LEARNING ACTIVITY: ANALYZING PSALM 34 I. PSALM TYPE: THANKSGIVING Psalm 34 is a thanksgiving psalm written by David when he changed his behavior before Abimelech. It was David’s appreciation of God’s mercy upon his life and thus he gives thanks to God for what He has done. As Fee and Stuart pointed out in their book in page 226, a thanksgiving psalm has five elements that are as follows: introduction, distress, appeal, deliverance and testimony. In Psalm 34:1-3, David writes his introduction to the thanksgiving psalm by bursting out in praise with the desire to do it at all times and continually, not just individually but also corporately. His distress in verses 3 to 7 are unspecified, but can be read before the beginning of the psalm mentioning that this was written when he was living with the Philistines and pretended to be mad before the king. David’s appeal shows up in verse 6 stating that when he called, the Lord delivered him from his troubles. He praises God for He graciously responded to his call for help. Another kind of appeal is seen in verses 11-14 when he turns his appeal from God and moves toward God’s people to embrace the fear of the Lord by turning away from evil and doing good. The Deliverance section of the psalm is seen in verse 7 when David makes a declaration that the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and delivers them from trouble. Furthermore, this can be seen in verses 17-18 where David declares that when the righteous cry for help, God delivers them from their troubles for He is near to the broken hearted and saves those crushed in spirit.