Psalm 34:1
1 A Psalm of David [David],
when he changed [shanah] his behaviour [ta`am] before [paniym] Abimelech ['Abiymelek]; who drove him away [garash],
and he departed [yalak].
I will bless [barak] the LORD [Yahovah] at all times [`eth]: his
praise [tahillah] shall continually [tamiyd] be in my mouth [peh]. KJV-Interlinear
1
A Psalm of David, when he changed his behavior 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. ESV
The setting is 1 Sam. 21,
when David had gone to Achish, King of Gath, in order to escape the pursuit of
Saul.
Achish is the personal
name. Abimelech is the royal name of the
family of kings to which Achish belonged.
Davids true identity was
discovered and thus David acted as a madman in order to save himself.
Rather than turn him over
to Saul, Achish asked David to leave.
David then left to hide in the Cave of Adullam.
This psalm demonstrates
that David learned a valuable lesson, that faking a personality or doing things
your own way, do not necessarily help your situation. When God wants you saved, then nothing can
harm you. When God wants you harmed,
then nothing can save you.
The crazy man behavior
did not save David. The cave did not hide or protect David. God accomplished both of those things. David simply tried to intervene in Gods work
and do things himself.
Leaving your life in Gods
hands is the very best choice that anyone can make. Ignoring God and trying to do things
yourself, is the very worse choice anyone can make.
The very best direction
that anyone can choose in life is to pursue their spiritual knowledge and
growth, thus placing their life in Gods control, and then all choices and options
will present themselves for you to make smarter choices.
