Psalm 34 Through the Teachings of Neville Goddard

Psalm 34 is often read as a comforting promise of God's goodness and protection. However, when viewed through the teachings of Neville Goddard, it becomes a powerful allegory for the journey of consciousness, imagination, and manifestation. Neville taught that God is your own wonderful human imagination. To "bless the Lord" and "seek Him" is to recognise and live from the divine power within. Let us walk verse by verse through this Psalm, interpreting its poetry as a guide to inner transformation.

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Verse 1 – "I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth."
To bless the Lord is to stay conscious of your I AMness. Praise continually being in the mouth symbolises the constant discipline of mental assumption. You must speak and feel from the state you desire to express. This is prayer in Neville's terms—assuming the feeling of the wish fulfilled.

Verse 2 – "My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad."
The soul represents the subconscious mind. Its "boast" is the inner conviction that I AM is the only power. The humble—your obedient inner faculties—rejoice when the conscious mind turns back to the truth of being.

Verse 3 – "O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together."
To magnify the Lord is to increase awareness of your true self, the I AM. To exalt His name is to raise your assumption to the highest level—to dwell not just on what you want, but from it.

Verse 4 – "I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears."
Seeking the Lord is turning inward. You direct attention away from fear and onto your assumption. In doing so, you are "heard"—your assumption is accepted by the subconscious, and you are delivered.

Verse 5 – "They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed."
Turning inward to I AM brings illumination. Shame only exists when we wrongly identify with limitation. When we recognise the divine within, we are lit from within and fearless.

Verse 6 – "This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles."
The "poor man" symbolises any state of lack. The "cry" is a heartfelt desire. When assumed properly, the desire is received by the deeper self and results in transformation.

Verse 7 – "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them."
The angel is divine law in action. To fear the Lord is to revere your own creative power. When you live with that reverence, you are protected by the law of consciousness.

Verse 8 – "O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him."
This is the invitation to test the law—assume the state and see its result. "Taste and see" means experience it for yourself. Trust in imagination always yields blessing.

Verse 9 – "O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him."
Reverence for the inner I AM eliminates lack. To "fear" in this context is to honour and stay aware of your own imaginative power.

Verse 10 – "The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing."
Even strong, instinctive forces fail without inner awareness. True fulfilment comes only from seeking the inner Lord—your imagination.

Verse 11 – "Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord."
"Children" are undeveloped faculties. The Psalm invites these aspects of consciousness to be trained in reverence for the inner divine law.

Verses 12–14 – "What man is he that desireth life... depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it."
This is mental diet. Speak no deceit means imagine no contradiction to your desire. Evil is simply missing the mark—assuming wrongly. Do good: assume rightly.

Verse 15 – "The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry."
God’s “eyes” and “ears” symbolise awareness and receptivity. The subconscious receives the cry (impression) of the right assumption.

Verse 16 – "The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth."
States that contradict the law of assumption will fade. The "face" of the Lord—true awareness—cannot sustain falsehood.

Verses 17–18 – "The righteous cry... the Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart."
The "broken heart" is the open heart, the surrendered mind. The Lord (I AM) is closest when you’re vulnerable, ready to let go of resistance.

Verse 19 – "Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all."
Even when imagining rightly, external tests may arise—but persistence always leads to deliverance.

Verse 20 – "He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken."
Bones represent structure and spiritual truth. The person grounded in the I AM holds firm—truth remains unbroken.

Verses 21–22 – "Evil shall slay the wicked... none of them that trust in him shall be desolate."
Wrong assumptions destroy themselves. But those who dwell in the fulfilled state are never empty—they live in internal richness.

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Conclusion

Psalm 34, through Neville Goddard’s teachings, becomes a poetic map of consciousness. It calls you to live in continual awareness of the I AM, to praise from within, to assume the highest, and to trust the unseen. It reminds us that imagination creates reality, and the inner cry—when true and consistent—always finds its answer.

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Full Psalm

I will be blessing the Lord at all times;
His praise will be ever in my mouth.
My soul will say great things of the Lord:
The poor in spirit will have knowledge of it and be glad.

Give praise to the Lord with me;
Let us make His name great together.
I was searching for the Lord, and He gave ear to my voice,
And made me free from all my fears.

Let your eyes be turned to Him and you will have light,
And your faces will not be put to shame.
This poor man's cry came before the Lord,
And He gave him salvation from all his troubles.

The angel of the Lord is ever watching over those who have fear of Him,
To keep them safe.
By experience you will see that the Lord is good;
Happy is the man who has faith in Him.

Keep your fear of the Lord, all you His saints;
For those who do so will have no need of anything.
The young lions are in need and have no food;
But those who are looking to the Lord will have every good thing.

Come, children, give attention to me;
I will be your teacher in the fear of the Lord.
What man has a love of life,
And a desire that his days may be long and good?

Keep your tongue from evil,
And your lips from words of deceit.
Be turned from evil, and do good;
Make a search for peace, desiring it with all your heart.

The eyes of the Lord are on the upright,
And His ears are open to their cry.
The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
To take away the memory of them from the earth.

The cry of the upright comes before the Lord,
And He takes them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near the broken-hearted;
He is the saviour of those whose spirits are crushed down.

Great are the troubles of the upright:

But the Lord takes him safely out of them all.
He keeps all his bones:
Not one of them is broken.

Evil will put an end to the sinner,
And those who are haters of righteousness will come to destruction.
The Lord will be the saviour of the souls of His servants,
And no one who has faith in Him will be put to shame.