A Psalm of David when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.
The story of David pretending madness is found in 1 Samuel 21. David was running from Saul and he went to Ahimelech the priest. He asked the priest for some bread and all that Ahimelech had was the showbread from the temple. David was given the bread and then asked for a weapon. All that Ahimelech had was the sword that David had killed Goliath with. When a servant of Saul spotted David there, he fled. David took the sword and the bread and went to
Now
David was in trouble. He was greatly afraid and so he changed his behavior in front of the king and started talking like a crazy man and drooling on himself. The king bought the act and recognized he was insane. The king didn't want a crazy man in his house with spit in his beard so he was driven away. David ran away and hid in the
This is an acrostic Psalm. It was most likely written after David escaped from the cave. David looks back on the events and responds in four ways.
- Bless the Lord
- Seek the Lord
- Fear the Lord
- Trust the Lord
1 I will bless the LORD at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul shall make its boast in the LORD;
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
And let us exalt His name together.
This is first way David commemorates the events, by blessing the Lord. This was obviously written after things turned out all right.
David declares that the praise of the Lord shall be in his mouth continually. It wasn't something that was scheduled, like going to church. David found every situation in his life an opportunity to praise God. In this case, it was clear David had no boast. He had stooped low to save his skin. His only boasting was in the Lord. This is the only boasting the humble might be interested in. They didn't want to hear the boasting of a mighty king, a skilled general or priest. They couldn't be glad in those boasts, but in the boast of the Lord they could find comfort.
David calls for all the righteous to worship when he says to magnify the Lord; to lift up His name. This call is to place Jehovah God at the highest place in our life and existence. For us, it is a call to put Jesus Christ at the center of our life.
4 I sought the LORD, and He heard me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
We might look at this situation in first Samuel and try to determine when it was that David sought the Lord. Regardless, the truth that David gives is timeless. When we seek the Lord, he hears us and he will deliver us from all our fears. It doesn't say God made life easy or took away all the hard times. He says he delivered David from all his fears.
5 They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces were not ashamed.
Verse 4 was about David's personal experience, verse 5 is of a corporate worship. The Psalmist declares that his experience is the same that everyone else can have. The word 'radiant' is the joyful countenance of a mother excited when her children arrive home.
6 This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him,
And delivers them.
This is an incredible promise. How many times have we been that poor man who needed to cry out? How many times have we failed to? There are many times in life where we get caught up in the troubles of this world and fail to cry out to God. He is right there camped out in the middle of our lives. He is 'all around' us because we fear Him and call to Him. He delivers us from those troubles.
Sometimes that deliverance isn't what we expect or maybe not what we want. But if we trust in Him and then seek Him, we have a sure hope in the deliverance. Trust in Him and His ways means letting go of our own ways and expectations.
8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
9 Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints!
There is no want to those who fear Him.
10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.
Do we really believe the Lord is good before we come to Him? We can't really understand just how good the Lord is to us until we come to Him; until we taste that life. Blessed and full or joy is the one who trusts in Him. As we trust we grow in righteousness and holiness and we learn that much more how amazing God really is. When we bless Him, then seek Him and now fear Him, there is no want. When our hearts are changed we have new desires and wants. Instead of wanting the things of the world, we want to abide in the Lord; we want to grow in Him; seek after Him. In all these ways God fulfills those wants. We are different than the young lion because we can seek after the Lord. He will clothe us, feed us and exercise his sovereign power over our lives.
11 Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12 Who is the man who desires life,
And loves many days, that he may see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil,
And your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.
The Psalmist knows that it's important to teach the children to fear the Lord. The child that grows to desire life, live long in his days, and see good is the one who follows the path of God. There are many paths but there is only one Way. Those who are on the right path going the right way exhibit common characteristics. They keep their tongue from evil, they don't' speak deceit, they depart from evil and they do good. Then they also seek peace and then they pursue it. It's lifelong. For us this pursuit is holding to the way. It's holding fast to the gospel like we talked about in First Corinthians. It's finishing well.
15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their cry.
16 The face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
Often times we see unbelievers all around us who pay no mind to the Lord or the things of the Lord. They want to be the Lord of their life; doing things their way; pursuing what pleases them. Then when something awful happens, they resort to prayer. They want to offer prayer to a God that deep down in their heart they know exists, yet, they reject and deny Him with their life.
The eyes and ears of the Lord are on the righteous. God hears the prayers of His people. We don't always like the answers, but we can rest assured that God hears every prayer and has our situation or circumstance in His hand. For the unrighteous, God has that circumstance in hand also. And their circumstance will work toward God's purpose. He is sovereign over all.
Those who fear the Lord desire what is good, speak the truth, pursue what is right and expect the results to be exactly what the Lord desires for our life………. Whether we understand it or not.
17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears,
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
The Lord loves a broken heart and a contrite spirit. He is near and ready to save His people. He's not after religion or the things of religion. God desires the hearts of individuals.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the LORD delivers him out of them all.
20 He guards all his bones;
Not one of them is broken.
This is an amazing verse. It was prophetic in that the king of righteousness suffered many afflictions but his bones were guarded. Not one of them is broken.
21 Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
22 The LORD redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.
The wicked will eventually be consumed by evil. Those who embrace sin will see it consume their life. It will ruin marriages, relationships and health. It will pollute your mind and empty your bank account. Those without righteousness will live in the condemnation of their sin.
However, for those in Christ, he redeems their soul. There is no condemnation of those who bless Him, seek Him, fear Him and trust in Him.
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