The LORD redeems the life of his servants;

None of those who take refuge in him will be condemned. (Ps. 34:22)

Try to remember a time when you were in deep trouble, or at least it felt that way. Perhaps you had done something wrong and gotten caught, or perhaps you found yourself in a dangerous situation. Maybe it was a health scare, or the fear of losing someone close to you.

            Trouble or danger has a way of prompting prayer, doesn’t it? Nothing inspires a heartfelt prayer like finding ourselves in a dark or difficult situation from which we cannot extricate ourselves. When we realize that God is the only help available, prayer is a natural recourse.

            Psalm 34 reflects a situation like that: it is the testimony of someone who personally experienced trouble, cried out to God for help, and experienced deliverance. His response was to praise God first, then to testify and teach others who could learn from his experience.

            Like several other psalms, Psalm 34 is an acrostic poem, in which each verse begins with a consecutive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It has similarities to Psalm 25 in that both are acrostics, and both skip the letter vav, but add an additional verse beginning with pe at the end so there would be 22 verses. Psalm 25 is primarily a plea for help, and Psalm 34 is mainly a song of thanksgiving for help that has been received. Both incorporate elements of instruction or wisdom teaching. [DD]

An invitation to praise

(vv. 1-3)

The psalm begins with a declaration of personal praise to Yahweh (vv. 1-2), followed by an invitation for others to join in celebrating God’s work (v. 3). The poet professed to a life in which he praised Yahweh constantly: “I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth” (v. 1). Humans are incapable of blessing God in the same way we hope for God to bless us, but the Hebrews believed that God desires human praise, and that God would regard public thanksgiving as a blessing.

            The poet not only praised God persistently, but from the very depths of his being: “My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad” (v. 2). The word translated “soul” is nefesh, a Hebrew term that does not imply the dualistic, disembodied soul of Greek thought, but speaks of the deepest essence of being that makes one alive and human.

            The psalmist identified with others who were oppressed, using the word ‘ǎnavîm. The term describes people who are poor, needy, or bent over by the difficulties of life. His experience held the prospect that other troubled people might find encouragement in his testimony and join him in praise: “O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together” (v. 3).

            The word for “magnify” means “to make great,” and the word for “exalt” means “to make high.” Humans cannot make Yahweh any greater or higher than God already is, but they can lift up or magnify God’s name and reputation before others.

An invitation to taste

(vv. 4-10)

By their nature, acrostic poems don’t lend themselves to larger literary structures, but with v. 4 there is a shift from praise to testimony and further invitation. Why was the poet so invested in perpetually praising Yahweh? Because “I sought the LORD, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.”

            Who would not rejoice if they had earnestly prayed for deliverance, and found their prayers answered in a positive way? Other needy folk could have the same experience, the poet believed: “Look to him, and be radiant; so your faces shall never be ashamed” (v. 5). Their faces might not glow like that of Moses after his close communion with God (Exod. 34:29-35), but they could also radiate the joy of one who has personally experienced God’s delivering presence, rather than the red cheeks of someone who is ashamed.

            Verse 6 shifts back to a testimony that “this poor soul” had cried out to Yahweh and had been heard with salvific results. Verse 7 may imply a military setting (“the angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him”), but it is more likely intended as metaphorical. The “angel of the LORD” appears in a variety of settings in the Hebrew Bible, both as a representative of Yahweh and as an indicator of God’s own presence: the angel of Yahweh speaks as God (to Hagar (Gen. 16:9-11), to Moses (Exod. 3:2-6), to Balaam (Num. 22:34-35), and to Israel (Judg. 2:1-5). [DD]

            The poet’s stated desire was that others share his experience. He erupted with enthusiasm in v. 8, perhaps the most memorable line from the psalm: “O taste and see that the LORD is good; happy are those who take refuge in him.” The imagery of taste speaks of a personal and intimate experience of knowing God, which the psalmist equated with a life of blessed happiness.

            Verse 9 introduces an instruction to be amplified later: “O fear the LORD, you his holy ones, for those who fear him have no want.” To fear Yahweh is not to shake in our boots with apprehension that God might harm us, but to stand in awe before both the power and the compassion of a God who not only hears our pleas, but who can answer them.

            The psalmist spoke in obvious hyperbole when claiming that those who fear God have no want or need. He had experienced want, and knew that we will always have needs for food, shelter, or aid in times of crisis. He was confident, however, arguing that young lions (stronger hunters than old lions) may go hungry, “but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing” (v. 9).

            Out of context, vv. 8-10 provides a popular text for prosperity preachers, but the psalmist did not expect his faithfulness or prayerfulness to win him a perfect life with no trouble, as we shall see in v. 19. He did, however, believe that the presence of God could bring satisfaction in life, no matter what the circumstances might be.

An invitation to learn

(vv. 11-22)

Having begun the shift to instruction with v. 9, the poet took on the persona of a wisdom teacher through the remainder of the psalm. The sages who taught younger people typically addressed them as “sons,” because any formal schooling that Israel’s elites may have had would have been an all-male enterprise. The psalmist adopted the same language, though modern versions appropriately translate “sons” as “children.”

            In v. 11, the poet picked up the theme of fearing God from v. 9: “Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.”

            Wisdom teachers believed their teachings held the key to a long and good life, so it is not surprising that the psalmist asked, “Which of you desires life, and covets many days to enjoy good?” (v. 12).

            Having raised the question, the teacher offered the answer. To have a good life and many days, one should practice ethical behavior by avoiding evil in both speech and practice “Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it” (vv. 13-14).

            A good and meaningful life not only eschews evil, but seeks the welfare of others and actively works for peace. The prophet Isaiah offered similar advice: “… cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow” (Isa. 1:16b-17).

            The poet reinforced the call to ethical living with assurance that “The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry” (v. 15). In contrast, God’s face was against those who did evil (v. 16). “When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears, and rescues them from their troubles,” the psalmist claimed: “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit” (vv. 17-18).

            These familiar verses, often recited by people in need of comfort, may seem to promise that the righteous will have a life free of trouble, but that is not the case. The verses acknowledge that it is the righteous who are facing trouble. The people who are brokenhearted and crushed in spirit are also God-fearers.

            The theme continues in v. 19: “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD rescues them from them all.” The assurance that no bones will be broken and that the wicked will be condemned (vv. 20-21) doesn’t take away from the acknowledgement that the righteous are afflicted.

            God does not deliver us from all troubles, but offers a way for us to endure trials as we trust in God’s presence. God may bring healing to our broken hearts, but doesn’t stop them from being broken in the first place.

            The key, perhaps, is in what we do with the repeated word “fear.” If we allow our troubles to overwhelm us with fear and anxiety, we may enter a downward spiral that leaves us feeling defeated. But, if we “fear” God by trusting that we are not alone in our trials, by choosing to live ethically, and by investing ourselves in others’ good, we can rise above our adversities and join the psalmist in praising the Lord who “redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned” (v. 22).

            Do we fear the stress and difficulties of life, or do we fear/trust that God is present with us, enabling us not only to persevere, but to praise?

            That, for the psalmist, is the question.