Psalms

Chapter 34

Taste and See That the LORD Is Good

This psalm turns David's deliverance into a public summons to bless and magnify the LORD at all times. It celebrates God's rescue of the poor and fearful, invites others to taste and see his goodness, then shifts into wisdom instruction about fearing the LORD before ending with assurances that God hears the righteous, is near the brokenhearted, and redeems his servants.

Psalm 34 blends praise, testimony, wisdom, and promise. It teaches that the fear of the LORD is not mere dread but a life of trust, speech, and conduct shaped by God's goodness, and it reassures the afflicted that divine nearness and final redemption belong to those who take refuge in him.

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Psalms 34

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vv. 1-22

Taste and See That the LORD Is Good

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O¹f David, when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, so that the king drove him away. ²My soul boasts in the LORD; ³Magnify the LORD with me; ⁴I sought the LORD, and He answered me; ⁵Those who look to Him are radiant with joy; ⁶This poor man called out, and the LORD heard him; ⁷The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him,

⁸Taste and see that the LORD is good; ⁹Fear the LORD, you His saints, ¹⁰Young lions go lacking and hungry,

¹¹Come, children, listen to me; ¹²Who is the man who delights in life, ¹³Keep your tongue from evil ¹⁴Turn away from evil and do good;

¹⁵The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, ¹⁶But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, ¹⁷The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears; ¹⁸The LORD is near to the brokenhearted; ¹⁹Many are the afflictions of the righteous, ²⁰He protects all his bones; ²¹Evil will slay the wicked, ²²The LORD redeems His servants,

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01vv. 1-22Taste and See That the LORD Is GoodDavid blesses the LORD continually and invites the humble to join him in magnifying God's name because the LORD hears, answers, and delivers those who seek him. From that testimony he calls people to taste the LORD's goodness and learn the fear of the LORD in practical righteousness, then closes by contrasting God's attentive care for the righteous with his opposition to evil and by affirming that the LORD redeems his servants.