Psalm 34:6–This Poor Man Cried This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. It has been said that all true religion consists in the knowledge of God and the knowledge of ourselves. In the Book of Psalms especially we discover this religion, as in this psalm of David. Our verse reveals an individual who has learned his true self and who has sought and found the God of salvation. There is a continual need in our reading of the Scriptures and in the preaching and hearing of the gospel to focus on the personal aspect of religion. All the doctrine in the world will avail us nothing unless and until it has been received into the heart and finds issue in the life. Redemption has been accomplished for sinners by the Lord Jesus Christ: I need the particular application of it to my soul by His Spirit. David here gives testimony regarding himself. He is willing to describe himself as a “poor” man. He was hardly referring to material things. As king of Israel he had limitless wealth, power and influence. He was speaking of his soul. He was “poor in spirit,” for he knew his sin. This is our real poverty. We have no righteousness in the sight of God and we should be crying to God in prayer for His help. Today there is a growing cult of ‘self-esteem’. We are all encouraged to have a good opinion of ourselves and to think positively about ourselves. All the emphasis is on man’s ‘rights’. How different this is from the message of the Bible! There we are confronted with our duties, the obedience which we owe to God our Maker. The moral law is our measure and alongside it we are seen to “come short of the glory of God” (Rom.3:23). We are poor in God’s sight and we need to become poor in our own. The Psalmist also testifies concerning God. Out of a sense of His spiritual need He had called upon the Lord – and “the Lord heard him”! His request for pardon and cleansing of sin was granted. Oh what joy floods into the soul when we lose our great burden and discover the liberty of those who are made free by the Son of God! We enter in our experience into the realm of grace, unknown to us before. We have the ear of a covenant God, our heavenly Father, and prayer becomes our daily delight. David finally bears testimony to salvation. There was the initial forgiveness of his sins but there was more. He discovered, as all the Lord’s people do, that “many are the afflictions of the righteous” but that “the Lord delivereth him out of them all” (v.19). The grace of God was sufficient for him in every trial. When faced by temptations and persecutions, when keenly aware of our weaknesses, doubts and fears, there is only one thing that can be done and that needs to be done. “The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth” (v.17). Friend, help is near at hand if you will but seek it in the midst of all your troubles, especially your soul troubles. Christianity is in the end a very practical religion: it has relevance to all the deepest needs of man. Remember, all your troubles are due to the presence of sin in your heart or in the world around you. Jesus Christ is the Saviour you need now and always. Do what David did. Cry for mercy, and the Lord will reveal His salvation to you in His precious Son.