Psalms 34:1 I. David begins by saying, "I will bless the Lord at all times." This should be our resolution also. (1) There is a great power in praising. It leads one away from self-consciousness. (2) Praise is a very strengthening thing. Our Lord strengthened Himself for the last conflict by praise... [ Continue Reading ]
Psalms 34:3 I. Religion's first object is to magnify the Lord. The exhortation is to do this in concert: "O magnify the Lord with me," etc. Here is the essential element and the pure spirit of religious worship. II. The second verse shows us the reason for this praise. It is first alleged by the i... [ Continue Reading ]
Psalms 34:7 I. It is generally supposed that the "angel of the Lord" here is to be taken collectively, and that the meaning is that the "bright-harnessed" hosts of these Divine messengers are as an army of protectors round them that fear God. But I see no reason for departing from the simpler and c... [ Continue Reading ]
Psalms 34:8 The excellence and desirableness of God's gifts is a subject again and again set before us in Holy Scripture. All images of what is pleasant and sweet in nature are brought together to describe the pleasantness and sweetness of the gifts which God gives us in grace. And as it is natural... [ Continue Reading ]
Psalms 34:8 I. "Taste and see how gracious the Lord is." We may do this, it is true, but we may also refuse to do it. It would be a mere waste of words to say, "Taste of pleasure, and see how sweet it is;" but to say, "Taste and see how gracious the Lord is," is a very different thing from saying,... [ Continue Reading ]
Psalms 34:11 In the first place, David sums up his advice in one grand affection, which he calls the fear of the Lord. Then he proceeds to detail what is comprehended in "the fear of the Lord." I. Notice, first, the details of the prescription. (1) "Keep thy tongue from evil." The tongue is a great... [ Continue Reading ]
Psalms 34:16 I. Consider the lofty and patient method of God in guiding and ruling mankind. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, not the weight of His hand _as yet._His hand is still open, still dropping, broadcast, blessings on our life. It is the face of God which is against our evi... [ Continue Reading ]
Psalms 34:18 One idea is embodied in these two sentences. According to a very common construction in the book of Psalms and in the book of Proverbs, and in other books of Holy Scripture, the latter sentence simply repeats the declaration of the former, in order to increase the emphasis and the forc... [ Continue Reading ]
Psalms 34:19 I. "Great are the troubles of the righteous," and who was ever so righteous as Jesus Christ? No wonder His troubles were so great, for we have all contributed something to them! The Lord hath afflicted Him therewith in the day of His fierce anger against our sins. If those troubles wer... [ Continue Reading ]