Scripture:
Psalms 34:1-22 NKJV
[1] I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. [2] My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. [3] Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together. [4] I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. [5] They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed. [6] This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles. [7] The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them. [8] Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! [9] Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. [10] The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing. [11] Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. [12] Who is the man 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] Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. [15] The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry. [16] The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. [17] The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. [18] The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. [19] Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all. [20] He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken. [21] Evil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned. [22] The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.
Observation:
The Holy Spirit has had me in several different places in the Bible this morning. It’s been hard to determine exactly what HE wanted to say. But after looking a little deeper into the areas that HE brought me to I started to see a pattern. Being brought to Isaiah chapter 43 verses 1 through 12 and then Isaiah chapter 41 verses 8 through 14 I felt like a message was coming together through both of those portions of scripture, but I just had a hard time getting started, so I went back to prayer. That’s when I was brought to the Psalms again, and honestly I’m not sure you can go wrong with the Psalms. But then the Holy Spirit brought it all to my attention. It’s all part of one message, so what I would encourage you to do is go back and look at the two portions of scripture in Isaiah that have been mentioned and see how it all plays a part in what is said this morning. As we begin to dive into what the LORD has for us in the Psalms, I believe it’s important to get some of the background of what is happening when the text is being written. So as usual I did the digging for us, and what I found is it was a hard time for David. Although it may not be easy to see that in the way that the Psalm opens up, it’s true. He had found himself fleeing from Saul and pretending to be insane to escape possible execution from the Philistine hands that he fell into. So to hear him start this Psalm with the words, “I will bless the LORD at all times; HIS praise shall continually be in my mouth.” It is a little interesting. But I get it. To be honest it’s much like the two chapters in Isaiah that were mentioned. Isaiah chapter 43 verse on fits right in here, starting with the second half of that verse, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you out by your name; You are Mine,” which dives right into Isaiah chapter 41 verse 8, “But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the descendants of Abraham My friend.” Both these portions of scripture were written after the situation David found himself in but they put across the same thing that David was saying. The LORD is worthy of continually being praised because HIS plan is always going to lead to redemption. Even in this hard time David knew that the LORD would not leave him there. As he continues to praise and worship the LORD through this Psalm, he boasts in HIM, and magnifies HIS greatness exalting and lifting up who the LORD is. Seeking after HIS face, and staying in communication with HIM. Knowing that the LORD heard him. You see David’s relationship with GOD was a strong one. He knew that his prayers were heard due to all the situations that he had come through when there seemed to be no way out. Going to the LORD in prayer and worship seemed to be his first response not his last resort. He rested inside the presence of GOD, especially in the times of need. His sin did not keep him in hiding, because he openly confessed it to the LORD. He had a personal relationship with GOD. That’s why he could say with confidence, “The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.” As he begins to instruct those who may find themselves reading this Psalm in the future through the next few verses by saying, “I will teach you the fear of the LORD. Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days that He may see good?” David wasn’t trying to keep any secret as to how to have a personal relationship with the LORD, he wanted all to know how they could trust in HIM. With statements like, “The righteous cry out,” “The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart,” and “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.” I could really dive off here because I feel like the LORD has just poured so much into me this more as it relates to all three portions of scripture that have been brought to my attention, and honestly I would love to be able to just write about the Bible all day. But I believe what is being said in all these scriptures is that when we truly trust in the LORD, we know that there is no reason to fear, HIS deliverance is sure as the noon day sun.
Application:
As I was typing the heading for this portion of the SOAP a scripture came to my mind, which ironically is found on Isaiah chapter 40 and verse 31, “But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Keeping our focus on GOD in every situation we go through is the key, whether it be good or bad, what we need to stay focused on is how good GOD is. When we trust that HE is standing in our future calling us forward to HIM, it’s easier to maintain a positive outlook. You see, I remember when my baby girl was learning how to walk. Her mom would hold her fingers… just a few steps away from me. As she learned to maintain her balance holding tightly to her mom’s fingers and maintaining focus on me I could see her confidence begin to build. One foot would come off the ground slightly then the next, and at the same time her mom would be slowly slipping her fingers out of her hand so slightly that it was not noticeable….one step then two, but when she took the focus off of me to the fact that she was actually walk, the fall was inevitable. The cushion of the diaper kept it from hurting too much and kept her willingness to try again at its top level. The LORD brought that memory to my mind for a reason. You see I can see HIM working with the Holy Spirit in the same manner. As we start this walk with HIM we have to keep our focus on HIM. At times when we think we are doing it we take our focus off of HIM, our steps get shaky and a fall is unavoidable. Over the years of walking with HIM I can see how that has been the situation for me. But even in that fall HE is right there, and the hurt is as minimal as possible. My daughter has graduated from trying to walk to running and riding a bike now in a few weeks she will be able to drive. Along the way there have been some bumps, scrapes and torn up knees. But I have been right there for every moment. That’s how I see GOD, HE has never taken HIS eyes off of us. HE is a good Father, and as we focus on HIM and the guidance HE has given us through the Bible, HE is teaching us to walk, run, and even ride a bike. HE is with us in every moment, our confidence should be in HIM. Paying attention to the things HE is teaching us through HIS word, we see that HE will never leave us or forget about us. In hard times HE is there, in good times HE is there, in spiritual dry times HE is there….. whether you feel HIM or not you have to know that HE is there. Just praise HIM in everything. Don’t be surprised by the fiery trials as though it were something strange. We will all face stuff. Keeping our eyes fixed on HIM will keep you from making wrong decisions in that process. It doesn’t matter what others do. What matters is who’s hands you are in. HE has you so praise HIM. You are HIS, HE has called you out by name. Don’t ever forget that.
Prayer:
Father, here we are another glorious day to seek your face. You are such an amazing GOD. You are always right there with us. You are with us in the fire and there to celebrate as we walk through it unharmed, growing our faith as we go through trials, knowing what you have for us on the other side. As we sit here looking at what may be overwhelming to us we know that it is nothing to you. If we have big problems then we know that our view of you is small. But you are a great big GOD which makes all of our issues small. Today and everyday we just want to worship you. We want our focus to be the fact that you have never left us in the past and you won’t start now. Not one moment of our lives no matter how alone we felt we were never alone. You have always been right there. Not one thing that has happened in our lives has happened to us. To be honest they have happened for us. You have protected us in every moment. You are next to us when our heart is broken, picking up every piece and putting us back together. Through every crack is how you allow your light to get in. Today we just want to thank you for our brokenness, because it’s in that brokenness that we are made whole through your redemption process. We thank you for changing our hearts. Help us to stay fixed on you in all things. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus we pray amen.