05/31/2026
Psalms of Thanksgiving: Psalm 34
by Jeremy Thornton
“O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.” (Psalm 34:3)
Of the many that are mentioned in Scripture, no man may have a better resume than David. When we are introduced to him, he is a forgotten young shepherd, however, he would not be overlooked by God and would be anointed king of Israel. He was a mighty man of valor, so much so, that he is the only one brave enough to face Goliath. Saul killed his thousands but David his ten thousands. Of all the credentials that could be given to him, the highest honor is given to him by God as Acts refers to David as a “man after God’s heart”. David was a mighty warrior that walked through the valley of the shadow of death, but there is an event recorded in Scripture, from a time in the life of David, when one might be inclined to say David is no man of valor, and it is one of the strangest moments of the life of David, but it may be one of the smartest moments of his life.
1 Samuel 21 records a strange time in the life of David. He is on the run from Saul and lies to a priest, but after the priest gives David the sword that belonged to Goliath, David goes to the hometown of Goliath and when brought before the king of Gath, David changed his appearance to seem insane: “And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard.” (1 Samuel 21:13)
After this event takes place, David is able to reflect upon it, and begins to magnify the Lord and calls for others to fear the Lord.
1 Samuel 21 causes us to wonder why David may have resorted to changing his behavior when meeting the king of Gath, but as David wondered about the ordeal, it caused him to give thanks to God. David could be thought of as being silly or insane when standing before the king of Gath, but regardless of the silliness of it all, the one thing we can say about it is, his plan worked. David has been the picture of courage and God has provided and protected for him and will continue to do so, but at this moment it appears as if David has some doubts about God’s ability to redeem David, or at least he allowed the fear of man replace his confidence in God.
David has escaped danger from the king of Gath, and now he will magnify the Lord (v.1-3). When David looks back, he does not begin by mentioning his enemies, his fear, or Saul, he does not explain how life was unfair to him, but he begins by praising the One that protected him through the events recorded in 1 Samuel 21. David begins with the resolve to bless/praise the Lord at all times, and it may seem as if there is a bit of redundancy as David will bless the Lord at all times and then continual praise in his mouth but this is intentional and David connects his heart and his mouth, he is praising God from the inward recesses of his soul and this praise will be heard coming from the mouth of David. Praise of Jehovah will be seen and heard (v.1).
David could look back on the events of 1 Sam. 21 and have a tendency to brag to others about how he outsmarted the king of Gath, or how great his acting skills were, but instead he boasts in the Lord. David adds, the humble that hear this will be glad, but why? When the humble hear what God did for David and the protection and care that was given to the humble servant and man after God’s heart, they are glad because they can be assured the same care and protection can be available to them.
Now David moves from his personal resolve to praise to inviting others to “O magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt His name together” (v.3). The word “magnify” is not used to imply God is small or needs to be enlarged but it is used to recognize the greatness of God and declare the greatness that already begins to Him. David praised God privately, but he also encouraged others to praise Him publicly.
David begins to magnify the Lord by providing accounts of what God has done in the life of David (v.4-10). David sought after God and when in the hometown of Goliath, he sought God’s help and was heard. Not only was David heard but he was also delivered but not just delivered barely but “all my fears” were relieved. Others are “lightened” and not ashamed and in a time of darkness God causes them to be light (v.5), the poor man (David) is heard and saved out of all his troubles (v.6), and is surrounded by the angel of the Lord and delivered (v.7).
The thoughts are still centered around magnifying the Lord, and now David calls for everyone to taste and see, trust and fear, and those that do will be cared for by God the same way God cares for lions, although they become hungry from time to time, God continues to provide. “O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.” (Psalm 34:8-10)
Having been humbled by this event, David resolves to teach others to fear the Lord. Experience may be the best teacher, and David learned the fear of the Lord and now wants others to learn as well (v.11-14). David is not simply giving a testimony of what God has done in his life and will do for him, but David is proving the goodness of God through his life and through his example he will teach others how to trust God in difficult times (v.11).
David gave his “testimony” which proved the goodness of God and His care and protection in his life, but this should inspire and encourage others when facing similar situations and now he gives practical advice in fearing the Lord (v.12-14). David gives advice that is practical for righteous of every dispensation, and the sins mentioned in the New Testament are mentioned in the Old Testament as well and as James 3:5-10 warns of the dangers of the tongue, and 1 Thessalonians 5:22 commands to abstain from evil and Romans 12:18 commands to live peaceable in the church, those under the former dispensation are exhorted to do the same.
David was able to learn firsthand what God was able to do, and in his magnifying God, he begins to give reasons why others need to learn the fear of the Lord (v.15-22). God can be trusted and has proven Himself worthy of such, His eyes are upon the righteous and when compared to Isaiah 59:2 we can affirm that God’s eyes are not upon the sinner (v.15). God will never forsake the righteous and they can trust in Him, but the unrighteous must fear the Lord. Those that do not fear the Lord’s wrath and do not fear the Lord in keeping His commands, will fear someday.
Man has to make the choice willingly to fear the Lord and then respect His authority, or live a life of rebellion and disobedience, doing whatever they desire, fulfilling every lust, tasting every pleasure, listening to the falsehoods of the prophets that say peace when there is no peace. David closes with reasons why one might consider fearing the Lord as he magnifies the redemption and deliverance of God. The bones of the righteous will be secure but the evil will be destroyed and those that are of a contrite spirit (crushed/bruised/humbled; a description of David in 1 Samuel 21).
“The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.” (Psalm 34:22)
David remembered a time when he was humiliated but God continued to provide and protect in all David’s troubles. God can be trusted and should be feared and obeyed, His credentials speak for themselves and when noticing the many times the word “all” is used in these twenty-two verses the point is clear: God gives us all things that are needed at all times (v.1), to all that are humble (v.2), in all our fears (v.4), in all our troubles (v.6), all His saints (v.9), all his bones (v.20), all them that trust in Him.
We might not go as far to say that David intentionally used the word “all” seven times to create a hidden code, but David is reminding us that the Father in heaven is to be feared and fearing Him, we should magnify Him at all times.
