Psalm 34 (2)

Intro

The beauty of Psalms...

They so often capture the language of the heart

Sometimes lament/grief, sometimes awe and wonder, often fear, occasionally anger, sometimes joy, sometimes exuberant worship!

bursts out in passionate worship from a GRATEFUL heart!

The content of an ungrateful heart: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zcVnNwAHys

Background…

Three Observations, Three Applications

1. Praising God is the Constant Attitude of the Righteous Person

—This praise for God has two foundations:

Who God is

God is good (v.8)

God is righteous (v. 17)

Omnipotent and Sovereign

we see this throughout the Psalm

God is mighty to save

What God does (intimately connected to who He is)

God saves, delivers, and redeems (v. 4, 6, 19, 22)

God protects the righteous (v. 7, 20)

*Note: for David, his praise of God was the overflow of his intimate knowledge of the person of God and the protection of God in his life.

Application:

The praise of God is dependent on the person of God, not the reality of your circumstances. The righteous person therefore maintains an attitude of praise in all times, places, and circumstances.

“I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be on my lips.”

>Corrie Ten Boom, the fleas

>How do we train ourselves to proclaim “It is well with my soul” or “The Lord gives, the Lord takes away, but blessed be the name of the Lord”?

>We are good at asking God to meet our needs, but do you remember to thank Him for his blessing? If not, how do we expect to faithfully praise in time of trouble?

2. There is a Boast that Rejoices the Humble (v. 2)

Just a one verse line, but it is profound.

First because it seems a contradiction—a boast that makes the humble glad?

that framing is intentional, David is expressing an important thought

The righteous person acknowledges the humility of their condition

Humility is honesty in expression.

Humility is honest in expression.

It is the honest recognition of who God is, and therefore who we are.

And so to boast in God is to humbly acknowledge our unworthiness and inability

This theme is brought forward by Paul in the N.T.

“I will not boast in anything, no gifts, no power, no wisdom. But I will boast in Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection.”

Application:

We cannot merely pay lip service to “to God be the glory”—it must the desire of our hearts and the fruit of our lives to exalt the name of God!

Note verse 3 “Oh magnify...”

>We must ask ourselves this question: When is the last time we were more concerned about raising the name of Jesus than in making our own name great?

3. God is near to us in our troubles

God hears and sees! (v.4, 6, 15)

Fiddler on the Roof :

“May the Lord protect and defend you.

May the Lord preserve you from pain.

Favor them, Oh Lord, with happiness and peace.

Oh, hear our Sabbath prayer. Amen.”

God is near to those in distress (18)

God saves and delivers!

Application:

We can put absolute confidence in God. (v 8-11)

>In what ways are you doing/not doing that?