LEARNING DAILY

Psalm 34:1-3, I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.

Pastor Newton mentioned this psalm in his message on Sunday. I thought I might take a look at it in this page of the blog. Praising the Lord is easy to do when all things are going well in our lives. The notes in the David Jeremiah Study Bible tell us, “When God’s people are afraid, they should worship. When they are filled with panic, its time to praise. When worry overwhelms, the time to worship has arrived”. Ephesians 5:20 reminds us “to give thanks for all things”. David wrote or sang this psalm during a time of adversity.

David had experienced deliverance by the Lord from the Philistines at Gath; he had escaped a dangerous situation there and had been motivated to sing (write) this psalm. David was going to praise the Lord in every situation, good or bad. If the life of David is studied, the Lord’s involvement with David can be seen. No, David was not perfect. However, his life of praise and worship, even when the circumstances were pretty terrible. In every circumstance the hand of God’s mercy and grace can be seen.

The Apostle Paul faced terrible circumstances, writing many of the books of the New Testament from prison. Yet, he believed and asked for prayer that the gospel of Jesus Christ be advanced no matter what he faced.

David gives us another example when he writes, “My soul shall make its boast in the Lord”. David not only worshipped the Lord in difficult times but he did so during all his mighty conquests; he was certainly a warrior. Yet, even with his mighty victories, he remained humble, knowing that victory came because the Lord was with him. Therefore, he boasted in the Lord! In this psalm, David praised God for his escape, wanting “the humble shall hear of it and be glad”. Perhaps “the humble” were those men with him; this time would be a time his men could see the power of the Lord. Perhaps David wanted them to see his example and follow the Lord in the same way he did. He even encourages those following him to join with him in his praise and worship of the Lord.

Luke writes of the early church in the book of Acts. They worshipped the Lord together and even shared their provisions with one another.  Read Acts 2:40-47 to see how the early church grew. Their actions and relationship with one another resulted in the “the Lord adding to the church daily those who were saved”.

I have been privileged to be around some people God used to show me God’s love, forgiveness, grace and the importance of worship. I like to watch people. In the last blog, I asked, “Who are you?” Today, I ask what do other people see in you? In this psalm, David wanted others to join him in their praise and worship. He wanted his example to lead others to have a great relationship with the Lord through their worship, in not only the good times but when the times were difficult. I believe the more we trust in Him, place our faith in Him in all circumstances, the more it might encourage those watching us to do the same thing. But do so by truly knowing the Lord is with you, giving you strength to walk the narrow way each day.