All Nations Community Church

Psalm 34 is titled, A Psalm of David when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed. A fugitive from Saul, David went to the Philistine city of Gath but found no refuge there and narrowly escaped. Those events are recorded in 1 Samuel 21:10-22:1. Following that, David went to Adullam Cave where many desperate men joined him. This joyful and wise Psalm seems to have been written from that cave, and sung in the presence of those men.

In Psalm 34 we find some ingredients that, if put into practice in our lives, will positively affect our attitude. As we observe this Psalm, we see these ingredients…

Praise must be continual (Ps 34:1)
- I will bless the Lord at all times. David is determined and set! (I will…)
- David knows to whom the praise is due, and what is due, and for what and when.
- How will praising God put our problems into perspective?
- At all times, in every situation, under every circumstance, before, in and after trials, in bright days, and dark nights…

Praise involves corporate participation (Ps 34:3)
- “O magnify the Lord with me…” is an invitation for corporate praise!
- David bids the humble to help him make the Lord’s fame greater among all men!
- To magnify means to make God the bigger…
- This is not to suggest that we can make God bigger, but we make God more known or make God the main thing!!!

Praise can be contagious (Ps 34:2)
- My soul shall make her boast in the Lord. Boasting is a very natural tendency.
- The boasting is meant and felt in the soul before it is expressed
- Therefore, boasting is about our expression of gratitude of the Lord’s goodness on purpose that others may confirm and trust in a faithful God!
- David states that the “humble will hear… and be glad.” The Hebrew word for humble means humbled and afflicted.
- Not afflicted in general, but those who have been subdued and humbled by affliction