Psalm 34:1-3 - April 8, 2009

Ps 34:1-3 Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he left. 1 "I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. 2 My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. 3 Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together." NIV

Imagine being forced to run for your life to a country where the people hate you. Imagine having been the known enemy of that people and now having your life placed in their hands without that people taking your life. What emotional pressure that must have placed David in. Now imagine with me determining that your only hope is to pretend to be insane, babbling and drooling and acting like a wild man so that you are not perceived as a threat and are driven off into the wilderness, all the while internally praying for God to deliver you from the hands of your enemies.
Many of the theologians like to argue about whether this act of deception was sin or not, and on this point I will remain silent. What I am drawn to is that David’s reflection as he remembers the deliverance of the Lord is a life of continual praise. David does not glory in his strategic actions that won for him his freedom. Instead he exalts the glory of the Lord. When we experience a great victory or moment of deliverance from what could have been disastrous circumstances do we sing our own praises or do we sing praise to the Lord who has delivered us?
David turns this psalm into an exhortation to all of those who have been afflicted. “My soul will boast in the Lord!” David humbly turns his attention to the power of the Lord which is his true source of deliverance. He doesn’t become captured by his own sense of greatness. Rather, he glories in the greatness of the Lord. In this moment David calls all of those who are afflicted to reflect on his testimony and to be encouraged. This is a powerful principle for gaining personal victory. The first step to overcoming personal obstacles begins in the inner man. If we are obsessed with our own need and the measure of our negative circumstances our thought life will be consumed. As a result we will be ineffective in hearing the Lord’s direction that would deliver us from our troubles. If our minds are overthrown, if our peace is gone, we do not hear the voice of the Lord very well.
There is great power in a focused mind. Revelation 12 tells us that one of the keys to overcoming Satan is the word of our testimony. The testimony of what God has done to win the victory in our lives and the lives of those we love becomes a great weapon and powerful tool for throwing off the weight of discouragement that would separate us from God’s intended deliverance. A negative thought life is not a life of faith. The faith that pleases God, the faith that receives heaven’s response is the faith that flows out of a positive confession and a life of praise.
As we turn to the Lord in the time of our trouble God will quickly turn his ear towards the sound of our praise and release a mighty deliverance that will set us free from the snares of the enemy and usher us in to the purposes of our great and awesome God.