The reading is on the second page of our hymn sheet and it is Psalm 34. The 34th Psalm. The introduction is the Psalm of David when he changed his behavior before Abimelech who drove him away and he departed.

I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord, the humble shall hear thereof and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.

I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto Him, and were lightened, and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.

O taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear the Lord, ye his saints. for there is no want to them that fear him. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger, but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.

Come, ye children, hearken unto me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may seek good? keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it.

The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.

The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. He keepeth all his bones, Not one of them is broken.

Evil shall slay the wicked, and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate. The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants, and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

The verse that is on my Spirit to speak to you on is verse 5. They looked unto him and were lightened, and their faces were not ashamed.

Now we're told in the first book of Samuel and chapter 21 and verse 10 of this event David had fled from Saul and he'd gone amazingly to Gath and to Achish the king of Gath or Bimelech as it's referred to here and when he went there he was recognized He was recognized, they said, is not this he of whom they said that Saul hath slain his thousands and David his ten thousands? They recognized him as the one that had slain Goliath and David feared very much for his life. His life was in danger and it's obvious that even right before them he cried unto the Lord to deliver him We read that he made out that he was a madman, and he let his spittle fall to the ground, and Achias said, what need I have madmen? And he sent him away, and David escaped.

But he was in fear of his life, and very often we have these Psalms that we're told, perhaps in the heading, what was the actual event, what had happened outwardly that others had seen, he'd walked through. But in the Psalms we're told of what went on in his soul, what was going on there. And this is a pattern for our lives as well. For God's people there's not just that which goes on outwardly, but it's what goes on inwardly. And it is especially at times like this that our souls go out after God and we're seeking after the Lord. And so this was the case with David, in verse 6, this poor man cried and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. But of course if we're going to cry, if we're going to pray, there's an object of our prayers, there's one that we're looking towards, we're thinking of, we're going to for that help, and so that is where we read this, they looked, they looked unto him, that is by faith by prayer, by waiting upon Him for help.

And I hope that can be our path and our way, whatever we may come into unexpectedly, that fills us with fear, that fills us with dread, and we don't know what to do, that we look unto Him. And we read in Isaiah, look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else." And then we read in Hebrews 12 and verse 2 that we are to run the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus. And it is in that way, in the Gospel way, we look unto Jesus.

So when we read in our text, they looked unto Him, it is looking unto Jesus. Many of the Psalms, many of the Psalms of David, he is foretelling of the Lord Jesus Christ. They're prophetic Psalms. We think of Psalm 22, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? It is prophetic of the very words of our Lord upon the cross, a thousand years before our Lord uttered them. And so we have this they looked, and it's put almost in the plural, it is not David saying, I looked unto him, it is they looked unto him.

I believe he is thinking of those that have gone before him, he's prophesying of those that come after, that will all look to the same place and same way we mentioned with Hebrews chapter 12, and how that follows the long cloud of witnesses, and with that cloud of witnesses, it is them that looked unto the Lord. It's them that waited for Him and to serve Him. And so I wanted to, this morning, just think of some of those that did look unto the Lord in this way. They looked unto Him and were light in their faces, were not ashamed."

So we've mentioned David, and there's many times in David's life that he did so. But what about Daniel? We think of Daniel when he was in Babylon, and when there was the decree made that no prayer or supplication be made to anyone apart from the King Darius, And the princes had cleverly done this so that they could trap and accuse Daniel. And when Daniel knew that that was signed, then he did what he always did do. He went and opened his windows toward Jerusalem three times a day and prayed to God.

Now, of course, Jerusalem, that was where the temple was, a great type of the Lord Jesus Christ. The temple had been destroyed 47 years before Daniel was praying in that way. He was looking beyond the type to the anti-type, to the Lord Jesus Christ. And as he then prayed as he did, they caught him, they accused him, he was cast into the lion's den. But the Lord delivered him, sent his angel, closed the lion's mouths, and he was brought up out of the den and his accusers, they were destroyed by the lions.

And we see Daniel amongst that number that could come in without text, they looked unto him and were lightened and their faces were not ashamed. And may we be amongst those like Daniel, even when faced as he was with with certain death, trying to prevent from looking or praying to the Lord, and yet he still did.

Now we think of the words of the apostles, when many departed from the Lord, to whom can we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. It is a refuge for God's people to turn to. We think then of Jonah, Jonah, who had been running away from the Lord, and the Lord prepared a great fish that when he was cast into the sea he was swallowed by the whale, and there in the whale's belly he cries to the Lord, I'm cast out of thy sight, yet will I look again toward thy holy temple. And we see prayer made even in that place.

It must have been a terrifying experience. complete darkness, the motion of the whale, the smells, the not knowing whether he would be brought out at all, a terrible situation. And yet still he looked, still he prayed. Can't look with natural eyes, but his faith, his prayer, he was heard by the Lord. He said, Salvation is of the Lord. And the Lord spake to the fish and it vomited him out onto the dry land.

So when we think of this word, when we think of our state and our condition, is it worse than Jonah? Is it more impossible? Is it more difficult than Jonah's case? I don't think it can be. His case is another one. They looked unto the Lord. And may we add our case and our position to that as well.

Then we think of Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20, in verse 12. He had those of Ammon, Mount Seir, and Moab coming against him, a great company, and he again set himself to pray to the Lord. And he says, Neither know we what to do, but our eyes are upon thee. And the Lord spoke to them through a prophet, and told them that they would not need to fight in that battle. And the Lord set them each against each other, so All Judah did was to go forth believing, praying, and praising God, and they saw the enemies all destroyed. They didn't need to fight. All they did was to take the spoil. It's a wonderful record of a king feeling how unable he was to fight against a great multitude, and crying to the Lord, looking to the Lord, and the Lord wonderfully delivering them.

Another example that is for us. Another one is for the Shunammite woman. Remember that she did not have any children, and Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, he said to Elisha, she hasn't any children, so Elisha prophesied that she should have a child, and she did have a child, but later when it was grown and he was out with his father with the Rephes, Then he had some stroke and died. And the woman, rather than just give up, she went to the man of God, went to him that had been the means of telling her she should have a child. And as she went, her husband asked, Why are you going? Why are you going at this time? She said, It shall be well. And later on, it was, it is well, when she was asked of Elisha. and yet the child was dead. But as she came, as she asked, and Elisha went to the child, called upon the name of the Lord, the Lord gave his life back again, and what a wonderful deliverance that woman had. How her faith, and may we join with that, even when things are going terribly unwell for us, we wonder what the end will be, we can't see any good in it, And to have that word of faith, it shall be well.

We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are the called according to his purpose. And we would remember the word of our Lord Jesus Christ in the end of John chapter 16. He says, These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." That is great trouble in the world, but the words the Lord has spoken, we have them in the Bible, our inspired word of God, those words are spoken that in Him, in the Lord Jesus Christ, we might have peace. And so in our troubles, may we look to those words, May we look to the Lord Jesus Christ in his word and in prayer and prove that we're amongst those, they looked unto him and were enlightened and their faces were not ashamed.

Sometimes we need a reset, don't we? Instead of looking to self and looking to man, we are to be brought back again to look unto the Lord again. And maybe that's a timely word for some of you, for me this morning. To be like Jonah, yet will I look again toward thy holy temple, toward the Lord Jesus.

For the Lord bless these thoughts and they remain with you throughout this day and be a help to you in your path. Amen.