Psalm 34

Don't follow your fear!

Intro

√ Don't follow your fear!

Fear and faith lead in opposite directions!

The setting of the psalm

√ Note the superscript

"A Psalm of David when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed."

We can't really understand the inspiration of this psalm without understanding the context in which David penned it.

Let's look at the historical record leading up to the writing of Psalm 34.

1Sa. 21:10 Then David arose and fled that day from before Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath.

1Sa. 21:11 And the servants of Achish said to him, “Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing of him to one another in dances, saying: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands’?”

1Sa. 21:12 Now David took these words to heart, and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath.

1Sa. 21:13 So he changed his behavior before them, feigned madness in their hands, scratched on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva fall down on his beard.

1Sa. 21:14 Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see the man is insane. Why have you brought him to me?

1Sa. 21:15 “Have I need of madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?”

David fled from Saul because he was…

afraid

…that Saul would kill him.

So, he went to the enemy of Israel to find safety! Never a good idea.

Once he was in Gath David found that he wasn't safe there either and…

"and was very much afraid of Achish the king of Gath." - vs. 12

So, David pretended to be insane! Look at the description of his behavior…

Scratching on the door

Drooling on himself

…and this is God's "anointed" - the man God selected to be the next king of His people!

David learned an important lesson from his experience - specifically, that one should never make decisions in life based upon fear!

God is good to His people (vs. 1-10)

√ We ought not to be afraid because…

God is good to His people!

In light of God's faithfulness to save David from his own stupidity, David calls God's people to join with him in his praise because…

…God is good to His people.

Ps. 34:1 I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Ps. 34:2 My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; The humble shall hear of it and be glad.

Ps. 34:3 Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.

Therefore David says…

"I will bless the Lord"

David had got himself into a real pickle! He had run from one enemy into the hands of another. After all, Gath was the hometown of Goliath whom David had killed!

Just in case the people of Gath might not recognize David, guess what he had with him?

Goliath's sword! (Ref. I Sam. 21:9)

Not exactly the place where he might receive a warm welcome and protection from Saul!

Ap. Fear leads us to make irrational decisions

Yet, God was faithful to deliver David from the hand of the Philistines, therefore he says that he would bless the Lord always.

Why?

1) Because He saves us!

Ps. 34:4 I sought the LORD, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.

Ps. 34:5 They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed.

Ps. 34:6 This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles.

David relates how it was that he called out to the Lord for deliverance when he was trapped by his own choices.

Note how he refers to himself in vs. 6

"this poor man"

He was probably thinking of how he must have looked when he pretended to be insane!

Scratching the door like a dog to get out

Drooling all over himself

He must have put on a good show because the king was convinced he was out of his mind!

Ex. The insane were thought to be under the protection of the "gods" and anyone who harmed such would come into disfavor with them.

So, even though it was David's fault that he was trapped in Gath…

…God proved that He was good to his people by saving David from all his enemies.

2) We ought not to be afraid because He cares for us!

Ps. 34:7 The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them.

Ps. 34:8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

Ps. 34:9 Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him.

Ps. 34:10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.

The second reason that David says we have nothing to fear is because God cares for us!

In David's mind he pictured the "angel of the LORD" setting up a protective shield all around him and providing for all his needs.

David reminds us that God's caring protection is not limited to his experience…

Ap. We live in an uncertain time

…but that God watches over all those who put their trust in Him because God is good to His people.

God blesses His people (vs. 11-22)

√ David's instruction

In this second part of the psalm David turns his experience into a lesson by which we might learn how to walk the path of faith not fear.

Ps. 34:11 Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

Ps. 34:12 Who is the man who desires life, And loves many days, that he may see good?

Ps. 34:13 Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit.

Ps. 34:14 Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.

David had learned the hard way that God's blessing is found in doing good…

…that is, doing the Lord's will!

Keep in mind that the trouble in David's life was self-inflicted!

Had he trusted in the Lord and sought to do what was right, he would never have gone to Gath and found himself in such a bad spot.

David's instruction is simple and practical! Yet, so much of the trouble that people get into is simply the result of their own bad choices!

Ex. Barroom brawls

Stay away from places where people get stupid and fight, you won't get into many fights!

Ap. Spiritual application

Most of the trouble that we experience in our Christian life is self-inflicted! That is, Christians often find themselves over their head with trouble as the direct result of either…

Doing what the Bibles tells us not to do.

Not doing what the Bible tells us to do!

Life is so much simpler when we follow the instructions in the "owners" manual!

That's David's point! If you desire to experience God's blessings in life…

…do what God tells us to do (good), don't do what he tells us not do (evil)!

√ God's blessings

Ps. 34:15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry.

Ps. 34:16 The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

Ps. 34:17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles.

Ps. 34:18 The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.

Ps. 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all.

Ps. 34:20 He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken.

Ps. 34:21 Evil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.

Ps. 34:22 The LORD redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.

David recounts some of the many blessings we can experience when we choose to follow God and not our fear.

Note…

God looks with favor upon the righteous (vs. 15)

God listens to the cry of the righteous (vs. 15)

God delivers the righteous from trouble (vs. 17)

God stays close to the humble (vs. 19)

God redeems (saves) those who trust in Him (vs. 22)

Contrasted to the wicked who find themselves outside of God's blessings and the object of His wrath!

David's point is that he had learned from his own experience that he didn't have to fear the wicked…

Whether it be Saul or Achish

…rather, he was to trust in God and calm his fear with the knowledge that God would protect him from the wicked.

Faith not fear - the application

√ David made his own mess

Please note that David got himself into this predicament! He wasn't in Gath because the Lord sent him there…

…rather, he fled there out of the fear of Saul. But, he found that he had moved from the proverbial "frying pan and into the fire".

Reminds us that whenever we make decisions based upon fear…

…we're sure to make a wrong choice!

Ex. Many of the "hero's of the faith" made similar blunders

Abraham went to Egypt because he was afraid that he would go hungry during the famine in the Promised Land.

Lied to Abimelech about his wife.

Peter was afraid of the people gathered around the fire in courtyard of the high priest.

Denied he knew Jesus.

Elijah was afraid that Jezebel would kill him.

So he ran to hide in the wilderness.

In each case these great hero's of the faith failed miserably in the expression of faith because they allowed fear to dictate their choice of action.

Ap. We make our own problems!

Have you ever allowed fear to factor into your decision making?

Fear of…

The future

"what ifs"

The past

Missed opportunity

Harm

Anytime that we allow fear to rule our lives and the decisions we make we are not operating in the will of God! For God has called us to live in His peace, not in fear.

2Tim. 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Therefore, let God's peace lead your decision making.

Col. 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

Rule = "to umpire"

The Bible tells us that we are to let the peace of God, not fear, guide us in our decision making.

Ex. ?

√ What did David learn?

David learned an important lesson of faith from his experience in Gath…

…that is, that God could be trusted to help him even when he got himself into a jam!

Reminds us that God is forever rescuing us from the messes we make for ourselves!

Ex. Sending us a Savior

Jesus' death upon the Cross was God's plan to rescue Mankind from our own foolish mistakes.

Ap. Bless the Lord and tell others about Him

Like David, we who are saved should join in and bless the Lord for all He's done for us and then tell others of His great faithfulness.

Close

√ We ought not to fear because…

God is good to His people

God cares for His people