1 I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. 3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together. 4 I sought theLord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. 5 They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed. 6 This poor man cried out, and theLordheardhim, And saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them. 8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! 9 Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There isnowant to those who fear Him. 10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing. 11 Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of theLord. 12 Who is the man 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 Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. 15 The eyes of theLordareon the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry. 16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 17 The righteouscry out, andtheLordhears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. 18 The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.20 He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken. 21 Evil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned. 22 The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.
Psalms 34:1-22
Q & A：
- When you are faced with a crisis or caught in difficult situations, do you think that God is against you and explain what your positional stand is with God? Explain how righteousness and justification before God can be achieved and how this positional truth can help you to be bold and fearless towards the devil’s condemnation. (Ps 34:15-17; 2 Cor 5:21; Rom 5:16-18; Eph 4:24)
- When you are faced with unfavorable circumstances, does praising God come up in your mind at all or are you suppressed with all kinds of negative feelings associated with the problems? Explain what intentional vibrant praise is and what can you learn from David in praising God to help you to shift the focus away from the problem and turn it towards God. (Ps 34:1-2a; Ps 100:4; 2 Chr 20:21-22)
- Knowing that we are hidden in Christ, blessed with the gift of righteousness and can approach the throne of grace with boldness to seek the face of God, discuss why we should not be easily overwhelmed by our cares and anxieties, but be able to do greater exploits for God. God will draw near to us when we draw near to Him, share how you may have been comforted, strengthened or interceded by the Holy Spirit to receive God’s peace, a word of promise or ideas to your situation. (Ps 34:5-6; Heb 4:16; Ps 34:18-19; Jam 4:8a; John14:16; Rom 8:26-27)