Psalms 34: O Magnify The Lord

Psalms 34: 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.

11 Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

12 What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good?

13 Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.

14 Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

15 The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry.

16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

17 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.

18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

20 He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.

21 Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.

22 The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

The Psalms of David are always encouraging to me. They give me hope and relaxes me.

David wants to magnify the Lord. As David is encouraging his readers, we should also magnify the Lord in every aspect of our lives. In the good times, we need to magnify the Lord. In the bad times, we need to magnify the Lord.

In verse 4, He sought the Lord, and Yahweh Elohim answered Him and delivered Him from all his fears. How often do we have fears? Do we keep them in or do we use other coping mechanisms to deal with our stress? Do we struggle with our identity that is in Christ? Is our hope truly found in Christ? When we deal with fears, we should not keep them in or use other coping mechanisms. Instead, we should cast our fears on Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 5;7 states "Cast all your anxieties upon him because he cares for you." He cares for you and he cares for me immensely. Sometimes, we can have struggling moments. However, we can always rely on the maker of heaven and earth. We need to seek God so that he can deliver us from all our fears and anxieties. Sometimes I feel like David in verse 5. "This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles." Sometimes, I have troubles of this world but I take heart because God has overcome all my anxieties. His Most Precious blood is running through my veins. Though somedays I struggle.

I also love verse 8. Verse 8 states, "O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in him." We can always know that the Lord is good. When we spiritual taste God, we can always see that the Lord is good. When we take refuge in Him, alone, we will find rest. However, we do not always take refuge in Him.

I will conclude this devotional with the last amazing verse in this Psalm. Psalms 34:18 "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Sometimes, we feel brokenhearted, and God is near to us. When we feel crushed in the spirit due to work conflicts or other issues, we can rest assured that God is near to us. I hope this devotional was encouraging! Thank you for following Waymaker Youth Mission!