Thoughts for the Day

Praise for Deliverance from Trouble. Of David, when he feigned madness before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.

I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
let the humble hear and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together.

I sought the Lord, and he answered me,
and delivered me from all my fears.
Look to him, and be radiant;
so your faces shall never be ashamed.
This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord,
and was saved from every trouble.
The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good;
happy are those who take refuge in him.
O fear the Lord, you his holy ones,
for those who fear him have no want.
The young lions suffer want and hunger,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Come, O children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Which of you desires life,
and covets many days to enjoy good?
Keep your tongue from evil,
and your lips from speaking deceit.
Depart from evil, and do good;
seek peace, and pursue it.

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry.
The face of the Lord is against evildoers,
to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears,
and rescues them from all their troubles.
The Lord is near to the broken-hearted,
and saves the crushed in spirit.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the Lord rescues them from them all.
He keeps all their bones;
not one of them will be broken.
Evil brings death to the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
The Lord redeems the life of his servants;
none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

King Saul is determined to kill David out of jealousy because of his military prowess and his close friendship with his son Jonathan. Indeed just prior to the incident mentioned here in Psalm 34 he has set a trap for David, and then threatened to kill his son for taking David's side. This is merely the latest in a long line of such attacks, for King Saul in his madness just wants to get rid of this "son of Jesse".

David has got himself in an impossible place, first fleeing alone to the prophet Samuel and then to the house of God at Nob. Here despite his lies and the priest's concern at the state of him, who comes without his soldiers, he finds food (yesterday's 'show bread' left on God's altar) and a weapon (the sword of Goliath, the man whom David killed when he was a young man). Being discovered by Doeg one of Saul's shepherds he flees again, this time to the Philistine city of Gath (Goliath's home-town) where again he is recognised. The only way he can escape from here is to feign madness before the pagan king Achish and totally humiliate himself.

Up to this point David has failed to trust God and the latter has surely humbled him. Finally, however, having escaped with his life he turns to God. The outcome is Psalm 34, which is one of glorious praise and thanksgiving. His troubles are not yet over but he has finally learnt his lesson, and recognised his need for God.

↠ Psalm 34 gives us poetry that we can use in our own prayers this day, by changing a few words (eg "Lord, I will bless You at all times; Your praise shall continually be in my mouth." Or "Lord may I depart from evil, and do good; and seek peace, and pursue it.")

Lord God,
all too often we can choose to go our own way,
even if this means being economical with the truth,
or simply not listening to Your voice.
We think we can sort out all our problems
on our own,
but we frequently just make things worse.
Only when humbled at the court of his enemy
does David realise his mistake
and return to sanity and to You.
May we stop and think, first,
then also turn to You for help.
Amen.