The Happiness of Those Who Trust in God
(A Psalm of David when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.)
“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear of it and be glad.
Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He heard me,
and delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He guards all his bones; not one of them is broken.
Evil shall slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous shall be condemned. The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.”
(A Psalm of David when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.) This is the subtitle given to this psalm by one online Bible source, but which story supports this? 1 Samuel 21:12-15 tells the story, although the king mentioned there is Achish, king of Gath, not Abimelech. Saul is pursuing David to kill him, and David flees to Gath. But King Achish recognizes David, and his warriors warn him that David too is a mighty warrior. To escape, David pretends to be mad so that Achish demands David be thrown out of the kingdom. David leaves, continuing to flee from Saul. You would think that under such circumstances, David might settle for hiding; instead, he writes an incredibly optimistic psalm.
“Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed.” David was in fear of his life, and God delivered him. Achish could just as easily have killed David, but he did not.
“This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” David realizes God has intervened to save him.
“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He guards all his bones; not one of them is broken.” David is still rejoicing over his deliverance.
“Evil shall slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous shall be condemned. The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.” This is David’s conclusion: the Lord is a redeemer and will help those who trust Him.
APPLICATION: This is a wonderful psalm, one from which countless posters and praise songs have been generated. But what about the Israelis who are under relentless rocket fire? What about the hostages being held by Hamas? Can this psalm still apply to us when we are caught in a crisis that won’t go away and we might die at any moment? How can we avow that “The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them” under such circumstances?
These sentiments seem ridiculous unless we really examine David’s situation. David didn’t write this psalm when everything was going well; he wrote this psalm after attempting to take refuge in Gath, only to be thrown out of the kingdom and having to take refuge in the cave of Adullam. But David’s brothers and the rest of his father’s household heard where he was and joined him. “And all who were distressed or indebted or discontented rallied around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him. “(1 Samuel 22:1-2) What appeared to David to be a total disaster resulted in his first band of 400 volunteer warriors.
Look at David’s situation: David was a fugitive, fleeing from a vicious king who viewed him as a threat. Even though Samuel had already anointed David to become the next king of Israel, Saul was attempting to crush David so that his son Jonathan could succeed him. David never knew when someone might betray his location to Saul in hopes of a reward or political favor.
Not every psalm can fit for every occasion; however, we must realize that having the angel of the Lord with us to deliver us may mean something apart from physical deliverance. Even if we have been captured by terrorists and are being held as hostages, God’s presence can still comfort us and deliver us from fear. Extreme terror can kill people by giving them palpitations, causing them to hyperventilate, and even constricting the arteries in their hearts.
There are always two sides to every psalm, a physical one and a spiritual one. The conclusion to this psalm says, “Evil shall slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous shall be condemned. The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.” Notice that it does NOT say, “none of those who trust in Him shall die a horrible death at the hands of terrorists.” Innocent Jews and Palestinians are dying at this very moment. Children who have been discarded as human shields are being beheaded. But the Lord IS a Redeemer. Terrorists have made evil decisions, and the blameless are dying; however, God will not condemn these blameless ones. On the other hand, God will condemn those who have begun this war by attacking a peaceful music festival.
How can we use this psalm? We can pray this psalm over ourselves and our families. But given the recent events in the Middle East, we should also be praying this psalm over all the innocents caught in this terrible conflict. Pray that “The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.” Pray for the deliverance of the children and elderly who are being used as human shields! Pray for the deliverance of the innocents, whoever they are! Pray for healing of injuries, physical and spiritual! And remember also to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, for God has promised to prosper those who love Jerusalem. (Psalm 122:6)
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, we pray earnestly for peace in the Middle East! We beg You to sovereignly intervene and to deliver the innocents on both sides of the conflict. We beg You to send Your lasting peace into that troubled area. And we beg You to expose all those who are funding this conflict while claiming that their hands are clean. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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