1 I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. 3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! 4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. 5 Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. 6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. 8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! 9 Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! 10 The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. 11 Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 12 What man is there 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 Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. 15 The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. 16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. 17 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. 18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. 20 He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. 21 Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. 22 The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned. (ESV)
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Psalm 34:1-22
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Continually in My Mouth—Praise
The following Devotional study was submitted as a student project by David Riaño, for The Theology of Biblical Poetry: Advanced Arcing/Bracketing online course.
Nowadays, it is very common to see Christians that profess their faith, but don’t seem to rejoice greatly in the Lord. Even we ourselves, most of the time don’t live as if the fact that we received the glorious salvation of Christ Jesus were true. But we are going to live with the Lord forever! There is no more hell for us! We should live jumping and praising all the time!
The Apostles gave us a great example of conviction and gladness in the gospel. When they were imprisoned, they just couldn’t stop speaking of the Truth (Acts 4:19-20), and when they were whipped, they went to their homes rejoicing because they had suffered for Christ (Acts 5:21). They had experienced the grace of God so much that they couldn’t stop praising and leading others to praise. That is the very product of spending time in the presence of the Son of God! (Acts 4:13)
Maybe the best demonstration that Jesus has really shed His grace in our lives is that we use our mouths to praise Him all the time. If we do so, other people are going to be moved to praise God as well. We have to experience the grace of God a lot, day by day, in a deep and real way, as the apostles did in the presence of Jesus. We need to see His grace, and be amazed by the blessings that he pours in our hearts and our lives.
As it is written, “I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears”, and again, “My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad”. Only seeing the abounding grace of a God who answers, we will be able to rejoice in Him time after time. Therefore, as the psalmist cries after offering His praise: “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!”
(This was originally posted on the Biblearc blog by David Riaño on September 3, 2015.)