Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
    and let us exalt his name together!
I sought the Lord, and he answered me
    and delivered me from all my fears.
Psalm 34:3-4

The background and context of this Psalm, found in 1 Samuel chapters 19-21, paints a much different picture of David's faith (or lack thereof) than you get when reading his poetic masterpiece of Psalm 34.

Deception had become David’s way of dealing with danger. It had been about five years since bold teenager David confidently declared, "The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” before facing down and killing the giant Goliath. Prior to writing Psalm 34, 1 Samuel 21:12 tells us that David was "much afraid of Achish the king of Gath."

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