Magnify the Lord with Me! (Psalm 34:1-10)

Introduction

While Saul was still king, David was rising in prominence. People would chant, “Saul has killed his thousands, but David his tens of thousands” (1 Sam 18:7). As a result, Saul became jealous and angry, and he was consumed with trying to kill David. As David was running for his life, he fled to Achish, the king of Gath. Perhaps he was thinking that would be the last place Saul would come looking for him. However, when the servants of Achish saw him, they said, “Can this be David, the famous David? Is this the one they sing of at their dances?

Saul kills by the thousand,

David by the ten thousand!”

When David realized that he had been recognized, he panicked, fearing the worst from Achish, king of Gath. So right there, while they were looking at him, he pretended to go crazy, pounding his head on the city gate and foaming at the mouth, spit dripping from his beard. Achish took one look at him and said to his servants, “Can’t you see he’s crazy? Why did you let him in here? Don’t you think I have enough crazy people to put up with as it is without adding another? Get him out of here!”

So David got away and escaped unharmed to the Cave of Adullam. When his brothers and others associated with his family heard where he was, they came down and joined him. Not only that, but all who were down on their luck came—losers and vagrants and misfits of all sorts. And David became their leader.

Out of that situation David wrote Psalm 34. As we study this psalm with this situation in mind, we can sense how overwhelmed David was by the goodness of God in sparing his life, and why this psalm is a beautiful expression of the majesty and mercy of God. Through this psalm, David invites everyone to join him in magnifying the greatness and goodness of the Lord. Come, magnify the Lord with me!

After reading this psalm, I am stuck on a very practical question for my life: How can I magnify the Lord today? Let’s pursue that question; but if we do, it must be with the commitment that we will obey everything this psalm teaches us about magnifying the Lord in our world today.

First of all, David explains that in order to magnify the Lord, I must …

1. Nurture a heart of continual praise (Verses 1-3)

A heart of praise blesses the Lord. We want the Lord to bless us, but here David claims that we can bless the Lord. Isn’t it amazing that we can bless the Lord? What does that mean? What does it mean to bless the Lord?

It means to praise, honor, and gratitude for His goodness, mercy, and blessings. It means recognizing His divine greatness and expressing reverence and gratitude through words, worship, and actions. Blessing the Lord is an act of devotion and acknowledgment of His sovereignty and majesty. For example:

Psalm 28:7 says, “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart celebrates, and I give thanks to him with my song.” Here, blessing the Lord involves trust and expressing gratitude through music.

Psalm 103:1-2 says, “My soul, bless the Lord, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. My soul, bless the Lord, and do not forget all his benefits.” This encourages us to actively praise God and live in thanksgiving for His blessings.

1 Peter 2:9 says, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” Blessing the Lord includes proclaiming His goodness and works to those around us.

Revelation 5:13 says, “I heard every creature in heaven, on earth, under the earth, on the sea, and everything in them say, Blessing and honor and glory and power be to the one seated on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever! John reminds us that when we bless the Lord we are joining all creation in giving God honor and glory.

So, blessing the Lord involves praising, thanking, trusting, and proclaiming His greatness.

We not only bless the Lord, but …

A heart of praise boasts in the Lord. To boast means “to admire or praise.” Boasting is directed toward someone who is worthy of praise. Boasting includes making it clear to others why the person is worthy of praise: their heroic deeds, their beauty, their power, and so forth. It means to cast a brilliant light on the person’s character and actions.

In Canton, Ohio, there is a place where NFL stars are memorialized: the NFL Hall of Fame. More than 350 players, coaches, and contributors to the game are honored there. Each inductee is honored with memorabilia that remembers their athleticism, and a plaque that boasts of his contribution to the NFL.

Some have described Hebrews 11 as a “Hall of Faith,” for in that chapter numerous men and women, some named and others who remain anonymous, are honored for their incredible faith in God. Yet, there is no one who deserves the kind of honor and praise as the Lord God.

2 Corinthians 10:17 says, “So let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Paul wrote in Galatians 6:13, “But as for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Through the prophet Jeremiah, God spoke in Jeremiah 9:24, “But the one who boasts should boast in this: that he understands and knows me — that I am the Lord, showing faithful love, justice, and righteousness on the earth, for I delight in these things.”

Experiencing God’s refuge and rescue from a hard place, David declared that he would “boast in the Lord.” The implication of these words is much more than a one-time declaration; he will continually boast and brag about God’s deeds. He will constantly cast a brilliant light on God’s character and nature. He will always admire God in the presence of others. And as a result, David said, “the humble will hear and be glad.” In other words, David was aware that there were people in his context who needed encouragement, especially those misfits who joined him in the cave of Adullam. They needed hope. They needed a new perspective. They needed to know that God is present, powerful, and full of compassion. He has ears to hear and eyes to see; and He knows just what is needed to lift the broken and hurting from despair and hopelessness.

Are there people around you who need to “hear and be glad”? Certainly there are. More and more I’m aware that many people in our world need hope. Who knows how our boasting in the Lord will bring hope and joy to the broken in our world? We ask the Holy Spirit to nurture in us a heart that boasts in the Lord.

We bless the Lord; we boast in the Lord; and we also learn that a …

A heart of praise proclaims God’s greatness. Many translations use the word magnify instead of proclaim. This is a word that shaped the theme and content of this year’s VBS: “Magnified!”

The history of the word proclaim or magnify is fascinating. Originally, the word meant “to twist or bind together.” You might be familiar with Ecclesiastes 4:12, which says, “And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.” The word came to be used of something that has great power or strength. David used the word to proclaim God’s greatness, to magnify His power and strength to all those hearing his voice. Like David, we should make it our highest priority to magnify God’s greatness and proclaim the mighty things God has done in our lives.

A heart of praise joins a chorus of others who exalt God’s name. David invite us to magnify the Lord’s greatness with others; to become a choir exalting God’s name. The word exalt means “to lift up high.” When we exalt the Lord we place Him above all others. We lift Him up in a position to be observed by others. It points to God’s authority and rule over all creation.

We exalt His nam. Name in the Bible referred to a person’s character, nature, and reputation. Why does God’s name deserve exaltation?

His majesty and sovereignty are incomparable: God’s name reflects His supreme authority and kingship over all creation, deserving recognition and reverence for His unparalleled sovereignty.

He is perfectly holy and righteous: God’s name is associated with His pure, holy nature and justice, which sets a standard of righteousness for all of creation.

He is the source of creation and life: God’s name signifies His role as the Creator and sustainer of the universe, inspiring gratitude and awe for life and existence itself.

He is by character and nature the ultimate manifestation of love and mercy: God’s name is tied to His compassionate and merciful nature, offering hope, forgiveness, and salvation to humanity.

He is always faithful and fulfills all of His promises: God’s name embodies His faithfulness to His promises, providing believers with confidence and faith in His unchanging character. James 1:17 tells us, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” David exhorts us to unite our voices together to exalt the Lord’s majestic and righteous name.

I think David had in mind a choir, singing God’s praises in the temple. A choir serves as a powerful symbol of Christian unity in several meaningful ways: Just as a choir is made up of individuals with different voices, backgrounds, and talents coming together to create beautiful music, so too the Christian community is composed of diverse people united in faith and purpose. Choir members work toward a common goal—producing a harmonious sound—mirroring how Christians are unified in worshiping and serving God. Each singer’s voice depends on others to achieve musical harmony, illustrating how believers rely on one another and work together within the body of Christ. A choir’s singing is a collective act of praise, emphasizing that true worship involves the unity of the church as a whole, offering a shared voice of worship to God. The synchronized harmony and blending of voices portray the spiritual unity that Christians are called to have, as members of one body through Christ.

Let’s blend our voices together to magnify and exalt our glorious God!

Because the Lord can be trusted, is faithful, and is great and powerful beyond measure — which is why we magnify the Lord and exalt Him — you can …

2. Seek the Lord to deliver you out of trouble (Verses 4-7)

Who or what is your “go-to” when you are in trouble? I guess it depends on the trouble, right? If your physical health is going haywire, you’re go-to would be a doctor. If you’re having car trouble, you wouldn’t call on your hairstylist, but if you need a new haircut, I doubt you’d contact your mechanic. Here’s the point: When we’re having trouble we want to go to a person who has the expertise and experience to find solutions for our problem.

David was in trouble. He was being chased and hunted down all over the place by jealous King Saul. Where would David turn for help? Who was his “go-to”?

The question is answered in verse 4: “I sought the Lord.” David actively and intentionally — and very specifically, I might add — conducted a search for the Lord. David sought out the Lord for consultation. To use a modern idiom, David “beat a path” for the Lord. Why? Because David was completely confident that God would answer him; and He did. “He answered me and rescued me from my fears.”

Verses 5-6 expresses David’s personal testimony, his experience with God’s deliverance. Those who look to the Lord for deliverance experience radiant joy. Radiance symbolizes the peace, hope, and fulfillment that come from a close relationship with God. Seeking God's presence brings about a depth of joy that defies circumstances in our lives that many would normally consider the death of joy.

Corrie ten Boom, a German Christian who helped many Jews escape the Nazis during World War II provides a good example. Despite experiencing great hardship, Corrie maintained her faith and trust in God. Her unwavering pursuit of her beliefs and her relationship with God gave her a sense of inner peace and joy that others around her noticed. After surviving the holocaust and imprisonment in a Nazi death camp, Corrie often spoke about the deep joy she found in trusting God, which radiated from her as a visible expression of her spiritual fulfillment. Her story demonstrates how seeking and trusting in God can bring a radiant joy that sustains and inspires even in difficult circumstances.

Further, when we seek the Lord , we will never be ashamed. In other words, God doesn’t disappoint. Psalm 25:3 affirms this truth: “No one who waits for you will be disgraced.” We can be confident that God will not disappoint those who earnestly pursue Him. Seeking the Lord involves genuine faith, prayer, and obedience, and David believed that God’s promises and His goodness ensure that those who sincerely seek Him will find His support, guidance, and salvation. Essentially, this phrase emphasizes trust in God's faithfulness—meaning that those who actively seek God can be assured that their efforts will be rewarded and that they will not be let down or disappointed in their spiritual journey.

George Müller, a Christian evangelist and humanitarian in the 19th century, devoted his life to trusting God for the needs of orphanages he established in England. Time and again, he faced situations where there seemed to be no way to provide for the children’s food, clothing, and shelter. Despite these challenges, Müller prayerfully trusted God’s provision, and time after time, God miraculously supplied exactly what was needed, often at the last minute. Without ever mentioning what was needed or conducting any type of fund raising efforts, through prayer, Müller received what would be equivalent to over $100 million in today’s econonmy. His unwavering faith and consistent seeking of God demonstrated that those who sincerely seek the Lord can trust that He will provide and never leave them ashamed. Müller’s life exemplifies how genuine faith and reliance on God result in divine provision and reassurance, fulfilling the promise that those who seek Him will not be disappointed.

There’s one more important piece of David’s personal testimony: Those who seek the Lord benefit from His abiding presence. Listen to verse 7 agains: “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he rescues them.” Who is “the angel of the Lord”? Where have we seen this mysterious character before? Do you remember the story in Genesis 16, when Hagar ran away from Sarah. As the story goes, “the angel of the Lord found her by a spring in the wilderness” (16:7). At the end of the story, Hagar “named the Lord who spoke to her: You are El-roi, for in this place, have I actually seen the one who sees me?” (16:13). Most scholars believe that the phrase “angel of the Lord” refers to a theophany, a presence of God among people. Those who seek and worship the Lord enjoy God’s presence.

The word encamps means “to descend so as to settle.” What an amazing insight. God makes His presence down here among His people. I’m reminded again, as I was a few weeks ago in our study in Genesis, of John 14:23 — “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him” — now listen to this: “and we will come to him and make our home with him.”

Is there any better reason to magnify the Lord, to proclaim His greatness? I think not. Magnify the Lord with me! We seek Him. We turn to Him in trouble. We worship Him. We can do this not only because He is God and deserves it, but because He is right here and not just present, but abiding with us. Amazing!

With all this in mind, David exhorts us to …

3. Experience God’s goodness (Verses 8-10).

“Taste and see that the Lord is good.” David is calling us to go beyond personal knowledge to personal experience. Taste is not easily described. Taste needs to be experienced.

Coffee companies are notorious for trying to describe their coffees with words like subtle, sweet, bold, rich, strong, nutty, and robust. But none of those descriptors can take the place of tasting. There is even a difference in reading the ingredients and tasting the product. Hearing the words skim milk, milk fat, palm oil, lactose, egg whites, soy lecithin, and artificial flavors is not nearly as great as tasting a Snickers bar. Certain things need to be tasted. They need to be personally experienced. God is one of them.

Every week when I preach God’s Word, I am essentially listing ingredients. Hopefully I do it so well that those who hear me long to taste for themselves. But the truth is, hearing the ingredients every week can never take the place of personally tasting God for yourself. Jesus is meaningless to so many churchgoers because they have never personally experienced him. To many, Jesus is distant and impersonal. They know about God, but they don’t know God. They have heard about him but never experienced him. But in Psalm 34 David is speaking from his own experience and pleading with us to have our own personal experience with God.

If you desire life and want to enjoy what is good, taste the Lord . If you want to have the listening ear of the Lord, taste the Lord. If you want to know the saving power of the Lord, taste him. If you want to have a refuge in times of trouble, taste the Lord . An endless amount of blessings is reserved for those who will taste and see. God is inviting us to do just that. He’s saying that those who trust God to satisfy the longing of their hearts will be fully satisfied with God.

So, all of you, who have tasted and experienced the goodness of God, who have sought Him and found Him faithful, who have been rescued by His mighty power, who enjoy His abiding presence — come magnify the Lord with me!

APPLICATION

So what is our response to David’s testimony?

Commit your time and energy to worship the Lord daily and continually by spending time in His Word and prayer.

Lay aside every pursuit that is an obstacle to seeking the Lord with all your hear.

Trust in God’s love for you and remain confident in the abundant life He promises to give you.

Feast on Him. Don’t be satisfied with anything but a personal, intimate, experience with God Almighty.

And magnify Him in every way possible.