Psalm 34 is yet another acoustic or alphabetic Psalm
with the first letters of each verse in the original Hebrew
following the Hebrew alphabet. The Psalm itself is not
directed to God, but rather sings the praises of God to
others, hence the responsorial verse, “Taste and see the
goodness of the Lord.”
This verse gives us the
impression that the Psalm may be a prefiguration of the
Eucharist – especially in light of both the first reading and
the Gospel; however, this is not the case. The emphasis
should not be on the “tasting”, but on the “seeing” of the
goodness of the Lord.
If we look to our Bibles, we see that the Psalm has an
introductory note: “Of David when he feigned madness
before Abimelech, so that he drove him out and he went
away.” The Abimelech here is in fact Acish the Philistine
King of Gath with whom David twice sought refuge; the
first time, however, fearing he would be recognized he
pretended madness (1 Samuel 21: 10-15). The second
time David sought refuge he was given the province of
Ziklag, (1 Samuel 27: 5-7). This Psalm is thus a song of
praise of God because He brings deliverance from
adversity. The first stanza of the responsorial is one of
pure praise that the lowly may hear and be glad. The
second stanza begins by continuing the praise, but then
segues into an explanation for the praise: “I sought the
Lord and he answered me and delivered me from all my
fears.” The following two stanzas enjoin the listener to do
the same, “Look to Him that you may be radiant with
joy… the angel of the Lord encamps around those who
fear Him, and delivers them …”
As usual our responsorial only give us brief “snippets”
of the much larger Psalm which numbers 23 verses.
There are many beautiful and, indeed, comforting
thoughts to be had in this Psalm. My own favorites being
verses 19-20: “The Lord is close to the broken hearted:
those crushed in spirit He delivers.
Though the
misfortunes of the righteous be many, the Lord will save
him from them all…” As I already mentioned this Psalm
is not directed to God; it is directed to us enjoining us to
take refuge in the Lord that we may be saved.