Psalms 34:14

Psalms 34:11-14 says, “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 see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.”

Those who fear the LORD Jesus Christ who died for the sins of the world and rose again will separate themselves from both the philosophies of the world and the wickedness of the world. They will separate themselves unto God’s Word.

Depart from evil and do good verse 14 says. What does it mean to do good? The word, “good” is also used in Genesis 1:4 which says, “And God saw the light, that it was good: And God divided the light from the darkness.” First John 1:5-7 says, “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, the we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

Even the plowing of the wicked is sin. To do good you must depart from evil. To do good you must have the blood of Jesus Christ cleanse you from your sins. To do good you must walk in the light of truth, the Word of God. Those who are not walking in the light have not departed from evil and therefore they are not doing good. Everything they do is sin. An excellent example of this truth is humanitarian efforts to help those in need. If you go and feed the poor, if you do your part to help prevent the spread of aides but in your heart you do not seek glory to Jesus then somehow and in someway you are opposing the spread of the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and therefore you are leading others astray into darkness. What good is a cure for aides if people do not follow sexual morality? There will be other sexual transmitted diseases. The solution to curing the consequences for sin is to repent of sin and trust in Jesus. Depart from evil and do good.

“Depart from evil and do good,” says Psalms 14. “God saw the light, that it was good,” says Genesis 1:4. And the Gospel of John 1:9-13 says of Jesus, “That was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

The Bible goes on to say in Psalms 34:14, “seek peace and pursue it.” One of the greatest and most noticeable problems with mankind is the lack of peace that exists on this earth. The world is filled with wars, murders, violence and trouble. The world cries for peace and finds none.

Why is there such a lack of peace in this world? One reason is because men do not seek peace and they do not pursue peace. For there to be peace it must begin by man repenting of his sins and turning to Jesus Christ for salvation. Jesus is called the prince of peace. Colossians 1:20-21 says, “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometimes alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled.”

A person who truly seeks peace and pursues peace is a person who will turn to the LORD Jesus Christ. Ignorance is not peace. Self-righteousness is not peace. Unity through a compromising of the truth will not bring peace either. Men are sinners. Men are children of wrath. Men are enemies in their own minds by wicked works because of their sinful nature and sinfulness. Man in his natural state is in rebellion against God, against the truth, and against good works.

Jesus has made peace through the blood of His cross because he died for the sins of the world. Those who seek peace, those who pursue peace will turn to Jesus and trust in Jesus of Nazareth for salvation. This is the ministry of reconciliation and this is the only solution for peace on earth.

Consider the words seek and pursue. To seek can mean to desire or to beg. To pursue can mean to follow or to persecute. The philosophy of the world is to seek and to pursue revenge. How opposite the world is to the teachings of the Bible. Jesus said in Matthew 5:9, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”

There is no greater and lasting peace than the peace that comes with knowing that your sins are forgiven and that you have eternal life. Colossians 1:20 says, “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross.”

The reason that Jesus is the prince of peace is because He has made peace through the blood of his cross. This is the reason that even the plowing of the wicked is sin. Without even being conscious of what they do those who do not have Jesus as their Savior are in some way completely opposed to Christ and to the truth both with their self-will and in what they do with their lives. This is a state of constant spiritual war against Jesus. This is why the Bible calls the lost in Ephesians 2:3, “the children of wrath.”

We know that Jesus is the prince of peace because he came to this earth to seek and to save that which was lost. First Peter 1:20 says, “Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.”

Part of being a peace maker is forgiving those who wrong you and not living by the philosophy of revenge which the world lives by. But you will never know true peace and you will never truly be a peace maker until you seek and pursue the peace that is found only in the blood of Jesus Christ. “Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.”

There is of course a very practical reason to seek and too pursue peace with your fellow man whenever possible. Jesus said in Matthew 26:52, “all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” In other words those who do not seek peace with their fellow man are going to reap the consequences in their lives of violence. Violence only begats violence. Unless it is self-defense, there is never a reason to use violence on other men. If only more men and only more leaders of countries would read Psalms 34:14 and live by these words, “seek peace, and pursue it.”

How many billions of lives on this earth have been cut short in the past 6000 years simply because men have not sought peace and pursued it!

Thankfully Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He came to this earth 2000 years ago and died for the sins of the world, was buried, rose again the 3^rd day, and 40 days later ascended into heaven. He died to bring peace spiritually for all those who repent of their sins to him.

Jesus is coming again. And when He does He will bring peace to all the earth because he shall rule them with a rod of iron. Revelation 19:15 says of Jesus and His second coming, “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”

The reason there will one day be peace on earth is because God himself shall rule the world. Jesus is God. He is the king of kings. Therefore He is the only one who is worthy and who should rule this world.

When we look at history we notice a trend: those in power tend to try to conquer the world. Think of such names as: Alexander the great, Caeser, and Hitler. These men are examples of antichrists. There will be more antichrists who come to conquer and cause war and suffering on the peoples of this world because such men are men who have given themselves over to the devil and it is the devil who is the antichrist. What a terrible suffering and injustice he will bring upon the world. Woe to the man who is the antichrist and who becomes possessed by the spirit of the devil. It would be better for the son of perdition if he had never been born.

When Christ does return to fulfill His promises both to Israel and of peace on earth what a wonderful time that will be. Isaiah 11:4-9 says, “But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. The world also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.”

Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost. He did so by making peace through the blood of His cross. When Jesus comes again to bring peace to the earth it will be the time of greatest prosperity and peace ever on the earth because, “with righteousness shall he judge,” and “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD.” Psalms 34:14 says, “Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.”

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