Helensvale Baptist Church

“¹I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.

²I will glory in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

³Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together.”

Psalm 34:1-3

David wrote Psalm 34 in response to his escape from the Philistine King Achish recorded for us in 1 Samuel 21:10-15, brought about through David acting insane. And he was overwhelmed by God’s grace to save him. It’s not just an account of raw data or facts of the escape: indeed there is nothing in the Psalm that tells the details of his escape. No, Psalm 34 is a poem of rejoicing, celebration and gladness. It comes from David’s heart, not just his head. His cry, yearning, desire and joy is palpable! Like many of the Psalms.

I have recently read all 150 Psalms over one week, looking out for the following six themes: Blessedness: prosperity, fulfilment and satisfaction; Glad: gladness, joy and rejoicing; Heart: delight, desire; The link with corporate worship: Yearning, wanting, panting, and, God’s presence and closeness. Of the 150 Psalms, 96 centred on these themes. An overwhelming percentage to encourage in our response to God the same overwhelming truth: He wants to us respond from our hearts, our affections, from the depths of our being.

This means we have an overwhelming obligation to pursue our pleasure.

What motivates our behaviour? One of my boys said “Selfish desire”. At least he’s honest!! And right. We might say we should find better motivations for our actions: right thinking, serious commitment, or selflessness. But the 17^th century French mathematician, writer and Catholic philosopher Blaise Pascal had it right when he wrote …

“all men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ they all tend to this end … The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves.”

Our strongest motivation is our desire, want and seeking of pleasure. Ouch. What do we do with this reality? What does God do with this reality? He focuses his work from the inside out. He knows the strength and power of our hearts. This is why so much of the Psalms, let alone the Bible, talks about a heart response to God demonstrated by  joy, delight, pleasure, gladness, desire, and contentment. This series called “Our Overwhelming Obligation to pursue our Pleasure” opens up this truth.

Matthew Hunt

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