Learning Godly Fear from Psalm 34

Psalm 34 begins with David in a mess of his own making. David had fled from Saul, but fear drove him to one of the worst places he could have gone, right into Goliath’s homeland. David was recognized, and right there, with danger closing in, he acted insane, spitting on his beard and making himself look deranged. God delivered him anyway, and David did not come away bragging about how clever he had been.

David comes away blessing the Lord. Psalm 34 turns foolish desperation into praise, because David knows that deliverance came from God. David says, “I will bless the Lord at all times,” and that kind of praise wants company. The heart that has tasted mercy says, “Magnify the Lord with me,” because God’s goodness is not something to keep quiet about.

God hears the poor man who cries. David says, “This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him,” and that cry likely rose from the middle of David’s panic. God’s goodness did not wait for David to have everything cleaned up. God met him in trouble, delivered him from fear, and showed again that “taste and see that the Lord is good” is not just a saying, but something to experience.

The fear of the Lord stands at the center of Psalm 34. David says, “Come, you children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord.” That fear is not treating God like a tyrant holding a lightning bolt. The fear of God knows His holiness, His accountability, His sovereignty, and also His goodness, because the goodness of God leads to repentance.

David teaches that godly fear shows up in speech. The tongue reveals the heart, and Jesus says that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Idle words, angry words, dishonest words, cussing words, and little white lies all stand before God. Bumper sticker Christianity may claim faith, but godly fear changes what comes out of the mouth.

David also teaches that godly fear knows how to run. The fear of the Lord hates evil, so it runs from wickedness, corruption, greed, deceit, and sin. It also runs toward righteousness, peace, holiness, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. The believer’s direction says a lot about what is really trusted.

God is near to the brokenhearted. Psalm 34 says His eyes are on the righteous, His ears are open to their cry, and His face is against evil. The text even gives a glimpse of Christ, whose bones were not broken at the cross. Godly fear bows before a consuming fire and says with Isaac Watts, “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.”

##

---

Key Takeaways

• 1. God delivers foolish, frightened people David made a poor decision, and yet God still heard him when danger closed in. God’s mercy did not excuse David’s foolishness, but it did rescue him from being swallowed by it. A broken cry to God is not weakened by the fact that the trouble was partly self made, because God is still good to the poor man who cries. [12:00]
• 2. Godly fear changes daily speech The fear of the Lord reaches the mouth before it reaches public reputation. Jesus ties speech to the heart, which means angry words, deceitful words, and useless words are not small things before God. A person may claim faith loudly, but the tongue often tells the truth about what is ruling within. [23:34]
• 3. The faithful learn how to run David says to depart from evil, and that is not a casual glance over the shoulder. Godly fear teaches a person to flee what corrupts the soul and pursue what pleases God. The question is not only what a person avoids, but what direction the heart is chasing when nobody is pushing it. [29:05]
• 4. Prayer reveals the real refuge Psalm 34 places the righteous cry before the listening ears of God. Godly fear does not stand on its own two feet first and turn to God last. The knees may be worn out by many things, but the better testimony is a life worn low in trust before the Father. [38:22]
• 5. Amazing love demands everything The cross shows love and sorrow mingled down, and that sight leaves no room for convenient Christianity. Godly fear does not treat worship, communion, or surrender as something to make easy and quick. The love of Christ is so amazing and so divine that it lays claim to the soul, the life, and the all.
  
  ## [42:14]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [06:28] - Psalm 34 and David’s Trouble
• [07:13] - David Flees to Goliath’s Homeland
• [08:33] - David Pretends Madness
• [10:17] - David Blesses the Lord
• [12:33] - Taste and See God’s Goodness
• [13:27] - David Teaches Godly Fear
• [17:17] - Faith Without Fear of God
• [19:27] - Godly Fear and the Tongue
• [29:05] - Depart From Evil and Run
• [34:05] - Trusting God in Trouble
• [40:39] - Serving With Reverence and Fear
• [42:14] - Love So Amazing Demands All

Bible Reading

Psalm 34
“I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together. I sought the LORD, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing. Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. Who is the man who desires life, And loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry. The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all. He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken.” [06:19] [06:22] [10:44] [11:17] [12:00] [12:33] [13:27] [13:54] [19:34] [27:18] [29:05] [34:17] [35:10]

Matthew 12:33-37
“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” [20:52] [21:12] [23:46]

1 Timothy 6:6-11
“Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.” [31:40] [32:59] [33:05]

Hebrews 12:28-29
“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.” [40:39]

Observation questions

1. In Psalm 34, what words or phrases show that David moves from fear and trouble into praise and trust in the Lord? [10:44]
2. According to Psalm 34:11-14, what are the first two practical marks of the fear of the Lord that David teaches? [19:34]
3. In Matthew 12:33-37, what connection does Jesus make between the heart and the mouth? [21:12]
4. In 1 Timothy 6:6-11, what are believers told to flee, and what are they told to pursue instead? [32:59]

Interpretation questions

1. David calls himself “this poor man” after being delivered. What does that language suggest about how he understood his rescue and his own weakness before God? [12:00]
2. Psalm 34 says, “Taste and see that the LORD is good.” How is that different from merely knowing facts about God or speaking casually about faith? [12:33]
3. If the fear of the Lord includes both God’s holiness and God’s goodness, how does that protect a person from treating God either as a tyrant or as someone to be taken lightly? [17:47]
4. Psalm 34 says the Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and Hebrews says believers should serve Him with reverence and godly fear. How do comfort and reverence belong together in the Christian life? [40:39]

Application questions

1. David cried out to God from a mess that was partly his own making. When trouble comes, especially after a foolish choice, is the first instinct to hide, to fix it alone, or to cry out to God? What usually keeps that cry from happening quickly? [11:17]
2. “Keep your tongue from evil” reaches into ordinary speech, not just major moments. What kinds of words have been most dangerous lately—angry words, cutting jokes, careless exaggeration, half-truths, gossip, or something else? Where are those words usually showing up? [27:18]
3. Jesus says the mouth speaks from the abundance of the heart. If someone listened to this past week’s conversations at home, at work, in the car, and online, what would they learn about what is filling the heart? [23:46]
4. Godly fear teaches a person how to run. What is one pattern of evil that needs to be fled more seriously right now, and what would it look like to run toward righteousness instead of merely trying not to sin? [29:05]
5. The direction of a life reveals a lot about what is truly trusted. In this season, what is the heart chasing hardest—comfort, money, approval, control, peace, holiness, or Christ Himself? [33:05]
6. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears. In hardship, where does help usually get sought first—planning, worrying, money, another person’s advice, distraction, or prayer? What would it look like to make prayer the first refuge instead of the last option? [38:22]
7. Love so amazing, so divine, demands the soul, the life, and the all. Where has faith become mostly convenient? What part of life is being held back from full surrender—time, speech, relationships, habits, money, or obedience? [42:14]