What Time I am Afraid, I Will Trust in You, O Lord

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Psalm 56:1) (To the chief musician upon Jonathelemrechokim, michtam of David, when the Philistines took him in Gath.) Be merciful to me, O God, for man would swallow me up; he fighting daily oppresses me.

This psalm follows chronologically the events of David.  He had fled from Saul to Gath where the Philistines seized him for fear he had come to seize their kingdom since he had killed their Goliath.  Some of the words David used in introducing his psalms were often a great mystery to scholars as they are found nowhere else in scripture.  Michtam is one of those words.  It's a term he used for some of his psalms perhaps for how they were to be presented or recorded.  David often introduced his psalms "to the chief musician of ________."  In the past psalms studied, it seemed that most scholars thought he referred to the musical instrument to be used.  However, the long word above is actually four words, Jonath-elem-recho-kim, meaning “the silent dove of far-off places.”  Although there could have been a musical instrument they called that, it rather sounds like the name of a song already in existence at the time, and David desired his psalm be sung to that melody.

David began his psalm by asking the Lord to be merciful to him.  We should always desire mercy and never what we deserve.  The filthy sinners that we are deserve nothing of our own and do not even deserve to be in the presence of God asking Him for anything.  Therefore, our cry should be for His mercy.  Without the Lord's mercy and intervention, men would destroy him, for they came after him daily.

(2) My enemies would daily swallow me up, for there are many who fight against me, O Most High.

David declared that he had many enemies who would daily swallow him up.  Saul indeed, had many servants who sought his life for their king.  However, a believer has many enemies that attack him on a daily basis, sin, Satan, and the world, seeking to destroy him.  Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, wrote that he didn't believe that "Most High" was meant to be a title of the Lord.  He argued that the verse should have read, "...for there are many who fight against me from on high," meaning Saul and his servants.

(3) What time I am afraid, I will trust in You. (4) In God I will praise His word, In God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do to me.

What a beautiful sentiment that we should all take to heart.  Whenever we are afraid, we should put our trust in the Lord, as David said he did.  He would praise God's word and hold onto the promises God made about protecting and delivering him.  He would not fear what man could do to him when he had God on his side.

(5) Every day they wrest my words; all their thoughts are against me for evil.

David declared that every day his enemies twisted his words.  That certainly sounds like our enemies today!  In this super-polarized world we find ourselves in today, someone is always looking for ways to twist our words into something that proves their case, for all their thoughts are evil against us, as in David's time.  We should remember that no matter the words a person may have clumsily used, if that was not his meaning, then to pretend it meant something else is to lie.

(6) They gather themselves together; they hide themselves, they mark my steps, when they wait for my soul.

David's enemies gathered themselves together, hiding themselves, but watching his every move, and they lay in wait for an opportunity to take his life.  I couldn't help but think about President Trump with this one.  If there was ever a person whose every step and every word were so carefully watched in order to take him down politically and even literally, that man was Donald Trump!

(7) Shall they escape by iniquity? In Your anger, cast down the people, O God.

David wonders if the wicked will be able to escape punishment by their wickedness.  Again, this is so illustrative of our present time when it seems that the wicked are actually too big and important to be brought to justice.  They have done wicked things so big that to expose them might destroy the country.  God must be angry with such wickedness, with people who act as gods who can do whatever they want and are not held accountable, and David asked that He bring them down in His righteous anger.

(8) You tell my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle; are they not in Your book?

The Lord alone knew how long David would wander this world.  He kept track of his sorrows and his tears; they were in God's book of remembrance, not a literal book, but God takes notice of all and remembers all.

(9) When I cry to You, then shall my enemies turn back; this I know, for God is for me.

Whenever David cried out to the Lord, his enemies were forced back.  David had full confidence that God was on his side.

(10) In God will I praise His word; in the Lord will I praise His word.

David repeated his sentiment in verse 4; he would praise God's word and His promises.  He first called his Lord "God," that is, "Elohim," the supreme Judge.  Then he used "Lord," "Yehovah," the self-existent eternal One.

(11) In God have I put my trust; I will not be afraid what man can do to me.

David repeated the rest of verse 4, that he had put his trust in God, and therefore would not be afraid of what man could do to him.

(12) Your vows are upon me, O God; I will render praises to You.

David, having received what he needed from God, would continually offer praises of glory and thanksgiving.

(13) For You have delivered my soul from death and my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living.

David recognized that the Lord had delivered him from death and from falling into destruction in order that he might be a light in the land of the living, serving and glorifying God.  Is that not the purpose of all of us?  We are here to serve and glorify God so that others may be brought to salvation.  We are to be a light unto the world, and we should not hide our lights under a bushel basket (Matthew 5:15).

Taste and See That the Lord is Good

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Psalm 34:1) (Of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech who drove him away, and he departed) I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise continually in my mouth.

David apparently wrote this psalm after leaving Achish, king of Gath, at the end of the last post (1 Samuel 21:15).  The king's name was Achish, but here he is called by his title, Abimelech, which meant literally "father of the king."  David proclaimed he would bless the Lord at all times, giving Him honor, praise, and glory, continually, for all that He continued to do for David, or just for who He was.

(2) My soul shall make her boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear and be glad.

David said his soul would boast in the Lord.  He would not boast of himself, but in the Lord and what He had done for him.  The humble ones, the lowly and depressed or the poor and needy, would hear his boasts of the Lord and be glad, having hope and receiving encouragement that they might receive such deliverance from the Lord.  The humble might also refer to those with humble hearts and spirits who would rejoice with those who rejoiced and be glad to see others share in the goodness and grace of God.

(3) O magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt His name together.

David invited the humble ones to join him in magnifying the Lord and praising and exalting His name together.

(4) I sought the Lord, and He heard me and delivered me from all my fears.

David said he sought the Lord, and the Lord delivered him from his fears.  This is interesting.  David had been afraid of Achish, Abimelech (1 Samuel 21:12), and had surely prayed to God to deliver him.  And the Lord delivered him.  Had the Lord put David in a mad fit so that the king of Gath would send him away?  1 Samuel 21:13 said that David had feigned himself mad, but actually the original word was "halal," and it meant "be mad" or "act madly."  There is another word "mirmah" that meant "feigned," and that is not included here.  Just because David acted madly doesn't mean he feigned it himself.  He changed his behavior, but it may not have been by his own will.  God could have made him act madly, and that seems very plausible considering David's retelling of the incident in his psalm.  

(5) They looked to Him and were lightened, and their faces were not ashamed.

The humble ones looked to the Lord and were brightened as they became cheerful, which is the more complete definition of the original word that was translated as "lightened."  They were not ashamed to have put their trust in the Lord, nor were they disappointed.

(6) This poor man cried, and the Lord heard and saved him out of all his troubles.

David, referring to himself as a poor man, a poor, afflicted, persecuted man, cried out to the Lord, and He heard him and saved him from his troubles.

(7) The angel of the Lord encamps round about them who fear Him and delivers them.

The Lord sets His angels around the people who reverently fear Him to watch over them, and He delivers them.  Some commentators believe David was speaking prophetically, and what is meant is the Angel of the Lord, Jesus Christ, literally encamps around them; He indwells them with His Holy Spirit, and He delivers them.

(8) O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him. (9) O fear the Lord, you His saints, for no want to them who fear Him.

David invited people to taste, try the flavor of, that is, test by experience, that the Lord was good.  The one who put his trust in the Lord was blessed.  And that doesn't mean that he is always materially blessed or blessed in the way that the world might judge blessing, but he is blessed in a way that the world cannot comprehend.  There is peace, and freedom and joy, in knowing that the Lord is in charge of one's life.  His yoke is easy (Matthew 11:30); you can let go, and let Him, and that is the real blessing that everyone desires whether they really understand it or not.  Those who fear the Lord want for nothing (Psalm 23:1) because the Lord provides all their needs (Philippians 4:19).

(10) The young lions do lack and suffer hunger, but they who seek the Lord shall not want any good.

The young lions, those who ravage and spoil by their own strength, or perhaps the very young who depend on their parents, do sometimes lack and suffer hunger, just as people who rely on themselves and other people will sometimes lack.  However, those who seek the Lord and rely on Him do not want for any good thing.  Once again, the good things of the Lord are not necessarily what the world considers good.

(11) Come, you children, hearken to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

David calls his eventual children, his eventual subjects, or any not yet followers of the Lord, to listen to him.  As many Biblical scholars see this psalm as an allusion to the Messiah, these could be the words of Jesus beckoning all to come to Him, and He would teach them about the Lord.

(12) What man desires life and loves many days that he may see good? (13) Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking guile.

All men naturally desire long lives, enjoying prosperity and happiness. David began to teach those children from verse 11 the way of the Lord.  He instructed them to guard their mouths from speaking evil.

(14) Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

David encouraged them to avoid evil, evil men and situations, and evil temptations within themselves.  He told them to seek and even pursue peace as much as humanly possible (Romans 12:18):  "If it be possible, as much as lies in you, live peaceably with all men."

(15) The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears open to their cry. (16) The face of the Lord is against them who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

Actually, the Lord's eyes are on everyone, but He watches over the righteous and listens to their cries and prayers.  However, the Lord is against those who persist in evil, and He will cut off the remembrance of them, or at least they will never be thought of except with contempt.  Hitler is remembered, but only for his evil; nothing good he ever did is ever remembered.  As we are all sinners, I like to think that this also means that the Lord cuts off the remembrance of the evil that we have done when we turn to Him (Hebrews 8:12).

(17) They cry, and the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. (18) The Lord is near to them who are of a broken heart and saves such as be of a contrite spirit.

The righteous cry out to the Lord, and He delivers them out of their troubles.  The Lord is near to all who are of a broken spirit.  He loves all His children and desires that all be saved (2 Peter 3:9).  Most often it is when people reach their lowest that they turn to God, so He is always near to them then, desiring that they turn to Him, and He saves those of a contrite spirit, humbled under a sense of sin and repentant.

(19) Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. 

Even though we may be blessed by the Lord, it doesn't mean we will have no afflictions.  On the contrary, we will have many, but the Lord delivers us out of them, or sometimes through them that good may come, as "all things work together for good to them who love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose."  

(20) He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.

This indeed, seems to be a prophetic reference to Jesus Christ, as not one of His bones were broken.  As far as the righteous, many human bones will be broken, however, not one of their spiritual bones will be broken, so to speak, as no one can do anything to take away their salvation in Christ (John 10:28).

(21) Evil shall slay the wicked, and they who hate the righteous will be desolate. (22) The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, and none of them who trust in Him shall be desolate.

Evil will eventually kill the wicked.  Their evil schemes might catch up with them in this life, but it will certainly catch up with them in the next, in eternity.  Those who hate the righteous will be desolate.  The original word that was translated as "desolate" is "asham."  The primary meaning according to Strong's is "to be guilty; by implication to be punished or perish."  But "asham" is interesting, as they will be eternally ashamed when they realize what they have done, as all will come to know the truth in the end (Romans 14:11).  The Lord redeems the souls of His servants, and none of them who trust in Him shall be made desolate.  Though the evil may kill the body, they cannot kill the soul (Matthew 10:28).

I couldn't help but relate this to the recent murder of Charlie Kirk.  Evil killed the righteous, but it's the one who killed the righteous who will be desolate.  If he doesn't give his life to Jesus, he will be eternally desolate.  The righteous will never be desolate.  Though his body died, his soul was immediately in the joyful presence of his Savior.  And if his murderer came to salvation in Christ because of what he had done, Charlie Kirk would have been glad to have been a part of God's purpose for him, which he always was.  He knew the risks he took, but he was never ashamed to proclaim Christ and to do his part to bring people to His truth.

Psalm 34 was one of David's acrostic or alphabetical psalms where each Hebrew letter began a verse in sequential order.  It's a wonder that at such a time when his life was in such danger that he had the presence of mind to write a more complicated psalm.  However, as many Biblical scholars believe many of these words were prophetic about the coming Messiah, he was surely divinely inspired to write what he did.

David Takes Consecrated Bread

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(1 Samuel 21:1) Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest, and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said to him, "Why are you alone and no man with you?"

Jonathan had warned David that Saul intended to kill him, and David had run away.  He came to Nob, a city of priests, where the tabernacle was at that time.  I imagine David felt safe in the tabernacle of the Lord where he might receive counsel of the Lord.  The high priest Ahimelech was afraid when he saw David alone.  He may have heard of the king's displeasure with him, but also as the king's son-in-law, he should have had attendants with him.  David coming alone did not seem right, and he sensed trouble.  He asked David why he had come alone.

(2) And David said to Ahimelech the priest, "The king has commanded me some business and has said to me, 'Let no man know anything of the business whereabout I send you and what I have commanded you,' and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place."

David then told the high priest a lie, telling him that the king had sent him on some business and had sworn him to secrecy, so he had sent his servants away.  As good a man as David was, living a life of integrity as he had proclaimed in the last post in Psalm 26, this is the second time that we read of David lying (1 Samuel 20:6).

(3) "Now therefore, what is under your hand? Give five loaves of bread in my hand or what there is present."

David asked the priest what he had on hand, with regard to bread or something to eat, as we may assume he had had nothing to eat on his journey.  He asked the priest to give him five loaves of bread or whatever he had on hand.

(4) And the priest answered David, and said, "No common bread under my hand, but there is hallowed bread, if the young men have kept themselves at least from women."

The priest told David that he had no common bread on hand, but there was hallowed bread that had been devoted for sacred use.  However, he seemed willing to give it to David and any of his men if they had abstained from women and were considered clean.

(5) And David answered the priest and said to him, "Of a truth, women kept from us about these three days since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel."

It seems as if David may have had some men with him that he had sent away when he came to Ahimelech, unless he was still lying.  He told the priest that they had not been with women for three days since he had left and been on this journey.  Whether or not it was true, that was the length of time the law required for sanctifying themselves after being with women.  David added that the vessels of his young men were holy, not having been defiled with any ceremonial uncleanness.  He also suggested that the bread was common at that time anyway as it had been removed from the showbread table, as may be assumed because the priest said he had it on hand, as bread taken off the showbread table was then lawful to be eaten by the priest and his family.  Supposedly, in case of necessity through hunger, the bread might be lawfully allowed to strangers.

(6) So the priest gave him hallowed bread, for there was no bread there but the showbread that was taken from before the Lord to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.

The priest gave David the hallowed bread, that which had been taken off the showbread table before the Lord, in order to place fresh bread there.  It was lawful for the priests only to eat the showbread; but David and his companions were starving and no other bread could be had at the time.  Therefore he and his companions ate of it without sin, and this we know because Jesus referred to this incident in Mark 2:25-26, implying that because he had need and was hungry, his actions were not sinful, because strict legalistic adherence to laws to the detriment of people was not aligned with the spirit of the law.  "I desire mercy and not sacrifice," said the Lord (Hosea 6:6), and it was repeated by Jesus (Matthew 12:7).  Jesus also spoke of the law of the Sabbath, saying it was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath, once again meaning it should not be so legalistically adhered to so as to cause detriment to people.

(7) Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord, and his name was Doeg, an Edomite, the chiefest of the herdsmen of Saul.

There was a servant of Saul's named Doeg who was either at the tabernacle or in close proximity to it.  He was the chief of the herdsmen of Saul and so might be considered more loyal to Saul than just any herdsman.  He was detained before the Lord, probably just meaning he himself chose to stay, tarrying to worship the Lord.

(8) And David said to Ahimelech, "And is there not here under your hand spear or sword? For I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me because the king's business required haste."

David asked the priest if he had any weapons on hand because he had not brought any weapons with him because the king's business had required haste.  I suppose you could say that part of what David told the priest was true.  It was the king's business to kill him, and he indeed had to leave in haste.

(9) And the priest said, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine whom you killed in the valley of Elah, behold it wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it, for there is no other save that here." And David said, "None like that; give it to me."

The priest told David that the sword of Goliath, the giant David had killed, was there wrapped in a cloth behind the place where the priestly garment lay.  He told him he could take that if he wanted it, for there was nothing else there.  David said there was nothing like it, definitely because of its size, but David had been well able to use it to cut off Goliath's head (1 Samuel 17:51), and also because it would serve as a symbol of God's faithfulness in delivering him as He had previously done.

(10) And David arose and fled that day for fear of Saul and went to Achish the king of Gath.

David fled from there to Gath, to Achish, the king of Gath.  It seems strange that David would flee to an enemy king, but Saul's rage was so great and David's life in such danger, that perhaps he felt a little safety in the presence of a rival king to Saul.  "The enemy of my enemy is my friend," as the proverb goes.

(11) And the servants of Achish said to him, "Isn't this David the king of the land? Did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, 'Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands'? (12) And David laid up these words in his heart and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath.

However, the servants of Achish considered David to be the king or at least recognized him as the king elect of Israel as they remembered the women dancing and singing that while Saul had killed his thousands, David had killed his ten thousands (1 Samuel 18:7).  Perhaps they even meant that David was the king of their land, as Goliath had proposed that if any man were to kill him, the Philistines would become subjects of Israel (1 Samuel 17:9), and maybe they thought David had come to overthrow Achish and take the crown.  Either way, David became afraid of what Achish might do to him when he knew that. 

(13) And he changed his behavior toward them and feigned himself mad in their hands and scrabbled on the doors of the gate and let his spittle fall down on his beard.

David changed his behavior toward the servants of Achish and pretended to be mad "in their hands," which sounds as if they may have taken hold of David.  He scratched on the doors of the gate and drooled down his beard.

(14) Then Achish said to his servants, "Lo, you see the man is mad. Why have you brought him to me? (15) Have I need of mad men that you have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence? Shall he come into my house?"

Achish's servants brought David to him, but because he saw him as mad, he demanded to know why his servants brought a mad man to him as if he needed a mad man in his house.  Although this psalm ends right here, we can assume that the king sent him away, as 1 Samuel 22 begins with the fact that David left.  However, my chronological study takes me to Psalms next.

David pretending to be mad when he wasn't is yet another example of his dishonesty.  I have often pondered whether or not every lie is a sin against God.  What makes me wonder that is that the commandment against lying actually says, "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."  Do not tell a lie about your neighbor.  Is that the same as telling a lie to an enemy of God to save one's life?  I suppose it could represent a lack of faith in God to deliver one out of danger when he believes he must do something to deliver himself.  Quoting Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, "Justly are troubles called temptations, for many are by them drawn into sin."  By this, he suggests that because of his troubles, David was drawn into the sin of lying.  And surely, even if it was not an actual sin against God, everything we do has a chain reaction, whether good or bad.  And there is a slippery slope we find ourselves on when we start with little white lies as they make it easier to tell bigger lies.

Lord, Judge Me and Protect Me from My Enemies

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

In the last post, at the end of 1 Samuel 20, Jonathan had warned David that his father, King Saul, intended to kill him, and David had gone away.  It is assumed that David may have written this psalm about that time:

(Psalm 26:1) (Of David) Judge me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity; I have trusted also in the Lord; I shall not slide.

David asked that the Lord judge him, that is, judge whether or not he was just in the matter between him and Saul.  He felt he had walked with integrity and had done nothing wrong to make Saul want to kill him.  He had trusted in the Lord, and he would not waver.

(2) Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.

David asked that the Lord examine him and his motives and prove whether or not they were just.  He asked that the Lord test his reins and his heart.  The reins were the kidneys, the gut, the seat of emotions.  He asked that the Lord search his heart and the pit of his emotions to test whether or not they were pure.

(3) For your lovingkindness is before my eyes, and I have walked in your truth. (4) I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers. (5) I have hated the congregation of evil doers and will not sit with the wicked.

David recognized how loving and kind the Lord had been to him, and he had walked in God's truth, in His ways.  He did not associate with vain people, those who were evil and false.  He would not be in the company of dissemblers, those who lied and hid their true evil motives.  He, in fact, hated evil doers and would not associate with the wicked.

(6) I will wash my hands in innocency, so I will compass Your altar, O Lord, (7) That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving and tell of all Your wondrous works. (8) Lord, I have loved the habitation of Your house and the place where Your honor dwells.

David determined to wash his hands in innocence, to be clean and pure, that he might be able to move about the Lord's altar with clean hands and a pure heart, that he might proclaim the wonderful works of the Lord with thanksgiving.  David had loved dwelling in the house of the Lord where He was worshiped, but I believe he also meant dwelling in the presence of the Lord, as he felt his Lord was always with him.

(9) Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men, (10) In whose hands is mischief, and their right hand is full of bribes.

David asked that the Lord not count him among sinners, gathering him up for destruction with them.  He asked that the Lord not let his life be taken away by bloody men, those who shed blood, while bribing judges to pervert righteous judgment.

(11) But as for me, I will walk in my integrity; redeem me and be merciful to me.

David determined to always live a life of integrity, but even so, he realized he could never be perfect, and he asked that the Lord be merciful to him and redeem him from sin.

(12) My foot stands in an even place; in the congregations will I bless the Lord.

David proclaimed that he stood upon a sure and solid foundation, being under the protection of God's almighty and watchful providence.  Not only in private, but he would publicly praise the Lord.

This psalm of David seems rightly to have been written after he had fled from Saul.  As he had previously expressed to Jonathan, he did not feel he had done anything to warrant Saul's desire to kill him.  He pleaded with the Lord to judge him and find him guiltless and redeem him from any sins that may have plagued him, as he always strived to live a life of integrity following in the Lord's way.

Jonathan Warns David, and David Leaves

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(1 Samuel 20:1) And David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came and said before Jonathan, "What have I done? What is my iniquity? And what is my sin before your father that he seeks my life?"

When we last left David, Saul had his servants surrounding David's house at night waiting to kill him the next morning, but his wife Micah let him down out a window where he fled to Samuel in Ramah, and then Samuel and David went to Naioth.  Saul went to Naioth after him, but the Lord put a spirit of prophecy on Saul, and he was detained a day and a night, giving David time to escape from Naioth.  He came to Jonathan and begged to know what he had done that made Saul seek to kill him.

(2) And he said to him, "God forbid, you shall not die; behold, my father will do nothing either great or small, but that he will show it to me; and why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so."

Jonathan told David he was sure his father was not trying to kill him because his father always told him his plans, great or small, and he could not believe that his father would hide so great a thing from him.  He was sure it was not true.

(3) And David swore moreover, and said, "Your father certainly knows that I have found grace in your eyes, and he said, 'Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved,' but truly, as the Lord lives and your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death."

David swore to Jonathan that he knew it to be true.  He told him that his father surely knew that David had found great favor with Jonathan and that he had hidden his intentions from Jonathan because of their great friendship.  He swore to him that he knew his life was in imminent danger.

(4) Then Jonathan said to David, "Whatever your soul desires, I will do for you." (5) And David said to Jonathan, "Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at the meal, but let me go that I may hide myself in the field until the third day at evening."

Jonathan assured David he would do whatever David asked him to do.  David told him that the next day was the new moon which was the first day of the month, as the months of the Hebrews were lunar months, counted from new moon to new moon.  On the new moon they offered sacrifices and had a feast (Numbers 28:11), and David said he would be expected to join the king at the feast.  However, he asked Jonathan to let him go and hide out until the third day when the feast was over.

(6) "If your father at all misses me, then say, 'David earnestly asked of me that he might run to Bethlehem his city, for a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.'"

David told Jonathan that if his father asked about him, to tell him that David wanted to go to Bethlehem for a yearly sacrifice there for all his family.  That may have been true and not just an excuse as his family did indeed make yearly sacrifices (1 Samuel 1:21).

(7) "If he says thus, 'It is well,' your servant shall have peace, but if he is very angry, be sure that evil is determined by him."

David told Jonathan that if his father said that it was well and good that David should go to his family feast, then he knew he would be safe.  However, if his father became very angry, then Jonathan could be sure that Saul determined evil against David.

(8) "Therefore you shall deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you; notwithstanding, if there is in me iniquity, slay me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?"

David knew that Jonathan would deal kindly with him because of a covenant of friendship between Jonathan and David, of which Jonathan had been the initiator.  However, David said that if there was any iniquity found in him, he implored that Jonathan kill him himself rather than bring him to his father.

(9) And Jonathan said, "Far be it from you! For if I knew certainly that evil was determined by my father to come upon you, then wouldn't I tell you?"

Jonathan told David that thought should be far from him that he would conceal his father's ill intentions against him.  If he had known of any such intentions, he would have certainly told David.

(10) Then David said to Jonathan, "Who shall tell me? Or what if your father answers you roughly?"

David asked Jonathan how he would know how Saul had responded when he wasn't at the feast.  What if his father dealt with him harshly because he knew that he loved David and may have protected him?

(11) And Jonathan said to David, "Come and let us go out into the field." And both of them went out into the field. (12) And Jonathan said to David, "O Lord God of Israel, when I have sounded out my father anytime tomorrow or the third day, and behold, if there is good toward David, and then I do not send to you and show it to you, (13) The Lord do so and much more to Jonathan, but if it please my father to do you evil, then I will show it to you and send you away, that you may go in peace, and the Lord be with you, as He has been with my father."

Jonathan asked David to go out into the field with him, probably so that they could talk more freely, not being overheard by Saul's servants.  They went out to the field, and Jonathan assured David by the Lord God of Israel, that when he knew the mood and intentions of his father, he would certainly tell him.  Let the vengeance of the Lord fall on him if he failed to tell David.  He would tell him if the news was good, and if it was bad, he would tell him and help him get away, that he may go in peace.  He added the blessing that the Lord be with him as He had been with his father, suggesting that he might be aware that David was to succeed his father as king.

(14) "And you shall not only while I yet live show me the kindness of the Lord, that I not die, (15) But you shall not cut off your kindness from my house forever; no, not when the Lord has cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth."

For David's part in this covenant, Jonathan asked that he show kindness to him when he came to the throne and not take away his life.  He asked that David not cut off that kindness from his family forever, or for as long as he was on the throne.  Not even after the Lord had cut off all his enemies and presumably then he had peace, he was never to cut off his kindness to Jonathan's posterity.

(16) So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, "Let the Lord even require at the hand of David's enemies."

It appears that this covenant was to go beyond David's time on the throne and was to continue with his descendants, "the house of David."  If either side broke this covenant, Jonathan asked that the Lord punish the violators by the hand of David's enemies.

(17) And Jonathan caused David to swear again because he loved him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul.

Jonathan asked David to swear to this oath, for he loved him like a brother or even closer, like himself, and he desired that their families continue to observe their covenant throughout their generations.

(18) Then Jonathan said to David, "Tomorrow is the new moon, and you shall be missed because your seat will be empty. (19) And when you have stayed three days, you shall go down quickly and come to the place where you did hide yourself when the business was and shall remain by the stone Ezel."

Jonathan reiterated the fact that the next day was the new moon and that David would not be at the feast.  He went on to instruct him to wait three days and then go down to the place where he had hidden before when the business of Saul seeking David's life first became known to them (1 Samuel 19:2).  He told him to remain at a stone called Ezel.

(20) "And I will shoot three arrows to the side, as though I shot at a mark. (21) And behold, I will send a lad, 'Go find the arrows.' If I expressly say to the lad, 'Behold, the arrows are on this side of you, take them,' then you come, for there is peace to you and no hurt, as the Lord lives. (22) But if I say thus to the young man, 'Behold, the arrows are beyond you,' go your way for the Lord has sent you away."

Jonathan devised a signal for David.  After the three days, he would go out to the field and shoot three arrows.  He would tell the servant with him to go fetch the arrows.  If he expressly told the young man that the arrows were to the side of him, then David was to come forth because Jonathan meant that it was safe and no harm would come to him; as sure as the Lord lived, he could be assured of his safety.  However, if he said to the young man that the arrows were beyond him, that was David's signal to go away, for it was not safe.  Jonathan said it would mean that the Lord had sent him away.  They assigned everything to the will of God.  If Saul became angry at David's absence, it would be the will of God that David should leave.

(23) "And the matter which you and I have spoken of, behold, the Lord be between you and me forever."

Jonathan added, as if it might be the only parting message he could make if David was to flee after his signal, that the Lord was the witness to their covenant that should remain forever.

(24) So David hid himself in the field, and when the new moon had come, the king sat down to eat the meal. (25) And the king sat upon his seat as at other times, upon a seat by the wall, and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side, and David's place was empty.

David hid in the field as he and Jonathan had planned.  The new moon came the following day, and Saul sat down to eat the feast.  He sat at his usual place by the wall.  Jonathan arose, probably out of respect for his father who had come to the table.  Abner, Saul's cousin and the captain of his army, sat by Saul's side, and David's place was empty.

(26) Nevertheless, Saul spoke not anything that day, for he thought, "Something has befallen him; he is not clean, surely, he is not clean."

However, Saul didn't say anything about David not being there.  He assumed something had happened that made him unclean and not lawful for him to attend the feast.

(27) And it came to pass on the next day, the second day of the month, that David's place was empty, and Saul said to Jonathan his son, "Why has the son of Jesse not come to eat, neither yesterday nor today?" (28) And Jonathan answered Saul, "David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem. (29) And he said, 'Let me go, I pray you, for our family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there, and now, if I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away, I pray you, and see my brethren.' Therefore he comes not to the king's table."

On the second day of the feast, when David was absent again, Saul asked Jonathan why he was not there for two days in a row.  Jonathan gave Saul the prearranged story that David had asked to return to his home for a sacrifice his family was having, saying that his brother had commanded his attendance.  David had pleaded with Jonathan, and in Saul's absence, Jonathan gave him permission to go.

(30) Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, "You son of the perverse rebelliousness! Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother's nakedness?"

Saul became angry with Jonathan, calling him rebellious and saying that he knew he had chosen David over his own family and had brought shame to himself and to his mother.  After all, Jonathan should have succeeded Saul to the throne, so what would men think?  They might assume Jonathan had no right to the throne, that a son-in-law took his place, perhaps because his mother had played the whore, and he was no son of Saul.  Saul felt that Jonathan had brought shame on the entire family.

(31) "For as long as the son of Jesse lives upon the ground, you shall not be established, nor your kingdom. Now, therefore, send and fetch him to me, for he shall surely die."

Indeed, Saul told Jonathan that as long as David lived, Jonathan would never be established as king.  Therefore, he told Jonathan to go get David and bring him back to him, as he must die.

(32) And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said to him, "Why shall he be killed? What has he done?" (33) And Saul cast a javelin at him to strike him, by which Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to kill David.

Jonathan asked Saul why David should be killed, what he had done to deserve death.  Saul was so angry that he cast his javelin at Jonathan with the intention of hitting him with it.  Jonathan knew without a doubt that Saul intended to kill David.

(34) So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David because his father had done him shame.

Jonathan was also very angry and arose from the table without eating of the feast.  He grieved for David, and he was angry because of what his father had done to him in calling him perverse and rebellious and even trying to kill him in his anger.

(35) And it came to pass in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad with him. (36) And he said to the lad, "Run, find out now the arrows which I shoot." As the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.

The next morning Jonathan went out to the field with a lad with him, as he had prearranged with David.  He told the lad to run ahead and fetch the arrows he was going to shoot.  He then shot an arrow beyond the lad as he was running.

(37) And when the lad had come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad, and said, "Isn't the arrow beyond you?"

The young man went to the place at which the arrow had been shot, but Jonathan cried out to him that he thought the arrow was beyond him, which of course was the signal to David that he should run away.

(38) And Jonathan cried after the lad, "Make speed, haste, do not stay!" And Jonathan's lad had gathered up the arrows and came to his master. (39) But the lad did not know anything. Only Jonathan and David knew the matter. (40) And Jonathan gave his artillery to his lad and said to him, "Go, carry them to the city."

Jonathan then called to his lad to get the arrows quickly, which he did and came back to Jonathan.  The lad knew nothing of David in the field and that Jonathan had just given him a signal.  Jonathan gave his bow and arrows to the young man and told him to take them back to the city.

(41) As soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the south and fell on his face to the ground and bowed himself three times, and they kissed one another and wept with one another until David exceeded.

As soon as the young man left, David came out from hiding and fell on his face to the ground.  He bowed himself three times before Jonathan, probably reverencing him as the prince who could have had him killed, but instead was his great faithful friend.  They kissed one another and wept until David's emotions exceeded.  He was losing more than his friend Jonathan.  He had lost his wife and his family before that.  He had lost the altar of God as he was to be in exile.

(42) And Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, since we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, 'The Lord be between you and me, and between my descendants and your descendants forever.'" And he arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.

Jonathan told David he could go in peace because of the covenant that he and David had made that would remain throughout their generations of descendants.  David rose up and departed, and Jonathan went to the city. 

Teach Me Your Paths, O Lord!

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Psalm 25:1) (Of David) To You, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

When we last left David, his house had been surrounded at night by Saul's servants who had the intention of killing him the next morning.  There have since been two psalms of his asking the Lord to deliver him from his enemies.  It is the opinion of Skip Andrews who wrote the chronological study I am following, that he may have written this one at that time as well.

David began his psalm by saying that he lifted up his soul to the Lord.  He couldn't literally and physically do that, of course, but his meditations and prayers he directed up to God.  He gave himself and his circumstances to God as He was his only defense.

(2) O my God, I trust in You; let me not be ashamed; let not my enemies triumph over me.

David put his trust in the Lord.  It's not that David was ever ashamed to call on his Lord, but his point was that he never be so forsaken by God as to have occasion for shame that he had trusted in a God who was unable to help him.  I don't believe that David could ever have such shame, but it might be seen by his enemies that he had put his trust in an unreliable source.  Let him not be shamed by them by allowing his enemies to triumph over him.

(3) Yea, let none who wait on You be ashamed; let them be ashamed who transgress without cause.

David prayed that none who waited on the Lord ever be ashamed, but rather the ones who sinned without cause should be brought to shame.

(4) Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. (5) Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You the God of my salvation, on You do I wait all the day.

David asked that the Lord show him His ways and teach him in the way he should go.  He asked to be led by the Lord in His truth, for God was his only salvation, and he would wait on him all day long, or continually.  He would not be shamed or rushed in doing something on his own, but desired to wait on the Lord to lead him.

(6) Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindness, for they are of old.

It's not as if God had to be prompted to remember anything.  But David's point was that the Lord had always been merciful, loving, and kind, to him, that He had always been so from the beginning, and he prayed that the Lord continue with that same mercy and lovingkindness.

(7) Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; according to Your mercy remember me for Your goodness's sake, O Lord.

David asked that the Lord not remember the sins of his youth or his present transgressions, but forgive them according to His great mercy and goodness, because that was who He was, and it had nothing to do with David's worthiness.

(8) Good and upright the Lord; therefore He will teach sinners in the way.

Because the Lord was good and upright and could be nothing other than that, He would teach His people who are all sinners in His ways, that they might be good and upright.

(9) The meek He will guide in judgment, and the meek He will teach His way.

The meek and humble the Lord would guide and teach according to His judgment.  The Lord searches the hearts of men to know the humble hearts that are willing to come to Him and be led and taught.  It's not that the Lord couldn't make anyone, even the hard-hearted, do as He would have them do, but as far as being led and taught by Him, to walk in His ways, He gives free will to all and will lead and teach His ways to only those who humble themselves before Him.

(10) All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth to such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.

To those who keep the word of the Lord, all the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth.  Even in affliction, God, in His mercy, uses those to bring us to a closer dependence on and relationship with Him, and He works all things for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purposes (Romans 8:28).

(11) For Your name's sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is great.

David asked the Lord to forgive his great iniquity, not because he deserved it, but because of the loving mercy that was the nature of the Lord.  At this point in the accounts of David, we haven't been made aware of any great sin of David's, but then all sin against God and His commandments is great.  It might be that this psalm belongs at a later time chronologically when David had greatly sinned.

(12) What man is he who fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He shall choose. (13) His soul shall dwell at ease, and his seed shall inherit the earth.

Whatever man who feared the Lord, one who had reverence and a heart ready to submit to His authority and obey Him with cheerfulness, that man the Lord would teach in which way he should choose, the Lord's way.  And because the Lord directed his paths, his soul would be at ease and at peace because he could completely trust in the Lord.  He who fears God has nothing else to fear.  His descendants shall inherit the earth.  God remembered Isaac for the sake of Abraham, and Jacob for the sake of Isaac.  Sons of righteous men have an advantage coming into the world.  That's not to say that they can't reject God, but as the prodigal son returned to his father, so sons of righteous men may return to the truth of God.  "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6)  Imagine the advantage we may have been born into because generations before us were righteous people who prayed for their posterity.  And for those who do not have biological posterity, there are countless opportunities for spiritual posterity.  May the Lord make us the joyful parents of many spiritual children!

(14) The secret of the Lord is with them who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.

There are secrets of the Lord that He will show those who fear Him and follow Him, that none can understand unless they themselves love and reverence and follow the Lord.  Who can understand the Holy Spirit within us unless they have experienced it within themselves?  That peace in times of trouble, that general joy because we know we are in the hands of our Lord, the fact that we need not fear because our Lord goes before us, and our confidence that we know where we will spend eternity; how can the ungodly understand those things?  Just as we do not fear when we die or when our loved ones who are believers die, as 1 Thessalonians 4:13 says, "But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep (meaning dead), that you do not sorrow as others who have no hope."  However, 1 Peter 3:15 tells us to "...be ready always to give an answer to every man who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you with meekness and fear."  It is our duty to tell them, but until they have actually experienced those secrets of the Lord and His Holy Spirit, words cannot fully describe it.

(15) My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for He shall pluck my feet out of the net.

David proclaimed that he always looked toward the Lord as he put all his trust in Him alone, for he knew that God would show him the way, and if he ever got entangled in a situation, God would deliver him out of it.

(16) Turn Yourself to me and have mercy on me for I am desolate and afflicted. (17) The troubles of my heart are enlarged. O bring me out of my distresses!

David always looked to the Lord with hope and expectation, and he wished for the Lord to look upon him and see his troubles and his need for the Lord's deliverance.  The troubles that plagued his heart were many and overwhelming, and he pleaded with the Lord to bring him out of his distress.

(18) Look upon my affliction and my pain and forgive all my sins.

David pleaded with the Lord to look upon his affliction and pain, and this time he added a plea to forgive all his sins.  Whether he was conscious of a particular sin at this point or not, he may have thought that the affliction had come upon him because of some sin of his, and his desire was that the Lord forgive him of that.

(19) Consider my enemies for they are many, and they hate me with cruel hatred.

David asked the Lord to consider how many enemies he had who hated him with cruel hatred and without cause which made it all the more cruel and unjust.  Perhaps his point was that there were so many that it was impossible for him to overcome them unless the Lord intervened and delivered him.

(20) O keep my soul and deliver me; let me not be ashamed, for I put my trust in You.

David prayed that the Lord save him from sin and keep him alive and deliver him from his enemies.  He ended his psalm the way he began it, asking the Lord to not let him be shamed for putting his trust and confidence in the Lord.

(21) Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait on You.

I believe this was meant to be a prayer asking for integrity and uprightness, the Lord's way, in order to preserve himself, for he depended on the Lord.

(22) Redeem Israel, O God, out of all its troubles.

Finally, David extended his prayer to all of Israel, that the Lord deliver Israel out of all its troubles.

Psalm 25 is the first psalm that David wrote in an alphabetical arrangement in which each verse begins with a subsequent letter of the Hebrew alphabet, from alef to tav, from A to Z, so to speak.  Such psalms usually had 22 verses corresponding with 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet.  David appears to be the first to use such an arrangement, and his purpose was probably to make it a more visually, as well as lyrically, beautiful song.  However, the method came to be used to aid in memory and recitation.  David wrote seven such acrostic psalms--25, 34, 37, 111, 112, 119, and 145.  Psalms 9 and 10 together form an acrostic, so David probably meant for them to be a single unit.  Occasionally, in these psalms the order of the letters is slightly changed or some of the letters are omitted, but the general structure is observed.  Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, wrote that verse 22 of this psalm was out of the alphabetical order and didn't appear to be part of the acrostic arrangement.  He believed that David added that prayer at the end of his psalm.