Psalms
Psalm 34
KJV
I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.
I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
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.
Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?
Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.
Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.
He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.
Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.
The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.
Overview
Psalm 34 moves from personal praise and testimony into communal invitation, wisdom instruction, and renewed assurance that the LORD hears the afflicted. Its alphabetic shape reinforces a comprehensive meditation on praise, fear of the LORD, truthful speech, peace, suffering, and refuge. The psalm does not promise a trouble-free life: it explicitly says the righteous have many afflictions while insisting that God remains near, attentive, and redeeming. Later Christian reception of verse 20 in John 19:36 is important, but it should not erase the psalm’s original poetic setting.
Setting and context
The superscription links Psalm 34 with David when he changed his behavior before Abimelech and was driven away; 1 Samuel 21:10–15 narrates a related episode before Achish, so this commentary notes the connection without inventing a harmonization. The psalm is broadly alphabetic/acrostic, with features that should not be flattened into a claim of perfect mechanical regularity. Verses 1–3 open with continual praise; 4–7 testify to deliverance and divine protection; 8–10 invite the community to taste, fear, and seek the LORD; 11–14 shift into wisdom teaching on speech, good, and peace; 15–18 describe God’s attention to the righteous and nearness to the brokenhearted; 19–22 conclude with affliction, preservation, moral consequence, redemption, and refuge.
Themes
Continual praise without denying lament · Deliverance and refuge without presumption · Experiential invitation to God’s goodness · Fear of the LORD and practical wisdom · Truthful speech and active pursuit of peace · God’s nearness amid affliction and redemption
Reflection
Psalm 34 moves from personal praise and testimony into communal invitation, wisdom instruction, and renewed assurance that the LORD hears the afflicted. Its alphabetic shape reinforces a comprehensive meditation on praise, fear of the LORD, truthful speech, peace, suffering, and refuge. The psalm does not promise a trouble-free life: it explicitly says the righteous have many afflictions while insisting that God remains near, attentive, and redeeming. Later Christian reception of verse 20 in John 19:36 is important, but it should not erase the psalm’s original poetic setting.
Reading notes
I will bless the LORD at all times and keep his praise in my mouth; continual praise is a posture of allegiance, not a ban on lament, grief, or honest distress. The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him and delivers them; the protective image invites trust, not reckless behavior or certainty that believers cannot be harmed. Young lions can lack and hunger, but those who seek the LORD will not lack any good thing; the wisdom claim rejects creaturely self-sufficiency without teaching prosperity or immunity from material need. Turn from evil, do good, seek peace, and pursue it; biblical peace is active moral work and never requires staying in abuse, concealing wrongdoing, or abandoning necessary boundaries. The LORD is near the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit; divine nearness dignifies profound pain and can coexist with therapy, medicine, crisis help, and patient recovery. God keeps all the righteous person’s bones so that none is broken; this is poetic preservation within the psalm, later echoed in Christian reading of Jesus without erasing the original context.
Key passages
Psalm 34:1: I will bless the LORD at all times and keep his praise in my mouth; continual praise is a posture of allegiance, not a ban on lament, grief, or honest distress. I will bless the LORD at all times and keep his praise in my mouth; continual praise is a posture of allegiance, not a ban on lament, grief, or honest distress. Psalm 34:8: Taste and see that the LORD is good; the invitation is experiential and relational, not a laboratory proof or pressure to manufacture an immediate spiritual sensation. Taste and see that the LORD is good; the invitation is experiential and relational, not a laboratory proof or pressure to manufacture an immediate spiritual sensation. Psalm 34:14: Turn from evil, do good, seek peace, and pursue it; biblical peace is active moral work and never requires staying in abuse, concealing wrongdoing, or abandoning necessary boundaries. Turn from evil, do good, seek peace, and pursue it; biblical peace is active moral work and never requires staying in abuse, concealing wrongdoing, or abandoning necessary boundaries. Psalm 34:18: The LORD is near the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit; divine nearness dignifies profound pain and can coexist with therapy, medicine, crisis help, and patient recovery. The LORD is near the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit; divine nearness dignifies profound pain and can coexist with therapy, medicine, crisis help, and patient recovery. Psalm 34:19: The righteous person has many afflictions, yet the LORD delivers from them all; the verse explicitly rejects a trouble-free spirituality while grounding hope beyond present suffering. The righteous person has many afflictions, yet the LORD delivers from them all; the verse explicitly rejects a trouble-free spirituality while grounding hope beyond present suffering. Psalm 34:22: The LORD redeems the life of his servants, and those who take refuge in him are not condemned; refuge rests in divine redemption, not in moral perfection or immunity from suffering. The LORD redeems the life of his servants, and those who take refuge in him are not condemned; refuge rests in divine redemption, not in moral perfection or immunity from suffering.
Questions readers ask
What is the main message of Psalm 34? Praise, trust, wisdom, truthful speech, peace, and refuge belong together because the LORD hears the afflicted and draws near to the brokenhearted. Does Psalm 34 promise that believers will never suffer? No. Verse 19 explicitly says the righteous have many afflictions while grounding hope in God’s deliverance and redemption. How is Psalm 34:20 received in the New Testament? John 19:36 echoes the unbroken-bones language in relation to Jesus; that Christian reception should be distinguished from the psalm’s original poetic horizon.