Bless and Praise The LORD at all times.

Introduction

Good morning, Lafayette Baptist Family, it is so good to be here with you all again today to worship God together and share His word with you as well. If you will all please go ahead and turn in your Bible’s to Psalm 34. In a few moments we will all read the scripture out loud together from the Screen, but please have your bible’s open to there as well so you can follow along with it during the sermon.

While you are finding your place, I want to paint an image for you. Imagine two prisoners. These were two innocent men, who because of the hate in other people’s hearts, had been just beaten and bloodied and then drug into the deepest and darkest part of the prison. You would expect here, for these two prisoners to be screaming and aching in agony. Perhaps even screaming profanities and acting severely frustrated and agitated. This was not the case with these two though. They had and were something very different. Instead, these two prisoners spent their time, in this horrible and miserable situation, praying and singing hymns to God. Meanwhile, all the other prisoners nearby looked and listened on. What an odd sight it must have been. Then, out of nowhere, an earthquake (a huge natural disaster) happened, the prison warden came in, expecting everyone to be gone and escaped, but they were not. These two stayed, even though they had the chance to leave. Why? Because what they were doing for and in the name of and because of God was much more important. If you are wondering why this story seems so familiar, it is because it is the story of Paul and Silas in Acts 16. They lived lives that were about blessing and praising God (and through this a new believer was made in the jailer), which brings us to our sermon title today which is: Bless and Praise The LORD at all times.

Scripture

If you would all please rise for the reading of God’s Word today. The words to the scripture will be on the screen, please read along with me as we are reading. When I am done, I will say “this is The Word of The Lord” if you will all please respond with “Thanks be to God.” First, Let’s pray. Father God, thank You. Thank You Thank You Thank You for who you are and what You are doing in us and here in this place. May Your name ever be glorified and magnified in our lives. Father, we ask this day as we come together for the sharing of Your word, that You help us. Refine us with that Father, help us hear it, understand it, and receive it. Put anything aside in us that would keep us from being transformed by whatever it is that you are about to show us of Yourself Lord. Then, as we receive this, help us keep it. But not keep for the sake of keeping it to ourselves, but also for the sake of sharing with others, it’s in these things we ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and Precious name that I pray, Amen. 34 Of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away. 1 I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. 3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! 4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. 5 Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. 6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. 8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! 9 Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! 10 The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. 11 Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 12 What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good? 13 Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. 14 Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. 15 The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. 16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. 17 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. 18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lorddelivers him out of them all 20 He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. 21 Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. 22 The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned. [1]

Context

We continue this week in our Psalms of thanksgiving mini-series. Next week we will enter an advent series, our scripture will be from Genesis Three, so please go ahead and read from there in your bible reading this week. Starting next week, we will continue through various scriptures to tell from the Bible of the World’s need for a savior and His coming to us as The Lord Jesus, the king and creator of the world, who was born humbly in manager, a situation would never expect a king to be born into. None the less, God so loved us, God so Loved the World that He sent His Son in this humble manner to show us the truth of life and of God and of Sin that to that the point by and large the world didn’t understand, which can still be said in many if not most cases today. The World needs King Jesus.

Now, today’s sermon will be a bit different, by that I mean that there is a lot of context to cover to help exegete and understand this Psalm very well, so we will have a large context section to help us understand what it is the Author, this Psalm we know and understand to have been written by David, was communicating in this Psalm. You will also remember how least week we talked about how Psalms were the worship music of the time, so keep in mind that these songs/Psalms would have been music or poetry that were specifically designed for worship time, so this book was also most like a Hymnal for us, though it has the distinction of being the inspired word of God. So, if we want to know if any song is 100% ok and good to sing, we know that a Psalm will always be appropriate, as it the inspired and infallible Word of God. Another way that this Psalm seems a little different is because this Psalm is an acrostic to explain what that is, the commentator Ross says of this that, “This psalm is an acrostic: each verse begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet in order, but one letter in the Hebrew alphabet is omitted (between vv. 5–6), thereby finishing the acrostic with verse 21. The last verse, then, breaks the sequence and calls attention to itself.”[2] So, this song or poetry had a very particular form, which depended on going alphabetically through the letters of the Hebrew Alphabet. Another commentator said of this psalm that, “This psalm was selected by the ancient christian Church to be a communion song and from the expression, ‘Taste and see that the Lord is good,’ and from its evangelical strain, it was well adapted for this purpose.” So, it was also used in Lord Supper/communion services.

You see, Of the most importance in the Psalm, is understanding that another part of scripture is referenced here, and another Psalm as well. The story being referenced here is found in 1stSamuel Chapter 21, in this section it recounts that David, while trying to escape Saul was captured by Achish, the king of Gath. Also worth noting is that the term for king/emperor/ruler of Gath (one of the provinces/ city-states of Philistine) , would be Abimelech. This scripture, starting in 21:10 reads, “10 And David rose and fled that day from Saul and went to Achish the king of Gath. 11 And the servants of Achish said to him, “Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances, ‘Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands’?”12 And David took these words to heart and was much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13 So he changed his behavior before them and pretended to be insane in their hands and made marks on the doors of the gate and let his spittle run down his beard. 14 Then Achish said to his servants, “Behold, you see the man is mad. Why then have you brought him to me? 15 Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to behave as a madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?” So, if you will recall, David had a long military history with this people, he would kill 10s of thousands of the soldiers of Abimelech (for King Saul), so this was a dire situation, that he was captured and brough to their king. After time in prayer and knowing that God would deliver him, David pretended to be a madman, acted as if he was crazy, and as such Abimelech saw the situation as a waste of his time and so David lived. David also references this time of being captured in Psalm 56. In this Psalm it is described in the superscript that, it is, To the choirmaster: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths (which would have been a well known tune of the time). A Miktam (this is a musical term, that has been lost today but can easily be understood to mean some kind of psalm or spoken word song)[a] of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath. So, Psalm 56 recounts David’s time when actually being captured by the Philistines and Psalm 34 (our main text today) depicts David’s song of joy when he escaped this VERY perilous situation alive. When reading this situation, think about that. That David had just been in a near death situation. He would escape unharmed. Even though the acts seemed odd today, that would act like a madman, God can and will and does use anyone and everyone in any way he sees fit. David was anointed to be king of Israel just a few chapters previously. He knows that God is on his side, and even in this seemingly impossible situation, and almost last-try effort to keep his life, God was there the whole time, directing the whole occurrence, as He had chosen to David to be the King of the nation and David knew this. So, with those things in mind, let’s move deep into this week’s text.

Message

Our first point, Magnify THE LORD

. 1 I will bless the Lordat all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. 3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!

We begin here with David saying that he will bless the LORD, God at all times. What does it mean to bless the Lord? It’s Hebrew word is בָרַךְ bârak, a prim. root; to kneel; as an act of adoration.[3]So, he will adore and praise Him vocally, out loud often, in fact continually! He even says that his soul will boast in the Lord, just as Paul does in 1stCor when he says, “so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” David then calls upon the humble to hear and be glad for him the people of Israel for us, these humble are those that have come into the faith, those that have accepted the truths of the world, that God loved us so much that he provided the way to redeemed, to not stand condemned on the day of judgement that awaits us all. This is all through accepting the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross to pay for our sins and make us clean from our sins.

So, David at first was doing this on his own, but then he invites everyone to join in, he says, “ 3 Oh, magnify the Lordwith me, and let us exalt his name together!”So, what is he saying in action? He is saying, join with me in worship with God! Let’s worship together, come together with other believers, and join up with them, worship God with them. Don’t just do it and hop around. Commit and do it, commit to the body, as it is said in 1st Cor 12 “12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves[d] or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts,[e] yet one body. It is right and good to come together and magnify The Lord, not just on your own but with others as well. As this Psalm was itself a song to be shared with others. Magnify the Lord!

A second point, Seek THE LORD

4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. 5 Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. 6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.

In his situation, being captured, David did what we are all to do at all times, he sought the Lord. He came before his mighty God, knowing that He was in control and asked for deliverance from the peril that stood right in front of him. He came, even though in a way that we think would be shameful (pretending to be mad) and came out unashamed, because he trusted in God. God saved him, literally here. God saves us as well. God comes around and delivers those that put their faith in Him. We all need this, weather we realize it or not. Everyone in the entire world ever needs Jesus. God created this world, and he created it good, however due to our own want and greed sin entered into the world and separated us from God. God, being rich in mercy loved us so much, that those that seek and call on Him in truth are spared from this separation. They get to experience the full joy of relationship with God, one that we see dimly now but we will see in pure and full glory and splendor on the other side of eternity. So, repent, turn from your old ways and turn towards The Lord Jesus.

Another point, Fear THE LORD

8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! 9 Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! 10 The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. 11 Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 12 What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good? 13 Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. 14 Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

This may be one of the most famous of all of the sections of the Bible, “Taste and See that the LORD is good!” With this usage of words by David, can you hear the excitement in his tone. Using the word “taste” he is invoking the senses, saying OBSERVE and you will see that THE LORD is good! I can almost see a chef or a parent who has just made a dish for their picky child looking anxiously on as they are serving their child something tasty that they know the child will enjoy but is putting a picky display on about. David says that person (the taster) who sees or finds the goodness of God, this person is then blessed if they take refuge in God (become a believer). We then move into the idea of this refuge turning into the respect of God that we call “the fear of God” which doesn’t mean being “afraid” but have a deep and profound trust and respect in Him. We spoke about this fear a few weeks ago while we were in 1 John 3, and we discovered that this fear, this respect, comes from righteousness, righteousness that can only be found and obtained and practiced when we accept the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross to pay for our sin debt that separates us from God.

So, belief leads to fear (respect of The Lord). A true fear of God requires this. We shouldn’t be surprised when we go out into the world (or if the world comes to us) and unbelievers don’t seem have this fear, it will come with time once they are believers. How do we make them believers though, well Paul touched on this in Romans 10 where he said, “14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?[c]” Let us not forget about the great commission that Jesus gave us, to go and make disciples, go and make believers. This is a duty that all believers have in one way or another, though your particular orders from Christ (our Royal Captain) will be different for everyone. Either way, it means that we will be called into places and situations that make us uncomfortable, that Christ would be learned about and glorified through us and that The Spirit of Christ would come to live in new believers. These people, the redeemed, these happy people then that David says here, “will live a long life,” that speak well, that act well, and seek peace everywhere they can. Peace that only comes from God.

The next point, Trust THE LORD

15 The eyes of the Lordare toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. 16 The face of the Lordis against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. 17 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. 18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lorddelivers him out of them all 20 He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. 21 Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. 22 The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned. [4]

Beloved, know this. If you are one that loves God. God sees you and he hears you. He knows your trial, He knows your pain. He knows who his and your enemies are. It may not seem fair, it may not seem right while on the earth. All to often the wicked seem to prosper, but as we said last week, they are like grass or weeds when compared to the firm foundation and strength that is in a believer who is long a strong and mighty oak tree. God will make all things right and will wipe away every tear from those who humble themselves before God. Those that do not, that do not humble themselves before God (meaning confess that they are sinners in desperate need of a savior and that savior is Jesus and that they trust in Him) have affliction and condemnation awaiting them. Here this, don’t find yourself here! God is calling to you, will you answer. Know this day and turn from your old way. God redeems life of those that love Him, he is our refuge, a mighty fortress that will withstand all things. To God be the Glory!

Conclusion

My beloved brethren, can’t you just see it? Don’t you know? What will it take in our lives to make these things so? Is your life one that shows that you Magnify THE LORD. What does this mean to me and how do I implement it? Where do I need to trust God more to do this? How often do we Seek THE LORD? We all know that it should be often and always, but where in my heart am I holding out on God? Don’t hold out on Him, He gave His all for you and you can trust Him. Is my life one that show I understand and have fear and respect for THE LORD? Do I respect Him or am I legitimately afraid of Him. We have a God that loves His children, child of God, find peace in your loving and heavily Father. Finally, Trust THE LORD and put all things aside that keep you from doing so 100% in all areas of your life! Make your life one that Blesses and Praises The LORD at all times.

To the unbeliever in the room, friend I invite you today. I invite you to respond to God and accept his merciful and loving payment today. This is done by accepting Jesus Christ’s death on the cross to pay the price in full for our sin. Once you do this, your life will never be the same.

Brothers and sister, I love you all. During our last song together, if you need to talk about anything, I will be here. If you need prayer, or just have something you need to talk about, I would love to. Please don’t be shy. Let’s pray. Father God, I thank you for who you are and what you are doing in each and every one of us. Make us a church, make us a people that is all about magnifying You. You are the only one worthy of it, help us live and act and think and breath in ways that display this. Let this be a positive example for others that you would glorified in our lives and in others as they seek to follow you as well. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Crossway Bibles, 2016, p. Ps 34:title – 22. [2]Ross, Allen P. “Psalms.” The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, edited by J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1, Victor Books, 1985, p. 820. [3]Strong, James. A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible, vol. 2, Logos Bible Software, 2009, p. 24. [4] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Crossway Bibles, 2016, p. Ps 34:title – 22.