Dial In with Jonny Ardavanis - Psalm 34: The Expression of God’s Goodness Pt. 2 of 2

Episode Date: May 4, 2023

In this episode Jonny Ardavanis looks at David’s 34th Psalm. After looking the experience of God’s goodness (episode 1 of this Psalm), here the psalmist will focus on the expression and assurance of God’s goodness. Those who have tasted and seen the goodness of God cannot help but “magnify the name of the Lord.”Watch VideosVisit the Website Follow on InstagramFollow on Twitter

Hello, this is Johnny Artavanis, and this is Dial In. In this episode, I'll be looking at the second half of Psalm 34. In the previous episode, we examined the theme of God's goodness, and the psalmist, David, tells us to taste and see that the Lord is good. In this episode, we'll look at the aftermath of those who have experienced the goodness of God. Let's dial in. In our previous episode, we looked at the theme of God's goodness. David says to taste and see that God is good. This is worth drawing our attention towards because David doesn't merely tell us to confess and doctrinally affirm that God is good. He tells us to taste and see. One of the things

that we examined in our previous episode is that we often swing from an environment that maybe values experience at the expense of truth to swing into the other side of the pendulum and denying the reality that truth in the life of a Christian is experiential. There is, as Paul says, a knowledge that surpasses knowledge. And this is Paul's prayer for the Ephesian church, that the eyes of their heart may be enlightened so that they would be drawn into greater communion with God. We looked at that to taste the goodness of God is to, in one sense, be admitted into his presence. When you go to the doctor and they tell you in the office, the doctor will see you now. It's not just that you're going to lay your eyes on the doctor. It's that you'll be admitted into his presence. You can affirm

God's omnipresence and not be thrilled by it. The difference is seeing God. So we looked at to see God means to be admitted into his presence. And secondly, we looked at last week that it means to apprehend his awesomeness and his beauty. As Job says in the book that bears his name, Job, after God has declared his character and his attributes to Job, Job responds and says, I have always heard the truth with my ears, but now my eyes see it. I get it. And this is what it means to see God. So in our previous episode, we looked at the experience of God's goodness. But now as we continue in studying the 34th Psalm, I want to look at the expression of God's goodness. And we're going to look at verses 1 through 3 and 11 through 14. Now, I've told you before that one of my initial jobs

when I was in high school was working at a restaurant. 60% of restaurants fail in their first year. And many people starting new restaurants know this, and they go into the endeavor of starting a restaurant, hoping that their menu, their restaurant aesthetic, and their marketing strategy will enable them to be one of the 20% of restaurants that survives into a fifth year. They may have a great social media campaign to get bottoms into booths, but you know this and I know this. there is one strategy of marketing that has worked for thousands of years and is still the most effective. What is it? Word of mouth marketing. Those who have liked what they've tasted cannot help but declare the goodness of it to those around them. You've been around conversations like this before. Have you been to

this place? Have you tried this meal? You're missing out. And here's what we're going to see in the 34th Psalm. Those who have experienced God's goodness cannot help but express it. And this is the reality of David's life. After experiencing the goodness of God, we're going to see in verse one, he says, I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul will make its boast in the Lord. The humble will hear it and rejoice. Oh, magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together. The answer to your problem with evangelism or your lack of evangelistic fervor doesn't lie necessarily in an evangelism course, but in the tasting of God's goodness. Having a healthy walk with God, as we experienced last week, is the surest on-ramp to the highway

of faithful gospel proclamation. Because as we saw, it's written all over the face of those who know God and experience his goodness. But in verses one through three, it never ceases to flow out of the mouth of those who have experienced God's goodness. In verse one, David says, I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. David says, I am resolved. I am determined because of God's goodness. He rightfully so monopolizes my praise, regardless of the situation, regardless of the circumstance or the trial. David is determined to bless the Lord when he's basking in the sun of favor,

or when he is pummeled by the waves of adversity, he says, I will praise the Lord at all times. Why? Because David has drunk deeply from the well of God's love and kindness. And therefore, he always has a reason for which he ought to bless the name of God, not only in his heart, but he says what? With my mouth. In verse two, David says, my soul will make its boast in the Lord. The humble will hear it and rejoice. David asks those around him a question. He says, can I brag for a moment? Not of Goliath and me slaying him,

nor of the 10,000s that I've killed, but in the Lord. You were made to boast. Boasting is not a product of the fall. It was skewed and distorted by the fall, but you were made to boast in God's character, his promises, and his providence in your life. And David says that I'm going to boast in the Lord. And then he says this, the humble will hear it and rejoice. Have you ever noticed something about humble people? They tend to flock together because they enjoy each other's humility. And for a humble person, it's hard to be around a prideful person.

But there is only one type of boasting that is not repugnant to the humble. And that is the boasting in the Lord's goodness. And so David says, I will make my boast in the Lord. Let me tell you of his goodness in my life. In verse three, he says, come magnify the Lord with me. David is the penner of Psalms, but he's saying, I cannot praise God alone. I cannot offer the praise that he deserves as a one man band. A symphony is required. A choir is commanded, but it's also

deserved. So he grabs everyone around him and says, lift up the name of God with me. The true Christian church is a singing church. I always think about this when people trickle in during the opening songs of church on Sunday. You need to understand that singing is not the introduction to church. Believers who have tasted God's goodness want others to join them in their joy. They want to lift up the name of God with their voices. This is why Psalm 107 says, Oh, give thanks to the Lord. Why? For he is good and his mercy endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. Meaning that if you've experienced God's goodness, if you know his kindness, declare it with your mouth, declare it

through singing. And would your singing be not only a catalyst for the worship of your own heart, but also for the worship of those around you as you praise and lift up the name of God together. We're still looking at this theme of expressing the goodness of God. And David will say in verse 11, Come, you children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord. David, think about this, was a warrior and an anointed king. But he understood this. If you want to propagate a conviction, train the children.

And this is what David does. He's not too cool. He's not too powerful or too wise for the children. He summons the children that he might instruct them in the fear of the Lord. David would be the guy in the local church on Sunday saying, hey, do you need Sunday school volunteers? Sign me up. I want children to know the kindness of God in my life, his goodness, his providence, his sovereignty in my life.

Nikki, Julie, Ben, Dave, I don't care what your name is. Come here. Let me tell you about God's goodness. In verse 12, he continues and says, who is the man who desires life and loves the length of days that he may see good? David is looking at young people and he's telling them that God's goodness, as we talked about in a previous episode, is not just something to be doctrinally affirmed. He wants them to know that if you want to live life with a capital L,

then you need to live your life in the fear of the Lord. Let me just ask you, when was the last time in your life you grabbed someone by the proverbial collar and said, let me talk to you about how when I walk in the fear of the Lord, life is thrilling. God's goodness is evident. And I love walking in obedience and communion with God. Well, David will continue. We see first the experience of God's goodness.

Secondly, we just looked at the expression of God's goodness. And in verses 15 through 22 throughout the rest of the psalm, we're going to see the assurance of God's goodness. Sometimes we believe that God's goodness, or we believe in God's goodness when our circumstances are good. But God's goodness is not dictated by our circumstances. His goodness is anchored in his character. And David knows that God cares for him.

Why? Because David knows he is a child of God. In verse 15, it says, The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry. In 2 Chronicles 16, 9, it says, the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry. In 2 Chronicles 16, 9, it says, the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth. Do you know why God's eyes move to and fro throughout the earth? It says, so that he may strongly support the man whose heart is wholly his. And here, David knows that the eyes of the Lord are toward what type of person?

It says towards the righteous and his ears are open to their cry. In Genesis 16, in her loneliest moment, Hagar testifies that God is not a distant observer. He is Elroy, meaning that God is the God who sees. And here David testifies to the goodness of God by acknowledging that God is not a distant deity. He is a God who sees and who knows. In verse 16, it says, the face of the Lord is against evildoers to cut off the memory of them from the earth. The righteous cry and the Lord hears and he delivers them out of all of their troubles. Every week on Sunday, we go to church and we'll drop my daughter Lily off in the nursery. And one of my favorite parts about going to pick her up after church on Sunday is that before you even round the corner, you hear all of these babies crying. But amongst the anthem of cries, you hear And it's who?

It's my daughter Lily's cry. Because as a father, I recognize her tears. I recognize her crying. And here David says, The righteous cry and the Lord hears. And here David is saying that God doesn't merely know I exist. He doesn't just hear a bunch of wailing. He is not just generally aware of my happenings on earth and then gets highlight reels of my successes and failures. No, God is watchfully, carefully looking upon his children in love, in tenderness, and with compassion, and he knows their cry.

In verse 18, it says, The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and he saves those who are crushed in spirit. God is near to the brokenhearted. His omniscience and his presence is the dread of those who run from him, but it is the treasure of those who trust him. This is why David says in Psalm 139, such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. David knows that the eyes of the Lord are on him. And then he says, he is near to me and he saves the crushed in spirit.

Question for you. Have you ever been brokenhearted? Have you ever been ganged up on? Have you ever been, as David says, crushed in spirit? David says that God cares about those who have been badgered, crushed. He watches. He knows. God does not merely offer a hand of support on the shoulder, but a hand of strength that lifts up those who have been crushed. David says he saves those who are crushed in spirit. Now, not only does God care, it says in the following verses that God preserves. It says in verse 19, many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all of his bones. Not one of them is broken. In verse 19, David draws our attention that the afflictions of the righteous are many.

The Christian, far from the heretical preaching of prosperity preachers today, the Christian is not immune to difficulty. But on the contrary, the Christian's life is riddled with adversity and with trial and with tribulation. But David says, the Lord delivers us out of those. And then he says this in verse 20, he keeps all of his bones. Not one of them is broken. David is reflecting on his own experience, but that experience is being launched into the future because we would be sticking our heads in the sand to not think that none of our bones are broken or that the men that surrounded David on the battlefield, their bones weren't broken. This doesn't make any sense. So what is David saying?

Well, this is one of the few places that David reaches beyond the experience of any believer. David had obviously had fellow believers dead on the fields of war around him. So of whom does he speak? Well, apart from verse 8 of the psalm, these words in verse 20 are most familiar to you. And if you know the New Testament, you know to whom they refer. You know that John says in his description of Jesus, his crucifixion, that in order to hasten the deaths of those who would be crucified, they would often break their legs in order that they would die quickly of asphyxiation. But when they came to

Jesus, he had already decided the moment of his death. So not a bone of Jesus's body was ever broken. There's a thread in the 34th Psalm, a thread where if you pull it and pull it and pull it like an old Christmas sweater, you will begin to see why you and I can be absolutely convinced and assured of the goodness of God in every situation. Not just because God saw David in the midst of his distress, but because of what David alludes to here prophetically, because of those hours when Jesus's body hung on the cross, when his bones were not broken, God provides for you the most vindicating proof of his goodness in the death of his son, Jesus Christ. Paul speaks of this at the end of Romans eight. We love these words. We know that in all things, God works together for what?

For good. To those who love him and are called according to his purpose. Now, how do we know that God is working all things together for our good? How do we know that? Well, Romans 8 will tell us. Because God, he, it says, did not spare his only son, but delivered him up for us all. And if God didn't spare his own son and has given us everything we need in Christ, then we can be sure that whatever the darkness, whatever the distress, if he has given us his son, he will continue to demonstrate and prove his goodness to us always.

If we were to ever pray, if you were to pray, God, how can I know you are good? God would respond thundering from his holy word. My son, my daughter, I have given you my one and only son for you, and I will withhold no good thing from you. I've given you the strongest, most credible proof of my goodness, and you can place your faith and your trust in me. Do you believe in your heart that God is good? Like really, really good. In verse 21, David continues and says, evil shall slay the wicked and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. He's just saying that death and suffering is the destiny of the wicked. But in verse 22, David will finalize his psalm by saying, the Lord redeems the soul of his servants and none of those who take refuge in him

will be condemned. Understand this. There has never been a single person who has run to Yahweh as their refuge from danger and deliverance from guilt that has ever been cast aside. It says in verse 22, none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned. How many people will be condemned who take refuge in God? Answer, none. Is God not so good? There is no river of tears that can wash away your sin, but there is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins. And if you plunge beneath that flood, all of your sins will be washed away and you will be able to sing with the psalmist. Oh, taste and see that God is good. You've experienced his goodness. You've expressed his goodness to the world around you.

And you have an assurance of his goodness because of the work of Christ. Joseph Hart in the 18th century expressed it perfectly in his hymn. He says this, how good is the God we adore, our faithful, unchangeable friend. His love is as great as his power and knows neither measure nor end. Stay dialed in.