Discover God's Goodness

Let's turn again to Psalm 34.

I'm not going to read but verses 1 to 8.

! Just run through them.

I will bless the Lord at all times.

His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

My soul makes its boast in the Lord.

Let the humble hear and be glad.

To verse 8, to taste and see that the Lord is good.

As you know, this is a psalm that has brought a lot of comfort to God's people over the years.

And it came out of a very dark and deep and dangerous experience that David had.

And there's nothing like the deep, dark experiences of life

where we come to learn in God's hand some of the greatest teachings that we can ever get.

And it's always worth listening to Christians who have gone through deep and difficult experiences

because God is a way of using these things to work in our heart, to teach us.

And it's always worth spending time listening to people who have gone through experiences like that.

Now, as we know, David lived on the edge for years.

And it's strange that a man who had been promised the crown and the palace

spent years living in caves and in the mountains.

For David, it wasn't a bed at night.

He often slept just wherever he could find somewhere to sleep

because there was a price in his head.

He was the number one outlaw in the land.

A soul was trying everything to get him and to kill him.

And things had become so difficult and so dangerous for David

that he thought, there's nowhere left for me to hide in this land.

And he said, I'm just going to go into the land of the Philistines.

And talk of jumping out of the pan into the fire

because the land of the Philistines was real enemy territory.

And David, of course, was the one who had...

And he went to Gath and he had killed the great legend, the great champion of Gath, Goliath.

And as it said there that the women had sung afterwards

because David had led that slaughter of the Philistines.

Saul has slain as thousands and David as tens of thousands.

So he was playing with fire going into Gath.

And of course, it wasn't long until he was recognized

and he was brought before the king.

And David realized that his life was in mortal danger.

And we find that David began to act like he was mad.

He pretended that he was a madman.

He was utterly insane.

And he began to drool.

He was letting his spits fall down

and he was scratching at the door.

And his performance was Oscar style.

It was so good that the king was utterly convinced

that this man was insane, that he was a complete lunatic.

And he said to his men,

What on earth have you brought this madman in here?

Get him out of here.

And of course, David manages to get out

and then he goes, he departs.

We're told that he escapes

and goes to hide in the cave of Adullam.

And of course, God was with David all the time.

And David, of course,

when there's so many parts of this psalm

where we can understand exactly where David has come from,

he was this poor man who cried

and God heard and saved.

And David knew that even although he was playing his own part,

that it was ultimately down to God.

Because we're told in the scripture

that the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord

and he'll turn it whichever way he will.

We've always got to remember that.

The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord.

And so David was aware of that.

And so David, he's praying furiously.

He's crying to the Lord.

And David, of course,

manages to escape with God's help.

And that's the background to this psalm.

And David begins by saying,

I will bless the Lord at all times.

His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Literally at every time,

I will bless the Lord.

And David is really saying,

whatever happens in life,

always remember there's something to praise God for.

And so often,

we can be slow to praise God,

particularly going through the difficult times

and the hard times.

But there's always something to praise God for.

It's like we've heard the story before

of the old man in America who had bought a stake.

And he put the stake down on the ground for a second

because his laces had opened.

So he bent down to tie his shoe.

And as he put the stake on the ground,

a dog came away and,

the dog came along and away with the stake.

And he says,

Oh no,

my stake is gone.

I'll praise the Lord.

And a bystander said,

What on earth are you saying praise the Lord for?

Well, he said,

I'm really sorry,

my stake is gone,

but I'm praising the Lord

because I've still got an appetite.

And there's a lot of people in the world

who would give anything to have an appetite.

So there was a man

who saw that even although

his dinner had gone,

that he still had a reason to praise God.

And we should be like that as well

because sometimes we're slow to do that.

And that's one of the features of David's life

because David was stretched to the very edge so often.

And yet virtually in every psalm,

no matter how harrowing the experience,

we find that David will still praise the Lord.

No wonder he was termed a man after God's own heart.

So I hope that praise characterizes our life.

And then David goes on to say,

My soul makes its boast in the Lord.

Now a lot of people boast in different ways.

Some people boast about what they've achieved

and what they've done

and they like to make it known.

Some people boast in their wealth

and they like to parade it.

Some people boast about their abilities

and their talents.

Some people boast about their family.

Some people even boast about their racial identity.

You've got to ask the question,

Should the Christian boast?

Well, it's very obvious from what David is saying, yes.

But our boasting is not about ourselves,

not about what we are or what we've done.

The boasting should be in the Lord.

You find that a feature of Paul's life.

Paul was always saying that he boasted in Christ Jesus.

He gloried in the cross of Christ.

He never boasted about himself,

but he boasted about what Jesus had done

and Jesus is able to do.

And so should we.

And as Christians,

we love to hear other people speak well of the Lord.

And then David says,

Oh, magnify the Lord with me

and let us exalt his name together.

To magnify, we know,

is to make something bigger,

to make it clearer.

So we say to ourselves,

How can we make God bigger?

Well, obviously we cannot make God bigger than he is.

But very simply,

what it means is that

when you use a magnifying glass,

you're able,

whatever you're looking at,

you're able to see it more clearly.

You're able to get a better understanding

of what you're looking at.

And that's the idea that David has here,

where he's saying,

Oh, magnify the Lord with me.

Let your life display the Lord.

That's basically what he's saying.

Let your life display the Lord

so that people,

as people look at your life,

they will be able to see

the Lord at work in you.

And it's a very challenging thing

because that question we have to ask ourselves,

is that the way that we live?

Are people able,

as they see how we conduct ourselves,

how we,

our lifestyle,

what we say,

what we do,

how we act,

is that glorifying God?

Is it magnifying God?

Because remember,

the Christian is the world's Bible.

Many, many people in the world

will never open the Word of God,

never open a Bible.

And they don't know the first thing

about what the Bible is saying.

So the only way they can take any form

or idea of what Christianity is,

is by looking at the life of the Christian.

And if the life of the Christian

is displaying and magnifying

the Lord,

then that's a great thing.

It will bring people to,

to maybe go to the Bible

and say,

well,

why is this passion,

why does this passion do this?

Why does this passion

not react the way that others do?

Why?

It is because

they are magnifying the Lord.

And then in verse four,

David acknowledges

what God has done.

I sought the Lord

and he answered me

and he delivered me

from all my fears.

Now,

at this particular moment

in David's experience

where he said,

I sought the Lord

and he answered me

and delivered me

from all my fears.

We know that David

was praying furiously,

fervently,

to the Lord.

But it wasn't a matter of

David saying,

well,

I need,

I'm going to pray.

I need to go down

my knees.

I need a wee bit

of a quiet time.

There was none of that.

There was no opportunity

for that.

David was praying

at the very same time

as he was acting

like a madman.

He was crying to the Lord.

He was praying to the Lord.

I'm sure we've all been

in situations like that.

We're in a predicament.

We don't know what to do.

We don't know where to turn.

We're not sure

what we should say.

We're stuck.

And we're in the situation

where you can't sort of say,

oh, hold,

give me a moment

till I have a wee bit of time

and speak to the Lord.

No, we've often done it.

We say,

oh, Lord, help me here.

I really don't know

what to do.

I mean,

this is dire.

Please, Lord,

give me the words

to speak

or give me,

show me what to do

in this situation

because this is,

I'm in,

for as far as I'm concerned,

I'm in a real predicament.

Do you know,

that's real prayer.

That's a prayer of faith.

It doesn't need

to be a long prayer.

But it's genuine.

It's from the heart.

It's an urgent prayer.

Please, Lord,

help me.

And the great thing

we read here is,

I sought the Lord

and he answered me

and he delivered me

from all my fears.

So you see,

the deliverance

was complete.

He delivered

so that if

the sheer terror,

because that's really

what that word fear

means,

he delivered

David from

the situation,

but he also

delivered his mind

from the terror

that he was experiencing.

So you see,

it's a complete

deliverance.

And that's the way

that the Lord

so often works

in our life

and in our heart.

So it was a cry.

And then David says,

You know,

you can't focus

on the Lord

for long

without it becoming

evident in your life.

People will see it.

if you spend time

in prayer

and with the word

yourself

or with a group

of people

and then you come away,

there will be something

of the lingering presence

of God's peace,

of God's love

will be evident

in who you are.

You can't hide it.

It's part of what happens.

It tells us

of how they took note

of the disciples

that they had been

with Jesus.

You remember,

Moses is a classic example.

It's probably

almost an extreme example.

But when he was up

on the mount

with the Lord

for 40 days,

Moses couldn't see it.

But when he came down,

his face was shining

so brightly

that the Israelites

couldn't look on him.

When Moses was going

to speak to them,

they said,

you have to put a veil

over your face

because your face

is shining so bright.

It's like the sun.

We can't look on it.

And that was because

he had been

in the intimate presence

of the Lord

for 40 days.

Now,

it won't be as evident

or as extreme

in a sense

as that

with us.

But something,

something will show.

You can't,

often your work

will display it.

I remember going down

for logs and coal

one time

to my caskals.

Bob Hepburn,

you know,

he's about six foot eight.

I remember saying,

how he did,

I looked up

and all I could see

was the white

of his eyes.

His face was,

everything was black

because he'd been

working in the coal.

And I remember saying,

do you know this,

if you were transported

this very second

into the middle

of Prince's Street,

there's not one

person passing

but would know

what you were working at

because it was so evident,

it was so clear.

And in a sense,

it comes,

you can apply that

spiritually

because there is

something of the

radiance of the Lord

will begin to manifest

itself

in God's people

as they are

in fellowship,

as they are

in close

proximity

with the Lord.

2 Corinthians

talks about

the shining

radiance

of the Christian.

Classic example

of Stephen

when he was

being stoned.

Remember what

happened there?

Stephen was given

a sight into heaven,

he was given

a vision into heaven

where he saw

the risen Lord

standing.

And he was given

such a sight

of the Lord Jesus,

it tells us

that they saw

his face

was shining

even as they were

raining stones

on him

to kill him.

His persecutor

couldn't help

but notice

his face

was shining.

You see,

so those who

look to him

are radiant

and their faces

shall never

be ashamed.

What a change.

Shame

and embarrassment

is part

and partial

of life.

It's part

of the sin,

it's part

of what sin

is.

And we all

know what it

is to end

up with a red

face of

embarrassment.

Where we're

ashamed

of what we've

said,

ashamed of

what we've

done.

If you're

caught doing

something

that's wrong,

there's always

a look of guilt,

isn't there?

You'll even find

it with a

young person.

You catch him

doing something

that's wrong,

there's that

guilty look.

It's natural,

it's what

happens.

And so shame

has been part

and partial

of our life.

But part of

the wonder

is that Jesus,

part of what

he took on

the cross

was our

shame.

So that he's

transferring

this embarrassment

and shame

which is part

of sin

and giving us

this radiance

in place,

this shining

radiance

that talks

of in

2 Corinthians.

and then

David says

this,

as we just

mentioned that

earlier,

this poor

man cried

and the

Lord heard

and saved

him out of

all his

distresses.

Well,

David was

the poor

man.

And you

know,

we often

know what

it is to

be poor.

So many

different

situations.

We sometimes

were poor

in spirit,

poor in

prayer.

Have you

sure you've

often felt,

oh man,

I feel so

poor in

prayer.

You look at

your Christian

service and

you say,

oh man,

my Christian

service is

poor.

We feel

poor

spiritually.

We feel

often,

oh man,

I'm a

poor witness.

Sometimes

we have

poor health.

Sometimes

our finances

are poor.

Sometimes

we feel

that we're

maybe a

poor husband

or a

poor wife

or a

poor father

or a

poor mother.

We often

in so

many different

situations

in life,

we feel,

oh,

I'm not

very good

at this.

I feel

poor at

what I'm

doing.

But the

beauty of

it is that

we can

go to

the Lord

and cry

to him

and say,

Lord,

you've

got to

help me.

This is

not what

I want

to be.

And we

go to

our Lord

who is

able to

help us.

And David's

cry wasn't

a vague

cry,

the cry

of a

kind of

despair.

Is there

anybody out

there?

It was a

cry of

faith.

It was

focused upon

the Lord.

He was

crying there.

And do we

appreciate,

I don't

think we

do,

the wonderful

privilege that

we have,

that at

any time

of the

day or

night,

in any

situation,

doesn't

matter what,

we can

go to the

Lord and

say,

Lord,

you've

got to

help me

just now.

Isn't

that amazing?

the Lord

is never

too busy.

He's

never

away.

He's

never

too

involved

with

somebody

else.

He's

always

available.

It's

one of

the most

wonderful

privileges.

And I

don't think

we take

it,

we appreciate

sufficiently

what we

have.

Irrespective

of whatever

we're going

through,

even if

it's of

our own

making,

we can

still go to

the Lord

and say,

Lord,

you've

got to

help me

just now.

I'm

stuck,

I'm

struggling.

I'm

not in

a good

place,

Lord.

Help,

help,

help.

That's

a cry

of faith.

It's

real.

That's

the kind

of prayer

that the

Lord

hears.

And

as the

hymn

writer said,

what a

friend we

have in

Jesus.

If you're

here tonight

and you

have to

say,

well,

I have

to

confess,

I know

all about

Jesus,

or I

know an

awful lot

about

Jesus,

but I

haven't

come to

this place

yet where

what you're

saying,

some of

it,

yeah,

I'm

hearing,

but I

can't

follow it.

Well,

it's

time you

did.

You have

no idea

what you're

missing.

You have

no idea

what you're

losing out

on,

because it's

a fragile

life,

a difficult

life.

Having the

Lord makes

all the

difference in

the world.

So David's

cry,

it was a

cry.

it was

literally

a cry,

this poor

man cried.

David

didn't make

a prayer

which was

full of

great

theological

terms.

He didn't

make a

prayer that

was so

eloquent

and a

beautiful

flow of

words.

It was

just a

cry.

Lord,

help me,

I'm a

dead man

unless you

help me.

It was a

desperate

cry.

And that's

a prayer of

faith that

the Lord

will answer.

You see,

the Pharisee,

and remember

the Pharisee

and the

publican,

the Pharisee,

he had a

very eloquent

prayer.

He was

talking mostly

about himself.

Very eloquent.

The publican,

he had nothing

really,

he just felt

a hopeless,

poor sinner.

All he could

say was,

Lord,

have mercy

on me.

Lord,

be merciful

to me,

a sinner.

That's all

he had.

But it

was more

than enough

because he

was the

one who

went to

his house

justified.

He was

the one

that the

Lord had

heard.

So the

cry is

an absolutely

essential

thing.

A baby

is never

taught to

cry.

It's natural

to a baby,

isn't it?

A baby

cries.

Cries when

it's hungry.

A baby

cries when

she's thirsty.

A baby

cries when

feeling dirty,

needing change.

A baby

cries when

babies

sore.

So many

things.

Nobody

teaches.

It's

natural.

So it

is for

the

Christian.

Because the

moment that

God begins

to work in

your heart,

the moment

the journey

of faith

begins,

you and

I are

spiritual

babies.

And it's

natural for

us to

cry.

It's

part and

partial of

your

Christian

life.

You start

crying the

moment that

God begins

to work in

your heart.

And it's

part,

something that

goes on all

throughout our

life.

And then it

tells us that

the angel of

the Lord

encamps

round those

who fear

him and

delivers them.

Now,

when it

says here

the angel

of the

Lord,

in a sense

it could

talk of

two things.

We know

that the

heirs of

salvation,

that the

angels are

ministering

spirits to

the heirs of

salvation.

So that if

you're a

believer,

you have

the angels

ministering to

you.

And how

little we

understand that

and how

little we

know.

And I'm

sure many

a time we

have been

protected and

kept and

delivered because

of these

ministering

spirits.

But the

angel of

the Lord,

as it

says here,

the angel of

the Lord is

sometimes spoken

of as the

angel of

the covenant,

the Lord

Jesus Christ.

And it

could actually

mean both

because both

are true.

That David

is talking

here and

he's saying

the angel

of the

Lord encamps

round those

who fear

the Lord.

So you

have the

protection

of the

Lord,

his presence

in camping,

which talks

of nearness,

and you have

the ministering

spirits,

round,

front,

back,

side.

You

couldn't be

more protected.

There isn't

anybody in

the world

who might

have the

best trained

SAS

bodyguards

giving a

protection,

anything near

the protection

that the

Christian has.

Protection of

soul and

protection of

body by

the Lord.

And the

very idea

that he

encamps

means that

it's permanent.

When you

camp down

and camp

round,

it means

this is

talking about

we're here

for the

long term.

It's not

just a

fleeting

presence.

It's a

permanent

presence.

What a

privilege we

have.

See,

so often we

don't think

about these

things that

this is what

we have.

The

presence of

the Lord

encamp

round us.

it's a

wonderful

thing.

And then

finally in

verse 8,

David says,

taste and

see that

the Lord

is good.

And I

love the

way that

David says

this.

Now David

has experienced

all throughout

his life

that the

Lord is

good.

He's proved

it continually.

And he

wants

everybody

else to

discover just

how wonderful

that the

Lord is.

and when

you become

a Christian,

you don't

become a

secret

Christian.

You might

be a

secret

Christian for

a little

while,

but it's

very hard

to remain

a secret

Christian.

Because part

of what a

Christian wants

to do is

to tell

others.

You want

to share.

You want

others to

know,

others to

experience

what you've

experienced.

You want

that other

people will

come to

faith in

the way

that you've

come to

faith.

It's like

if you,

supposing you

were to

discover some

amazing cure

for a fatal

illness.

And this

cure not

only cured

you of the

illness,

but brought

a sense of

well-being

into life.

You wouldn't

keep that

hidden away.

You would

want everybody

to know.

And so it

is when we

become Christians

that we want

to share,

we want to

tell people

there is

this Jesus.

And if

you've never

discovered how

good the

Lord is,

I would

ask you

tonight to

taste.

Taste,

taste for

yourself.

You see,

it's the

ultimate

blessing.

To reject

Jesus is

to deprive

yourself of

the greatest

good.

You know,

this is part

of the

absolute

madness of

our nation,

temptation is

this determination

to try to

silence the

voice of

the Christian.

The only

voice that

is bringing

hope, that

is bringing

meaning, that

could bring

well-being,

that could

bring hope.

And yet they

say we don't

want to hear

that voice,

God silence

that voice.

You know,

nothing shows

clearer that

hell is an

overdrive in

its attempt to

destroy us

as a nation.

And we need

to pray that

the Lord will

indeed have

mercy upon

us.

But it's the

ultimate

blessing.

It's not only

a blessing for

life, it's a

blessing for

eternity.

And also

taste and

see is a

command, it's

not an

option.

The Lord is

saying to

you tonight,

through his

word, oh

taste and

see that the

Lord is

good.

Some people

say, well,

if I could

see that the

Lord is

good, then

I would

taste.

Well, let's

put in the

cart before

the horse.

In order to

see how

good the

Lord is,

you have to

taste him

first.

You have to

receive him.

You have to

accept him.

You have to

come, fall

down before

him.

You've got to

say, Lord,

open my

heart.

Help me to

discover.

Help me to

believe.

believe.

Because, you

know, as we

said, it's a

greatest blessing

and it

brings a

guarantee.

There's a lot

of guarantees

in life.

Sometimes you'll

get a year

guarantee, a

five-year

guarantee, a

ten-year

guarantee.

Sometimes you'll

even get a

lifetime

guarantee.

Well, the

guarantee here,

when you come to

taste and to

see that the

Lord is good,

good, it's

not only

lifetime, it's

an eternal

guarantee.

The only

eternal guarantee

that you can be

given in this

world.

So I pray

tonight that

you will all,

if you haven't

already, come

to taste and

to see that

the Lord is

good.

Let us pray.

O Lord,

our God, we

give thanks that

you are gracious,

you are

merciful, you

are the God

who has given

us this

wonderful word

you have

revealed so

much of

yourself in

your truth.

And we pray

that we may

have an

appetite for

your truth.

And we pray

that your

word may have

a greater

place in

our life,

year by

year.

We pray

that our

lives may

display your

glory and

your grace.

We pray

that we

might be

living witnesses

!

before all

people.

Help us

in and take

us all to

our homes

and safety.

Grant us

your grace

in all that

we do.

Forgive us

our every

sin we

pray in

Jesus'

name.

Amen.

We're

going to

conclude

singing in

Psalm 63.

Psalm 63

in the

Scottish

Psalter.

The tune

is

Bass of

Harris.

We're

going to

sing

verses 1

to 5.

Psalm 63

Psalms 63:1–5

verses 1

to 5.

Psalm 63.

2-9-5

Psalm 63

Psalms 63:1–5

verses 1

to 5

to the tune

bass of

Harris

Lord

thee my

God.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

May the grace, mercy, and peace of God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit rest and abide

upon each one of you now and forevermore. Amen.

I will go to the door on my left.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I will continue this through this through this through this through this through this

Thank you.