Psalms · psalm 34 of 150
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Psalm 34 is a praise of David for being delivered from all his fears, written as an acrostic poem. David invites the humble to join his praise, teaches that the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and affirms that many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
The title connects the psalm with the time David pretended to be insane before Abimelech and went away; the account in 1 Samuel 21:10-15 tells that episode with King Achish of Gath, so Abimelech appears to be a title used for Philistine kings. It is an acrostic psalm, since its verses follow the order of the Hebrew alphabet, and the New Testament quotes it several times.
David begins with a vow of praise: he will bless the Lord at all times, his praise will always be in his mouth and the humble will be glad to hear it. He invites everyone to magnify the Lord's name together. He tells how he sought the Lord, and God answered him and delivered him from all his fears. Those who look to God are radiant and are not put to shame.
Then he speaks of himself in the third person: this poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him and saved him from all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and delivers them. David invites us to taste and see that the Lord is good and calls blessed the one who takes refuge in him. Young lions suffer want and hunger, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
In the second half David becomes a teacher of the fear of the Lord: keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceit, turn from evil, do good and seek peace. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his face is against evildoers. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all and keeps all his bones. The psalm concludes that evil will slay the wicked, but the Lord redeems the life of his servants.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
David sought the Lord, who answered him and delivered him from all his fears. He does not say that fears do not exist, but that God attends to them and overcomes them.
The invitation is to taste and see that the Lord is good and that the one who takes refuge in him is blessed. Faith begins with a concrete experience of God's goodness, not only with an idea.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. In pain God does not draw away; he draws near.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. The psalm does not promise a life without trials but that God sustains his people through them.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: At all times; his praise will continually be in his mouth. — Psalm 34:1
Answer: From all his fears. — Psalm 34:4
Answer: He encamps around those who fear him and delivers them. — Psalm 34:7
Answer: To taste and see that the Lord is good. — Psalm 34:8
Answer: His tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit. — Psalm 34:12-13
Answer: Near to them, and he saves the crushed in spirit. — Psalm 34:18
Psalm 34 is a good doorway into talking about prayer in times of fear. David does not ask for his fear to disappear before praying; he seeks the Lord with it. In a small group you can make room for each person to name a fear and place it before God, remembering that God answers the one who seeks him.
It also works for teaching children and youth. Verses 11 to 14 are a small school of the fear of the Lord: guard your words, turn from evil, do good and pursue peace. That practical teaching is useful for the home, the church and the workplace.
Psalm 34 closes by affirming that the Lord redeems the life of his servants and that no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned. Psalm 35 shows the harder side of that experience: David also prays when enemies accuse him without cause and asks God to be his defender.
In Psalm 34:20 the image expresses God's total care for his servant, down to the body itself. The Gospel of John, in John 19:36, connects this phrase with the death of Jesus, whose bones were not broken on the cross, though in the psalm it first refers to the righteous in general.
First Samuel 21:10-15 says David pretended to be insane before Achish, king of Gath. Abimelech, meaning my father is king, appears to have been a title or name used by Philistine kings, as Pharaoh was for the kings of Egypt. Scholars usually understand it that way, though the text does not explain it.
Peter quotes verses 12 to 16 in 1 Peter 3:10-12 to teach how to live in the midst of hostility. Also, 1 Peter 2:3 uses the idea of tasting that the Lord is good, found in verse 8.