“I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. I will glory in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together.” (Psalm 34:1-3)

It is an extreme statement King David makes as He begins what we know as Psalm 34. “I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.” (Psalm 34:1) The passage begins with a blessing to the Lord. The blessing can be a praise or even an extreme praise as the translation extol would indicate. The definition of extol is “praise enthusiastically.” (Oxford Dictionary) The blessing-praise was to happen “at all times.” He would use a common word of praise with the statement “will always be on my lips.” No matter the situation or circumstance, praise comes from David.

David had experienced much over the course of his life. Beginning as a shepherd boy, he then was chosen by God to be king. Given the musical ability to play the harp, he would be brought into employment of King Saul. The king was tormented by an evil spirit and the harp brough calm to the king. As a shepherd boy caring for the sheep of his father, his tasks were not only to find pasture and water for the sheep, but he was also to protect them. While protecting the sheep, he had killed both a lion and a bear. When his older brothers went to battle the Philistines following King Saul, David was sent by his dad with food for His brothers. When he arrived, he heard the giant, Goliath, taunting the army of Saul. The young man said to the King, “Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” (1 Samuel 17:36-34) David faced Goliath with a slingshot, and with one stone, killed the giant. Saul would become jealous of David and one time, when he came to play the harp and calm the King, the King tried to kill David. David escaped. During these days and many more in the relationship between David and Saul, there were challenges. Yet in these times David continued to praise the Lord.

There were also the days when David would become king. He was a good king who sought after God’s heart. While at the palace instead of being with his troops, he succumbed to temptation. He saw a beautiful woman, who was the wife of one of his faithful soldiers. He had the woman brought to him and began an affair which would produce a child. In the attempt to cover it up, he brought her husband home from being with his men. While the husband stayed focused on his duty and did not go to his wife, David then sent him in the heat of the battle, where he was killed. Later confronted by God’s prophet about his sin, David would repent. However, his newborn son would die soon after birth. David would express his pain. “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.” (Psalm 51:3-4)

David also knew the hope of God as he repented and sought God’s forgiveness and renewal. “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.” (Psalm 51:10-13)

This is just a taste of what happened to David. And yet, he would praise God. “I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.” (Psalm 34:1) David understands the trials of life for all of us, both those which are brought on us by someone else and those which are brought on by one’s own actions, both of which most of us, if not all of us, have experienced. As we empathize and are challenged, David calls us to join him in praising God.

We can also offer our praise because now God has come to us and has faced the trials of life as one of us through Jesus Christ. Scripture says, “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16) Jesus has experienced the adversities and the joys of life, and through it all brought praise to the Father. We can now join, not only with David, but with our Savior, Jesus, lifting our voices and unite as we praise and exalt God’s name all the time, both now and forever.

In the Love of Jesus,

Michael Block