time to honestly bare our souls before one another, we could each fill books with the difficulties we’ve seen. Financial troubles, physical troubles, family troubles, spiritual troubles, emotional troubles, psychological troubles—no matter how nicely we put on the makeup, no matter how well we tie our ties, human beings are naturally troubled people. And it’s because we’re troubled people that we love to hear the testimonies of how other troubled people, like David, have found hope.
Second, all of us need to cry out. Of course, we never will cry out until we, like David, come to a poverty of spirit. As long as we maintain a pretense, as long as we convince ourselves that all is well, we live a lie. But when for a moment the poverty of our spirit grips us, then we’ll be prepared to cry. “I sought the LORD,” David says (v. 4). We ought to seek Him too. The Lord Jesus urges us, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matt. 7:7). We can cry out to God with confidence that He will care for us; and so, as the writer of Hebrews encourages us, “let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16).
Finally, all of us need answers. No mother or father worth their salt ever turns a deaf ear to the cry of their child. And the promise of Scripture is that the ear of God is ever open to the cries of His children (Ps. 34:15). He can pick out each cry in the immensity of the world. He hears your cry, He knows your voice, and He can name your name.
Today, if you’ve not done so already, take a quiet moment to be honest about the troubles that confront you, then join David in crying out to God, trusting that He will answer. Indeed, in many ways, He already has, by giving us the counsel of His written Word, the Bible, and the salvation purchased by the incarnate Word, His Son Jesus. As we rely on His good gifts, may our testimony increasingly grow to mirror that of David: “The LORD … he answered me and delivered me from all my fears” (Ps. 34:4).
This article was adapted from the sermon “‘This Poor Man Cried’” by Alistair Begg.
