Text: Psalm 34:1-8
By: KAINE, MARVIS
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To bless is “to speak well of” someone, it signifies “to praise, to celebrate with praises,” of that which is addressed to God, acknowledging His goodness, with desire for His glory. To bless the Lord simply means to praise Him, or to honor His name, to exalt Him and to worship Him. Praise” is to be ascribed to God, in respect of His glory (the exhibition of His character and operations)-Eph 1:12. Praise is the Christian sacrificial offering- Hebrews 13: 15; Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.(NKJ)
Every praise is to our God. It is the duty of Christians to bless the Lord at all times whether in private and or in the gathering of the Saints, in the good and in worst times. (When we gather to worship, it is our praises that we give to God and every other item of worship is for our edification.)
Our text is a psalm of thanksgiving for protection of life. David praises God for deliverance from a life-threatening situation–perhaps his encounter with King Achish of Gath, later remembered as Abimelech.
Many a time we often talk about the victory of David, how he killed Goliath, how he defeated the Philistine and became King over Israel forgetting how difficult his life was attaining that point.
Saul on several occasion plots to kill David but did not succeed. Nowhere in Israel is safe for him. He is on the run. He goes into the Philistine territory because it is the least place Saul is likely going to look for him and on the other hand, David has been waging war on the Philistine and if they recognize him, he is a dead man. He managed to escape by feigning madness/ insanity when he was brought before king Achish of Gath- I Samuel 21:13-15. it was at this point He wrote psalm 34. (A psalm of David when he pretended madness before king Abimelech).
In Verses 1-3 he declared;
1 I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
Take note, not just when things go well, but at all times (in health, wealth, sickness, in pains or hard times etc).
Paul exhorts the brethren;
in everything give thanks;
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you – I Thessalonians 5:18
In verse 2, My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
To boast is to tell others how great the Lord is, not to himself, he will proclaim it openly to encourage others.
3 Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together.
He will not bless the lord quietly by himself but heartily praise God and wants others to join him.
Chorus;
Come and join me sing Hallelujah,
Jehovah Jireh has done me well.
David declared his reasons for praising God In verse 4- 7.
He declared that God answers prayer and Gives Deliverance
Verse 4, I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
God delivered David from all his fears and will deliver you from yours.
Chorus-He delivered Paul and Silas,
our God who delivered Paul and Silas,
He will surely Deliver me.
Verse 5, They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed.
Christians that looked up to God will never have cause for shame, instead they will be enlightened by God. That is, they will be spiritually aware.
In verses 6, David cried out to God and was answered– 6 This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
Beloved, it is not late to call on the Lord, call on Him and you will be answered.
Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ – Jeremiah 33:3 see also PSM 145: 18- 19, 18 The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. 19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them. Cf Matt 7:7.
Urhobo chorus- Me De se ko yo vwe (when I call, He answer)
Me Da no ko ke vwe (when I ask, He gives me)
Oghene me yo vwe, yo vwe, yo vwe (My God hears me)
Oso Bru-vwe yo vwe, yo vwe (Almighty God hears me)
God protects and rescues all who fears him- verses 7 The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.
Chorus- as the mountain surround –
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
So, the LORD surrounds His people
From this time forth and forever- Psalm 125: 2.
Beloved, from David’s personal experience and what God does for his Children, we (Christians) have reasons to rejoice. David declared God is good– 8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
Taste means “to try something by experiencing it.” The psalmist admonishes us to try God’s goodness for ourselves and experience it as one would taste a new food. In one of our fasting programs, our beloved Ezekiel Oghenekaro said “the power of God is better understood when you experience it, than to be told”.
To see is to open our eyes and see the goodness of God that is all around us. So far so good, me and my household have experience and have seen the goodness of God. What about you?
Chorus-
I have seen the Lord goodness
His mercy and compassion
Hallelujah Praise the Lord.
Any man that relies on God will gain happiness.
With God there is no Lack- verses 9, Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. For the righteous, God does not withhold any good thing- PSM 84: 11.
Dearly beloved, to bless the Lord is done out of understanding that He alone is genuinely deserving of worship as Creator and Lord of All. It is so easy, so tempting to complain and crumble but if you fill your days with gratitude, watch and see how you infect your neighbour’s- Matt. 5:14-16.
Bless the Lord oh my soul, And all that is within me, bless his holy name! Psm. 103:1.
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