“I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Psalm 34:1

In a cave, dark and dank, is supposedly where this story takes place (according to the superscription written at the beginning of this psalm which states, “A Psalm of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he departed.”)  With a musty smell invading the senses as moisture gathers on the walls and water drops may be heard echoing their song throughout, there stands one soul.

This cave is a place of hiding because an enemy has sought David’s life (more on this later).  But this cave is also a place of decision for David.  Does he let the circumstances that caused him to be here take over and have their way with his heart, mind, and emotions?  Or, does he continue in faith?

In this cave, David had to choose to believe or not to believe; to praise or not to praise.  The choice was his.  The choice is ours.

Praise is easy to come by when all is good, when all the wheels are turning in one’s favor.  But life doesn’t consist of just rainbows and roses, sunny days without a cloud in the sky.  Some days are hard.  Some days have tears.  Some days have trouble.  And yes, some days have doubts.

Being actively pursued by an enemy is one of those troubling times David faced.  As if in a weird game of cat and mouse, David was repeatedly forced to run for his life and hide as King Saul chased him down wherever he went.

Fleeing to find refuge elsewhere, David went to “Achish the king of Gath,” (1 Samuel 21:10; note: Achish is another name used in the place of Ahimelech, which we see written in the superscription noted above).  But instead of blending in unnoticed, David unintentionally caught the attention of Achish’s servants.

The truth was, David had a reputation.  First, he is known as the one who struck down the mighty champion of the Philistine army, Goliath, and killed him, who also happened to be from this very city where David was attempting to hide in now (see 1 Samuel 17:23).  Secondly, when David fought with his fellow countrymen against the Philistines at the command of Saul, and returned home victorious, the women sang songs, saying, “Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands,” (1 Samuel 18:5-7; 21:11).  Therefore, when he entered Gath, David was recognized.

Upon hearing that his identity was exposed and realizing he might not be as safe here as he thought, David became afraid (1 Samuel 21:12) and literally acted like a madman in front of everyone.  “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 21:13; compare to the superscription above in Psalm 34).

David put on a very convincing show that saved his life.  He was released from that place and “escaped to the cave Adullam” (1 Samuel 21:14-22:1), where many suppose the heart of this psalm was penned.

After not just this trying ordeal, but in all that he has been through, David knows that God is worthy of praise.  And not just in times of blessings and prosperity, peace and good fortune.  Even in the dark caves of life, even on the run for his life, even when he felt dejected, rejected, and neglected by others, he declared, “I will bless the LORD at all times.”

David could not see a time when God wasn’t worthy of praise.  For David, that time didn’t exist.  David has always been a praiser, and he wasn’t going to let times of affliction stop him now.  Therefore, he says, “His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”

“His praise” must be emphasized here.  What David was writing and singing about were not just random words to a rich melody sung from the moving depths of his heart.  No, this was so much more.  This exaltation was for God.  This sweet anthem recognizes who David, and we, stand before in the good times and the bad, and it is He who is worthy to be praised.  This is “His praise!”  All glory always belongs to Him, no matter what.

Yes, there will be days of tears and days of trouble, but there will never be a day when God is not worthy to be praised.

In hard times, it is easy to pay attention to and be filled up with things that shouldn’t be getting so much attention.  But David chooses to do something different.  Instead of making his problems bigger, he made God bigger by determining to magnify the Lord through it all (v. 3)!

If you feed faith, faith will grow.  If you feed into the fear, then fear will grow.  Which one will you choose to magnify today?

David decides to praise God no matter what. May his determination inspire us to do the same.

Blessings~

Father God, we want to honor You despite it all. Regardless of our circumstances, You will always be worthy of the praise. No matter the dark caves we may face, we desire to glorify You. We recognize today that our adoration doesn’t stop when things only look good. Our adoration belongs to You because You are good. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray, AMEN!