Psalms 34:4

“I sought the Lord, and he heard me, etc.] 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…”

“delivered . . . fears--as well as actual evil (Psa 64:1).”

“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: 1 Samuel 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. return to 'Top of Page'”

“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; Co2 12:8, Co2 12:9; Heb 5:7 from: Psa 27:1, Psa 27:2, Psa 46:2, Psa 56:3; Sa1 27:1; Isa 12:2; Co2 7:5, Co2 7:6; Ti2 1:7 Psalms 34:5”

“(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 דּרשׁ in distinction from בּקּשׁ), and this striving, which took the form of prayer, did not remain without some actual answer (ענה 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 ויּענני 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…”