This Psalm divides roughly into two pieces. The first half is an hymn and is directed towards the Lord. The second half is more like a sermon and is directed towards people like us.
You’ll notice that the title tells us that it came out of David’s deliverance from the Philistines. In an effort to protect himself from the hatred of King Saul, David pretended friendship with the enemy. It was clearly a sinful compromise and a deception, which just led to more and more trouble. Finally David was able to escape the trap he made for himself by pretending to be a mad-man. The whole episode was sinfully disgusting – even though the world might say that it was genius. But as you read through this Psalm you won’t find any direct references to those days at all. This was written after David’s deliverance, and it would seem – after his repentance. There was no point in dragging up that muck or seeming to boast in the sin from which the Lord had delivered him. David was once again in the land which the Lord had given to his fathers, and he was once again in fellowship with God.
“I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.”
Do you remember years ago, when I pointed out the difference between “I will” and “I shall.” In Old English “I will” involved a deliberate choice while “I shall” might simply be what circumstances create. I didn’t dig too deeply into the Hebrew, but assuming that our King James Bible accurately renders the original, David said that he was deliberately and wilfully choosing to praise the Lord at all times. Some people give thanksgiving one day a year – and quite often it has nothing to do with God. And some other people praise the Lord only when He does something really special for them. But David was determined to praise the Lord at all times. This particular word “bless” suggests the idea of kneeling before the Lord. David was willingly offering to God his humble respect, thanksgiving and service.
“His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Spurgeon spoke of a man named Bradford who was being persecuted under Queen Mary. He quoted martyr Bradford to say: “If the queen be pleased to release me, I will thank her; if she will imprison me, I will thank her; If she will burn me, I will thank her.” If that godly man could say such a thing about such an ungodly and wicked woman, what do you suppose he might say about the ever good and gracious God?
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Of course, through our mouths and throats we do a variety of different things: We talk, we eat, sometimes we breathe; sometimes we even do the opposite to eating. But it is recommended that we do those things one at a time. If we breathe and swallow at the same time, we may choke and die. If we breathe and regurgitate at the same time we may aspirate and die. And our mothers told us “not to talk with our mouths full.” Some of these things cannot be done at the same time as others. And could we say that if we fill our mouths constantly with praise, we won’t be able to curse or lie? It might be hyperbole, but if we set our hearts to see the Lord’s blessings in everything which takes place in our lives, then there will be little opportunity to murmur and complain.
“My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.”
This word “boast” is ten times as often translated “praise,” and it’s basic definition is “to shine.” “With my words I am going to polish the Lord and make His face to shine before the world and the saint.”
“The humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.” The self-righteous and proud aren’t going to be particularly delighted in hearing me. Those who think they deserve God’s best gifts, but who feel they are being ignored by Heaven, they aren’t going to want to hear my boasting of God. Those living in sin are going to tire of hearing my voice. But those spiritual people, whose hearts are humble before the Lord, will rejoice and be glad. Those whose hearts are right before God, rejoice to hear of the Lord’s blessings in the lives of others.
“O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.”
“I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.”
As David sank lower and lower into the quagmire of the Philistine world, his heart was sinking even faster. I can’t say that his soul grieved as much as the Holy Spirit was grieved the first time he shook hands with Abimilech, but it should have. I can’t say at what point David realized that he was in the cesspool up to his neck. But at some point, he began to call on the Lord for help, despite not deserving it. With each passing day and with each more degrading step, to call upon the name of the Lord became harder and more humiliating. But at the same time, with each passing step the necessity of calling on the Lord became more urgent.
Finally David cried and the Lord heard, delivering him from all his FEARS. Does that mean the Lord delivered him from the things that he feared or from fear itself? What is the most famous quote from the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt? “Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself – nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” Although in the context of that Inaugural Speech there is some truth in what he was saying, the way in which that quote is usually mentioned today, it is absolutely wrong. Our greatest problem is not that we fear things; the great solution to our problems is not to lull ourselves to sleep in the viper’s den, or to dismiss our fears and find the nearest human solution. Our greatest problems ARE those human solutions. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.” So to answer my question: David wasn’t delivered from the emotion of fear. The One whom David would always fear, love, reverence and worship, delivered him from the worldly problems which had David locked up in consternation and fear.
“They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.” Apparently this refers to others who followed David’s example in looking unto the Lord for help. Because David was considered to be a criminal during the reign of Saul, other criminals, both genuine and perceived, associated with him. A few of those men were saints of God, or perhaps some of them became saints under David’s influence. They certainly admired their future king, and probably responded to and agreed with his faith. And as they looked towards David, looking towards the Lord, their faces brightened.
“This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.”
“The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.”
We come now to several memory-worthy verses in this Psalm. This one needs to be memorized, because it doesn’t appear to be quite logical, although it is. It is difficult to be surrounded by a single person, or even a single angel, I suppose. But if we consider this to be the Son of God, we remember that He is “the Lord of hosts.” This is like saying “Alexander the Great surrounded the city of Antioch.” It’s not just Alexander, but the armies of Alexander. And it’s not just the angel of the Lord Who encampeth around the saint, it the whole host of Heaven.
The armies of God have been commissioned to protect God’s “fearful saints.” But the key is not that they fear man or devil, it is that they fear the Lord. When we learn to ignore the laws of men, the opinions, the armies, and the other resources of men, and we learn to put our faith, our hopes, our trust and even our fears only in the Lord, Jehovah is delighted in such dependence and is glorified in those people. He will see to it that kind of saint will be delivered, one way or another.
“O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”
If you can’t remember it in your own life, maybe you can in your children or your brothers and sisters: Mom, prepared some new food, something that was special to her, but it hadn’t been fixed for years. Or maybe, it was new even to her. But one or more of the kids, took one look at it and decided they didn’t like it, just because of its look. Maybe it was an uncut head of cauliflower covered in cheese, which looked something like yellow brains. Maybe it was a beef heart or tongue, whatever. If we can just get the kids to taste it, they will know that it is good. But it is that tasting which is the problem.
“Neighbor, just taste and see that the Lord is good.” I know that you’ve heard that He’s nothing more than do’s and don’t’s, prohibitions and rules. Taste and see that these things are almost nothing in respect to the wonderful things in God. Yes, you’ve seen that some of his people are hypocrites, but that doesn’t mean that He is. Taste and see that the Lord is good. Do you think that God has mistreated those homeless and those hurricane victims? Taste and see that the Lord works all things for good. The problem is in the lack of tasting and in tasting with the predetermined idea that He will taste awful. And obviously, “tasting” is just another way of saying, “trust in him.” “O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”
“O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.”
Is there any scripture which more clearly proves the average person’s mis-definition of fearing God? I’m not saying this verse clearly defines or explains it, but it is clearly shown to be something good. How can fear be a good thing? In lots of ways. If fear keeps me from using drugs or participating in immorality, then that is a good fear. If fear keeps me away from a love of alcohol, then fear is a good thing. If it keeps me from trying to drive my car through a flooded river, then that fear is a blessing. But of course, this is not quite the same thing as that.
As we must say over and over again, because it doesn’t exactly fit into our common definition: “The fear of the Lord” refers to our love, respect, reverence and obedience towards God. Yes, there is reason to fear the Lord, as we might fear a charging Grizzly bear or African lion. But this is talking about the fear that a child should have for angering his father, whom he knows loves him with all his heart. And the child who has no fear or respect for father, will certainly loose blessings and privileges. He may have to go to bed without supper, and feel the pangs of hunger for a night. He may loose the use of his bicycle for a while, until he learns to obey his father’s wishes. He may have to stay home while the rest of the family enjoys some special event. “The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger.” They lack and suffer precisely because they are lions, when they should be lambs. And for the professed Christian the same sort of things can occur – we have no commission to be lions.
“But they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.” And David had learned those precepts through the school of hard knocks. He was the young lion joining himself to the Philistines, and despite some successes, he suffered lack. But when he humbled himself and surrendered himself to the will of the Lord, God delivered him from his enemies and actually delivered the Kingdom of Israel into his hands. “O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”