The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
What does Psalms 34:17 mean?
Let young persons set out in life with learning the fear of the Lord, if they desire true comfort here, and eternal happiness hereafter. Those will be most happy who begin the soonest to serve so good a Master.
Key themes
Read with
Keep this verse inside its immediate passage and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on Psalms 34:17
The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth - That is, one of the advantages or benefits of being righteous is the privilege of crying unto God, or of calling on his name, with the assurance that he will hear and deliver us. No one has ever yet fully appreciated the "privilege" of being permitted to call upon God; the privilege of prayer. There is no blessing conferred upon man in his present state superior to this; and no one can fully understand the force of the argument derived from this in favor of the service of God.
Context in Psalms 34
Show chapter context
Psalms 34 belongs to the early movement of the book, especially the section often described as Book II. Psalms is the Bible’s great book of sung prayer, teaching the full range of faithful speech from anguish and repentance to jubilation and doxology. Read this chapter with the wider themes of prayer, praise, and lament in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
Related topics
Explore by topic
Passages that speak directly to seasons of difficulty, hardship, testing, and the way God sustains people through adversity.
Passages on trusting God, receiving Christ, persevering without sight, and the relation between faith and lived obedience.
Bible verses about anxiety and fear
Verses for readers searching for biblical language about fear, worry, troubled thoughts, and the call to trust God under pressure.
Passages on asking, persistence, confession, dependence, and the way prayer shapes Christian life and attention.
Passages on the nature of truth, honesty, deception, the word of God as truth, and Jesus' claim to be the truth.
Bible verses about thankfulness and gratitude
Passages on thanksgiving to God, grateful worship, and the discipline of remembering God’s goodness in ordinary life.