Psalm 34, penned by David, is a vibrant testimony of God’s faithfulness, a call to praise, and a guide to living in the light of divine truth. Below is the full text, followed by a commentary that weaves together historical context, deeper truths, connections to Jesus, and a call to embrace God as the author of truth and reality.
Psalm 34 (NKJV)
The Happiness of Those Who Trust in God
A Psalm of David when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.
1 I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul shall make its boast in the Lord;
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and He heard me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
5 They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces were not ashamed.
6 This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him,
And delivers them.
8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
9 Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints!
There is no want to those who fear Him.
10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
11 Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Who is the man who desires life,
And loves many days, that he may see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil,
And your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their cry.
16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears,
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
20 He guards all his bones;
Not one of them is broken.
21 Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
22 The Lord redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.
Commentary
Psalm 34 bursts forth from a moment of desperation in David’s life, when he fled from Saul’s pursuit and found himself in the court of Abimelech (likely Achish, king of Gath, as referenced in 1 Samuel 21:10-15). Fearing for his life, David pretended madness to escape—a humbling, even humiliating act for a warrior and future king. Yet, from this low point, David crafts a song of unyielding praise, declaring, “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth” (v. 1). This historical context reveals a profound truth: God’s deliverance shines brightest in our moments of weakness. David’s feigned insanity was a human strategy, but his real salvation came from God, who heard his cry and delivered him from fear and danger (v. 4). This sets the stage for the psalm’s deeper wisdom: God is the author of truth and reality, the one who sees through our facades and meets us in our need.
The psalm invites everyone—humble, broken, or afflicted—to experience God’s goodness firsthand. “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good” (v. 8) is not a theoretical proposition but an invitation to encounter the living God. This echoes Jesus’ words in John 7:37-38: “On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Just as David calls us to taste God’s goodness, Jesus offers Himself as the source of living water, satisfying the deepest longings of the soul. Those who do not yet know this truth, who live in darkness and deception, are missing the reality that Jesus declares in John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” To live apart from Him is to wander in a world of misunderstanding, chasing shadows instead of the substance of God’s reality.
David’s teaching in verses 11-14—about fearing the Lord, speaking truth, and pursuing peace—resonates with Jesus’ teachings, particularly in the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23). In this parable, Jesus describes the seed of God’s word falling on different soils, representing hearts that receive or reject truth. The “good soil” (Matthew 13:23,: “But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty”) aligns with Psalm 34’s call to “depart from evil and do good” (v. 14). Those who fear the Lord and live righteously become fertile ground for God’s truth, producing lives of peace and purpose. Conversely, those who reject this path, as David warns in verse 16, face a reality where “the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” This is not vindictive but a reflection of God’s nature as truth itself—evil, rooted in deception, cannot stand in His presence.
The psalm’s promise of God’s nearness to the brokenhearted (v. 18) finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus, who came to bind up the brokenhearted (Isaiah 61:1, fulfilled in Luke 4:18, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted”). Jesus embodies the angel of the Lord who “encamps all around those who fear Him” (v. 7), offering protection and presence. The striking prophecy in verse 20—“He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken”—points directly to Jesus’ crucifixion, where, unlike the thieves beside Him, His bones were not broken (John 19:36, “For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, ‘Not one of His bones shall be broken’”). This connection underscores Jesus as the righteous one who endured affliction yet was delivered, securing redemption for all who trust in Him (v. 22).
For those living in darkness, Psalm 34 is a beacon. It reveals a world where God hears the cries of the humble (v. 6), sees the righteous (v. 15), and delivers them from affliction (v. 19). Yet, many remain blinded by deception, unaware that Jesus is the truth who illuminates reality. As believers, we are called to share this light, to invite others to “magnify the Lord” with us (v. 3) and to taste His goodness. This mission echoes Jesus’ parable of the lost sheep (Luke 15:4-7: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? … I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents”). Just as Jesus seeks the lost, we are to guide those in darkness toward the truth of God’s love and deliverance.
Psalm 34 is a call to live as children of truth, not children of deception. To choose truth is to trust in the God who delivers, to follow Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life, and to walk in the light of His reality. Let us, like David, praise God continually, share His goodness with the broken, and invite those in darkness to taste and see that the Lord is good. Will you be a child of truth, shining His light in a world of shadows?