Psalm 34
This Psalm of David is prefaced with the title, “A Psalm of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he departed”. Abimelech is the title for the king of the Philistines, whose name was actually Achish. David is on the run from King Saul who has determined to kill him, and he finds himself in a foreign land, where the people recognize him which causes him to fear for his life. He changed his behavior and acted like a mad man, scratching on the doors and foaming at the mouth. This is a different attitude from David than we are accustomed to! This is the giant killer, foaming around on the floor? Where is his courage? Where is his Covenant God?
David is displaying a very common trait of most of us: fear. He has been a great man of courage but now he is scared for his very life. This is a low moment in his life, and one that I am sure that he wants to forget. When he writes the 34th Psalm, the title reminds us of this story, but then the lyrics to the song, which encompass 22 verses, make no mention of this low moment. David understood a great principle; that when your past has become past, leave it in the past. His song gives praise to God and not to his failure; and the song of our heart should give praise to His finished work as well.
Psalm 34 is an acrostic, meaning that all 22 verses begin with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet, in order. Perhaps this was used by David as a memory aid, so that the reader could quickly memorize the song; or maybe it was simply the Holy Spirit showing art as inspired by God. We may have no absolute answer, but we can be sure that it wasn’t accidental. Our God is a beautiful artist.
The first ten verses constitute a song, while the last 12 make up a sermon. It is in the song portion of the chapter that David challenges the singer to “taste and see that the LORD is good” (verse 8). Can you “taste and see”? How can your taste buds cause your eyes to open? Of course we know what David means, that if you taste of the goodness of the Lord, you will see that He is as good as advertised. However, there is a greater connection that states that as we taste of His goodness, our spiritual eyes will be enlightened. We literally see better in the realm of the spirit when our spirit man is feeding on Jesus.
Jonathan was coming back from battling the Philistines and his belly was grumbling with hunger. Unbeknownst to him, his father had forbid all soldiers from eating while he sought God for victory in the battle. Jonathan was told of the forced fast and he felt that it was foolish, for the people were growing weak from no food. He put his hand to a honeycomb and then ate of the honey, “and his eyes were enlightened” (1 Samuel 14:27).
When we place the sweetness of God’s love for us to our mouth, we have our eyes enlightened. Show me a saint that has no spiritual insight and who never has a fresh revelation of who God is, and I will show you someone who never feeds on God’s wonderful love for them. This has nothing to do with church attendance or “doing” Christian things. Many people are wrapped in religious trappings but they have no enlightenment of spirit. Be free from the trappings of religion and taste and see that your Lord is truly good.
This Psalm of David is prefaced with the title, “A Psalm of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he departed”. Abimelech is the title for the king of the Philistines, whose name was actually Achish. David is on the run from King Saul who has determined to kill him, and he finds himself in a foreign land, where the people recognize him which causes him to fear for his life. He changed his behavior and acted like a mad man, scratching on the doors and foaming at the mouth. This is a different attitude from David than we are accustomed to! This is the giant killer, foaming around on the floor? Where is his courage? Where is his Covenant God?
David is displaying a very common trait of most of us: fear. He has been a great man of courage but now he is scared for his very life. This is a low moment in his life, and one that I am sure that he wants to forget. When he writes the 34th Psalm, the title reminds us of this story, but then the lyrics to the song, which encompass 22 verses, make no mention of this low moment. David understood a great principle; that when your past has become past, leave it in the past. His song gives praise to God and not to his failure; and the song of our heart should give praise to His finished work as well.
Psalm 34 is an acrostic, meaning that all 22 verses begin with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet, in order. Perhaps this was used by David as a memory aid, so that the reader could quickly memorize the song; or maybe it was simply the Holy Spirit showing art as inspired by God. We may have no absolute answer, but we can be sure that it wasn’t accidental. Our God is a beautiful artist.
The first ten verses constitute a song, while the last 12 make up a sermon. It is in the song portion of the chapter that David challenges the singer to “taste and see that the LORD is good” (verse 8). Can you “taste and see”? How can your taste buds cause your eyes to open? Of course we know what David means, that if you taste of the goodness of the Lord, you will see that He is as good as advertised. However, there is a greater connection that states that as we taste of His goodness, our spiritual eyes will be enlightened. We literally see better in the realm of the spirit when our spirit man is feeding on Jesus.
Jonathan was coming back from battling the Philistines and his belly was grumbling with hunger. Unbeknownst to him, his father had forbid all soldiers from eating while he sought God for victory in the battle. Jonathan was told of the forced fast and he felt that it was foolish, for the people were growing weak from no food. He put his hand to a honeycomb and then ate of the honey, “and his eyes were enlightened” (1 Samuel 14:27).
When we place the sweetness of God’s love for us to our mouth, we have our eyes enlightened. Show me a saint that has no spiritual insight and who never has a fresh revelation of who God is, and I will show you someone who never feeds on God’s wonderful love for them. This has nothing to do with church attendance or “doing” Christian things. Many people are wrapped in religious trappings but they have no enlightenment of spirit. Be free from the trappings of religion and taste and see that your Lord is truly good.
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