A Psalm of David, when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he departed.
Psalm 34:1-4 "I will bless the LORD at all times: his
praise shall continually be in my mouth. (2) My soul shall make her
boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. (3)
O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. (4)
I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears."
This Psalm was written about a time when David found himself in "no man's
land". Saul, out of jealousy, was seeking to kill David. David had
fled from Israel and found himself in the land of Gath. He came to Achish, the
king of Gath, trying to find help. One of the king's men recognized David as
being the one who slew their champion, Goliath. The king knew that David
was fleeing from Saul and made mention of it. It was at that time that David
changed his behaviour and acted as though he was a mad man. At that time, the
king commanded that David be sent away. He wanted nothing to do with him.
Have you ever had an instance when you found yourself saying words that you
wondered where they came from? I'm talking about giving words of wisdom
to someone who has looked to you for advice. You found yourself with
words coming out of your mouth, or an action that was unplanned, where you were
able to give comfort or help in a situation that seemed helpless. After
saying that, I am not trying to explain David's actions when he pretended to be
a rabid man; yet, he understood that to some degree the Lord had impressed upon
him and was delivered. As David looked back on that moment, he began to praise
the Lord.
"I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my
fears." David acknowledged that this action was used to deliver him
from the hand of the king of Gath who seemingly was about to turn David back to
Saul. There can be no doubt that David was saying to us, "As I stood
before the king of Gath, I began to pour my heart out unto the Lord. I prayed
that he would help me in that situation and HE HEARD MY CRY." Thank
you David for sharing this thought with us. Thank you for sharing your
experience. Thank you that as we read your words, the Holy Spirit makes them to
be our own cry for help. We seek you Lord and need you in ways that we
cannot even express. But you, O Lord, know our needs."
"O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together."
David shared with us his understanding of the situation. He is encouraging us
to join with him in celebrating the grace of God in our lives. Yes,
David, we magnify the Lord with you. We join with you this morning to say,
there is no other like our God. Thank you Father for inspiring David to
write these words. Thank you Lord that this morning, you direct our thoughts to
this particular verse. I end my thoughts today with the verse of Scripture that
I have heard my wife, Judy, express to our children for many years. "I
sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears."