Lanse Evangelical Free Church
Family Bible Week Finale
July 13, 2025 :: Psalm 34
“O MAGNIFY the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.”
That’s an invitation.
This whole Psalm is a beautiful lyrical invitation to join King David in knowing and praising and trusting in the goodness of God. Verse 3 says:
“O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together” (King James Version).
Now, as the adult class learned this week, there are many different excellent translations of the Bible out there that, together, help us understand what it means. The NIV (the New International Version) which is what our Pew Bibles are says, “Glorify the LORD with me.” The CSB (the Christian Standard Bible) says, “Proclaim the LORD’s greatness with me.” So that’s what it means to “magnify” the LORD as the King James and the ESV (English Standard Version) put it. To “magnify” the LORD does NOT mean that the LORD is really small, and what we need is to beef Him up some.
“Poor little ‘god,’ let’s get some magnification on that guy.” No! It doesn’t mean that God’s goodness is microscopic. It means that our understanding is microscopic and that we need to expand our understanding, and that we need to show more and more just how good and glorious our God is. Amen?
“O MAGNIFY the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.”
Do you feel how that is an invitation?
King David wants everyone who reads his song in Psalm 34 to join him in magnifying the goodness of God. Let’s look at the whole thing, starting up in verse 1.
[VIDEO WILL BE EMBEDDED HERE.]
Interestingly, Psalm 34 is an acrostic poem. One of those A-Z sort of things where the psalmist starts each line with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Aleph, Beth, Gimel. A, B, C. You can’t see it in the English, but this is a carefully constructed poem from A-Z. This week in the adult class, I passed around my Hebrew Bible, and you can see the pattern there.
It actually deviates from the pattern in two places, and I’m not sure why. There is no 6th letter and the 17th letter is out of order, coming at the end. But the point is that King David has spent a lot of time and effort to craft this particular song just the way he wants it to invite us to magnify the goodness of God with him.
The first invitation of Psalm 34 is an invitation to join the psalmist in unceasing praise. Look at verse 1.
“Psalm 34. Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he left. I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together.”
I have four points of application for us to consider today from Psalm 34, and they are all about how to magnify the goodness of the LORD. The first one is this.
O magnify the LORD with me:
#1. BY ALWAYS PRAISING HIS GOODNESS.
David starts his song with a commitment to unceasing praise.
“I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.”
“You can count it. I plan to always praise the Lord.” What does that remind you of? It reminds me of what we just studied last Sunday in the last section of Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians. Paul wrote, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess. 5:16-18). Remember that? I wonder if Paul had been reading Psalm 34?!
King David said he would always be praising the goodness of God.
Not just when things are going well, but when things are decidedly NOT going well. It’s much harder then. That’s why we have to decide in advance that our lips are going to always have praise on them.
And just like we said last week, that doesn’t mean that all we ever do is praise the Lord. Sometimes we lament. Sometimes we confess. Sometimes we confront. There are lots of other kinds of righteous words on our lips.
But every day and never far away, we who belong to the LORD can and should have praise on our lips. Because He is so good! We boast about Him. Did you see that word in verse 2?
“My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice.”
Now, that’s a strange group to rejoice! “The afflicted.” The suffering. The downtrodden. The distressed. King David invites them to hear his song and to join it! V.3
“Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together.”
Praise is contagious, and it loves company! “With me!” David says. “Glorify the Lord with me!”
Praise doesn’t stay confined in one person. Someone who is praising wants other people to join in the praising with them.
Like if you see a good movie, most of the time, you want to tell somebody else how good that it is and encourage them to watch it, too. Or a good restaurant? Or a great piece of music?
“You’ve got to listen to this song. It’s so good!”
King David is inviting everybody to sing about the goodness of God! King David wants everybody to sing in concert with him, boasting in the goodness of the LORD. All the time.
There’s a call and response originating in the Black Church that goes, “God is Good...All the Time. All the Time...God is Good.”
Have you ever done that?
Leader says: God is good!!
People say: All the time!!
Leader says: All the time?!
People say: God is good!!
Let’s do it.
God is good!! [All the time!!] All the time?! [God is good!!]
King David would say, “Let us exalt his name together.”
In verse 4, we begin to see what David was so happy about. He had been rescued. He had been saved from his enemies. Verse 4.
“I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.”
Like many other psalms, this one has a backstory. The superscription up in verse 1 tells us that it was written out of the time when David “pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he left.”
You can read that story in 1 Samuel chapter 21. It’s really wild! David was in trouble (as usual) and on the run from King Saul, and he ran into even more trouble trying to live under a Philistine king while carrying the sword of the giant Philistine Goliath whom he had killed earlier.
David was in a pickle, and he used a clever ruse to get out of it. But his own cleverness was not the point of the story that David himself got out it! When David thought about his own story, he didn’t give himself the glory. He gave the glory to the LORD. David recognized, when it was all over, that God had rescued him. That Yahweh had delivered him. From all of his fears and all of his troubles. That’s his testimony! Look at verse 6 again.
“This poor man [this afflicted guy with no resources on my own] called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.”
That’s why David is praising Him! That’s how good the LORD is!
God is good!! [All the time!!] All the time?! [God is good!!]
I love, love, love how verse 5 describes the people who look to the LORD for their salvation. They don’t look terrorized even if scary things are happening to them. Verse 5.
“Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.”
I want that for myself, especially as I age. I want to be radiant. And I want that for all of us, too. I want us to be radiant. I’ve seen some radiant faces up here on the platform as the kids have sung the songs this week! If I were going to plant or rename a church, I think I’d want to call it, “Radiant Church.” Shining with praise for God’s deliverance in our lives. Because, verse 7:
“The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.”
That’s an unseen spiritual reality intimated in this song lyric. Right now, those of us who fear God have the angel of the LORD encamping around us.
You are surrounded right now! Did you know that? If you are in Christ, you are surrounded. You are spiritually safe from the world, the flesh, and the devil’s rage–make war against you as they will. “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.” Greater is He that encamps around you than he that is in the world (see 1 John 4:4)!
And if that’s true, why wouldn’t you want the LORD in your life? V.8
“Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.”
O magnify the LORD with me:
#2. BY TASTE-TESTING HIS GOODNESS.
Do you feel how much this psalm is invitational?
King David is like a satisfied customer who is saying, “You’ve gotta try this for yourself! C’mon. Taste and see that the LORD is good.”
Notice that the metaphor in verse 8 alludes to two of our physical senses, both of which when something is truly wonderful indicate for us great pleasure! Both taste and sight. “Taste and see that the LORD is good.”
What was the best thing you ate at Family Bible Week out there under our brand new pavilion?
The Hospitality Team served around 400 meals over the four nights we had together, and there’s plenty of leftovers for the picnic today. Everybody stick around for the party!
Monday night was Hotdogs.
Then it was Taco Tuesday.
Wednesday was Mac-N-Cheese and Chicken Nuggets.
And Thursday was pizza and ice-cream night.
And I would ask kids in the line, “Do you like tacos?” And some of them would nod “yes,” and some would nod “no.” And for the “no’s,” I’d ask, “Have you tried it? Or do you just stick to PB&J from Amy over there?” Because this stuff is so good!
That’s a taste-test. Somebody who has experienced the goodness of something invites others try it out and see for themselves how good it really is.
And in Psalm 34, it’s not just a hot-dog or a chicken nuggie. It’s a Person. It’s God Himself. It’s Yahweh, the God of Israel. “Taste and see that the LORD is good.”
The Hebrew word translated “good” is “tov.” We’ve seen this word before in our Old Testaments. “Tov” is same word Moses used in Genesis 1 to express God’s pleasure in the world that He had made. God saw that it was “tov.” “Tov” is the way things ought to be.
It’s not just morally good. It’s good and complete and sweet. “Taste and see that the LORD is [tov].”
King David says, “See for yourself. Don’t just take my word for it. Jump in yourself. The water is so good! Judge for yourself. Take a bite of the goodness of belonging to the Lord. You won’t be disappointed!” Because here’s what you’re going to find: blessing. Verse 8.
“Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.”
That’s the same word that starts off the whole book of Psalms. “Blessed.” Happy. To be in a state to be congratulated. In a good place.
As the hymn says it’s, “Life and rest and joy and peace. 'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus.” Try it! Verse 9.
“Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.”
How about that image?! Yes, even young lions who can eat anything they can catch will still get tired and hungry. But if the LORD is your shepherd, you shall not want (Psalm 23:1). If the LORD is your sun and your shield, He will withhold no good thing from you (Psalm 84:11). Everything you really need will be yours if you put your trust and fear in the name of the LORD.
God is “tov”!! [All the time!!] All the time?! [God is “tov”!!]
Now, David has used this phrase, “fearing the LORD” a few times already in this song (verse 7, verse 9). The LORD has delivered Him from all of his fear except for his fear of the LORD. That’s a good fear. And it’s one that we need to learn. The fear of the LORD is...what? “The beginning of wisdom.”
Where you do you get that? In verse 11, King David offers to teach us. He speaks as the “father” of Israel and offers to be their teacher. Verse 11.
“Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.”
He kind of sounds like one of our terrific Family Bible Week teachers for the kids. They have done great job this week of coming every night and getting those squirrelly kids to settle down and listen and teach them the gospel. They are back there doing it now! Make sure you thank them.
Do you feel how invitational this song is? David invites them to praise God for His goodness all the time with himself. David invites them to taste and see God’s goodness for themselves. And now David invites them to learn to fear the LORD for themselves.
And it basically boils down to living out God’s goodness. To living out God’s will in the sight of God and pursuing goodness like God himself. Verse 12.
“Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.”
O magnify the LORD with me...
#3. BY PURSUING HIS GOODNESS.
The fear of the LORD looks like living a good life in the sight of God. It’s living out your faith before a holy God. It’s not being perfect, but it is being obedient by faith. Pursuing goodness. Look at verse 12 again.
“Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days [tov days, days filled with the goodness of the LORD, ... DO THIS:], keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good [tov]; seek peace and pursue it.”
It’s that easy. Or it’s that simple. It may not be easy, especially for broken people in a broken world. But it’s pretty simple.
Watch your mouth. “...keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.”
I’m not very tempted to outright lie very often maybe because I don’t want to get caught. But I am tempted to exaggerate. If I’m in a conversation, and I say something that really gets a good reaction, I’m tempted to blow it up just a little bit more. And magnify myself instead of the LORD.
How about you? Is your mouth marked by truth? Gossip, slander, obscenity, cursing, manipulating, quarreling. There are lots of ways that our mouths can get us in trouble.
There are so many Proverbs that warn us that the fear of the LORD means that we keep our tongues from evil. And not just our mouths, but we should watch the whole direction of our whole lives.
“Turn from evil and do good [tov]; seek peace and pursue it.”
What does that remind you of? That reminds me of what we just learned in 1 Thessalonians a few weeks ago! I think Paul must have been reading Psalm 34.
Paul said, “Live in peace with each other...Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else” (1 Thess. 5:13&15). The word for “kind” there is a Greek word that often gets translated, “good.” Do good for each other and everyone else.
King David says in Psalm 34 that to learn the fear of the LORD, we actually have to pursue His goodness in our personal relationships.
“Seek peace and pursue it.”
Does that describe you and your life? Remember, it doesn’t say “fake peace,” it says “seek peace and pursue it.” You and I are supposed to be peace-seekers, peace-pursuers, peace-makers, reconcilers.
Some of us just like to stir the pot, though. When Christians do not pursue Gods goodness like verses 12 through 14, we give Christianity a bad name.
That was the point the Apostle Peter was making in his first letter when he quoted these very lines of Psalm 34!
And Peter said we should do it even when we’re being persecuted! He said, “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For, ‘Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it” (1 Peter 3:9-11). That’s Psalm 34!
We still supposed to live this way today. Even when we are being persecuted. We need to pursue the goodness (the tov-ness) of God.
With our mouths.
With our lives.
With our relationships.
We are to repay evil and insult with blessing so that we may inherit a blessing. Because our God is so full of blessing, so full of goodness. So full of attentive care.
That’s how David ends this song–with a litany of beautiful images of God’s goodness up close and personal. One on top of another.
O magnify the LORD with me:
#4. BY TAKING REFUGE IN HIS GOODNESS.
Because when we live in the fear of the LORD knowing that His holy eyes are on us so that we want to please Him and live in accordance with His goodness, we also know that His holy eyes are not just on us but on our enemies, and He will deliver us from them. V.15
“The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all; he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken. Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned. The LORD redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.”
This afternoon, take out a piece of paper and a pen and make a list of all of the goodness that this song ascribes to the LORD. And just revel and rest in it!
Look at all of those sensory words! Its not just our mouth and eyes with which we taste and see. It’s the LORD’s eyes, and ears, and face and personal presence, and closeness.
He is near and He cares.
I think that’s the message that the kids really got this week. Every night we sang the new song, “God Sees Me.”
“God sees me and He knows what I’m thinking.
Every doubt, every hope, every dream.
God sees me, and he cares how I’m doing.
It makes me smile, knowing that God sees me.
He watches over you and me.
He cares about the little things.
It makes me want to shout and sing
and give the glory to my king!”
[Paul Marion and Jeremy Johnson, Lifeway Worship, 2024]
“The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry...”
At Family Bible week, the kids learned:
1. God sees me.
2. God cares about me.
3. God loves me.
4. God forgives me.
And right now they’re back there learning that [5] God is faithful to His promises. Promises like (v.18)...
“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted...” Are you brokenhearted today? “[He] saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Now, He does not promise us a trouble-free life (v.19).
“A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all; he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.”
For great King David, that was a metaphor of God’s overall protection, but of course, for great King David’s greatest son, King Jesus, it was literally true.
They did not break His bones (John 19:36). Though they did pierce His hands and feet. And He did die on the Cross.
There is a tension here, isn’t there? This psalm cannot promise that we will win every single time. That Christians will never lose, never really suffer, never really die. Our Lord did all of that. But even as He died, they did not break His bones, and that pointed to the ultimate deliverance that came in just 3 days when He came back to life and life forevermore.
And verses 21 and 22 point to our ultimate deliverance, our ultimate salvation. Which is “no condemnation” for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).
There is condemnation for those outside of Christ Jesus. V.21
“Evil will slay the wicked [it will catch up to them]; the foes of the righteous will be condemned.”
Judgment is coming. Flee the wrath of God! But Jesus absorbed the wrath we deserve so that we can be redeemed. Verse 22.
“The LORD redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.”
So take refuge in Him! Take refuge in His goodness! All who take shelter in King Jesus can say, “I will never be condemned.”
“O MAGNIFY the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.”
God is good!! [All the time!!] All the time?! [God is good!!]
***
Astute readers will recognize that significant portions of this message were adapted from my message “Taste and See that the LORD is Good” first preached for LEFC Sunday April 25, 2021.