Daily Bread

A psalm of David, regarding the time he pretended to be insane in front of Abimelech, who sent him away.

I will praise the Lord at all times.
I will constantly speak his praises.
I will boast only in the Lord;
let all who are helpless take heart.
Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness;
let us exalt his name together.

I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me.
He freed me from all my fears.
Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy;
no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened;
he saved me from all my troubles.
For the angel of the Lord is a guard;
he surrounds and defends all who fear him.

Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!
Fear the Lord, you his godly people,
for those who fear him will have all they need.
Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry,
but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing.

Come, my children, and listen to me,
and I will teach you to fear the Lord.
Does anyone want to live a life
that is long and prosperous?

Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous? (Gav does his best Donkey from Shrek impersonation) Me! Pick me! Pick me!

Psalm 34 is a Hebrew acrostic poem where each verse begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet (well, almost). Of course, translated into English we lose this wonderful poetic device, but we can still understand the meaning.

The underlying theme of the Psalm is one of testimony: 'God helped me therefore God can help you, too.' and the Psalm is prefaced with a note which reads, 'A psalm of David, regarding the time he pretended to be insane in front of Abimelech, who sent him away.' Here's a quick recap of what happened (you can read about it in 1 Samuel 21:10-14):

David was fleeing from king Saul. Basically, the prophet Samuel went and told Saul that God had rejected him as king and Samuel anointed David who was destined to replace Saul as king. To cut a long (and complex) story short, the more successful David became, the more resentful Saul became and Saul tried to kill David. At one point David legged it and found refuge with Abimelech (Achish), the Philistine king of Gath. When Abimelech realised what a precious hostage he had, he imprisoned David who feigned insanity and thus secured his release.

And so, back to this Psalm of David who, rather than bragging about how clever he was, testified to how amazing God was, and encouraged his readers (or listeners) to also put their trust in God, pray, and that in the same way, they too would have God's provision and, 'live a life that is long and prosperous.'

I suppose the faith lesson here is to not trust in our own cleverness, intelligence, wit, or cunning, but trust solely in God. I don't think this means we sit back and do nothing, but a reminder that without God none of us would be where we are today, and without God none of us will be here tomorrow. We owe our very existence to a God who is holding our atoms together!

In the same way that David had a right perspective, we too need a right perspective, therefore, today, give God all the honour and praise that God is due.

Holy God
At all times and in all places
I will praise your holy name.
I will boast only in
the works of your hand
and tell of your greatness.
With my family in Christ
I will lift you up
and declare your majesty
to be without comparison.
You are the Lord, God almighty
and holy is your name.