December 15, 2017
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in Psalm 31-40? Here’s today’s reading:
Psalm 34 (ESV)
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...Continue Reading
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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.
When we call upon the Lord for help, he will always answer. He will always hear our cries and save us. We shall not be ashamed to call on him because we know we will receive an answer.
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!❤️
18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.💔❤️
1 I will extol the Lord at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
2 I will glory in the Lord;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the Lord with me;
let us exalt his name together.
This seems to me a great template for the perspective of one leading worship. Anyone leading corporate worship should have the attitude listed above:
vs 1: I am here to worship and glorify the Lord- that’s what I do”
vs 2: If you need deliverance- don’t be burdened by dwelling on your oppression, but be swept away by the Holy Spirit by crying out to God in gratitude.
vs 3 (also vs 11): Abandon your own way, humble yourself and come with me. I am entering into the presence of the Lord; Let me show you the way.
Worship is not a gesture of service or a performance of skill; worship is an outcry of perspective- putting you in your place and God in His. Crying out to God should be a natural consequence of the confrontation of the human condition and the circumstances we regularly face with the glory of the Most High God.
The key to success in the Christian life is to cry out early and often, claiming the sovereignty and promises of God in your prayer life- the type of crying out that’s constructive to faith (as opposed to grumbling). Faith is built when you speak/sing out with the perspective that all your weight is on Him and His promises- that you depend on Him- that you recognize He called you – that you are desperate for Him to equip you- that you are unwilling to turn to any other but Him.
Become familiar with this attitude of desperation long before the circumstance you’re in demands it of you. This is the embodiment of worship- no matter your circumstance, lay yourself down in humble desperation before the Almighty God and exalt and magnify the One who created the heavens and the earth, yet still sees you in your anguish.
What a great chapter…verse after verse of God’s greatness and provision are expressed here! Now wonder in verse 3 that those who look to him are radiant. I imagine this harkens back to Moses meeting with God on the mountain and God’s glory being reflected in his countenance, so much so that he had to put a veil over his face. How often does that happen to us when we are extoling the Lord while worshipping Him? Yes we can taste and see that God is good. I like the tangible, corporeal nature of that! And 2 senses referenced there and God can satisfy all!
And the piece de resistance (spoken with a French accent)…all those who fear the Lord lack nothing! All those who are properly aligned with Him……all those who understand who He is in His High position and authority in relation to their low position and lack of authority lack nothing because they are properly oriented to the one who has everything and can do anything. And whenever He is inactive it is on purpose so we can still rest in Him.
O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.