Psalms 34:17

“[The righteous] cry, etc.] The word “righteous” is not in the original text, but is rightly supplied in our version, as it is in the Targum, and by Jarchi; and so Kimchi and Ben Melech observe, that these words are not to be connected with (<193416>Psalm 34:16), but with (<193415>Psalm 34:15); and they are indeed an amplification of the last clause of it; and the cry of the righteous is meant, to which the ears of the Lord are open; though Aben Ezra thinks that these words are to be understood of them that do evil, and of their cry to the Lord, when they turn from their evil ways; but the former sense is best; and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles; their inward…”

“Humble penitents are objects of God's special tender regard (Psa 51:19; Isa 57:15).”

“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. What a world would this be - how sad, how helpless, how wretched - if there were no God to whom the guilty, the suffering, and the sorrowful might come; if God were a Being who…”

“The righteous: There is no word for the righteous in the present Hebrew Text; but it is preserved in all the versions; and it was probably lost from its similitude to tzaakoo, "they cry:" - tzaakoo tazddeekim, "the righteous cry." cry: Psa 34:6, Psa 34:15, Psa 34:19, Psa 91:15, Psa 145:18-20; Ch2 32:20, Ch2 32:21, Ch2 32:24; Isa 65:24; Act 12:5-11 Psalms 34:18”