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“I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
… Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.”
(Psalm 34:4, 8, 5 NIV)
We are dealing with three closely related themes:
1. Seeking the Lord.
2. Experiencing His goodness.
3. Being transformed from fear and shame into radiance and blessing.
God does not invite us merely to know about Him; He calls us to taste, to see, to seek, to look. These are experiential verbs. They describe a living relationship, not a religious theory. The psalmist is not giving us a doctrine only; he is giving us a testimony of personal deliverance.
The lyrics repeat three main lines:
These lines trace a spiritual journey:
1. From seeking → to answered prayer → to deliverance from fear.
2. From tasting → to knowing God’s goodness → to blessing through refuge.
3. From looking to Him → to radiance → to freedom from shame.
This is a pattern of spiritual transformation. It is also a pattern of spiritual warfare, because fear and shame are two of Satan’s most effective weapons against believers. This psalm shows God’s provision for breaking their power.
Let us look at what the Word of God says in its original setting.
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Psalm 34 is introduced with an unusual historical note:
“Of David, when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he left.”
(Psalm 34:title)
The background is found in 1 Samuel 21:10–15. David, anointed to be king, is fleeing from Saul. He runs to Gath, into the territory of the Philistines—Israel’s enemies. When the servants of Achish (called Abimelech in the psalm title, likely a royal title) recognize him as “the king of the land” (1 Samuel 21:11), David becomes very afraid:
“David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath.”
(1 Samuel 21:12)
Notice: David, the giant-slayer, is “very much afraid.” Anointed people are not immune to fear. Spiritual calling does not exempt us from emotional battles. In the presence of this fear, David resorts to a desperate tactic—he pretends to be insane to escape with his life (1 Samuel 21:13–15).
Psalm 34 is David’s reflection on this crisis.
So when David says:
“I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.”
(Psalm 34:4)
he is not speaking as a man in a quiet religious ceremony. He is speaking as a fugitive whose life was in danger. He is speaking as a man who has passed through panic and come out into praise.
When he says:
“Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.”
(Psalm 34:5)
he contrasts two possible conditions:
We need to see ourselves in David’s place. Many believers today are in “Gath” spiritually—surrounded by hostility, threatened by circumstances, inwardly troubled. This psalm, and the lyrics based on it, are not sentimental. They are a battle testimony.
---
### 3.1 “Sought” – דָּרַשׁ (dāraš)
“I sought the Lord, and he answered me…”
(Psalm 34:4)
The Hebrew word for “sought” is dāraš. It means:
In other words, David did not merely say a quick prayer. He resorted to the Lord as his only hope. He applied himself to God with urgency and dependence.
This deepens the lyrics. When we sing, “I sought the Lord,” we are not talking about a vague spiritual feeling. We are talking about a focused turning of the heart and will towards God as our ultimate source of help.
### 3.2 “Taste” – טָעַם (ṭā‘am)
“Taste and see that the Lord is good…”
(Psalm 34:8)
“Taste” in Hebrew is ṭā‘am. Literally, to taste food, to perceive flavor. By extension:
“Taste and see” is not a call to intellectual analysis; it is an invitation to experience. You do not understand food by describing it; you understand it by tasting it. In the same way, you do not truly know the goodness of the Lord by mere theory; you must encounter it.
So the lyrics are not offering a doctrine only; they are calling the believer into direct experience:
### 3.3 “Good” – טוֹב (tov)
“…the Lord is good…”
(Psalm 34:8)
The Hebrew tov means:
God’s goodness is not abstract. It is beneficial. It brings wholeness. When you taste the Lord’s goodness, you encounter His beneficent nature—He does you good; He does not harm you.
### 3.4 “Radiant” – נָהַר (nāhar) – “to shine, beam”
“Those who look to him are radiant…”
(Psalm 34:5)
“Radiant” is from a verb related to nāhar, meaning:
The picture is of a face that lights up. Those who turn their gaze toward God are transformed in their countenance. Fear and shame darken the face; trust in God brightens it.
This directly challenges the work of the enemy. Satan seeks to mark believers with fear and shame. God says: if you look to Me, your face will not be darkened, but radiant.
---
We will move through the themes in the lyrics and connect them to broader biblical revelation.
### 4.1 “I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.”
Here we have a threefold pattern:
1. Seeking.
2. Answer.
3. Deliverance from fear.
#### 4.1.1 Seeking as a decisive act
To seek the Lord is an act of the will. It is the opposite of self-reliance. Scripture repeatedly emphasizes God’s response to those who seek Him:
Fear often drives us to seek many things—human help, distraction, escape. David turned that fear into a motive to seek God.
#### 4.1.2 God answers the seeker
“I sought the Lord, and he answered me…”
This is not selective. The same psalm says:
“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.”
(Psalm 34:17)
Jesus confirms this principle:
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened…”
(Matthew 7:7–8)
Seeking is never ignored by God when it is sincere and in faith.
#### 4.1.3 Deliverance from fear – a form of spiritual warfare
“…he delivered me from all my fears.”
Notice carefully: the text does not say “from all my enemies” (although God did that too). It says “from all my fears.”
There is a difference:
Many believers pray for circumstances to change but never deal with the inner captivity of fear. Yet Scripture reveals fear as a spiritual bondage:
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
(2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV)
Fear here is linked with a spirit—a spiritual influence that does not come from God. David is not merely saying that his emotions were calmed; he is testifying that God delivered him from fear’s grip.
Hebrews 2:14–15 shows that Satan uses fear (especially fear of death) to enslave:
“…that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”
So Psalm 34:4 has implications for spiritual warfare:
When we sing, “He delivered me from all my fears,” we are proclaiming a spiritual reality grounded in the cross.
### 4.2 “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”
This stanza moves us:
#### 4.2.1 The experiential knowledge of God
“Taste and see that the Lord is good…”
Knowing that “God is good” as a doctrinal statement is not enough. Satan knows God is good in that sense, but he does not taste it. Many believers can recite orthodox doctrine, yet in crisis their hearts question God’s goodness. Why? Because their knowledge is theoretical, not experiential.
The Bible emphasizes experiential knowledge:
The word “know” in Scripture often corresponds to the Hebrew yada‘, which implies intimate, experiential knowledge. God invites you to personally encounter His goodness:
#### 4.2.2 Taking refuge – trusting God as shelter
“…blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”
To “take refuge” in God means:
Scripture often uses this language:
Fear drives people to false refuges:
But these refuges fail. Only those who make the Lord their refuge are truly “blessed”—that is, under God’s favor and protection.
The lyrics connect tasting God’s goodness with taking refuge in Him. This is significant: you do not fully know His goodness until you have actually trusted Him in danger. Many learn the goodness of God not in theory, but in the furnace.
### 4.3 “Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.”
Here is a profound spiritual law:
#### 4.3.1 Looking to Him – the direction of the heart
“Those who look to him…”
This is more than eyesight. In Scripture, looking often means:
Isaiah 45:22 (KJV) says:
“Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth…”
Hebrews 12:2:
“Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith…”
Looking is the practical outworking of faith. Faith is not general optimism; it is directed trust. You do not overcome fear and shame by looking at fear and shame, analyzing them. You overcome by turning your gaze decisively toward the Lord.
#### 4.3.2 Radiant faces – the visible effect of God’s presence
“…are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.”
Radiance is the visible mark of God’s favor and presence. We see this in Moses:
“When Moses came down from Mount Sinai… his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord.”
(Exodus 34:29)
The New Testament takes this further:
“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory…”
(2 Corinthians 3:18)
As we turn the gaze of our heart toward the Lord, the Holy Spirit works an inward transformation that becomes visible in our countenance. It is not psychological trickery; it is the reflection of the Lord’s own glory.
#### 4.3.3 Freedom from shame
“…their faces are never covered with shame.”
Shame is not just guilt; it is the sense of being exposed, unworthy, rejected. It darkens the face; it turns eyes downward; it produces hiding (see Genesis 3:7–10).
But Scripture proclaims:
“Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”
(Romans 10:11, quoting Isaiah 28:16)
At the cross, Jesus took our shame:
“…despising the shame…”
(Hebrews 12:2 KJV)
When we look to the crucified and risen Lord, shame loses its claim. The accuser may remind you of your past, but God has covered it with the blood of His Son. Your face no longer needs to be “covered with shame,” because your sins are covered by Christ’s atonement (Psalm 32:1).
So this stanza is deeply evangelical and deeply pastoral:
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We must now translate these truths into practice. I will outline four clear responses.
### 5.1 First: Make a decisive choice to seek the Lord
You must do what David did: seek the Lord.
You might say aloud:
“Lord, I choose to seek You. I turn from self-reliance and from false refuges. You are my help, my shield, my deliverer.”
Seeking is not a feeling; it is a decision.
### 5.2 Second: Confess and claim deliverance from fear
If fear has held you, treat it as a bondage from which Christ has purchased your freedom.
A practical pattern:
1. Confess the specific fears (e.g., fear of death, failure, rejection).
2. Declare the Word of God over them. For example:
3. Command the spirit of fear to leave in the name of Jesus, if you discern a spiritual oppression.
4. Invite the Holy Spirit to fill you with power, love, and a sound mind.
Deliverance from fear is not passive. It is appropriated by faith and confession.
### 5.3 Third: Actively “taste” the Lord’s goodness
“Taste and see” calls for action.
Practically, you “taste” God’s goodness when you:
Choose one area where you have been trusting yourself. Deliberately hand it over to God and say:
“Lord, in this area I choose to trust You as my refuge. I am going to taste and see Your goodness here.”
Then watch, with expectancy, for His intervention. Record His faithfulness. The more you taste, the more you will be anchored in His goodness.
### 5.4 Fourth: Fix your gaze on the Lord to replace shame with radiance
If shame has darkened your inner life, this verse gives you a clear remedy: look to Him.
Practically:
You can even do this physically: lift your head, lift your eyes, and say:
“Lord Jesus, I look to You. You are my righteousness. You carried my shame. I receive Your acceptance. Let Your radiance be seen upon my face.”
As you persist, the Holy Spirit will make this more than a theory; He will change your countenance and inner posture.
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### Proclamation
Say this aloud, slowly and deliberately, making it your own:
“I sought the Lord, and He answered me;
He delivered me from all my fears.
I taste and see that the Lord is good.
He is my refuge; therefore I am blessed.
I look to the Lord, and I am radiant.
My face will not be covered with shame.
God has not given me a spirit of fear,
but of power, of love, and of a sound mind.
Jesus has broken the power of the devil,
and freed me from slavery to fear.
The Lord is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.
I am accepted in the Beloved,
forgiven, cleansed, and covered by the blood of Jesus.
The Lord is good, and His mercy endures forever.
I will trust in His goodness all the days of my life.
In Jesus’ name, amen.”
### Prayer
“Lord God of David,
You are the same today as when Your servant cried out to You in fear.
You answered him and delivered him from all his fears.
I come to You now in the name of Jesus.
I bring before You every fear that has bound my life,
every shame that has darkened my heart.
I renounce the spirit of fear; it does not come from You.
I submit myself to You, and I resist the devil in the name of Jesus.
Let the power of fear be broken over my life.
Holy Spirit, fill me with power, with love, and with a sound mind.
Lead me into a deeper experience of the goodness of the Lord.
Teach me to take refuge in You in every circumstance.
Turn my gaze steadily toward the Lord Jesus
until my face is radiant with Your glory and free from shame.
I receive Your promise from Psalm 34:
that when I seek You, You answer;
that when I taste, I see that You are good;
that when I look to You, I am not put to shame.
Let this be my testimony:
‘The Lord is good. He delivered me from all my fears.’
I ask this in the mighty name of Jesus.
Amen.”
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