Day 8: Let His Praise Be Continually In Your Mouth!

We continue to look at David, and his situation in Psalm 34. Notice the crescendo of David’s decision. Notice the words with which he followed. “I will bless the Lord... His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord... O magnify the Lord with me... let us exalt His name together.” Notice those successive words: bless, praise, boast, magnify, exalt. The more he praised the Lord, the more he wanted to praise the Lord. You see, it’s always hard to get started in a situation like that. Once you get started, then it’s difficult to stop.

Let’s compare the words of David in Psalm 63, verses 3–5.

“Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise Thee. So I will bless Thee as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Thy name. My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth offer praises with joyful lips.”

Why was David praising the Lord there? Because his situation was good? Not necessarily. We don’t know what his situation was at that moment. But he was praising the Lord for something eternal, unchanging. The Lord’s lovingkindness, which never changes, the Scripture says. He says: “because your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise you” and notice he was pretty demonstrative. He said, “My lips will praise you, my mouth will praise you with joyful lips.” This is not just some inward attitude, but this is something very vocal. And then he says, “I will lift up my hands in your name.” Have you ever been in a service where people lifted up their hands? How did you respond? Did you say, “I don’t feel like it!”? Well, I want to tell you it doesn’t come from feeling. It comes from a decision. It’s a scriptural decision. Paul says in the New Testament that men should pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. That’s not because they feel like it, it’s because the Bible tells them to.

Notice that David says there, “My soul shall be satisfied.” I want to compare this with what he says in Psalm 103 that we read previously about the Lord. “He satisfies thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagles.” Praise brings true satisfaction.