To Magnify God-2

To MAGNIFY GOD-II—Psalm 34:1-2a(:1-10 )

[VBS Theme—‘Magnified’—Psalm 34:3]

Attention:

•Last week I told you that the vast majority of my time Skidaway Institute of Oceanography marine research lab, was spent seated & looking thru a ‘stereo-microscope’ to identify & tabulate the numbers of individual species of zooplankton—with a particular interest in ‘copepods.’

*So, by ‘Magnifying’ the zooplankton(copepods, etc.) with that microscope, I was able to observe the fine-points about their physiology that could never be comprehended with the naked-eye! Magnification was needed to specifically identify them.

*WITHOUT ‘Magnifying’ the zooplankton, the research would have been pointless, because it would have only been guesswork!

•Whereas, Trustworthy science, is first-&-foremost about direct observation of, & discovery of what actually exists. Good science & good scientists even on a secular level, are honest & upfront about hypotheses they make. Good scientists are honest & upfront about any ‘suppositions’ that lead them to their tentative conclusions!

*Likewise, the Church must Magnify God, ‘make much of’ God, & otherwise elevate God, so that God’s reality—His nature, His character, & His workings—can be easily seen & understood by the world at large! As with scientific observation, any ‘guesswork’ on the’ Church’s part, is dangerous & deceptive!

•So, the job of God’s people, both individually & gathered, is:

To MAGNIFY GOD!

Need:

By God’s design, what is expected of every person on earth & what every person is called to, is to personally ‘Magnify’, make much of, elevate, & exalt YHWH-God.

However, that expectation for mankind, & God’s calling to mankind, is left to each person’s personal choice, so that every person becomes personally answerable to God, for whether they follow God’s design or not!

David was a recipient of YHWH-God’s protection(deliverance/rescue), & so David made much of & ‘magnified’ Him.

God’s people magnify God.

When do we truly magnify God?

When is God magnified in your life?

6 realities necessary for magnifying YHWH-God in your life.

The last time we were in Psalm 34, we found that in order:

To Magnify God In Your Life, God must be...

2. SHARE-WORTHY To You(:2b-3)

Today, we’ll discover that:

1—To Magnify God In Your Life, God must ALSO be...

BOAST/BRAG-WORTHY To You(Intro + :1-2a)

Explanation:(Intro + :1-2a)

INTRODUCTION:—<<A Psalm of David when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, & he departed.>>...”

The occasion for David’s writing of this Psalm is recorded in 1Sam. 21:10-15; 22:1. David was fleeing persecution by King Saul(the 1st king of a united Israel) & David had actively gone into hiding.

After acquiring Goliath’s(whom David had single-handedly defeated(1Sam. 17:40-51)) sword from Ahimelech the priest at Nob(1Sam. 21:8-9), David then fled from Saul, by entering Philistine territory(outside Israel). And once there, we are also told that David specifically entered the city of Gath(1Sam. 21:10).

In Gath, we are told that David approached Achish, who was the king of Gath... “Abimelech” was ‘probably’ a general title that was given to rulers among the Philistines. And the particular Philistine ruler that David encountered had the ‘given name’ of Achish(1Sam. 21:10).”(David Guzik)

•1Samuel 21:10--22:1—“Then David arose & fled that day from before Saul, & went to Achish the king of Gath. And the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of him to one another in dances, saying: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands’?” Now David took these words to heart, & was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath. So he changed his behavior before them, pretended madness in their hands, scratched on the doors of the gate, & let his saliva fall down on his beard. Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see the man is insane. Why have you brought him to me? Have I need of madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?” David therefore departed from there & escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers & all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him.”

Even though David had intentionally fled to Gath, it is also stated that David soon became afraid of the king of Gath(1Sam. 21:12).

•David became afraid in Gath largely because the servants of king Achish, reminded their king, that David had ‘folk hero’ status in Israel(due to his defeat of the Philistine warrior Goliath). And that in Israel, David was celebrated with song & dance.(Robert D. Bergen in NAC)

•So David was ‘caught-between-a-rock-&-a-hard-place’ as it were.

Due to his fear, David initiated a plan to protect himself. He did that by, “changing his behavior/appearance & “pretended madness” before the Philistines(1Sam. 21:13). To sell his ruse to the Philistines, David openly “scratched on the doors of the” city “gate” of Gath, & he also “let his saliva fall down into his beard”(1Sam. 21:13)—a huge social ‘no-no.’