13And he changed his behavior 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. 14 Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore then have ye brought him to me? 15 Have I need of mad men, that ye have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?
Psalm 34
A psalm of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he departed. 1 I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. 3 O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. 4 I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. 5 They looked unto Him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. 6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them. 8 O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him. 9 O fear the Lord, ye His saints: for there is no want to them that fear Him. 10 The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. 11 Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 12 What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? 13 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. 14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. 15 The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry. 16 The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 17 The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. 18 The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. 20 He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken. 21 Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate. 22 The Lord redeemeth the soul of His servants: and none of them that trust in Him shall be desolate.
Meditation
This occasion must have been one of the most humiliating times in David’s life. The mighty warrior, the anointed one, acts the mad man with spit drooling down his face to escape Achish, the king of Gath. Though we don’t read it in the historic account, we know from the psalm that David cried unto the Lord — “I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears” (vs. 4). Having gotten into a scrape, it requires true humility to say, “I am wrong.” Furthermore, we may be required to yield a good deal more than such an admission; in this case it was David’s dignity. One of the things we learn with David — and it is evidence that he, unlike Saul, was a man of faith — he submitted to the chastening hand of God, no matter the cost to himself.
We feel the exuberance of David after his escape — a deliverance that he fully credits to Jehovah (vss. 1-10). Oh, if man would only taste of the wonderful provision that God has made in His grace, then he, too, would rejoice in His goodness (vs. 8). “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation” (Heb. 2:33How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; (Hebrews 2:3))? It is one thing to speak of others, but do we feel it? Can we sing with David, “I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth” (vs. 1)? It is not a question of blessing the Lord when things go our way, but at all times.
The lion cubs may go hungry, but the child of God “shall not want any good thing” (vs. 10). Two sparrows may be sold for a farthing and five may be had for the bargain of two farthings, but “ye are of more value than many sparrows” (Luke 12:7). A mother may indeed forget her nursing child, but the Lord cannot forget us: “Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands” (Isa. 49:16).
Having been taught a valuable lesson, though it was learned at his own expense, David is not afraid to share it with his family (vs. 11). Speaking evil and deceit gains us nothing (vs. 13). However, keeping the tongue — and what an unruly member it is (James 3:8) — is only the start and not the end of the path. We are to walk in separation from evil and to do good; we are not only to seek peace but also to pursue it (vs. 14).
Isn’t it true, having schemed and contrived, only to be caught out in the end, we feel the utter futility of it to our shame? Contrariwise, when in desperation we call upon the Lord and He answers our cry, our hearts overflow with His goodness. Why then do we fall in the same ditch the next time around? Indeed, “many are the afflictions of the righteous” (vs. 19), but it seems to take us a lifetime to learn that the Lord delivers us out of them all.
Not only is there a right path, but there is also the correct attitude: “the Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit” (vs. 18). Self gets in the way. What grinding it takes to break the stubborn heart of man and to crush his proud spirit; God will not break one bone though — such are His tender mercies (vs. 20).
However, we must surely take our eyes from self and look upon the precious Saviour, of whom it is said, “a bone of Him shall not be broken” (John 19:36). Can we not hear the Spirit of Christ in this psalm? The One who was humbled for me, upon whom men spat? “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth: who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not; but committed himself to Him that judgeth righteously: who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:23-24). We hear it again so clearly in Psalm 22: “I will declare Thy name unto My brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise Thee ... for He hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath He hid His face from Him; but when He cried unto Him, He heard” (Psa. 22:22, 24).