I’m that sad person who reads the acknowledgments in books and CD covers and wonders about the circumstances of authorship and the relationships which are behind the scenes shaping the writer or creative. I’ve always loved reading (my husband declares that I will read the label on a sauce bottle on the table if there’s nothing else around!), and so, when I read the psalms, I’m interested in the headers, often in very small print, which ‘set the scene’ for some of these poems.
Psalm 34 is one of my favourite psalms, a psalm full of joy and celebration and great spiritual truth. It’s one of the most positive psalms in the Psalter and is like a breath of fresh air on a dull morning. You imagine David to have been in a really good mood when he wrote this, unlike some of the psalms which (helpfully to me!) are redolent with pain and suffering. The heading, however, says ‘Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelek, who drove him away, and he left.‘
The full story behind this rather surprising heading is found in 1 Samuel 21, describing a time in David’s life when everything was definitely not going well. Despite having been anointed king by Samuel, this is the period where Saul is still king and is pursuing David out of fear and jealousy. David has had to run away and hide; he has had to take refuge in enemy territory and is very much afraid of Achish, the king of Gath, who knows his reputation as a warrior who has slain thousands. Feigning insanity seemed the safest option for David, a tactic which clearly points to a very troubled period in his life. Yet it was at this time of stress and uncertainty that David wrote Psalm 34, one of the most confident psalms we could ever hope to find.
Confidence in God does not simply arise from favourable circumstances. We praise and bless God in the shadows; we dance in the darkness, Rend Collective sing. (‘Joy Of The Lord‘) Today, I urge you to read Psalm 34 in the knowledge of when and how this was written. The truths David wrote apply to us; his declarations of praise can be ours also. Celebration, again as Rend Collective remind us, is a choice. (‘Joy’)
I will extol the Lord at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
2 I will glory in the Lord;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the Lord with me;
let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
9 Fear the Lord, you his holy people,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
11 Come, my children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Whoever of you loves life
and desires to see many good days,
13 keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from telling lies.
14 Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are attentive to their cry;
16 but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to blot out their name from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
19 The righteous person may have many troubles,
but the Lord delivers him from them all;
20 he protects all his bones,
not one of them will be broken.
21 Evil will slay the wicked;
the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
22 The Lord will rescue his servants;
no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.
