Psalm 34:8-10 - April 10, 2009

Ps 34:8-10 "Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. 9 Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. 10 The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing." NIV

Experience is an excellent teacher. This is the foundation of David’s challenge to his readers. “Taste and see!” Let experience prove to you the goodness of the Lord! God is not so weak, nor so small, nor so impotent that He will not pass the test of experience. Jesus walked the earth as an expression of the Father not only to die for the sins of mankind but to enable every person to have before them an accessible record of what God is really like; a living representation of the balance between God’s love and His justice, His mercy and His righteousness. Jesus said to His disciples in John 14:9 “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” His very life was God reaching out to mankind to correct wrong views of who the Father was. It was God reaching out to say, “Have a taste of my love, my power, my wisdom!” A tremendous example of the kind of experience that I am talking about is when Jesus calmed the storm with but a word and His disciples sat in awe, wonder and even holy fear as they said to each other in Mark 4:41 "Who is this?
Even the wind and the waves obey him!"
The primary revelation that David emphasizes in His “encounter God” challenge is an invitation to come and discover God’s goodness. What an awesome truth to place at the center of experiencing God. Taste of Him and you will see that He is good!!!!!! David extols the benefits of trying out God. Taste of Him and you will know His goodness, take refuge in Him and you will find true happiness, fear him and you will lack nothing, seek Him and you will lack no good thing! David is certain of God’s response to an open heart.
There are two kinds of tasting; the tasting of discovery and the tasting of pleasure. At first we open our hearts to the idea of experimental tasting of that which is new. A friend prods us along and says to us, “you have to try this!” They offer us something new and we are curious, maybe tentative depending on our preconceptions. Imagine David the master chef. He knows well the wonderful experience of taking in the Lord’s goodness and His eternal pleasures and like that master chef He is seeking to persuade others to “have a taste.” This psalm is a nudge from heaven, seeking to break down resistance to trying a new thing. “Come on, try it!” We have all experienced this kind of persuasion and here is the psalmist of Israel crying out to the generations in the same way saying, “I know that you are going to like it. Just give it a try!”
Indeed, one true encounter with God is all that it takes to be captured by the joy of the experience. It is then that we quickly move to the second kind of tasting. Beyond the tasting of experiment and discovery there is the tasting of pleasure. Once we have discovered just how good it is to experience the Lord we then begin to pursue Him out of pleasure. Who has not experienced trying that wonderful dessert or incredible main dish in a small portion only to realize its goodness and hold out their plate to the cook with an impish smile while saying sweetly, “Can I have some more, pleeeaaasssseee!” David is certain that if we will just taste and see, this will be how we experience God! We are called to the table of God’s presence today to savor His love and His goodness, to be transformed into gluttons for God! “I want more. I want more. I want more.” Taste of Him today until this becomes your heart’s cry!