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The words safety and fear don’t often appear in the same sentence unless we “fear for the safety” of another, meaning that we are troubled because someone’s protection or well-being is threatened. Psalm 34 turns that expression on its head and gives us a different way to associate the words.
It’s helpful to remember the context. David is the Spirit-inspired author, and his words are written not from a bed of ease but likely while he huddles in the cave of Adullam. Fleeing for his life from Saul, he is exhausted, uncertain of the future, and surrounded by a ragged band of men who are in distress, in debt, and bitter in soul (see 1 Sam. 21–22). But he is also happy. His lips are full of humble praise for the God who “saved him out of all his troubles” (Ps. 34:6), likely referring to his escape from King Achish. David had cried out to God in distress, and God had granted physical deliverance.
The walls of Adullam, however, could not shelter David and his men forever. What now? He may have escaped from the king of Gath, but Saul is still on the hunt, and David dare not presume that his troubles are over.
It would be understandable if David’s fears were lingering. But what we find in Psalm 34 is a man who has chosen his fears well. In the face of imminent danger, David has chosen the safest fear—namely, the fear of the Lord. He declares in verses 8–10:
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!
The young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
The walls of a cave may provide temporary protection, but the ultimate place of refuge, provision, and blessedness is found in a life that walks in reverent obedience to God. David doesn’t assume that such a life will be easy. No doubt he is thankful for this momentary relief in the cave of Adullam, but he also knows that “many are the afflictions of the righteous” (v. 19). Indeed, the coming days of life on the run will prove it so.
Walking in the fear of the Lord will not keep David from difficulty, but it will keep him under the wise and watchful eye of the One who is good and ever working for David’s good. Whether that good comes in the form of a sorrow speedily removed or as a sorrow endured, those who fear the Lord—who think rightly about and live righteously before Him—can be sure that they are seen, heard, and kept by an almighty Father. Furthermore, His care and deliverance span far beyond the few and fleeting years of earthly life and into eternity, where those who chose the fear of the Lord rest happily assured that “none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned” (v. 22).