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[0:00] I'm excited and humbled by the opportunity to preach God's Word this morning.

[0:18] ! So please turn with me to Psalm 34. As you turn there, I want to first let you in on my prayer this morning. When preaching in view of a call, many times people ask if there's any additional pressure.

[0:33] And as one might be tempted to treat this morning like a test, both on my end and on yours, but my prayer this morning and in my preparation has been that I would not seek any praise or approval of man, but instead seek to glorify God, to preach His Word faithfully, and to get out of the way as the Holy Spirit uses His Word in our hearts together this morning.

[0:58] So this is what we're here to do this morning. Worship God through song, sit under God's Word, and encourage one another. And I'm excited more than anything to do that with you today. And as I studied the text here in Psalm 34, the Lord began to work on my heart.

[1:13] I was both greatly challenged and convicted and also encouraged and strengthened. So I pray that that will continue this morning for all of us as we sit under God's Word, and that we would be challenged and encouraged.

[1:27] So let's read Psalm 34. Let's stand together as we read. I'll be reading out of the CSB. Many of you have ESV. Both will be great this morning. Psalm 34.

[1:40] Concerning David when he pretended to be insane in the presence of Abimelech, who drove him out and he departed. Verse 1. I will bless the Lord at all times.

[1:53] His praise will always be on my lips. I will boast in the Lord. The humble will hear and be glad. Proclaim the Lord's greatness with me. Let us exalt His name together.

[2:06] I sought the Lord, and He answered me, and He rescued me from all my fears. Those who look to Him are radiant with joy. Their faces will never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him from all his troubles.

[2:22] The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and rescues them. Taste and see that the Lord is good. How happy is the person who takes refuge in Him.

[2:32] You who are His holy ones fear the Lord. For those who fear Him lack nothing. Young lions lack food and go hungry, but those who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing.

[2:44] Come, children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Who is someone who desires life, loving a long life to enjoy what is good? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceitful speech.

[2:59] Turn away from evil and do what is good. Seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry for help. The face of the Lord is set against those who do what is evil, to remove all memory of them from the earth.

[3:16] The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is near the brokenhearted. He saves those crushed in spirit. One who is righteous has many adversities, but the Lord rescues him from them all.

[3:32] He protects all his bones. Not one of them is broken. Evil brings death to the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be punished. But the Lord redeems the life of His servants, and all who take refuge in Him will not be punished.

[3:46] This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated. I want to pray for us as we begin a Puritan prayer. So let's pray together. O great and holy God, before you I am nothing but vanity, iniquity, and God, I am perishing.

[4:09] Sin has trapped me. Sin has stripped me of your image, banished me from your presence, and exposed me to the curse of the law. I cannot deliver myself, and I am in despair, God.

[4:20] But a resource is found in you. God, without my help or my desire, you devise an everlasting plan. And Jesus, who announces all glory is near to me, invites me, beseeches me, may I, a convinced and self-despairing sinner, may I find you, Jesus, as a power unto salvation.

[4:39] Jesus, your death is the center of all relief and the source of all blessings. Help me cling to the cross. Be crucified to the world by it, and let it motivate patience and self-denial.

[4:54] God, let it motivate grace for benevolence, faith to grasp eternal life, hope to lift up my head, love to bind me forever to Him who died and rose for me. Jesus, may your bloodshed make us more thankful for your mercies, more humble under correction, more zealous in our service, and more watchful against temptation, and more content in our circumstances, and more useful to you, God.

[5:17] Amen. I want to lead with a question this morning. The question I want us to ask our hearts is, am I living a delivered life?

[5:31] Am I living a delivered life? Is my life a representation of the redemption found only in the Lord? And what does that look like in our lives?

[5:45] Technically, that's three questions. Am I delivered? Is my life a representation of the redemption found only in the Lord? And what does that look like in our lives?

[5:57] David gives personal testimony to the deliverance that he has seen. And he also lays out what it looks like to live delivered.

[6:09] David shares a key part of the gospel message here that when we come to Jesus for salvation and recognize Him as the Lord of our life, it's not merely fire insurance. It is a daily surrendering of our whole self.

[6:24] It means the surrendering of our desires, the lusts of our flesh, and our pride. Surrender it all. An illustration that helps me understand this idea that I've heard a preacher use is imagining our hearts as a throne.

[6:40] We and our sinful and fleshly desires attempt to sit on that throne. Attempt to direct our own path, our own lives. But when we come to faith in Jesus, we're not pulling up a chair next to the throne for Jesus to sit on.

[6:56] Instead, we recognize that that throne was never meant for us in the first place. And so we must surrender it over to the creator of our hearts. And so if you are here this morning and you are not a believer, my prayer, our prayer at Highland Park is that you would hear this morning of the deliverance that can only be found in God.

[7:21] David is sharing these ideas very clearly here in Psalm 34. That God has delivered us and we are to live in His deliverance as we submit to His Lordship.

[7:32] So as we jump into Psalm 34, I believe it would be helpful to understand some background story to what's currently happening in David's life. It's always important to look at the context of Scripture in order to best understand it and apply it rightly.

[7:50] And so I want to look at 1 Samuel 17-21. So just to see the background of our Psalm. You don't have to turn there if you don't want. I'm going to summarize it.

[8:00] It's a big chunk of Scripture. But I want to summarize it in order that we might better receive the word this morning in a more rich and focused way. Starting in chapter 17. David kills Goliath.

[8:12] Probably one of the most famous Bible stories of all time, right? David takes on this giant Philistine from a place called Gath. And when others around him were afraid, David becomes a leader of the Israelite army and the Lord blesses him with success.

[8:27] In fact, a song began to be sung. Saul has killed thousands. And David has killed tens of thousands. And Saul became angry and jealous of David and attempts to kill him by throwing a spear at him and even sent people after him to capture him.

[8:45] God delivers David through many means. But also specifically through Jonathan, who's Saul's son, David's best friend. David flees to Gath, which is Goliath's hometown.

[8:59] And David hears the song again. Saul has killed thousands, but David is tens of thousands. And David becomes fearful for his life. He's caught between a rock and a hard place.

[9:10] He's trapped there by the commander in Gath. This is all happening. And David decides to act like a Chiefs fan. No, I'm sorry.

[9:20] I read that wrong. A crazy madman. Go Cowboys. He acts like a crazy person to where the Bible says that he lets saliva run down his beard.

[9:31] And he's scribbling on the doors. This is 1 Samuel 21, verses 10 through 15. 1 Samuel 21, 10 through 15.

[9:44] And this commander becomes convinced, as we all would be, and kicked him out, for he was seen as unclean. David, continuing to be on the run, finds himself in the cave of Adalom.

[9:57] And some of his family learns that he's there, and they join him. But the Bible also says that 400 other men were there with him who were, as the Bible describes, desperate, in debt, and discontented.

[10:15] Desperate, in debt, and discontented. Sounds like Samuel was part of the same doctoral program as Mike at Midwestern with the alliteration. But it is there in the midst of others.

[10:28] Here's David in the midst of others. They're looking to him to lead. He's tired. He's weary. He's burdened.

[10:40] While the future is unknown, he's on the run. He's living in a cave. He authors Psalm 34. And we see David's song of deliverance in the first part of this psalm.

[10:55] In the midst of these trials, the difficulty with his life threatened, David proclaims the praises of God for his deliverance in his life. And then he turns to share what it looks like to live in that deliverance in the second half of the psalm.

[11:08] So for now, look with me at the first three verses here, as we see David boasting in the Lord for delivering him. He sings this. I will bless the Lord at all times.

[11:20] His praise will always be on my lips. I will boast in the Lord. The humble will hear and be glad. Proclaim the Lord's greatness with me. Let us exalt his name together.

[11:32] We see that David is determined, keyword there, determined, to bring praise and glory to the Lord for delivering him in his time of need.

[11:44] He says, I will. I will bless the Lord at all times. Regardless of the chaos around me and regardless of the chaos within me, I will.

[12:01] Regardless of the circumstances, regardless of the pain, I will praise. I will bless the Lord. And this reminds me of Joshua's challenge to God's people to choose this day who you will serve.

[12:15] Then he says, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. And church, we must not wait to make this decision.

[12:27] We must not wait to have this conviction until we're in the valleys of life. But decide now that you will bless the Lord at all times today. Christian, make this your confession.

[12:41] I will bless the Lord. Through the tears of a lost loved one, I will. Through family trials, even when they last years and years and years, I will.

[12:53] Through losing my job, I will. As I pray with tears running down my face for my prodigal child, I will. When I receive that medical diagnosis, I will.

[13:07] Through this season of life, no matter what it may be, I will. Praise the Lord. I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise will always be on my lips.

[13:19] Praise the Lord. And what an effective antidote to the poison of doubt, depression, and despair that that is. This praise. What an effective antidote to the poison of doubt, depression, and despair.

[13:36] Anyone in here relate to having seasons of life where you're in despair? Maybe as Paul describes in 2 Corinthians chapter 1, despairing of life itself.

[13:46] But when we are found praising the Lord for all he has done in our lives, the fears, the anxieties, the despair, it all fails in comparison to his glory, his power, and his love.

[14:12] What if that was true of us as a local church? What a testimony that would be to our community. His praise will always be on our lips.

[14:23] The ESV says, in our mouths. Our mouths were made to praise him. Our mouths were made to praise him. I was in India meeting with our persecuted brothers and sisters who had a few months prior been beaten in the streets with coconuts for holding a Sunday service in their village.

[14:40] We were told we had 30 minutes to an hour to get in, meet with the family, and get out because they had a neighbor that would call the local mob when she suspected something Christian was going on.

[14:53] And so we meet. We hear their story. We pray with them. And then we ask what their service usually looks like and what songs they would typically sing.

[15:04] And without thinking twice, the four of them burst out in song, singing as loud as humanly possible. And for context, they had just told us 10 minutes prior that they had to close their windows for the church so that the neighbor wouldn't hear.

[15:18] And I look around and all windows are open. All doors are wide open. And they're not just singing the chorus. They're singing the whole song. I'm like, okay, hang on.

[15:29] Hang on now. Let's slow it down. Let me keep it down a little bit. But praise was on the tip of their tongues. It took just a small question to open up the floodgates of praise in their hearts.

[15:46] This is the picture that we see here in Psalm 34. This is the picture that David's painting. We were created to glorify our Father in heaven with everything that we are. With our whole being.

[15:59] David specifically points to our lips and our mouths. We see a similar emphasis in James chapter 3. So we often find ourselves squeezed by the pressures of life and we become lazy in our speech.

[16:13] Unguarded in our speech. We begin to grumble about circumstances. Grumble about people. Grumble about life. We begin to gossip about others and talk negatively about someone else.

[16:24] We begin to blame, shame, and turn attention away from ourselves and towards someone else's issues or mistakes. We become bitter and speak harshly. So let us ask ourselves this morning, what consumes our lips?

[16:38] Is it praise? Is it praise? Is it profitable for those around us? Is it profitable for our children? Is it profitable for our neighbor, our co-worker, the table sitting next to us at the restaurant?

[16:54] Do my children hear praises out of my mouth or harsh words towards their mom? Would those around me that I have some level of influence over, do they know me as a person of praise?

[17:06] Or do they know me as a person of complaining? A person of praise or of harsh words? And think how profitable these words, this song of praise was to the desperate, in debt, and discontented.

[17:23] See, David could have easily joined the discontented. Easily. Look at the circumstances and the pressures that David is facing here. David is fleeing from Saul and running for his life.

[17:37] To us, we could easily give him a pass to grumble and complain. We may even go as far to say he deserves the right to grumble and complain.

[17:49] And we would certainly give our pass to grumble and complain. We would give him a pass for letting his tongue slip in anger and frustration. After all, we would give ourselves a pass. But as he's in the midst of chaos, he's got a lot going on.

[18:04] Life is crazy. But yet we see that his decision is, I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise will always be on my lips.

[18:16] And church, may we be a people that continue to pursue praise and glorify the King of our hearts in every circumstance.

[18:32] As we stand delivered. Look with me at verse 2. It says, You remember the song being sung of David in 1 Samuel?

[18:50] Right? Saul has killed thousands and David has killed tens of thousands. See, David could easily be singing that song. And I would. I mean, I'd be humming that tune in the cave for those 400 men to hear and know what I've done.

[19:07] We may be quick to bow our chest and look inward and say, look at me. Look what I've accomplished. Are you ever attempted to do the same? I think I'm doing pretty good for myself.

[19:18] David could easily remind all those 400 men who he is based off his own strength, brains, and ability. But David sings a different song. David sings a different song.

[19:31] He boasts not in himself, but in the Lord. He boasts not in himself, but in the Lord. This theme of boasting the Lord is seen throughout the entire psalm.

[19:43] David continues to point to God's work of salvation, redemption, and the rescue for the hopeless. See, God is the only one worth boasting in. As we stand before a holy and perfect God, his enemies because of our sin, we have earned death.

[19:59] For the wages of sin is death. But he saw us in our state of helplessness and devised an everlasting plan. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son to stand in our place, to die the death that we deserve, to take the wrath of God in order to deliver us from our sin.

[20:19] What then do we have to boast in? Who do we have to boast in other than the one who has delivered us? All that we have been given for life has been unmerited favor.

[20:31] God has grace. And part of living this delivered life is boasting in the work of Christ in our life. Charles Spurgeon notes this.

[20:44] He says, The confident expressions of tried believers are solace to their brothers and sisters of less experience. The confident expressions of tried believers are solace to their brothers and sisters of less experience.

[20:59] See, when we boast in the Lord and what he has done in our lives, that allows others to find comfort and joy in the Lord. 2 Corinthians chapter 1 tells us that God comforts us in our affliction so that we can comfort others in their affliction.

[21:16] So church, let us boast in the goodness of God so that those around us can hear and be glad. Let us boldly declare this wondrous mystery.

[21:31] That he, the theme of heaven's praises, robed in frail humanity. That Christ the Lord upon the tree in the stead of ruined sinners hangs the lamb of victory. But no grave could e'er restrain him.

[21:43] Praise the Lord, he is alive. We just sang this. We just declared that together in this room 23 minutes ago. Right? We just declared that together.

[21:56] That is our boast, church. That is our boast. Those 400 men that were desperate in debt and discontented in the cave were outcasts.

[22:10] And they needed to hear of the goodness of God. Those 400 desperate men in the cave needed to hear this humble boast in what God has done in order to bring glory to our Father in heaven.

[22:22] And when we come to this place, it produces worship in our hearts. As we live delivered together as his people, his church, the humble here and are glad.

[22:35] The humble here and are glad. Pride is the opposition to the gospel. The good news of deliverance and boasting in the Lord.

[22:47] But the humble here, that God gets all the credit, that God gets all the glory. The humble here and are glad. And so our prayer is that we would be a people here at Highland Park that would be glad to get zero credit.

[23:05] Be a people here at Highland Park that are glad to get zero credit and to boast only in the Lord and what he can do and is doing.

[23:16] Look with me there at verse 3. Proclaim the Lord's greatness with me. Let us exalt his name together. See, we see David's progression from I will to this proclaim the Lord's greatness with me together.

[23:33] Some translations may say magnify the Lord with me. As a community of delivered people singing of the goodness of Jesus, the wondrous mystery, the songs this time of year that talk about Christ coming to the earth.

[23:46] In that moment, we are uniting as one. It is a beautiful thing to stand together and sing in unison together these timeless truths.

[23:58] In that moment, our hearts abandoned and surrendered fully to the Lord. In that moment, when our hearts are abandoned and fully surrendered to the Lord, it is the likest to heaven that we can be here on earth.

[24:14] When we gather and sing, we gather as those redeemed. Those who have received heavenly riches. As beggars who have found the bread of life. As those who deserve death but have received life.

[24:27] Magnify the Lord with me this morning. As those who have been delivered, we stand together and we boast in the Lord. David is very clear about what he's boasting in. In verses 4 through 10, look with me there as I read.

[24:44] I sought the Lord and he answered me. And he rescued me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant with joy. Their faces will never be ashamed. This poor man cried. And the Lord heard him and saved him from all his troubles.

[24:58] The angel of the Lord accounts around those who fear him and rescues them. Taste and see that the Lord is good. How happy is the person who takes refuge in him. You who are his holy ones fear the Lord.

[25:11] For those who fear him lack nothing. Young lions lack food and go hungry. But those who seek the Lord will lack no good thing. David here speaks to three things as he testifies and sings of God's deliverance.

[25:24] The first thing is his need. He sings of his need. Then we hear his cry. And three, we hear that his salvation is secure.

[25:37] His need, his cry, and his salvation is secure. He says this poor man cried. See, David saw his life in jeopardy.

[25:49] Though he was now in a cave with misfits, he felt alone, lacking protection in and of himself. He's hopeless. He's without resource to bring rescue for himself. This is a poor man's cry.

[26:02] But heaven hears the poor man. But heaven hears the poor man. For he is living in a cave. For that reason, he's physically poor.

[26:14] But David speaks of a deeper poverty. We see this poverty that David speaks of as the depravity of his heart and spirit apart from the Lord. This poverty of David is speaking of the depravity of his heart and spirit apart from the Lord.

[26:31] Hear the anguish and the brokenness in his personal testimony. He is broken over this idea of being undeserving, yet being an heir to the blessings and benefits of being delivered by God.

[26:43] David was confronted with his need. This leads us to the second thing we see in these verses is his cry to the Lord.

[26:55] David did not look at his own sin, his depravity, his impoverished heart, and run from God like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden when they sinned and ran from God. See, David understands where to run.

[27:09] David understands where to run because the truth is, if sin blockaded our prayers and our cries to the Lord, we would be doomed. But in his mercy, God hears our cry. In his mercy, he delivers us.

[27:21] See this morning that God is a God of mercies. And mercy is found in the gifts for the rebellious, redemption for the failings, rest for the weary, an advocate for the sinner. David's cry is a cry of surrender.

[27:36] Verse 5, those who look to him, right? We see that, those who look to him. He's surrendering it to him. Surrender leads to deliverance. I can't are some of God's favorite words to hear.

[27:48] So often we respond to the Holy Spirit in our lives with, I'll do better next time. I'll really do it this time. I'll try this and see if it works for me. And if this is you this morning, surrender.

[28:02] Cry out. Because those who look on him are radiant with joy and they will never be ashamed. Surrender leads to deliverance. He recognized that the one, the only one who could save him and give him joy for tomorrow was the Lord.

[28:18] And so in times when you feel joy is impossible, look to the Lord. See the promise of heaven and the hope of glory. David testifies to a third thing in these verses.

[28:30] He testifies in front of these men in the cave. He testifies to God's deliverance. The angel of the Lord. The angel of the Lord encamps around those.

[28:42] The angel of the Lord here that we see can also be translated messenger of the Lord. In certain parts of Scripture, this term designates itself as being separate from God.

[28:53] But in other parts of Scripture, it's referring to Jesus, the angel of the Lord himself. And so here in our text this morning, we see the pre-incarnate Christ protecting those that fear him.

[29:06] Not fear as a fear of the boogeyman, but fear of the Lord as in a life lived in reverence to God. Fear of the Lord as a life lived in reverence to God.

[29:18] And notice the intended imagery here. Encamped. Surrounding like an army. Like an army surrounding a city to protect it. See, true deliverance is secure.

[29:31] God offers us true deliverance. In my many years of experience as a police officer, just kidding, never a police officer. But as I spoke with someone who has had experience as a police officer about this idea of deliverance being protected and secured, he shared his experience with me.

[29:52] He noted that if he was called to a scene in which someone was in physical danger, most often the strife would cease. At least temporarily. At least for a while when he was there.

[30:03] But as soon as he would leave, it would often continue. You see, that person was safe for a while, but not delivered. In order for it to be true deliverance, he would have to remove the hurt party from the scene completely.

[30:22] God is our deliverer because of the work on the cross. And because he has secured our salvation. He has removed our sin.

[30:33] As far as the east is from the west, there is nothing more sure than eternity with Christ for those who put their faith in him. The Lord answered David, rescued him, saved him, and actively protects him.

[30:47] That's the song of deliverance David is singing to those around him. The Lord answers. The Lord rescues. The Lord saves. The Lord actively protects.

[31:00] The Lord protects and provides as part of delivering us. Young lions lack food and go hungry in verse 10. But those who seek the Lord will lack no good thing. David testified of the deliverance of God being God's protection and provision.

[31:20] David testifies and then turns to invite others in verse 8. He says, Oh, taste and see. He's saying, Experience and see for yourself.

[31:31] This invitation to taste is an invitation to experience the love, grace, and forgiveness of Jesus. And this is an invitation for us to taste the blessings available for his people.

[31:44] Dave Busby, an old-time evangelist, illustrated tasting with a story of when he was 12 years old with an older brother in high school. His older brother was on the varsity basketball team.

[31:56] His brother was really good at basketball. And he would invite his high school friends over to play basketball every Saturday morning. And Dave Busby has claimed to be the world's worst basketball player.

[32:08] So if you thought you were the world's worst basketball player, just know you're the second world's worst basketball player. But his brother was the first captain this one particular Saturday.

[32:20] And he looks up and down the line of his huge high school friends, right? Especially in comparison to little 12-year-old Dave. And as he looked over the line to make his first pick, he pointed to his 12-year-old brother.

[32:33] And Dave Busby said he began to cry, and he put his head in the chest of his brother. And with one arm, his brother held him, and with the other arm, continued to choose his team.

[32:48] Dave Busby shares what he tasted that day. He tasted what it was like to be chosen. What it was like to be loved. We see here David, the psalmist, is inviting you and me to come and taste the goodness of God.

[33:06] For us to taste for ourselves what it's like to be chosen by the Lord. To taste for ourselves liberation. To experience the grace and love of God. And when we experience the goodness of God, we see for ourselves the joy that comes by taking refuge in him.

[33:25] So David has laid out what he is boasting in. It's this truth that the Lord delivers, protects, and provides. The Lord delivers, protects, and provides.

[33:36] And then we see David's sermon. He now begins his sermon. So I'll begin my sermon now. Verses 1-10 are a song. Verses 11-22 are his sermon.

[33:47] And in this sermon, David now describes what it looks like to live delivered. See, David sings praise to the Lord for saving his life. But he recognizes that this does not go without effect in his life.

[34:00] 1 Corinthians 15-10 says this. Paul says this. By the grace of God I am what I am. And his grace towards me will not go without effect. Will not go without an impact.

[34:12] See, tasting and seeing the goodness of God is not in vain, but leads to obedience. Tasting and seeing leads to obedience. When we recognize Jesus as the Lord of our lives, the King of our lives, everything changes.

[34:26] How we talk, how we walk, how we think. This is a key component of the gospel. David already has displayed what deliverance looks like with his song. Delivered people boast in the Lord.

[34:37] Delivered people testify about God. Delivered people invite others to taste and see the goodness of God. But now look with me at verses 11-19 to see how David describes the delivered life.

[34:49] Verse 11. It says, Come children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Who is someone who desires life, loving a long life, to enjoy what is good?

[35:00] Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceitful speech. Turn away from evil and do what is good. Seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their cry for help.

[35:11] The face of the Lord is set against those who do what is evil to remove all memory of them from the earth. The righteous cry out and the Lord hears and rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is near the brokenhearted.

[35:23] He saves those crushed in spirit. One who is righteous has many adversities, but the Lord rescues them from them all. We see this fatherly plead here in verse 11.

[35:35] To come and listen to me and I will teach you the fear of the Lord. He's saying, I will help you understand what it looks like to live in his deliverance. To live out of a place of deliverance.

[35:46] Don't learn the hard way like I have. And I have done and I have seen evil. I know where it gets me. Run from it. Then he asks the question, who is someone who desires life, loving a long life to enjoy what is good?

[36:01] All of us, right? That's all of us. We all desire to live a long life filled with joy. But how? But how? David simply says, keep your tongue from evil.

[36:15] Do not speak lies and deceit. Turn away from what is evil. Do what is good and what is right. Seek peace. Pursue peace.

[36:26] Be a people of peace. He's saying, watch how you talk and watch how you walk in a world full of evil. Seek peace and pursue it. Be an agent of peace in this chaotic world.

[36:37] And be an agent of the peace that's found in the Lord. The one who is delivered should be characterized this way. The one who is delivered should be characterized this way.

[36:47] David is describing the change that happens when we seek the Lord and put our faith in him. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous. And in him, grace is found.

[36:58] Blessing is found. You see, try doing the opposite of those things and see what life may look like. Speak evil. Be deceptive.

[37:10] Do evil. Seek chaos and pursue division. We can see where that would lead us. And some have been part of families and maybe even churches that it seems like that's the motto.

[37:24] But David is saying those things have passed away. And for us, church, those things have been crucified with Christ. We must not cling to those things.

[37:36] We must not revert back to those things. Instead, we must keep God's good instruction in front of us. Motivated by the deliverance that we have experienced. And so the question is for us, what things has God freed us from that we are still holding on to?

[37:55] What things has God freed us from that we're still holding on to? What words do we say that do not reflect Christ? What do we watch that does not reflect Christ? What do we do that does not reflect Christ and, in fact, reflects evil?

[38:12] If we are delivered, we should live like it. If we are delivered, we should live like it. See the contrast of living righteously versus evil.

[38:23] His face, God's face, is set against those who do evil. Evil brings death, but the Lord hears the righteous cry. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous. The Lord redeems the righteous.

[38:34] The righteous are those who recognize God as the Lord of their life. And out of the new life found in Christ, live a life worthy of the gospel. Our righteous standing before God is not found in ourselves, but by God's mercy on us.

[38:47] He sent Jesus to take our sin and make us right with our Creator. We see many times in the psalm the call to fear the Lord, to cry out, to look to Him.

[38:59] The righteous are those who have been delivered and are living it out. Look with me at verses 18 through 19. The Lord is near the brokenhearted, and He saves those crushed in spirit.

[39:12] The one who is righteous has many adversities, but the Lord rescues them from them all. We know and we see that the righteous are not immune to being brokenhearted.

[39:27] The righteous are not immune to facing adversity. We just ask Elizabeth, who lost her husband, for being a pastor in Nigeria. Ask Victoria, who lost her brother and father to a church shooting in Nigeria as a teenager.

[39:43] Ask Susanna in Malaysia, whose husband was a pastor and went missing in 2017 for living out his faith. Ask Fassel in Pakistan. Ask Gowda in India. Someday in heaven, ask William Tyndale, John Chow, Stephen, or the Apostle Paul.

[39:57] Ask Paul. The righteous are not immune to adversity. Many of you in here can testify that bad things, that difficult things happen to people who are pursuing the Lord.

[40:13] Maybe it is the death of a loved one. Maybe it's family dysfunction. A son or a daughter that is pursuing the things of this world. If that's you, know this.

[40:28] That God is near the brokenhearted. Through any circumstance, God can be glorified. Look to Mary and Martha.

[40:39] They were brokenhearted over Lazarus. But Jesus. We see Joseph had some family dysfunction there in Genesis. But God.

[40:51] The prodigal son in the New Testament. But our Heavenly Father. To those who are brokenhearted this morning. The God of all comfort is near.

[41:05] The Prince of Peace is near. Isaiah 42.3 says, A bruised reed he will not break. And a barely lit flame he will not extinguish.

[41:18] Lean on him. He saves those who are crushed in spirit. And he rescues them. I want to close with the last three verses here in Psalm 34.

[41:31] Verse 20. He protects all his bones. Not one of them is broken. Church, look to the cross.

[41:44] See this in Christ. The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people. We see this in Jesus. John chapter 19, verses 31 through 33. Say this.

[41:55] They requested that Pilate have the men's legs broken and their bodies be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man and the other one who had been crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus, they did not break his legs since they saw that he was already dead.

[42:12] We see this truth displayed on the cross where the one who is truly righteous, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, stood in our place.

[42:23] He who knew no sin took our sin upon himself and bore the wrath of God that we deserved.

[42:34] He died our death to give us life and his righteousness. Look at verses 21 and 22. Evil brings death to the wicked and those who hate the righteous will be punished.

[42:45] The Lord redeems the life of his servants and all who take refuge in him will not be punished. Evil brings death, but the Lord redeems life.

[42:57] What the enemy meant for evil, God used for our good. The Lord redeems life. Have you been redeemed? This invitation in the psalm extends to you and me.

[43:10] Taste and see. If you are here and recognize that you are in need of a Savior, look no further than Jesus. Experience the love that he has for you. Experience the freedom of surrendering to him.

[43:22] Put your faith in him because he is the only one who can save. And believers, those who are delivered, let us boast in him.

[43:34] Let his praise be on the tip of our tongue. Let the gospel be evident through our lives and the gospel be part of our speech. Let us flee from evil, deceit and chaos.

[43:45] Let us pursue peace. Let us live as those delivered. And church, as the worship team comes up and leads us in our final song, magnify the Lord with me.

[43:58] Together, magnify the Lord with me. Let us be radiant with joy. It reminds me of the preacher story of a church that has a guest speaker come and they're singing victory in Jesus.

[44:09] And this guest speaker looks around and he says that it looks like they still think Christ is dead or something. He gets up on stage and he asks, do you believe that you have victory in Jesus? Do you believe Christ is risen?

[44:20] And to both questions, they answered yes. And to which he replied, well, then somebody needs to tell your face. As we sing this song in response to God's word this morning, let us do so with reverence, with a fear of the Lord.

[44:39] But also with a joy in our hearts. Magnifying the Lord together. With joy. Echo the first three verses. I will bless the Lord at all times.

[44:50] His praise will always be on my lips. I will boast in the Lord and the humble will hear and be glad. Proclaim the Lord's greatness with me. Let us exalt his name together. Magnify the Lord with me this morning. Come exalt his name with me as we close and sing.

[45:06] And with this song that we're going to sing, we are doing three things. We invite our own hearts to turn our eyes upon Jesus. We invite our brothers and sisters sitting next to us to turn their eyes upon Jesus.

[45:22] And we invite our lost neighbor to turn their eyes upon Jesus. And it sounds like David in Psalm 34. Seek the Lord.

[45:33] Cry out. Taste and see. And so let us stand unified, boasting in our Redeemer, boasting in our Deliverer. Magnify the Lord with me. Let's pray. God, we thank you so much for your word.

[45:45] God, I pray that anyone in here that is brokenhearted, that they would turn to you because you are our Deliverer.

[45:58] That they would turn their eyes upon you, Jesus. God, you are hope for the hopeless. May we rest in you. We thank you for delivering us and giving us the strength and the grace to live the delivered life.

[46:11] And in this time of worship, as we sing this song, as we sing these praises to you, I pray that we would magnify your name together. That whenever we meet together and we sing, that we would sing your praises and bring glory to you.

[46:28]  And our faces would be radiant with joy. Because you have delivered us. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.