At All Times

A Psalm of David, when he changed his behaviour 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. (Psalms 34:1 KJV)

I really like the Psalms that have an introduction. We can know that this one was written after Saul had determined to kill David:

For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die. (1 Samuel 20:31 KJV)

Warned by Jonathan, David fled, bringing him before the king of Gath:

And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands? And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath. And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard. (1 Samuel 21:11-13 KJV)

That’s when David hid in a cave and gathered an army:

And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men. (1 Samuel 22:2 KJV)

Debtors and the discontented. Is that the army you would wish for? Is it the army you would praise God for providing? Yet, David did and encouraged others to join in praising Him.

O magnify the LORD

with me, and let us exalt

his name together.

(Psalms 34:3 KJV)

That’s my youngest daughter’s life verse. I’ve used some embroidery software to write it on fabric she’s chosen to make a quilt. The graphic is a first rough draft. There will be several blocks and she’s chosen to have family and friend’s verses in the remaining blocks. Each one of these verses has a deep meaning to the people who chose them as their life verses or their favorite verses.

These verses do not stand alone, just as hers doesn’t. There is history behind them that display the workings of the Lord and the faith – or the lack of faith – displayed by the people who lived through that history. As she shares these verses, I’ll be looking at their background just as I looked up this one. I may never know why a particular verse was chosen, but I will know where it fits in the Bible and I will receive a message from the verse as well as from the person who chose it.

This verse speaks to me of praising God as David was able to do – at all times – and asking everyone to join in exalting His name. It is a blessing that I am able to do just that, and invite everyone to continue praising Him, always.

As always, may God bless the reading of His word.