The Lord, a Provider and Deliverer.
A Psalm of David when he [a]feigned madness before [b]Abimelech, who drove him away and he departed.
34 I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul will make its boast in the Lord;
The humble will hear it and rejoice.
3 O magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name together.4 I sought the Lord, and He answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
5 They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces will never be ashamed.
6 This [c]poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
And saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him,
And rescues them.
There’s a bit of a contrast in the first 7 verses of this psalm. It starts with David saying he will praise God “at all times” and “continually”. Yet as it continues, we find that it isn’t because David’s life was peachy all the time. Rather, this psalm was written after David had escaped from great danger.
The other Philistine lords had accused David of treachery, and his life was on the line. Only when David pretended to have lost his mind (in quite dramatic fashion), did Abimelech send him away; for surely such a crazed individual was not worth worrying about. So David had plenty of trouble, especially in the years that he was hiding from Saul, and then trying to play “double agent” as he hid with the Philistines.
Yet his firm trust in God carried David through it all, so that he could praise God all the time. Whatever we go through, we can do the same. When we go through hard times, God hasn’t forgotten about us, He is working something for our good. And for that, we can most definitely praise and thank Him. We are never out of our Father’s reach, and whatever we might feel, the solid truth is that God is never far away.
He is always walking with us, ready to rescue us should the need arise, and there to carry us should the floodwaters of life rise too high. When you put your trust in God, you are forever not alone, but always in His care. Rest easy in what Peter wrote, “cast your cares on Him, because He cares for you.” It’s not just a clever saying, it’s the eternal truth of a life lived with our Father in Heaven.