COME CHILDREN, HEARKEN UNTO ME

The LORD Jesus expects our spiritual life and our life in this world, including our public life, work life and all our relationships to be built upon His righteous values, ethics and principles, as given to us in the Bible. For a Christian, there is no private and public life. They both are not separate entities, with no connection whatsoever. Nay, the both are one single unit, where our foundations are laid by the commands given by the LORD Jesus, and everything else is built upon it.
– “​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​11 Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD. 12 What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? 13 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. 14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.” – Psalm 34:11-14

The four verse above have four important things to teach us. The point that we should be seriously considering is this, “Are we willing to learn those lessons?” Here are the lessons that our LORD wants to teach us through David His servant and His mouthpiece…

1- COME CHILDREN, HEARKEN UNTO ME
– “​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​11 Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD.” – Psalm 34:11
David who is the author of this Psalm, wants to teach the fear of the LORD. He wants to teach us WHAT is the fear of the LORD, and WHY should we fear the LORD. Fear of the LORD is the foundation for everything else in our lives. Therefore, the Word of God says that…
– “10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” – Proverbs 9:10

2- WHAT MAN IS HE THAT DESIRETH TO SEE GOOD?
– “12 What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?” – Psalm 34:12
The question that David is raising here is something that all of us desire and want. Who doesn’t want a good life? Who doesn’t want many days? Who doesn’t want to see good? The key to a good life is in the fear of the LORD. Untill one has the fear of the LORD, we have no life at all.
– “​1 Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways. 2 When you eat the labor of your hands, You shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.” – Psalm 128:1-2

David, going further, wants to tell us clearly, through these words, that the fear of the LORD is not a theoretical concept, in the Bible. Fear of the LORD is SEEN, FELT and HEARD by all of us. This is precisely the point that David wants to drive at, through the verses thirteen and fourteen. 

3- KEEP THY TONGUE FROM EVIL AND GUILE
– “13 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.” – Psalm 34:13
Fear of the LORD is seen in all forms of our communications. The words we speak reveal a lot about us. WHAT we speak, HOW we speak and WHAT WE MEAN, reveals about us, and also makes a huge impact upon all who listen to our words. The words our LORD Jesus had spoken, and what the Bible speaks in its pages, should be considered seriously, and followed faithfully and obediently.
– “45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” – Luke 6:45
– “20 A man’s stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth; From the produce of his lips he shall be filled. 21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.” – Proverbs 18:20-21

4- DEPART FROM EVIL, AND DO GOOD
– “14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.” – Psalm 34:14
Fear of the LORD is not only to DEPART from EVIL; but also to DO GOOD, to SEEK PEACE, and to PURSUE IT passionately with ALL our HEARTS. The instructions are clear and unambiguous. We are to depart from evil. Completely separate ourselves from all evil. After doing that, we have to SEEK PEACE in and through all our THOUGHTS, WORDS and DEEDS. Such a PASSIONATE PURSUIT has to be SEEN by everyone, including ourselves… especially OURSELVES.

DEPART FROM EVIL
– “26 Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established. 27 Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.” – Proverbs 4:26-27
DO GOOD
– “8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.” – Titus 3:8
SEEK PEACE
– “14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:” – Hebrews 12:14
PURSUE IT
– “22…pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” – 2 Timothy 2:22b

Where do we stand on the above words, dear brothers and sisters? What is our current status on what the LORD had spoken to us, through His servant David, in Psalm 34:11-14? Do our lives reflect our faith that we claim to believe? If our words and deed don’t match our thoughts, then our thoughts have no value whatsoever. There are no two opinions about it. Remember the words of the LORD Jesus. Never ever forget them. 
– “21 “Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” – Matthew 7:21.
Doing what God commands is the “Fear of the LORD” not simply believing them in our hearts and minds. 
– “22…be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves….” – James 1:22
Even so the LORD help us.