Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 34:4
I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
4. When I sought Jehovah (with earnest devotion, see note on Psa 24:6), he answered me, and rescued me from all my terrors (Psa 31:13).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
I sought the Lord, and he heard me – That is, on the occasion referred to in the psalm, when he was exposed to the persecutions of Saul, and when he sought refuge in the country of Abimelech or Achish: 1Sa 21:1-15. The idea is, that at that time he did not confide in his own wisdom, or trust to any devices of his own, but that he sought the protection and guidance of God, alike when he fled to Gath, and when he fled from Gath.
And delivered me from all my fears – From all that he apprehended from Saul, and again from all that he dreaded when he found that Abimelech would not harbor him, but drove him from him.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 34:4
I sought the Lord, and He heard me.
The reasonableness of prayer
I. what the head, left to itself, thinks about prayer. The head, discerning only the externality of it, sees man, the creature, venturing to go into the presence of Jehovah the Creator, and ask to have just what he may wish for. That is prayer as many seem to apprehend it. And the apprehension is so limited, and so imperfect, we cannot wonder it should occasion difficulty. Half the trouble is gone when we have worthily stated what prayer is. It is the act of acknowledged dependence. To connect every thought with the thought of God. To look on everything as His work and appointment. To submit every wish, thought, and resolve, to Him. That is prayer. And if that be the essence and life of prayer, and we can lay firm hold of it, then we are lifted into a serene region of calm, above the tempest that rages over such things as the possibilities of answer, and the relation of prayer to law. What does the head say about prayer? It says–
1. Prayer is not unreasonable. Admit that there is a God on whom we are all dependent, and every one will be found willing to acknowledge that no act is more proper and reasonable than that in which we seek Divine favour and blessing. The Theist, who prides himself on the guidance of reason, speaks eloquently of prayer.
2. The head is fully willing to recognize the fact that, in all ages, and in all climes, men have been moved by the impulse to prayer. Everywhere man has felt the presence of One higher than himself, and has turned yearning eyes toward Him.
3. The head finds no serious objection to urge against the abstract statement that God can hear and answer prayer. If He be God indeed, and if He did create us, reason can find no ground for denying that, in His Divine arrangements, God may consider the feelings and wishes of His creatures, as well as their positive needs. The matter of prayer may be presented so that our minds cannot but find serious objections and difficulties. Sometimes it seems to be expected that by prayer we may change the order of the outward universe. We have even seen statements which assume that prayer is the means by which our wish determines Gods will. Against either of these representations the head properly stumbles.
II. what the head, guided by the heart, thinks about prayer. The text is a heart-inspired utterance. The heart-guided head says–
1. If God be a Father He must be a prayer-hearer. If He does not, He cannot be true to His name. Fatherhood pledges fatherly interest. If is the most simple and necessary thing that we, as children, should pray. It is the essential of His relation to us that God our Father should hear.
2. If God has promised, He surely knows how to perform.
3. The heart–guided head learns to set prayer in its proper limitations.
4. And, listening to all the objections urged against prayer, it quietly but firmly replies, You cannot argue me out of the facts and experiences of my life. This I know, I sought the Lord, and He heard me; and I shall go on praying, for I have proved the power of prayer. It is enough. We believe in the power of prayer. We see the glory of a praying life. (R. Tuck, B. A.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 4. I sought the Lord] This is the reason and cause of his gratitude. I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me out of all my fears. This answers to the history; for when David heard what the servants of Achish said concerning him, “he laid up the words in his heart, and was greatly afraid,” 1Sa 21:13. To save him, God caused the epileptic fit to seize him; and, in consequence, he was dismissed by Achish, as one whose defection from his master, and union with the Philistines, could be of no use, and thus David’s life and honour were preserved. The reader will see that I proceed on the ground laid down by the Septuagint. See before, Ps 34:1.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
4. delivered . . . fearsaswell as actual evil (Ps 64:1).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
I sought the Lord, and he heard me,…. Not that he sought the Lord publicly in his house and ordinances, for he was now at Gath; but privately by prayer and supplication; and that not vocally, but mentally; for he was in the midst of the servants of the king of Gath; yet earnestly, diligently, and with his whole heart, being in great distress; when it was right to seek the Lord, and which showed him to be a good man; and the Lord heard and answered even his silent groans, which could not be uttered;
and delivered me from all my fear; of being seized on by Achish, king of Gath, and of losing his life for killing Goliath: and many are the fears of God’s people, both from within and from without, by reason of sin, Satan, and the world; but the Lord saves them out of the hands of all their enemies, grants them his presence, and shows them their interest in himself, which, scatters all their fears.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(Heb.: 34:5-7) The poet now gives the reason for this praise by setting forth the deliverance he has experienced. He longed for God and took pains to find Him (such is the meaning of in distinction from ), and this striving, which took the form of prayer, did not remain without some actual answer ( is used of the being heard and the fulfilment as an answer to the petition of the praying one). The perfects, as also in Psa 34:6, Psa 34:7, describe facts, one of which did not take place without the other; whereas would give them the relation of antecedent and consequent. In Psa 34:6, his own personal experience is generalised into an experimental truth, expressed in the historical form: they look unto Him and brighten up, i.e., whosoever looketh unto Him ( of a look of intense yearning, eager for salvation, as in Num 21:9; Zec 12:10) brightens up. It is impracticable to make the from Psa 34:3 the subject; it is an act and the experience that immediately accompanies it, that is expressed with an universal subject and in gnomical perfects. The verb , here as in Isa 60:5, has the signification to shine, glitter (whence , light). Theodoret renders it: , the gracious countenance of God is reflected on their faces; to the actus directus of fides supplex succeeds the actus reflexus of fides triumphans . It never comes to pass that their countenances must be covered with shame on account of disappointed hope: this shall not and cannot be, as the sympathetic force of implies. In all the three dialects ( ) has the signification of being ashamed and sacred; according to Gesenius and Frst (root ) it proceeds from the primary signification of reddening, blushing; in reality, however, since it is to be combined, not with Arab. hmr, but with chmr (cf. Arab. kfr , , Arab. gfr , gmr ), it proceeds from the primary signification of covering, hiding, veiling (Arabic chafira , tachaffara , used of a woman, cf. chamara , to be ashamed, to blush, to be modest, used of both sexes), so that consequently the shame-covered countenance is contrasted with that which has a bright, bold, and free look. In Psa 34:7, this general truth is again individualised. By (like in Psa 68:9) David points to himself. From the great peril in which he was placed at the court of the Philistines, from which God has rescued him, he turns his thoughts with gratitude and praise to all the deliverances which lie in the past.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
4. I sought Jehovah, and he answered me. The Psalmist here explains more plainly and more fully what he had said concerning joy. In the first place, he tells us that his prayers had been heard. This he applies to all the godly, that, encouraged by a testimony so precious, they might stir themselves up to prayer. What is implied in seeking God is evident from the following clause. In some places it is to be understood in a different sense, namely, to bend the mind in earnest application to the service of God, and to have all its thoughts directed to him. Here it simply means to have recourse to him for help; for it immediately follows that God answered him; and he is properly said to answer prayer and supplication. By his fears the Psalmist means, taking the effect for the cause, the dangers which sorely disquieted his mind; yet doubtless he confesses that he had been terrified and agitated by fears. He did not look upon his dangers with a calm and untroubled mind, as if he viewed them at a distance and from some elevated position, but being grievously tormented with innumerable cares, he might justly speak of his fears and terrors. Nay more, by the use of the plural number, he shows that he had been greatly terrified not only in one way, but that he had been distracted by a variety of troubles. On the one hand, he saw a cruel death awaiting him; while on the other, his mind may have been filled with fear, lest Achish should send him to Saul for his gratification, as the ungodly are wont to make sport to themselves of the children of God. And since he had already been detected and betrayed once, he might well conclude, even if he should escape, that the hired assassins of Saul would lay wait for him on all sides. The hatred too which Achish had conceived against him, both for the death of Goliath and the destruction of his own army, might give rise to many fears; especially considering that his enemy might instantly wreak his vengeance upon him, and that he had good reason to think that his cruelty was such as would not be appeased by subjecting him to some mild form of death. (690) We ought to mark this particularly, in order that, if at any time we are terrified because of the dangers which surround us, we may not be prevented by our effeminacy from calling upon God. Even David, who is known to have surpassed others in heroism and bravery, had not such a heart of iron as to repel all fears and alarms, but was sometimes greatly disquieted and smitten with fear.
(690) “ Et qu’il avoit bien occasion de penser que la cruaute d’iceluy ne se pourroit pas appaiser a le faire mourir de quelque legere mort.” — Fr.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
4. I sought he heard and delivered me Here is a brief analysis of the psalmist’s theme of praise, or boasting, and the reasons for his earnestness as well. Identified by the courtiers of Achish, charged of being the most powerful enemy of the Philistines, and being now in their hands, he had no resort but prayer, no help but in God; and He heard him and brought him forth in safety.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2). He Rejoices In The Delivery Of Himself And His Men (4-7).
Psa 34:4-5
D ‘I sought YHWH, and he answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
H They looked to him, and were radiant,
And their faces will never be confounded.’
If the heading of the Psalm is seen as an indicator this may well reflect David’s relief that his subterfuge before Achish worked. No doubt as he scrabbled on the floor feigning madness he had been flashing pleas to YHWH. And here we learn of his profound gratitude when he safely left the king’s presence, delivered from all his fears (the tension must have been huge). His prayers had been answered.
And we can quite understand that when he went back to his companions (1Sa 21:5), who must have been waiting in some trepidation, desperately calling on YHWH, and they saw that he had come away with his life, their faces became radiant as they looked to YHWH with praise and gratitude. Compare how the people’s faces were to be ‘lightened’ in Isa 60:5 when they saw God working out His deliverance. And David then adds with confidence that while they remain true to YHWH and His Anointed they will never be confounded. We can compare with this Peter’s appearance at the door of the house where people were praying for his deliverance in a similar situation (Act 12:12-17). They too were filled with joy, and no little amazement.
And for us all it is an indication that if we are loyal to Him, and look to Him, He will deliver us from all our fears, when we seek His face. We too will thus be able to look to Him and be radiant, and be confident that we will never be confounded while He is our Lord. We too will hear His voice saying, ‘Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of YHWH has risen upon you’ (Isa 60:1; Isa 60:5).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Psa 34:4. And delivered me from all my fears This exactly answers to the history; which informs us, that when David heard what the servants of Achish said to their master concerning him, He laid up those words in his heart, and was greatly afraid, 1Sa 21:13. Undoubtedly, he thought himself in extreme danger; but, instead of removing their suspicions, and his own fears, by offering to join with the Philistines against his country, he rather chose to counterfeit madness, and trust Providence with the success of it, than secure his safety by base and dishonourable compliances. Chandler.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Psa 34:4 I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
Ver. 4. I sought the Lord ] Even when I was in the enemies’ hands, and playing my pranks as a mad man among them; I prayed secretly and inwardly, I sent up some ejaculations, as Neh 2:4 , and was heard, though unworthy.
And delivered me out of all my fears
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 34:4-7
4I sought the Lord, and He answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
5They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces will never be ashamed.
6This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
And saved him out of all his troubles.
7The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him,
And rescues them.
Psa 34:4-7 This strophe develops the thoughts of the first. Notice how it moves from the singular (i.e., I sought YHWH) to the plural (i.e., they looked to Him), just like the first strophe.
1. For the psalmist, YHWH
a. answered him BDB 772, KB 851, Qal perfect
b. delivered him from all his fears BDB 664, KB 717, Hiphil perfect
2. For the group
a. YHWH heard, Psa 34:6
b. YHWH saved the afflicted
c. YHWH’s angel encamped around those who fear Him (cf. Zec 9:8; YHWH Himself in Psa 125:2)
d. YHWH rescued them
3. The LXX, Syrian, Vulgate versions have look and be radiant as imperatives. The MT has perfects in Psa 34:5.
Faithful followers are never alone or isolated. Their faithful God is always present and at the ready!
Psa 34:7 The angel of the Lord Angels are servants of the redeemed (cf. Num 20:16; Psa 91:11; Isa 63:9; Dan 3:28; Dan 6:22; Mat 18:10; Act 12:11; Heb 1:14).
SPECIAL TOPIC: THE ANGEL OF THE LORD
those who fear Him This is a Qal active participle (BDB 431, KB 432) which describes faithful followers (cf. Psa 15:4; Psa 25:12; Psa 25:14; Psa 31:19; Psa 61:5; Psa 66:16; Psa 103:11; Psa 118:4; Deu 28:58; Neh 1:11).
SPECIAL TOPIC: FEAR
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
heard = answered.
delivered = rescued.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
sought: Psa 18:6, Psa 22:24, Psa 31:22, Psa 77:1, Psa 77:2, Psa 116:1-6, Jon 2:2, Mat 7:7, Luk 11:9, 2Co 12:8, 2Co 12:9, Heb 5:7
from: Psa 27:1, Psa 27:2, Psa 46:2, Psa 56:3, 1Sa 27:1, Isa 12:2, 2Co 7:5, 2Co 7:6, 2Ti 1:7
Reciprocal: Gen 32:9 – Jacob Gen 33:4 – embraced Exo 3:7 – I have Exo 18:4 – delivered 1Sa 21:12 – sore Psa 3:4 – he Psa 30:1 – extol Psa 50:15 – deliver Psa 57:7 – I will Psa 64:1 – preserve Psa 66:17 – I cried Psa 86:7 – General Psa 107:19 – General Psa 112:7 – shall not Psa 138:3 – In the day 1Jo 3:22 – whatsoever
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 34:4-6. I sought the Lord, and he heard me David now proceeds to give reasons why God should be praised and glorified; he himself and others had found by experience, that he was a God hearing and answering prayer. He first mentions his own case. God had heard and answered him, and delivered him from all his fears Not only from the death he feared, but from the disquietude he was put into by the fear of it. This, says Chandler, exactly answers to the history, which informs us, that when David heard what the servants of Achish said concerning him, he laid up these words in his heart, and was greatly afraid, 1Sa 21:13. Undoubtedly he thought himself in extreme danger, but instead of removing their suspicions, and his own fears, by offering to join with the Philistines against his country, he rather chose to counterfeit madness, and trust Providence with the success of it, than secure his safety by base and dishonourable compliances. But it may be said, David was a great and eminent man; and we cannot expect to be favoured as he was: Have any others ever experienced the like benefit by prayer? Yes, many besides him. For, They looked unto him Namely, the humble, or they that feared him; they sought and expected help from the Lord, and were lightened Comforted and encouraged. The meaning of the passage, Chandler thinks, is, that the humble looked to God for the psalmists protection and received that light, that is, that comfort and joy, from him upon Davids return to safety, which diffused itself through their whole hearts; so that their faces were not ashamed, or, as , jechparu, signifies, were not put to the blush for shame, by being disappointed as to their hope on his account. But we may, with the ancient interpreters, read these and the foregoing words imperatively, as an exhortation to others; thus, Look unto him That is, with an eye of faith and prayer, and be ye enlightened Take comfort in the expectation of mercy from him. If it be said, Perhaps these also were persons of great eminence, like David himself, and upon that account were highly favoured, or their numbers made them considerable; the psalmist replies, This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him 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, for God will regard the prayer of the destitute, Psa 102:17; Isa 57:15.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
34:4 I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my {c} fears.
(c) Which I conceived for the danger I was in.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The psalmist’s recent experience of God answering his prayer for help and delivering him (Psa 34:4; Psa 34:6) was only one example to him. Those who trust in the Lord never experience disappointment (Psa 34:5; Psa 34:7).
"If the sequence in Psa 34:2-3 was in essence ’I have reason to praise Him; join me’, here [in Psa 34:4-5] it is ’This was my experience; it can be yours’." [Note: Kidner, p. 139.]
"The Angel of the Lord" (Psa 34:7) is undoubtedly a reference to the Lord Himself (cf. Gen 16:13; Gen 22:11-12; Gen 31:11; Gen 31:13; Gen 48:16; Jdg 6:11; Jdg 6:16; Jdg 6:22; Jdg 13:22-23; Zec 3:1-2). He is, specifically, the pre-incarnate Christ (cf. Gen 18:1-2; Gen 19:1; Gen 24:7; 2Sa 24:16; Zec 1:12). David saw Him, with the eyes of faith, surrounding and protecting His trusting people.