“O fear the Lord, you His saints;
For to those who fear Him there is no want.”
Psalms 34:9 NASB1995
We find another use of the word “saints” in this verse of Psalm 34. As readers may recall, Paul called the Christians at Philippi “saints” in his letter to them. Let’s do a word study for saints for this OT usage:
Saints comes from the Hebrew adjective קָדוֹשׁ or qâdôwsh (Strong’s H6918), with the following Biblical usages:
sacred, holy, Holy One, saint, set apart
When we fear (reverence, respect, honor, be in awe of) the Lord we are set apart and there is no want.
Here is the Exposition from Charles Spurgeon on Psalm 34:9, as found on Precept Austin:
EXPOSITION
Ver. 9. O fear the Lord, ye his saints. Pay to him humble childlike reverence, walk in his laws, have respect to his will, tremble to offend him, hasten to serve him. Fear not the wrath of men, neither be tempted to sin through the virulence of their threats; fear God and fear nothing else. For there is no want to them that fear him. Jehovah will not allow his faithful servants to starve. He may not give luxuries, but the promise binds him to supply necessaries, and he will not run back from his word. Many whims and wishes may remain unfulfilled, but real wants the Lord will supply. The fear of the Lord or true piety is not only the duty of those who avow themselves to be saints, that is, persons set apart and consecrated for holy duties, but it is also their path of safety and comfort. Godliness hath the promise of the life which now is. If we were to die like dogs, and there were no hereafter, yet were it well for our own happiness' sake to fear the Lord. Men seek a patron and hope to prosper; he prospers surely who hath the Lord of Hosts to be his friend and defender..
Just like the lesson we learned in Philippians, God will provide what is necessary for those who are set apart in His name and fear Him. Fearing Him (and obeying Him) is the path to safety and comfort, as noted by Spurgeon. It is not the path to luxuries or power or influence or popularity. But it is enough.
Speaking of it “being enough”, there are a couple of very moving scenes in the episodes for “The Chosen” season 5. A Passover prayer is performed by the disciples called the Dayenu at the Last Supper, which roughly means “it would have been enough”. There is also a scene where Jesus has a supper with the women who were His followers and they also repeat this prayer. The prayer has these stanzas that are spoken or sung and each phrase is ended with “It would have been enough”; the stanzas were found on Wikipedia (links go to Wikipedia):
Five stanzas of leaving slavery
If He had brought us out of Egypt
If He had executed justice upon the Egyptians
If He had executed justice upon their gods
If He had slain their first-born
If He had given to us their wealth
Five stanzas of miracles
If He had split the sea for us
If He had led us through on dry land
If He had drowned our oppressors
If He had provided for our needs in the wilderness for 40 years
If He had fed us manna
Five stanzas of being with God
If He had given us Shabbat
If He had led us to Mount Sinai
If He had given us the Torah
If He had brought us into the Land of Israel
If He built the Temple for us
And for Psalm 34:9, here is the commentary from Enduring Word:
Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints: David thought that to fear the LORD was much like trusting Him and experiencing His goodness. This fear is the proper reverence and respect that man has for Deity. If you really experience God’s goodness, if you really experience the blessedness of trusting Him, you will also have an appropriate fear of the LORD.
My next devotional examines Psalm 34:10 - The young lions lack, but those who seek the Lord shall not be in want.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - Thank you for giving us enough! I love You, I trust You and am in awe of You! Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
The Blue Letter Bible was accessed on 08/30/2025 to review the lexicon for saints.
Precept Austin was accessed on 08/30/2025 to review the commentary for Psalm 34:9
Commentary from Enduring Word by David Guzik is used with written permission.