The Righteous One and the Many: Reading Psalm 34 with Attention

How David’s shifting language invites us into a personal and universal theology of deliverance

Psalm 34 is a beautiful example of Hebrew poetry that rewards slow reading and close attention. As I recently reflected on it I began to notice how David’s use of singular and plural references shifts throughout the psalm. These shifts aren’t random; they reveal how David weaves his own personal story into a larger tapestry of God’s faithfulness to all who trust in Him.

Let me walk you through some of these observations.

From “I” to “We” and Back Again

David opens Psalm 34 with a strong personal declaration:

“I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.” (v. 1)

But immediately afterward, he moves to a communal invitation:

“Let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.” (vv. 2–3)

This pattern continues throughout the psalm. David oscillates between his personal testimony and general truths about how the Lord acts on behalf of others. In verse 4, he says, “I sought the Lord, and he answered me,” but in verse 5, he shifts to, “Those who look to him are radiant.” Then in verse 6, we hear, “This poor man called, and the Lord heard him”—a statement that is singular but not explicitly personal. It could be David speaking about himself in the third person, or a generalization from his own experience.

This rhythmic movement—personal to general, singular to plural—is a literary and theological technique. David is drawing us in, not just to observe his experience but to share in it, and then to see ourselves in it.

A Singular Righteous One

One of the most striking moments comes in verse 19 (Hebrew numbering), where David writes:

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” (ESV)

In Hebrew, the word is צַדִּיק (tzaddik)—the righteous one. Singular.

This is notable because most of the psalm speaks in plural terms about “the righteous.” But here, David zooms in. This is no longer about the righteous as a group but about the individual who walks uprightly before the Lord, even in the midst of intense affliction.

Why the singular here?

It may be that David is speaking of himself again, identifying personally with the afflictions that fall on the righteous. But I think it’s also possible that David is making a larger point: God’s faithfulness is not only to His people in general, but to each righteous one in particular. Every person who puts their trust in the Lord is seen, known, and delivered—personally.

This paves the way for a deeper layer of reflection.

The Righteous One and the Righteous Many

In Hebrew poetry and prophecy, singular figures often carry multiple layers of meaning. “The righteous one” in Psalm 34:19 could refer to:

• David himself

• Any individual who walks in covenant with God

• The ideal righteous sufferer—which we Christian readers identify as Jesus the Messiah

The verse that follows confirms this trajectory:

“He protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.” (Psalm 34:20, NIV)

This is directly quoted in John 19:36 in reference to Christ’s crucifixion. So within David’s song of praise and deliverance is a prophetic whisper: the ultimate Righteous One would be afflicted by many evils, yet delivered through them all—not by avoidance of death, but by triumph through it.

Evil Is Real—But It Won’t Win

The line about the righteous one being afflicted is not sugar-coated. Evil is real, and it presses in on those who live faithfully. But David insists:

“The Lord delivers him from them all.”

The promise is not that evil won’t touch the righteous, but that it will never have the final say. No evil will ultimately oppress the one who is righteous—not in the sense of forever enslaving or destroying him. God’s justice, mercy, and power will prevail.

This verse, in many ways, captures the entire theological thrust of the psalm:

God is near to the brokenhearted, attentive to the cries of the righteous, and actively at work to deliver those who fear Him—from every evil.

Conclusion:

Psalm 34 is not merely a poetic reflection on divine rescue. It is a personal invitation to taste and see that the Lord is good (v. 8), and a theological affirmation that no suffering endured for righteousness will go unnoticed or unredeemed.

The Lord is not just the deliverer of “the righteous” in general. He is the deliverer of the righteous one—each one who trusts Him, cries out to Him, and belongs to Him.