Taste the goodness of God
Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Fear the Lord, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Psalm 34:8-11 NIV
David realized that his deliverance was not something that the Lord had done for him alone. It is a grace that God showers upon all His people. So it is fitting for David to call on his readers to join him in praise. He begins by calling on other believers to glorify God. “Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together” (Psalm 34:3). Another word used to mean “glorify” is “magnify.” If we magnify something we make it larger or greater. The psalmist desired to make the Lord greater to all those around him. To exalt is to lift up. The psalmist desired to lift up the name of God, to place it, as it were, on a pedestal so all around might easily see it. These are glorious tasks, and the psalmist invites others to join him in them. Then, he calls others to “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (v. 8). We associate taste with pleasure and satisfaction. The psalmist here calls for his readers to taste the goodness of God. David has proven that God alone can satisfy. “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing” (Psalm 23:1). Then, he challenged his readers to “fear God” (Psalm 34:9). To fear God means to live in reverential awe of which we become alarmed when we know our actions are displeasing to Him. Then, the psalmist mentioned that those who fear God suffer no such lack. This is one of those verses that seem to be misunderstood. It is easy for us to think of all kinds of instances in which the people of God seemed to have lacked some good thing. We have, however, a tendency to think we know what constitutes our good. God’s definition of our good is different from our own. It is for us to be conformed to the image of his Son, and all that He does in our lives or allows to happen may safely be assumed to promote that great good. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:28-29).
Blessings,
