I will glory in the Lord;

    let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

‘In prayer, we act like men, in praise we act like angels.” Thomas Watson.

Life and death are in the tongue. Our words can have a profound effect on others, for better or for worse.

‘Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.’ I believe this quote is attributed to Plato, and there is much truth in it. If people are not currently fighting a hard battle, they have done in the past, or they are likely to in the future. Every human-being should be handled with care.

I love these words found in Isaiah 50:4: “The Sovereign LORD has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.”

David writes, in this verse, about the effect his glorying (or boasting) in the Lord may have on others in need. One commentary says “the afflicted” are those at the bottom of the pile. No-one need be beyond the reach of God’s encouraging Word

Superficially, it may have appeared that David got out of the situation with Abimilek (Achish) by his astuteness. But in fact, he says, it was a divine deliverance. David did not boast about his own cleverness, skill, or resourcefulness, but He boasted in the Lord. He was the One who had brought about his escape.