Practical teaching from Psalm 34

 

We saw the back-story for our psalm yesterday, and we closed yesterday's study by noting that David had dishonored God in the perception of the idolatrous king and people of Gath. Are we being too hard on old David?

Let's dig in.....

Sometime after all of this happened, David wrote this psalm. In verse thirteen, he praises God for his deliverance - and he denounces deception:

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. (Psalm 34:11-14, emphasis mine)

It appears that when he looked back on this episode in his life, David realized that it wasn't because of him that things went ok. In spite of David's use of lies and deception, God had been gracious and rescued him anyway.  While it's true that David found himself in a tight spot, that didn't justify his deception. And he actually continued this pattern with Achish, convincing the king that he was raiding Hebrew villages, when actually he was slaughtering the inhabitants of the land.

When Achish asked, “Where did you go raiding today?” David would say, “Against the Negev of Judah” or “Against the Negev of Jerahmeel” or “Against the Negev of the Kenites.” 11 He did not leave a man or woman alive to be brought to Gath, for he thought, “They might inform on us and say, ‘This is what David did.’” And such was his practice as long as he lived in Philistine territory. 12 Achish trusted David and said to himself, “He has become so obnoxious to his people, the Israelites, that he will be my servant for life.” (I Samuel 27:10-12)

David found, though, that in spite of his success, deception can have serious consequences.  Many years later, the "bard" would say "what a tangled web we weave...." 

David was almost forced to go into battle with the Philistines against his own countrymen. And as soon as that crisis was averted, David's and his men's wives and property were captured -- his own men were not at all happy with him:

When David and his men reached Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. 4 So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. 5 David’s two wives had been captured—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 6 David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God. (I Samuel 30:3-6)

The result was that David finally did seek the Lord and was instructed to pursue the raiding party; he and his men were successful in rescuing their wives and their property.

Sometime after all of this, after David recovered from all of the difficult trials that he had a hand in causing, he wrote Psalm 34. His own panic and deception caused these situations to happen -- and to become worse. But now he realized that deception and evil are not the way to the blessed life that God has promised. He had learned that seeking God for deliverance, reverencing Him, and walking in His ways are the way to enjoy God and receive His blessings.

Big lesson to learn. Important, too. And we can (if we pay attention) learn from David's mistakes and from his testimony.

Let's take a "bird's eye" view from about thirty thousand feet up, ok? Then we will really dig in deeper. First, let's look at how David describes his deliverance:

I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
    he delivered me from all my fears.

Those who look to him are radiant;
    their faces are never covered with shame.

This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
    he saved him out of all his troubles. (vs. 4-6)

Whaaaaaattttt? How can he say that he cried out to the Lord for deliverance? He was using deception to get out of this jam! Well, he did both . . . it's pretty rare (we see this in veteran believers as well as in rookies) for us to be completely pure in our methods. Especially in a sudden crisis!  We may talk a good game, as they say. We may think we are prepared. But when the shoe falls (and we're waiting for the other one to fall) we may try to combine "good" solutions with "bad." We may try to solve the problem ourselves AND pray for God's deliverance.  

Bottom line up front, I believe that this psalm is a testimony to God's grace in bearing with our fears and our weaknesses. This does not justify our sin. This does not make our lapses in faith ok. But it does bear witness to God's grace to us, His weak children!

David alludes to the danger again in verse seven, when he speaks of the angel of the Lord guarding the camp (at the cave of Adullam) where he fled from Achish. In verse ten, he talks about the lions that inhabited the area. Some scholars say this is a poetic reference to the powerful, aggressive men who sought to kill him or at least make sure he never led the nation of Israel. But I think with David's history of shepherding and guarding against lions, he may very well have been talking about real, roaring ones. (Grin) 

In verses thirteen and eighteen, David is repenting of his panicked use of deception:

keep your tongue from evil
    and your lips from telling lies.
 

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
    and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (13, 18)

Verse twenty is where David reflects on his safe escape from the Philistines - he may have been handled roughly, but he got away with no broken bones.

When we know the back-story, this psalm takes on an even greater meaning for us. We can learn so much from our old friend David! Next time we study, we will draw some life-lessons from Psalm 34.