Psalm 34: The Hardest Choice

ideas for Psalms

1 Wisdom Psalm

2 Royal Psalm

29

30

33

38 a psalm of lament

40

42 Instructive questions

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Life is full of choices, isn’t it?

Scientists say that the average person makes a whopping

35,000 choices each day!!

Some decisions that we make are so insignificant, that we do them pretty much without thinking

But there are other choices we have to make which can be gut-wrenchingly difficult

What is the hardest choice that you have had to make?

Have you ever had to do something that seems like it tore a piece of you out

Like it felt like your insides were being ripped out

Yet, you knew that God was asking you to do it and you had no choice but to obey if you wanted to be faithful

Have you ever had a decision to make like that?

One of the hardest decisions that we are asked to make as followers of Jesus is to praise God when life is hard

when we feel like we have been mistreated, or treated unfairly

It’s when we feel like God has somehow lost control of our lives

Psalm 34 is just one example of David choosing to do just that: Praise God during a time when life doubtless feels out of control and crazy

This Psalm comes out of some very dramatic and intense times in the life of David

David was not king at this time, but he was the right hand man to King Saul, the king of Israel

Saul had been anointed as King over Israel some years earlier because the people of Israel were just sure that they wanted a king, even though God had said, “I am your King”

But, in His sovereignty, God granted their desire and gave them a king

At first it seemed like this was a great thing

Saul was a fine looking man. He was tall and strong

But, Saul had some problems.

He was proud and insecure and he didn’t listen very well to God

And this is where David comes on the scene

David is everything that Saul wasn’t

Saul—tall; David—insiginficant

Saul—avoiding conflict; David—a warrior

Saul—proud and cowardly; David—humble and brave

Saul—seeking his own way; David—a heart for God

Long story short, David, as a young man, helps deliver Israel out of the hands of the Philistines by defeating Goliath

And David wins the hearts of the people and begins to rise to prominence as a fierce warrior

He comes into the service of the King and proves to be an amazing young man

He does everything from playing the harp to help soothe the king’s restless and moody spirit

To going out and defeating the Philistines time and again

Saul is both pleased with him and scared of him

He’s pleased enough to give David his daughter as his wife

But he’s so scared of David and so jealous of David’s immense popularity that he tries at least 2 times to kill David

David manages to escape both time, but

The second time it happened, We read that Saul’s daughter, David’s wife, warned him that if he didn’t get away, he wouldn’t last the night

And sure enough, after David fled, Saul’s men came looking for Him.

But David finds the prophet Samuel, and then sometime later meets up with Saul’s son, Jonathan, who loves David

And Jonathan risks his life to find out if David’s life is still in danger

It most certainly is because in the process, Saul hurls a spear at his own son

And Jonathan is forced to tell David that he has to run away and stay away

And the two bid each other a very tearful and heartfelt farewell

And David begins to run, not knowing if he is going to every see his best friend again

And believe it or not, the very first place that he goes is to

Gath!

Where is Gath, it is in Philistia. Who are the Philistines? They are the mortal enemies of the Israelites!

They are the very ones against whom David has fought and had remarkable success

Why did he go there? We aren’t told, but if you think about it, where else would he go?

If he stays in the land of Israel, King Saul will probably find him at some point

But David knows that Saul is scared of the Philistines

Maybe that is why David goes there.

But when he gets there, they of course recognize him. They say, “Hey, this is the guy that the talk about saying ‘Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands!’”

And David gets scared. More scared than he already was

What is he going to do?

So, he pretends to be insane. He makes marks on the gate doors

He slobbers in his beard

And we think, “What kind of strategy is this?”

Well, apparently in those days there was great reluctance to hurt anyone who was deemed to be insane

They were afraid that if they did so, the wrath of the gods would come down on them

And so, King Achish of Gath, says to his servants, “Why did you bring this mad man here to me? Don’t I have enough insane people around here?”

And they simply send David away back into the land of Israel

Now, just stop a moment and think about David during this time.

What do you think he was going through? What kind of emotions was he having? What kind of thoughts were running through his head

I mean, his whole world is crashing down around him. He has no idea what is going on

He was the king’s right hand man, but now that king is trying to kill him

he has served the king faithfully and done very well, but now the king is angry and jealous with him

he has had to part ways with his best friend, Jonathan

he has had to leave his wife and his house

Will he ever be able to get back home?

He knows that he has been anointed to be the next king, but he’s got to be wondering if some how God has made a mistake

In my mind, or in a human way of thinking, David has every right to be scared

to be mad

to cry out to God in anger and frustration

“God, I’ve done everything right, I thought! What is going on?”

But instead, this is what he writes

The note at the beginning

Calls the king Abimelech.

Most commentators seem to agree that the event that this is talking about is what we just saw from 1 Samuel chapter 21

Why is he called Abimelech and not Achish? We don’t know

It could have been an editor’s mistake somewhere in the centuries past

It’s one of those puzzling things

English Standard Version Psalm 34

Taste and See That the LORD Is Good

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 LORD delivers 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.

What an amazing song of praise and surrender to God

Do you think that it cost David something to compose this song and sing it from the bottom of his heart?

I can only imagine that it cost him a lot!

overall, this is a song of praise, but in the midst of it, you get a glimpse and a sense that things are...challenging in his life

vs 6—this poor man cried and the LORD heard him

vs 17—when the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears them

vs 18—the LORD is near to the brokenhearted

vs. 19—Many are the afflictions of the righteous

David, I think, is really battling his emotions here

He recognizes that he’s in a really difficult spot

things have definitely not turned out the way that he had imagined.

And I can identify with him. Can you?

There are times in my life when I feel poor and wretched

“Lord, this is not what I had imagined my life would be like! I just don’t know what I’m going to do!”

There are things that have happened that just seem so unfair.

When i just have to cry out to God for mercy and strength

And I would confess to you that too often this is probably where I stay. In this place of “God, why? Give me strength, God!”

But this is where I have to stop and make a sacrifice

And decide that I will praise. I will find some way to praise God

And sometimes when I do that, it feels like I’m tearing a piece of myself away

Like a sacrifice on the alter was slaughtered and torn apart

Deciding to praise in a time of deep despair is one of the hardest choices that you can make

But that is what David does in this Psalm.

He says, “yes, it feels like my life is in shambles, but here’s what I’m going to do about it. I’m going to praise the LORD”

And I want us to pay attention to the words that He uses

To instruct himself and us about how to respond to God in the midst of dark times in our lives

These are all action words. They are words that describe something that we do.

they indicate a choice that we make

vs. 1 Bless

vs. 2 Boast

vs. 3 Magnify

Vs. 3 Exalt

vs. 4 I Sought

vs. 5 Look to him

vs. 6 this poor man Cried

vs. 8 Taste, see

vs. 9 Fear the Lord

Bless: I will Bless the LORD at all times

What does it mean to “bless” the LORD?

Has anyone ever done anything for you that made you say, “Man, that just blessed me?”

Has anyone said anything to you that made you say, “Man, that really blessed me. That really made my day!”

What kind of things would that be? What makes you feel blessed?

Something blesses you because it connects with you in some way

Example, some folks know how much I love ketchup flavored potato chips

The reason for that is more than the flavor. Ketchup chips are also something from my childhood that brings good memories

If someone knew that about me and went out of their way to get me some ketchup flavored chips, that would really bless me

However, some people also know that I really don’t care for liver and onions

if someone wanted to bless me and they made me a meal of liver and onions I wouldn’t feel so blessed

What are ways that you can bless God?

Blessing God, I think, means, calling to mind who God is and expressing that out loud to Him

I’m sure that you can also bless the LORD by doing for Him, but this Psalm is encouraging us to verbally bless

the second phrase: “His praise shall continually be in my mouth”

It means that when i speak, I choose to remind myself and others who God is and what He has done

And that means, I have to know something about God. I have to know what connects with His heart

And I call that out to Him

LORD, thank you for your love . You sent Jesus so that I can be reconciled with you

LORD, thank you for your mercy. You have not dealt with me as my sins deserved

LORD thank you for your kindness. You’ve given me another day to walk with You.

Boasting:

vs. 2. My soul makes its boast in the LORD

How much time to you or I spend “boasting”

Naw, we are German Mennonites. We are low key type of people. We don’t like to boast, do we?

But, you know what? I think it’s OK to boast about God

in fact, it’s more than OK. We see people in the Bible doing it

David does it multiple places

Apostle Paul says that boasting is absolutely fine in 2 Cor. 10

In this passage, he is defending his ministry

And he’s saying, “You know people like to compare themselves to each other”

In many areas of life, we compare ourselves among ourselves and boast about it

Even in ministry

Even people in ministry compare themselves to each other

Talk about church sizes

Or the kind of technology they have

or all the different programs they have

not all of those conversations are bad, but they really quickly turn into either boasting about all the “stuff” we are doing, or feeling bad about ourselves because we don’t have very cool “stuff”

But David and Paul say, “Hey, boasting is OK. But don’t boast among yourselves or about yourselves. Boast in the LORD!”

“let him who boasts, boast in the LORD”

Brag about how great your God is!

Brag about all the incredible things He has done!

Brag about the fact that He is always dependible because He doesn’t change!

Boast about the fact that the Holy Spirit is working in your heart and in the life of your church

It’s OK! But again, in order to brag about what God is doing and who He is, you have to know Him!

And you have to believe that He is actively working in your life

And you have to know how to open your eyes and recognize Him

Which in the tough times, when life is hard, this can be difficult to do.

It’s a sacrifice! It’s a hard choice!

But part of maturity and growing closer to Jesus, it seems to me, would be that as I grow, I learn more and more about how to recognize when God is working

And I can talk about it. I can boast about it

And look again at verse 2 of Psalm thirty 4

what is the result of boasting?

“let the humble hear thereof and be glad”

Do you see the way that the poet sort of turns the idea of boasting upside down?

He says, boast (which is usually associated with pride), so that those who are humble (the opposite of pride) will be glad

usually boasting makes humble people feel even worse about themselves

Like I wasn’t a very good athelete in school. I wanted to be, but I wasn’t

And when I would hear someone bragging about their exploits on the hockey rink, it would just make me feel worse

But our boasting in the LORD is so that the humble will be glad

Humble: Those who are wretched, suffering, starving, sick

Because in David’s case, he himself is in a bad way. Having to act insane just to save your skin would seem to me to be pretty humbling

but in the midst of that, if he can turn around and boast in the LORD, and others who are being humbled by life’s storms can hear him doing that

and they can see that God is actively working in the life of David

And they can hear that there is the hope of salvation and life, it can lift them up. They can feel glad

We have testimony time here and you all get up and boast about what God is doing

And you do it so much more often than I do.

And it challenges me. But not only that, but it’s encouraging. Makes me feel glad that hear who God is and what He is doing in your lives

Magnify—to make larger. Exalt—to lift up

Taste and see, vs. 8

when life is hard make the choice to Taste and see that the LORD is good

Have you ever tasted the goodness of God? What does it taste like?

I recall talking to someone in the past number of month and the subject of food came up

And I talked about something that I really liked.

and this person was like, “Oh, I don’t like that stuff.”

and somewhere in the conversation, I asked, “have you ever tasted it?”

Turns out this guy hadn’t even ever tasted the thing that he was declaring he didn’t like

Well, you gotta at least know what it tastes like before you declare that you don’t like the stuff!

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that there are people who declare that they don’t want to have anything to do with Jesus

yet, they have never even tasted Him

Jesus is the clearest example of the goodness of God

They’ve never tasted and seen that the LORD is indeed good

The word “taste” here in this Psalm literally means what you think it means!

it means to experience food through the taste buds on your tongue

To savor it

As I was preparing this message, I was munching on Wasabi peas, savoring the flavor of wasabi through my taste buds

I was also thinking about the biryani rice, my favorite dish in Mozambique

These foods that just send these sensational flavors across my tongue

The kind of food that makes me declare, “Now that is GOOD!”

Obviously we don’t eat God. We don’t eat His goodness

But I think what we can say is that the psalmist is encouraging us to experience the goodness of God

For some of us Christians, this idea of “experiencing God” might be a little bit...well, too charismatic

Knowledge is where it’s at. Knowing God. KNowing Truth

And that’s good too

But I think that the psalmist here is encouraging us to also experience God. Because when you experience His work in your life, and you can sense His presence, and you know that He is speaking to you

When you have an experiential relationship with God, this is part of “tasting” the goodness of God

Just like experiencing food through the taste. You can look at food on a plate and say, “Man, that sure looks good. People have told me that it’s good”

And then go on

But when you stick your nose up to it and smell the aroma

When you put some in your mouth and explore the flavors, and you experience it, that’s how you know that it’s good

In the hard times, when life is difficult, and you have a choice to make

make the hard choice of seeking to experience God

Not letting the “stink” of the bad experience drown out the flavors of His goodness

So, how do you respond in life when things are hard?

Do you choose to make the really difficult choice, maybe even the hardest choice of praising God?

Bless Him

Boast about Him

Taste of His goodness and see (discover in a new way) that He is indeed good