PSALM 34:1-8
1 I will exalt the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips.2 I will glory in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice.3 Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.5 Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; He saved him out of all his troubles.7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them.
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.
Psalm 34:1-8 GOD IS GOOD
Springford Baptist Church: November 13, 2022.
As we continue our ongoing quest of KNOWING GOD, we are affirming today our experience of the truth that GOD IS GOOD.
Someone else can tell you that a particular food is delicious, but you will need to taste for yourself to discover how good it is.
In Psalm 34:8 David writes, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.”
What kind of person writes words like that? Quite obviously, this is someone who knew God very well. David was a shepherd in his youth, spending lots of time praising God with songs while keeping one eye on the wolves and other predators that threatened the sheep.
Now that is an important piece of information. When you want to know something about someone, you ask the person who knows that someone well. David and the LORD were in close relationship even with mistakes and blunders on the part of David. This makes David a reliable resource in our desire to know God well.
Here in Psalm 34:8, David speaks from personal experience about great blessing that comes in depending on God:
“Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.”
David leads us to this urging to taste and see for ourselves that GOD IS GOOD with these words:
3 “Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.5 Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; He saved him out of all his troubles.7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them.” (Psalm 34:3-7)
So David knew what it was like to have things go smoothly and well and also what it was to be in a time of great anxiety and fear. David is qualified to give us an accurate picture of God. His conclusion is that GOD IS GOOD.
We will take a closer look at Psalm 34:8
“Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.”
Taste
To “taste” here is literally to perceive by experiencing. It involves a conscious decision to be involved. There was a TV commercial some years back for Life Cereal. Young boys were reluctant to taste the new cereal their Mom had brought home, so they tried it out on their little brother, Mikey.
This highlights the issue of a relationship with God. It must be a personal experience, not what someone else has tasted. Many people are more than willing to give their opinion about God without first knowing Him. You can see this attitude with people who can tell you all about what a baseball or hockey team should have done to win a game while they have never played themselves. People who claim to know all about living the spiritual life, yet have never even had an authentic conversation with God, have not “tasted”. They have only looked on at the action.
“Tasting God” means taking Him at His word. It’s a leap of faith that says: “I commit my life to You, what will You do with me?”
See
If “tasting” is to perceive by experience, “seeing” is knowing by that same experience. There is something that happens when you take that leap of faith – something on the inside that validates the closeness of God. There’s an old expression of doubt that goes: “I’ll believe it when I see it.” But with God it’s the other way around. You will actually begin to see you believe!
And what is it that we “see”? What we see, according to David, is that the LORD is good! GOD IS GOOD.
Take Refuge.
To take refuge is to trust. There is blessing that comes when we choose to trust God. We can trust our God because He is good! We cannot see the future, but God can. So trusting our lives and future to the One who holds that future is the only thing that is really sound.
When we dare to invite an experience of God’s power in our lives, then we will need to cooperate with the move of God in our lives. It is then we can grow as strong and useful followers of Jesus. It is this that we witness here:
• a person “tastes” by committing in a leap of faith to God’s control over that person’s life.
• because of this “leap” there is a “seeing,” a knowing deep down that God is truly good.
• faith becomes strong in the inner self, and this leads to a contented heart and soul – blessing.
David knew what he was talking about. When he was tasting and seeing and trusting, he was among the most blessed and happy of men. When he got away from God and trusted in his own ways, his own strength and desires, he became the most miserable of people. He could write about being incredibly blessed and he could also recount the emptiness of having rejected the presence of God’s Holy Spirit.
But, now, as much as we talk about this, it does little to stir your taste buds. It is like me having a piece of delicious homemade apple pie and describing it for you.
“Ummm that’s good.”
Did you taste it? Wasn’t it good? Did you enjoy that wonderful taste when I took a bite? Are you satisfied? Are you happy with that?
Of course not! You watched and thought how good that apple pie looked as I ate it, but you didn’t get near it, did you? You’re just as empty as when I started. In order for you to see how good it is, you’ve got to taste it for yourself.
This is the whole point in what awaits each of us in our ongoing relationships with God.
We need to taste for ourselves that GOD IS GOOD.
Even when things in our lives are uncertain and troubling, God is still God and GOD IS GOOD.
The opportunity to taste and see that GOD IS GOOD can come in pleasant times and in times of great disappointment and loss. In both these times, God reminds us of His love and care.
We can taste and see that the GOD IS GOOD today. This is what I urge all of us to do, as we grow deeper in our relationships with God, knowing our God more fully with the arrival of each new day!