What is the meaning of Psalm 34:20? He protects Psalm 34:20 opens with, “He protects….” The sentence begins by putting the spotlight squarely on the Lord as the active guardian. • David is celebrating the hands-on care he has already tasted (see Psalm 34:4 ““I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears,”). • Protection is never passive. Psalm 121:7-8 echoes the same verb: “The Lord will guard you from all evil; He will preserve your soul. The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore”. • Peter later assures suffering believers with the identical thought: “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous… But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil” (1 Peter 3:12). The verse therefore begins by declaring that safety flows from God’s personal involvement, not from chance or human strength. all his bones The next phrase widens the scope: “…all his bones….” • “Bones” are the body’s framework, the most basic, unreplaceable parts. By naming them, David stresses total coverage—nothing is overlooked. • Proverbs 3:8 promises God-given “refreshment to your bones,” and Psalm 35:10 exclaims, “All my bones will say, ‘Lord, who is like You?’”. Together they highlight how God’s care reaches to the deepest, hardest places—right down to the skeleton. • This is also a vivid way of saying that God’s protection is thorough: every detail, every corner, every moment of the believer’s life is under His watchful eye. not one of them will be broken Finally, the verse concludes, “…not one of them will be broken.” • David had literally come through life-threatening situations (1 Samuel 21–22). Looking back, he could say, “Not even a bone was broken.” • Yet the Spirit was simultaneously pointing forward. At the first Passover, the lamb’s bones were to remain intact (Exodus 12:46). That rule foreshadowed Christ, the perfect Passover Lamb. • John 19:33-36 records the soldiers discovering that Jesus was already dead, “so they did not break His legs,” fulfilling this very promise: “Not one of His bones will be broken”. • The verse therefore operates on two levels—David’s personal testimony and a messianic prophecy—both literally fulfilled. summary Psalm 34:20 assures us that the Lord personally guards His people, covers every part of them, and can keep them entirely intact. David experienced it, and Jesus embodied it. Because the promise proved true for the Son, believers can rest confident that nothing—down to the very bones—escapes God’s preserving care. |
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