Psalm 34: The Lord Answered Me
Psalm 34:4 - Seek Him and pray for deliverance.
“I sought the Lord, and He answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.”
Psalms 34:4 NASB1995
David seeks the Lord and He answers! After David’s wretched behavior, feigning madness and trying to hide out with the Philistines, he still seeks the Lord and the Lord delivers him from all of his fears. Let’s do a couple of word studies!
I Sought comes from the Hebrew verb דָּרַשׁ or dârash (Strong’s H1875) with the following Biblical usages (recall that in the first devotional, I included a link to Biblical Hebrew, which has vast resources on this unique language):
to resort to, seek, seek with care, enquire, require
(Qal)
to resort to, frequent (a place), (tread a place)
to consult, enquire of, seek
of God
of heathen gods, necromancers
to seek deity in prayer and worship
God
heathen deities
to seek (with a demand), demand, require
to investigate, enquire
to ask for, require, demand
to practice, study, follow, seek with application
to seek with care, care for
(Niphal)
to allow oneself to be enquired of, consulted (only of God)
to be sought, be sought out
to be required (of blood)
David is seeking God in prayer and may even be demanding from God that he be released from his fears.
Delivered me comes from the Hebrew verb נָצַל or nâtsal (Strong’s H5337), with the following Biblical usages:
to snatch away, deliver, rescue, save, strip, plunder
(Niphal)
to tear oneself away, deliver oneself
to be torn out or away, be delivered
(Piel)
to strip off, spoil
to deliver
(Hiphil)
to take away, snatch away
to rescue, recover
to deliver (from enemies or troubles or death)
to deliver from sin and guilt
(Hophal) to be plucked out
(Hithpael) to strip oneself
David wants to be rescued or torn away from his fears and God answers him. This is a fervent daily prayer for most believers, as fear is one of the things that come between us and God.
From Precept Austin, here is the exposition on Psalm 34:4 by Charles Spurgeon:
Ver. 4. I sought the Lord, and he heard me. It must have been in a very confused manner that David prayed, and there must have been much of self sufficiency in his prayer, or he would not have resorted to methods of such dubious morality as pretending to be mad and behaving as a lunatic; yet his poor limping prayer had an acceptance and brought him succour: the more reason for then celebrating the abounding mercy of the Lord. We may seek God even when we have sinned. If sin could blockade the mercy seat it would be all over with us, but the mercy is that there are gifts even for the rebellious, and an advocate for men who sin.
And delivered me from all my fears. God makes a perfect work of it. He clears away both our fears and their causes, all of them without exception. Glory be to his name, prayer sweeps the field, slays all the enemies and even buries their bones. Note the egoism of this verse and of those preceding it; we need not blush to speak of ourselves when in so doing we honestly aim at glorifying God, and not at exalting ourselves. Some are foolishly squeamish upon this point, but they should remember that when modesty robs God it is most immodest.
According to Spurgeon in his instructions to preachers, verse 4 in stages for those who pray: Fears, sought, heard, delivered.
I like this photo of a neon sign I found on Unsplash. It is true - fear eats the soul! Fear creates doubt and doubt creates more fear. When we doubt and stumble in our faith and trust in God, then fear rises up to replace our peace. People fear many things:
Illness
Death
Aging
Loss of family and friends
War or crime
Persecution
Loss of a job or sources of income
Loss of home and possessions
What someone else is thinking or believes
Fear of evangelizing
Fascinating - almost every one of these fears is brought to our intercessory prayer team at church on a regular basis. Some of these are common fears, but we should take every single fear to God in prayer! He can deliver us from those fears. That last one is one that most believers have as well. Anxiety and fear and worry are triplets linked at the hip - they are all ways of describing an unreasonable concern for a future event that may or may not happen (although death is certain). The fear can also be driven by doing too much doom-scrolling on social media! Take a break and read scripture and pray.
When I was working in the Aerospace industry, I would lay awake at night worrying about a layoff or reduction in force. I made it through 37 years without ever being close to an involuntary layoff or having to move to another location; perhaps my fear made me work extra hard to stay above the water line. I wish that I had relied more on a relationship with God during those years because that worry took a toll on my health.
I like this Daily Bread excerpt that was quoted on Precept Austin; the permission to quote this write-up is noted on that website and is copied here:
The Remedy For Fear
In his first inaugural speech in 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt, the newly elected president of the US, addressed a nation that was still reeling from the Great Depression. Hoping to ignite a more optimistic outlook regarding that economic crisis, he declared, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself!”
Fear often shows up in our lives when we are at risk of losing something—our wealth, health, reputation, position, safety, family, friends. It reveals our innate desire to protect the things in life that are important to us, rather than fully entrusting them to God’s care and control. When fear takes over, it cripples us emotionally and saps us spiritually. We’re afraid to tell others about Christ, to extend our lives and resources for the benefit of others, or to venture into new territory. A fearful spirit is more vulnerable to the enemy, who tempts us to compromise biblical convictions and to take matters into our own hands.
The remedy for fear, of course, is trust in our Creator. Only when we trust the reality of God’s presence, power, protection, and provision for our lives can we share the joy of the psalmist, who said, “I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears” (Ps. 34:4). By: Joe Stowell (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. — Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)
Day by day and with each passing moment,
Strength I find to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,
I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.
—BergTrust in the Lord is the cure for a fearful spirit.
Enduring Word also has interesting commentary on this verse:
Commentators are divided regarding whether or not David sinned when he feigned madness among the Philistines, or if he was obedient and guided by God. [G. Campbell] Morgan observed, “There does seem to be incongruity between David feigning madness to save his life, and this exalted outpouring of praise to God as the Great Deliverer.”
“Wherein, whether he sinned or not, is matter of dispute; but this is undoubted, that God’s favour and his deliverance at that time was very remarkable, and deserved this solemn acknowledgment.” (Matthew Poole)
“Even when I was in the enemies’ hands, and playing my pranks as a mad-man amongst them, I prayed secretly and inwardly.” (John A. Trapp)
Even if David sinned in feigning madness, God delivered him and did not abandon him. “It is easy to understand how, in the quietness and solemnity of that cave of refuge, he recovered, and that with new power, his sense of the Divine care and wisdom and might and sufficiency. So he sang.” (G. Campbell Morgan).
God delivered the sinful David and He can deliver you, too, if you repent and believe!
My next devotional examines Psalm 34:5 - They looked to Him.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - I seek You to deliver me from all of my fears! 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 08/21/2025 to review the lexicon for I sought, delivered me.
Precept Austin was accessed on 08/21/2025 to review commentary for Psalm 34:4.
Enduring Word commentary by David Guzik is used with written permission.