Introduction:
David with a sincere, and affectionate, and united heart, declares his praise for the Lord. Compare Song of Solomon 1:4, “Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee.”
Then compare Revelation 19:7, “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.”
Now compare these with the first verse of this Psalm, “I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.”
A. With my whole heart, v. 1; Psalms 111:1, “Praise ye the LORD. I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.”
1. We are blessed of God when we seek Him with our whole heart, Psalms 119:2, “Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.”
2. The man that seeks the Lord with his whole heart has a dedicated heart, Psalms 119:10, “With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.”
B. The true praise of telling others about God’s dealings with us, Psalms 34:1, “I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.”
1. Our boast is in the Lord, Psalms 34:2, “My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.”
2. David invites us to magnify the Lord with him, Psalms 34:3, “O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.”
II. GRATITUDE FOR ONE MERCY REFRESHES THE MEMORY AS TO THOUSANDS OF OTHERS
A. Gladness and joy are the appropriate spirit in which to praise, v. 2; Isaiah 51:11, “Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.”
1. God loves a cheerful giver, 2 Corinthians 9:7, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”
a. Whether it be the gold of his purse, 2 Corinthians 8:12, “For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.”
b. Or the gold of his mouth which he presents to the Lord in the form of praise, Psalm 28:7, “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.”
B. Happy is the man who has the Lord, Psalms 146:5, “Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God:”
III. GOD’S PRESENCE IS SUFFICIENT
A. To work the defeat of our most furious foes, v. 3; Psalms 68:1, “Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him.
1. They shall fall and perish, Psalms 80:16, “It is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.”
2. “If we seek to maintain the cause and honour of our Lord we may suffer reproach and misrepresentation, but it is a rich comfort to remember that he who sits on the throne knows our hearts, and will not leave us to the ignorant and ungenerous judgment of erring man.”
B. “God and my right,” are united by my faith, v. 4; Psalms 140:12, “I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor.”
C. God rebukes before he destroys, but when he once comes to blows with the wicked, vv. 5-6; Psalms 2:9, “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
IV. THE LORD ENDURES vv. 7-10
A. In the light of the past the future is not doubtful, Psalms 90:2, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.”
B. The Lord is unchanging, Hebrews 1:12, “And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.”
C. The Lord will judge His people, Psalms 50:4, “He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people.”
1. He is a refuge for the oppressed, Psalms 32:7, “Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance.”
2. He delivers those who put their trust in Him, Psalms 91:14, “Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.”
CONCLUSION