Bible Text: Psalm 34 | Preacher: Pastor Joe Ricchuiti | Series: In Praise and Pursuit of the Living God, Psalms

1.  The background of Psalm 34 is found in 1 Samuel 21:10-15 where David, fleeing from Saul, goes to Gath, the home of Goliath, with Goliath’s sword, to seek refuge. He is recognized and to save his life he pretends to be insane. Out of that deliverance came David’s song, Psalm 34, the first ten verses of which is a song of thanksgiving, praising God for his deliverance. the second half of the Psalm has the elements of a wisdom Psalm. This Psalm 34 Incorporates two different genres or types of Psalms.

2. “All the great words of praise come, not from those who have never known suffering, but from those who have known God’s help in it. Praising God is not the naïve optimism of the sheltered, but the hearty realism of the delivered.” (Peterson)

3. David’s purpose in praise is to bring relief to those whom life has crushed, who need hope and encouragement. In comforting others we are often intimidated because we don’t know what to say, it’s good to remember three things: 1) it’s not what we say that is most important, its okay to be at a loss for words; 2) often the best thing we can do is to just listen; and 3) we should never second-guess God, His purpose and His dealings in another’s life (we must avoid being “Job’s comforters”).

4. A good resource for those who want to engage in a ministry of comfort to the hurting is Larry Richard’s Personal Ministry Handbook. Chapter five lists 11 observations about comforting the suffering.