At various times in his life, King David of Israel was in big
trouble. At one such time, before he
became king, he was on the run from his predecessor, King Saul, who was trying
to kill him. So, he went to the Philistine
city of Gath to seek refuge. The Philistine
king, Achish (a.k.a. Abimelech) was made aware of David’s war record against
the Philistines, and David got wind of it.
He was afraid Achish might seek retribution against him. David pretended be insane, and the king let
him go on his way. (1 Samuel 21)
David wrote the 34th Psalm to praise God for his
deliverance. He urges us all to praise
God for His divine protection and to trust in Him. He also urges us to fear the Lord because
blessings come to those who honor and respect God. David promises us that evil ones will be
condemned, but that those who love the Lord will escape condemnation.
Psalm 34
A Psalm of David when
he pretended madness before Abimelech,
who drove him away,
and he departed.
I will bless the Lord
at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul shall make its
boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
Oh, 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.
They looked to Him and
were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed.
This poor man cried
out, and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord
encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them.
Oh, taste and see that
the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
Oh, fear the Lord, you
His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him.
The young lions lack
and suffer hunger; But those who seek the Lord
shall not lack any
good thing.
Come, you children,
listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is the man who
desires life, And loves many days, that he may see 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 those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance
of them from the
earth.
The righteous cry out,
and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to
those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as have
a contrite spirit.
Many are the
afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
He guards all his
bones; Not one of them is broken.
Evil shall slay the
wicked, And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
The Lord redeems the
soul of His servants, And none of those who trust in Him
shall be condemned. (NASB)*
* https://www.biblestudytools.com/nkjv/psalms/34.html
