A Psalm of David when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he departed. Commentaries by Dennis Edwards. Let us read from the Scriptures what happened.
1 Samuel 21:10-15 & 22:1:a ”And David
arose and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. And the
servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? Did they
not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul has slain
his thousands, and David his ten thousands? And
David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king
of Gath. And David changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in
their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall
down upon his beard. Then
said Achish unto his servants, Lo, you see the
man is mad: wherefore then have you brought
him to me? Have I need of mad men, that you have
brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence? Shall
this fellow come into my house? David therefore departed
thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam."
David could have lost his life at that moment had he not been
anointed to play the madman. When David escapes, he gives thanks unto the Lord
for the miracle of protecting him and making a way of escape.
Psalm 34:1-4 I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in
my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify
the Lord with me, and
let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
Extreme praise is what we need
to learn, if we are to overcome the difficulties of life. Apostle Paul tells us
that in everything we should give thanks, 1 Thessalonians 5:18. In other
words, in every situation, no matter how dire or distressing it may be, we need
to be able to see it through the lens of Romans 8:28 and “know that all
things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to
His purpose.”
If we can put those two lenses
on our eyes and see every circumstance that happens in life through the glasses
of thankfulness and trust, we can walk in victory, and overcome all of life’s
difficulties. Giving thanks for everything that happens in our lives, and trusting
that God can work it our for good, shows our confidence and faith that God
loves us and our lives are in His hands, to do according to His will.
Psalm 34:5-6 They looked unto Him, and were lightened: and
their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out
of all his troubles.
If we look to the Lord in time
of trouble, whether it be financial, marital, family related, death, sickness,
or accident; God will be with us. When Moses spent time with God, his face
shone when He came down off the mountain. So much so, that his brother and all
of Israel were afraid to come near to him.
Exodus 34:29-30 “And it came to pass, when Moses came down from
mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down
from the mount, that Moses knew not
that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. And when
Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face
shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him.”
When Stephen, the first martyr
of the Christian church, was brought in for interrogation, his face shown as
that of an angel, Acts 6:15. If we spend the time with God that
we need, our faces will shine with the joy of the Lord, and the peace of God
that passes all understanding. The burdens we have been bearing will also be
transferred to Jesus’ shoulders and our load will become easy and light.
Psalm 55:22 “Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He shall
sustain you: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”
Matthew 11:30 “For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
We just have to take it to the
Lord in prayer.
Psalm 34:7 The angel of the Lord encamps round about them that fear him, and
delivers them.
Who is the “angel of the Lord”
that we see throughout the Old Testament Scriptures?
Exodus 23:20-21 “Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in
the way, and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Beware of Him,
and obey His voice; provoke Him not; for He will not pardon your
transgressions: for My name is in Him.”
We see the Lord appearing to
Abraham. Then at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, “the Lord (who appeared
to Abraham) rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out
of heaven,” Genesis 19:24. We find a Lord on earth raining down fire and
brimstone from a Lord in heaven.
Isaiah 63:9 “In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the
angel of His presence saved them: in His love and in His pity, He redeemed
them; and He bare them, and carried them all the days of old.”
The appearance of “the Lord,” of
“the angel of His presence,” of “the Angel of the Lord,” even the “voice of the
Lord walking in the garden,” in the Old Testament, are examples of God
appearing to man in some sort of a physical body. Some scholars believe these
God appearances were actually appearances of Jesus, the Messiah, in pre-incarnate
form.
Psalm 34:8 O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man
that trusts in Him.
God wants us to prove Him, to
try Him, to taste Him with our senses, in a sense. Jesus said, “If any man will
do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I
speak of Myself,” John 7:17. Jesus was challenging the sceptics to follow
His teachings, and in following the teachings, they would find that they were indeed
true, and of God.
Psalm 34:9-10 O fear the Lord,
you His saints: for there is no want to them that fear Him. The young lions do
lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. Come, you children,
hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Solomon has told us, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man,” Ecclesiastes 12:13. Of course, Solomon is not talking about the emotion of terror, but a faithful fear and reverence or respect for our Creator. We know it is He that has made us and not we ourselves.
That type of fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, Proverbs
1:7. We that believe start with the right initial assumption, which is, "In the beginning God," Genesis 1a. It is the
fool who has said in his heart, There is no God, Psalm 14:1a. However, “In
the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence; and His children shall have a
place of refuge,” Proverbs 14:26.
Psalm 34:12-13 What man is he that desires life, and loves many
days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from
speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
In James 3 we read that the
problem of the tongue is that it is a world of iniquity, James 3:6a.
James goes on to write, “Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you?
Let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom, James
3:13. “If any man offends not in word, the same is a perfect (or mature)
man, and able to bridle (or control) the whole body,” James 3:2b.
In Micah, we find, “What does the
Lord require of you: but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly
with your God,” Micah 6:8.
Psalm 34:15-17 The eyes of the Lord are the upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto
their cry. The face of the Lord is
against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The
righteous cry, and the Lord hears,
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord will hear the cry of
the penitent heart. When the Lord appeared unto Solomon, He promised,
2 Chronicles 7:14 “If My people, which are called by My name, shall
humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways;
then I will hear from heaven, and forgive their sin, and heal their land.”
Psalm 34:18 The Lord is
nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saves such as be of a contrite
spirit.
Over and over again, God tells
us He hears the cry of the humble, the broken, the downcast, the poor in
spirit, the meek. If we humble ourselves in His sight, He will lift us up, James
4:10.
Psalm 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but
the Lord delivers him
out of them all.
Many pastors are teaching the
health and wealth gospel that it is God’s will for us to have perfect health
and live in abundance. Apostle Paul tells us that, “all that will live godly in
Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution,” 2 Timothy 3:12. Jesus said, “If
they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you,” John 15:20b.
Apostle Peter does a commentary
on much of Psalm 34. He goes on to say, that as Christians, we will
suffer.
1 Peter 4: 12-19 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the
fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But
rejoice, inasmuch as you are partakers of
Christ's sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, you may be
glad also with exceeding joy. If you be
reproached for the name of Christ, happy are you; for
the spirit of glory and of God rests upon
you: on their part He is evil spoken of, but on your part, He is
glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an
evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if
any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God
on this behalf. For the time is come that
judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what
shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if
the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore
let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their
souls to Him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
Psalm 34:20 He keeps all His bones:
not one of them is broken.
Another one of the Messianic prophecies that falls inadvertently
from the mouth of the prophet and is later explained in the New Testament.
John 19:33 & 36 “But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already,
they broke not his legs…For these things were done, that the scripture should
be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.”
Jesus was the only truly righteous who sinned not and yet He suffered
many afflictions. He is the high priest who is touched with the feeling our
suffering, as He was tempted in all ways like us, yet without sin, Hebrews
4:15.
Psalm 34:21-22 Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous
shall be desolate. The Lord redeems
the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in Him shall be desolate.
Evil men shall receive judgment. The godly shall be saved and be blessed. Choose your company wisely. “Stop fooling yourselves. Evil companions will corrupt good morals and character,” 1 Corinthians 15:33, The Passion Translation. Be wise.
Revelation 22:12-14 "And, behold. I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according to his work shall be. I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."
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