“The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun? One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever. The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose. The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again. All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.”
Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/ecc.1.1-11.KJV
A Refuge to Run To
We live in unpredictable times. The things we value, the people we care about, the lives we lead—all of it feels uncertain and unstable.
King David could relate. After years of faithful service to King Saul, the king plotted to murder David. Desperate, David fled to Gath—the home of the giant David killed in battle. After being recognized by the people of Gath, David was so overwhelmed by fear that he pretended to go insane. The king of Gath was repulsed by his “insanity” and so he threw David out of the city.
By this time, David had escaped death multiple times. He was surrounded by people who hated him, and he had every reason to be anxious and fearful. But in the midst of his uncertain circumstances, he creates a Psalm to praise God for His greatness.
I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises.
Psalm 34:1 NLT
Worshiping God put David’s problems into perspective. Situations could shift, but God wouldn’t. He was still powerful, ...