Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelek, who drove him away, and he left.

1 I will extol the Lord at all times;
    his praise will always be on my lips.
2 I will glory in the Lord;
    let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the Lord with me:
    let us exalt his name together. NIVUK

‘The title places the psalm in 1 Samuel 21:10-14…if we only had the Samuel account, we would say that the crisis was overcome by astuteness. But, on reflection, David saw that it was not at all so: the secret of his escape was I sought the LORD (4)…This poor man called (6). Cleverness did not open the door, rather he delivered…he saved (6).’ Alec Motyer

David, by example, points the way. Praise is due to the Lord ”at all times” and ”always”. There is never a time when He is not worthy of our praise. But to ”give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thess.5:18) is easier said than done. However, David gives us two keys to such a life of worship:

  1. Volition: the decision to praise: ”I will…I will…”;
  2. Fellowship in praise: He has a testimony to share of answered prayer, and he reaches out to others and encourages them to come to his ‘praise gathering’ (3). ‘When God does something special for you, tell somebody else. The next generation needs to know that God is alive.’ Warren Wiersbe

But so does this one – and the ”afflicted” especially so.