Prayer Keys - Praise
“I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.” Psalms 34:1
Vultures and hummingbirds are both birds, but the similarity doesn’t go much beyond that.
If you watch an old western, when people on the trail see vultures circling in the sky, they know something or someone is dead. Vultures live on death and decay. All they care about is finding the next dead thing to consume. They thrive on what used to be alive.
Hummingbirds are completely different. They seek the bright blooms and sweet nectar of living plants. They thrive on what is fresh and alive.
Vultures thrive on what used to be. Hummingbirds thrive on what is.
Christians can have vulture or hummingbird attitudes. Christians can prefer the dead past to the live present. We can learn from the past, but we can’t live there.
In one of my classes at HBU, a professor told about a time when he was the pastor of a First Baptist Church in a large city. A former pastor had been invited to preach. As they were talking in the office, a deacon burst in. He was so excited to see that former pastor. He was a REAL pastor. When he preached, you could hear the music of heaven and smell the sulphur of hell. His counseling was like the wisdom of Solomon. On and on the deacon gushed.
When they were alone again, my teacher said, “I’m surprised. He’s never said anything good about me.”
The former pastor said, “I’m… I’m… more surprised. When I was here, he thought I was lower than dirt.”
Some people who complained in the past still prefer that past to the present. We can learn from the past, but we can’t live there. Psalm 34 give some valuable lessons David learned from his past to live in his present. They are lessons we can learn, too.
“I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.”
It would be easy for David to praise God for his past deliverance. It would be easy for David to praise God for helping him to rescue sheep from a lion and a bear. It would certainly be easy for David to praise God for delivering Goliath into his hand. It would be easy for David to praise God for letting him hear young ladies sing, “Saul has slain his thousands, but David his tens of thousands.” It would certainly be easy to praise God for sending Samuel to anoint him as the future king.
But Psalm 34 is not just about praising God for the past. Where is David while he writes this psalm? He is hiding in a cave, far from the palace. David is determined to praise God in spite of bad circumstances. He is an example for us to praise God in spite of bad circumstances, in spite of family problems, in spite of sickness, in spite of unemployment, in spite of a bad economy.
For a while in the seventies and early eighties, verses like this and 1 Thessalonians 5:18 were being abused.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 is the verse that says, “In every thing give thanks.” In some circles, it was preached and taught that if you were not thankful for your problems, God would not answer your prayers. I suspect this was particularly hard on parents. Is you child on drugs? God must have something better in their future. Thank God. If you don’t thank God for their addiction, they may never be delivered. Has your child run away? God must have something better for their future. Thank God. If you don’t thank God for their running away, they may never come back.
Fortunately, more people remember the answer to that error than remember the error itself. We are to give thanks IN all things, not FOR all things.
Is your child on drugs? Thank God for the time you were able to influence them before their addiction. Thank God for their Christian friends and pray that one of them will be able to get through to them. Thank God for the ministries that reach out to those on drugs and pray that one of them will be able to get through to your child. The Bible does not say to thank God for the addiction.
Has your child run away? Again, thank God for their Christian friends and the ministries to runaways and pray that one of them will reach you child. The Bible does not say to give thanks for them running away.
In Psalm 34, David is determined to praise God in spite of bad circumstances not for the bad circumstances.. He is an example for us to praise God in spite of bad circumstances, in spite of family problems, in spite of sickness, in spite of unemployment, in spite of a bad economy. Praise God.
Several years ago, there was a song on Christian radio that said, “We bring a sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord.” It had a happy, upbeat tune. Listening to it, I had the feeling that the singers were intrigued by the words but had not personally experienced the message.. A sacrifice hurts. The original readers of Hebrews 13:15, on which the song is based, were on the verge of shedding their own blood to remain faithful. They were suffering. Hebrews 13:12 refers to Jesus suffering outside the gate and shedding His blood. Hebrews 13:13 encourages the readers to share His reproach. Sometimes we hurt while praising God.
Messengers one after another told Job that his livestock, his crops, his riches were gone, that his servants and children were dead. Job replied, [read slowly] “The Lord gives, the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
When you’ve heard that before, you’ve probably heard it as I just read it, with a slow, thoughtful attitude. Can you imagine someone reading it with a happy, upbeat attitude? [read quickly] “The Lord gives, the Lord has taken away. WOO HOO! Blessed be the name of the Lord.” You would think the person did not understand or, worse, did not care. Sometimes we hurt while praising God.
Mike Reynolds, pastor of West Hall Baptist Church in Oakwood, GA, had three children. Several years ago, his elder son was murdered. Last week, his younger son died of cancer. Both were Christians. Both are in a better place now. Like Job, Mike is suffering. Like Job, he has not cursed God. He knows, better than I hope ever to know, that sometimes we hurt while praising God.
In Psalm 34, David is determined to praise God in spite of bad circumstances not for the bad circumstances. He is an example for us to praise God in spite of bad circumstances, in spite of family problems, in spite of sickness, in spite of unemployment, in spite of a bad economy. Praise God.
What were the circumstances in David’s life at this time?
“A Psalm of David when he feigned madness before Abimelech, who drove him away and he departed.”
This event occurs in 1 Samuel 21:10 15. Abimelech is not so much a name as a title. It is similar to the Roman “Caesar.” It refers to a Philistine ruler. In this case, it refers to Achish, the ruler of Gath, one of five Philistine cities. Gath was the home town of Goliath. David has run away from Saul, a man who wants him dead, by running to a city where everyone wants him dead.
Let’s back up some to get a better idea of what is going on. From time to time, Saul suffers from an evil spirit, possibly depression. David’s music soothes him.
David is also a mighty warrior. He becomes so popular that when Saul goes into a city, he hears women singing, “Saul has slain his thousands, but David his tens of thousands.” Depression plus envy turn into rage. He wants David dead. He tries to kill David with a javelin when David’s music does not sooth him as before.
David escapes to Sameul, but Saul finds out where he went. Three times Saul sends messengers to bring him back, and three times the spirit of the Lord overpowers them and they begin to prophesy. Saul himself goes after David, and the spirit of the Lord overpowers him and he begins to prophesy.
It appears that David is safe with Samuel, but he decides to run.
He lies to Ahimelech, the priest of Nob, saying the King has sent him on an urgent mission, and he left without any provisions. The priest gives him bread that had been consecrated to the Lord. The mission is so urgent that he even left without any weapons. That priest just happens to have access to the sword of Goliath, so David takes that, too, then flees to Gath.
When someone recognizes him, he pretends to be out of his mind. It has been said that honesty may be the best policy, but insanity is a better defense. Instead of the mighty warrior of Israel who slew Goliath of Gath (the hometown hero), instead of the hero of the song, “Saul has slain his thousands, but David his tens of thousands,” Achish sees a madman. The Philistine king is not interested in holding him, so David escapes to the cave of Adullam.
Saul finds out that David had been to Nob and received provisions from Ahimelech, the priest. He does not just have Ahimelech killed. He has all 85 priests killed. Then he has the whole town, men, women, children, babies, oxen, donkeys, and sheep killed. In 1 Samuel 22:22, David admits that their death is his fault.
All of this is hard to understand. Is David praising God because his deception worked and he got away from Achish? Does deception glorify God? Does David only condemn deception in 34:13 because so many people died in Nob?
We have already seen one clue to understanding Psalm 34 when David first fled from Saul. Everyone Saul sent to capture him was powerless to bring him back. Saul himself was powerless to bring David back.
For some reason, after God has proven His power to protect, David gets scared and runs to the last place Saul would look for him. He lies to the priest of Nob because right now he fears men more than he trusts God. As a result of his sin, 85 priests, their families, their neighbors, every one and everything living in Nob is killed.
Once in Gath, when he is recognized, he thinks, “I got myself into this, I need to get myself out.” He then pretends to be mad. God delivers him in spite of his deception, not because of it.
We have a second clue to understanding Psalm 34 in Psalm 56, also written of the time when the Philistines had seized David in Gath.
When David looks back, he realizes that he has feared men instead of trusting God. He repents and vows to trust God and not fear men. Psalm 56 records his vow.
In Psalm 34, a repentant, forgiven David is determined to praise God in spite of bad circumstances not for the bad circumstances. He is an example for us to praise God in spite of bad circumstances, in spite of family problems, in spite of sickness, in spite of unemployment, in spite of a bad economy. Praise God.
In easy or hard circumstances, praise Him. While waiting for answers, praise Him. When disappointed by answers, praise Him.
When circumstances are hard, it may be hard to praise (unless we remember His past acts). When circumstances are easy, it may be easy to forget to praise. It may be easiest to praise for sudden, obvious blessings. As obvious blessings go from sudden to recent to distant, the act of praise may go from an overwhelming impulse to a grateful offering to a forgotten joy.
Before closing, let’s look at verses 2 3. “My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together.”
Sincere praise can be contagious. Given a choice, I would rather spread my praise than a bad attitude. The fact is, I do have a choice. And so do you.
Jesus himself thought praise was so important that he began and ended the model prayer with it. “Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name… for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever.”
The Doxology is slower than most contemporary praise songs, but it is an incredible encouragement to praise. “Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.”
Jesus himself thought praise was so important that he began and ended the model prayer with it. Surely our prayers are incomplete without praise.
