Chapter 34
The introduction to this Psalm says David wrote it when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech. Wasn't this in Gath, where David pretended insanity before the Philistine king? MSB note says yes, it refers to 1Sa 21:10-15. That note also says there is nothing in the Psalm that makes that connection. MSB note also says this Psalm is very similar to Psa 25. This Psalm in the original language is an acrostic.
These verses, appropriate for funerals:
17 When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. 18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. [Psa 34:17-18 ESV]
And this verse:
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. [Psa 34:19 ESV]
We have to expect not just trouble, but a lot of trouble. Good FB post.
20 He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. [Psa 34:20 ESV]
This verse is about the crucifixion. Yet, it is stuck in the middle of a lot of verses that do not seem to be about the crucifixion at all. I don't see how, in the time it was written, that this verse could possibly have been recognized for what it is. There are verses where Jesus tells his disciples that they are privileged to see what the prophets and angels searched for and could not find. Maybe this is one of the things he was talking about.
2024 - I guess the way to look at this is that David's pretense of insanity got him away from the Philistine King, got him to safety, instead of getting him summarily executed...which would have been the smart thing for that King. But God used this ruse, or God let David's ruse work, so that he escaped to rule Israel.
2024 - Vss 19-22 can possibly all apply to Christ in that he was righteous, yet he was nailed to a cross, tortured, and died at the hands of the unrighteous. Even so, God was there, keeping his bones intact. Rome faded away, but the righteous are still here. And they have salvation for their troubles rather than wrath or condemnation.