Psalm 34

Commonplace –

“I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Psalm 34:1).

In Psalm 34, David begins by praising God. He calls the reader to worship with him: “O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together” (Psalm 34:3). He gives a testimony: “I sought the Lord and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears” (v. 4). God is ever present. He sends his angels to deliver the saints. (v.7).

Then, David turns to instruction. “Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord” (v. 11). How do you live like one who loves the Lord?

1. Keep your tongue from evil. (v. 13)
2. Refrain from cunning or sly speech. (v. 13)
3. Run from evil. (v. 14)
4. Do good. (v. 14)
5. Seek and pursue peace. (v. 14)

Afterwards, David compares the life of those who follow God with those who follow evil. The evildoers will be cut off, but the followers of the Lord will be heard and delivered from their troubles. David ends with the following encouragement:

“The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servant: none of them that trust in him shall be desolate” (Psalm 34:22).

I’d say that is some pretty good news.

Matthew Henry references Psalm 34’s introduction, which follows:

“A Psalm of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he departed” (Psalm 34).

In respect to the opening, Henry notes,

“This psalm was penned upon a particular occasion, as appears by the title, and yet there is little in it particular to that occasion, bu that which is general, both by way of thanksgiving to God and instruction to us” (289).

This is a very important point and not one to be overlooked. David took the specific situation he was in and wrote a song about the general truth he learned from that situation and used it to praise God and teach others, and, in so doing, he made plain the purpose of our own testimony: praise God for deliverance and use it to teach others.

Works Cited

Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 34.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3 and Volume 6, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

© 2025 Angela Hormberg