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Commentary on Psalms 34 verses 1–10
The title of this psalm tells us both who penned it and upon what occasion it was penned. David, being forced to flee from his country, which was made too hot for him by the rage of Saul, sought shelter as near it as he could, in the land of the Philistines. There it was soon discovered who he was, and he was brought before the king, who, in the narrative, is called Achish (his proper name), here Abimelech (his title); and lest he should be treated as a spy, or one that came thither upon design, he feigned himself to be a madman (such there have been in every age, that even by idiots men might be taught to give God thanks for the use of their reason), that Achish might dismiss him as a contemptible man, rather than take cognizance of him as a dangerous man. And it had the effect he desired; by this stratagem he escaped the hand that otherwise would have handled him roughly. Now, 1. We cannot justify David in this dissimulation. It ill became an honest man to feign himself to be what he was not, and a man of honour to feign himself to be a fool and a mad-man. If, in sport, we mimic those who have not so good an understanding as we think we have, we forget that God might have made their case ours. 2. Yet we cannot but wonder at the composure of his spirit, and how far he was from any change of that, when he changed his behaviour. Even when he was in that fright, or rather in that danger only, his heart was so fixed, trusting in God, that even then he penned this excellent psalm, which has as much in it of the marks of a calm sedate spirit as any psalm in all the book; and there is something curious too in the composition, for it is what is called an alphabetical psalm, that is, a psalm in which every verse begins with each letter in its order as it stands in the Hebrew alphabet. Happy are those who can thus keep their temper, and keep their graces in exercise, even when they are tempted to change their behaviour. In this former part of the psalm,
I. David engages and excites himself to praise God. Though it was his fault that he changed his behaviour, yet it was God's mercy that he escaped, and the mercy was so much the greater in that God did not deal with him according to the desert of his dissimulation, and we must in every thing give thanks. He resolves, 1. That he will praise God constantly: I will bless the Lord at all times, upon all occasions. He resolves to keep up stated times for this duty, to lay hold of all opportunities for it, and to renew his praises upon every fresh occurrence that furnished him with matter. If we hope to spend our eternity in praising God, it is fit that we should spend as much as may be of our time in this work. 2. That he will praise him openly: His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Thus he would show how forward he was to own his obligations to the mercy of God and how desirous to make others also sensible of theirs. 3. That he will praise him heartily: "My soul shall make her boast in the Lord, in my relation to him, my interest in him, and expectations from him." It is not vainglory to glory in the Lord.
II. He calls upon others to join with him herein. He expects they will (Psa 34:2): "The humble shall hear thereof, both of my deliverance and of my thankfulness, and be glad that a good man has so much favour shown him and a good God so much honour done him." Those have most comfort in God's mercies, both to others and to themselves, that are humble, and have the least confidence in their own merit and sufficiency. It pleased David to think that God's favours to him would rejoice the heart of every Israelite. Three things he would have us all to concur with him in: -
1.In great and high thoughts of God, which we should express in magnifying him and exalting his name, Psa 34:3. We cannot make God greater or higher than he is; but if we adore him as infinitely great, and higher than the highest, he is pleased to reckon this magnifying and exalting him. This we must do together. God's praises sound best in concert, for so we praise him as the angels do in heaven. Those that share in God's favour, as all the saints do, should concur in his praises; and we should be as desirous of the assistance of our friends in returning thanks for mercies as in praying for them. We have reason to join in thanksgiving to God,
(1.)For his readiness to hear prayer, which all the saints have had the comfort of; for he never said to any of them, Seek you me in vain. [1.] David, for his part, will give it under his hand that he has found him a prayer-hearing God (Psa 34:4): "I sought the Lord, in my distress, entreated his favour, begged his help, and he heard me, answered my request immediately, and delivered me from all my fears, both from the death I feared and from the disquietude and disturbance produced by fear of it." The former he does by his providence working for us, the latter by his grace working in us, to silence our fears and still the tumult of the spirits; this latter is the greater mercy of the two, because the thing we fear is our trouble only, but our unbelieving distrustful fear of it is our sin; nay, it is often more our torment too than the thing itself would be, which perhaps would only touch the bone and the flesh, while the fear would prey upon the spirits and put us out of the possession of our own soul. David's prayers helped to silence his fears; having sought the Lord, and left his case with him, he could wait the event with great composure. "But David was a great and eminent man, we may not expect to be favoured as he was; have any others ever experienced the like benefit by prayer?" Yes, [2.] Many besides him have looked unto God by faith and prayer, and have been lightened by it, Psa 34:5. It has wonderfully revived and comforted them; witness Hannah, who, when she had prayed, went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad. When we look to the world we are darkened, we are perplexed, and at a loss; but, when we look to God, from him we have the light both of direction and joy, and our way is made both plain and pleasant. These here spoken of, that looked unto God, had their expectations raised, and the event did not frustrate them: Their faces were not ashamed of their confidence. "But perhaps these also were persons of great eminence, like David himself, and upon that account were highly favoured, or their numbers made them considerable;" nay, [3.] This poor man cried, a single person, mean and inconsiderable, whom no man looked upon with any respect or looked after with any concern; yet he was as welcome to the throne of grace as David or any of his worthies: The Lord heard him, took cognizance of his case and of his prayers, and saved him out of all his troubles, Psa 34:6. God will regard the prayer of the destitute, Psa 102:17. See Isa 57:15.
(2.)For the ministration of the good angels about us (Psa 34:7): The angel of the Lord, a guard of angels (so some), but as unanimous in their service as if they were but one, or a guardian angel, encamps round about those that fear God, as the life-guard about the prince, and delivers them. God makes use of the attendance of the good spirits for the protection of his people from the malice and power of evil spirits; and the holy angels do us more good offices every day than we are aware of. Though in dignity and in capacity of nature they are very much superior to us, - though they retain their primitive rectitude, which we have lost; - though they have constant employment in the upper world, the employment of praising God, and are entitled to a constant rest and bliss there, - yet in obedience to their Maker, and in love to those that bear his image, they condescend to minister to the saints, and stand up for them against the powers of darkness; they not only visit them, but encamp round about them, acting for their good as really, though not as sensibly, as for Jacob's (Gen 32:1), and Elisha's, Kg2 6:17. All the glory be to the God of the angels.
2.He would have us to join with him in kind and good thoughts of God (Psa 34:8): O taste and see that the Lord is good! The goodness of God includes both the beauty and amiableness of his being and the bounty and beneficence of his providence and grace; and accordingly, (1.) We must taste that he is a bountiful benefactor, relish the goodness of God in all his gifts to us, and reckon that the savour and sweetness of them. Let God's goodness be rolled under the tongue as a sweet morsel. (2.) We must see that he is a beautiful being, and delight in the contemplation of his infinite perfections. By taste and sight we both make discoveries and take complacency. Taste and see God's goodness, that is, take notice of it and take the comfort of it, Pe1 2:3. he is good, for he makes all those that trust in him truly blessed; let us therefore be so convinced of his goodness as thereby to be encouraged in the worst of times to trust in him.
3.He would have us join with him in a resolution to seek God and serve him, and continue in his fear (Psa 34:9): O fear the Lord! you his saints. When we taste and see that he is good we must not forget that he is great and greatly to be feared; nay, even his goodness is the proper object of a filial reverence and awe. They shall fear the Lord and his goodness, Hos 3:5. Fear the Lord; that is, worship him, and make conscience of your duty to him in every thing, not fear him and shun him, but fear him and seek him (v. 10) as a people seek unto their God; address yourselves to him and portion yourselves in him. To encourage us to fear God and seek him, it is here promised that those that do so, even in this wanting world, shall want no good thing (Heb. They shall not want all good things); they shall so have all good things that they shall have no reason to complain of the want of any. As to the things of the other world, they shall have grace sufficient for the support of the spiritual life (Co2 12:9; Psa 84:11); and, as to this life, they shall have what is necessary to the support of it from the hand of God: as a Father, he will feed them with food convenient. What further comforts they desire they shall have, as far as Infinite Wisdom sees good, and what they want in one thing shall be made up in another. What God denies them he will give them grace to be content without and then they do not want it, Deu 3:26. Paul had all and abounded, because he was content, Phi 4:11, Phi 4:18. Those that live by faith in God's all-sufficiency want nothing; for in him they have enough. The young lions. often lack and suffer hunger - those that live upon common providence, as the lions do, shall want that satisfaction which those have that live by faith in the promise; those that trust to themselves, and think their own hands sufficient for them, shall want (for bread is not always to the wise) - but verily those shall be fed that trust in God and desire to be at his finding. Those that are ravenous, and prey upon all about them, shall want; but the meek shall inherit the earth. Those shall not want who with quietness work and mind their own business; plain-hearted Jacob has pottage enough, when Esau, the cunning hunter, is ready to perish for hunger.
The whole life of the just person is filled with affliction.… But God delivers his saints from their afflictions. Though he does not leave them without trial, yet he bestows on them patient endurance. For if “tribulation works out endurance, and endurance tries virtue,” he who excludes tribulation from himself deprives himself of his tried virtue. As no one is crowned without an adversary, so also he cannot be declared tried except through tribulations.
"I sought the Lord, and He heard me" [Psalm 34:4]. Where heard the Lord? Within. Where gives He? Within. There you pray, there you are heard, there you are blessed. You have prayed, you are heard, you are blessed; and he knows not who stands by you: it is all carried on in secret, as the Lord says in the Gospel, "Enter into your closet, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father which is in secret; and your Father which sees in secret, shall reward you openly." [Matthew 6:6] When therefore you enter into your chamber, you enter into your heart. Blessed are they who rejoice when they enter into their heart, and find therein nought of evil....
By saying “from all,” nothing is left which you might have suspected was still standing in opposition.
“I sought the Lord” not in the expansive space of lands nor through broad and expansive regions, but in the heart. If we reflect on his majesty there, we find it present in every way.
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SUMMARY
Psalm 34:4 presents a powerful, personal declaration from David, revealing the profound and intimate relationship between earnest seeking and divine response. It testifies that when David, in his deepest distress and overwhelming anxiety, fervently sought the Lord, he was met with immediate divine attentiveness and a comprehensive deliverance, not merely from external threats but, crucially, from the debilitating grip of all his internal fears. This verse encapsulates the timeless assurance that God hears the cries of His people and intervenes to bring peace, rescue, and freedom from the anxieties that plague the human heart.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Psalm 34:4 is a profound example of Personal Testimony, where David recounts a direct, transformative experience with God to declare His goodness, faithfulness, and power. This serves as an Exhortation by Example, inviting the audience to emulate David's trust and seek the Lord themselves. The verse employs a clear Cause and Effect structure: David's earnest seeking (cause) leads directly and immediately to God's hearing and delivering (effect). The phrase "all my fears" can be understood as a form of Totalization or Hyperbole, emphasizing the comprehensive nature of David's internal distress and, consequently, the absolute completeness of God's deliverance. It signifies that no fear, regardless of its intensity, origin, or perceived magnitude, is beyond God's power to address, alleviate, and ultimately conquer, ensuring a holistic and profound rescue.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Psalm 34:4 stands as a cornerstone verse affirming God's character as a profoundly responsive, intimately caring, and supremely powerful Deliverer. It underscores the vital theological truth that God is not a distant or aloof deity but is intimately involved in the lives of His people, not only hearing their fervent prayers but actively intervening to bring holistic rescue, encompassing both external circumstances and internal anxieties. This verse connects deeply with the broader biblical themes of divine providence, the efficacy of earnest prayer, and the transformative power of faith, demonstrating that genuine reliance on God leads to tangible peace and freedom from the debilitating anxieties of life. It serves as a timeless invitation for believers to cultivate a posture of constant dependence on God, assuring them that their cries do not go unheard and that His deliverance is both certain and comprehensive.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Psalm 34:4 offers profound and enduring encouragement for believers navigating the anxieties and uncertainties of life in any age. In a world often characterized by pervasive fear—whether stemming from economic instability, health crises, relational breakdown, or existential dread—David's testimony serves as a timeless anchor of hope. When overwhelmed by fear, the pathway to peace and deliverance remains consistently the same: actively, earnestly, and intentionally seeking the LORD. This involves more than mere intellectual assent; it necessitates intentional prayer, diligent meditation on His unfailing promises in the Scriptures, and cultivating a deep, abiding trust in His unchanging character and sovereign control over all circumstances. God's deliverance may not always manifest as the immediate removal of challenging external circumstances, but it invariably involves the calming of our hearts and minds, granting a profound peace that transcends human understanding and allows us to face trials with courage. This verse powerfully reminds us that true freedom from fear is found not in self-reliance, human ingenuity, or external solutions, but in a vibrant, dynamic, and abiding relationship with the God who faithfully hears and comprehensively delivers.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Does God always deliver us from all our fears, or does this verse imply something else?
Answer: Psalm 34:4 declares David's personal experience of comprehensive deliverance, "from all my fears." This does not necessarily mean that believers will never experience fear again or that God will always remove every single source of anxiety from their lives. Rather, it speaks to the totality of God's capacity to deliver and the completeness of the peace He offers to those who genuinely seek Him. It implies that when we earnestly seek the Lord, He addresses the root of our fears, granting inner peace, strength, and courage to face whatever comes. The deliverance might manifest as the removal of the external threat, the profound calming of the heart despite the continued presence of the threat, or the provision of wisdom and courage to navigate the fearful situation. The emphasis is on God's willingness and ability to respond comprehensively to our cries for help, leading to a state where fear no longer has a debilitating grip on our lives, as promised in passages like Isaiah 41:10 and 2 Timothy 1:7.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
While Psalm 34:4 powerfully recounts David's personal deliverance from fear through seeking the Lord, its ultimate fulfillment and deepest theological meaning are found in the person and work of Jesus Christ. David's experience of God hearing and delivering him from his fears foreshadows the perfect and complete deliverance offered through the Incarnate Son. Jesus, the ultimate seeker of His Father's will even unto death on the cross, perfectly embodied dependence and trust, even as He faced the ultimate fear of separation from God and the weight of human sin. His resurrection definitively conquered the power of sin, death, and the devil, which are the ultimate sources of human fear, as highlighted in Hebrews 2:14-15. Through faith in Him, believers are delivered not only from the fear of eternal judgment but also from the debilitating grip of worldly anxieties and the fear of death itself. The Holy Spirit, the Comforter, indwells believers, providing the profound peace that "surpasses all understanding" (Philippians 4:7) and empowering them to live not with a "spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7). In Christ, we find the ultimate answer to all our fears, as He is the Good Shepherd who leads us to green pastures and beside still waters, restoring our souls and casting out all fear with His perfect love (1 John 4:18).