O Taste and See
Psalm 34
Psalm 34 has a couple of my favorite verses in it.
The whole thing is good, but there are couple of diamonds in the setting that sparkle a little brighter than the others in my eyes.
Let me go through these verses quickly so you can see them in their proper light.
Note the heading.
This was written after David had a narrow escape.
When he went on the run from Saul in I Samuel 21 he sought refuge with the Philistines.
It was a mistake and he realized it almost too late.
He had to pretend that he had lost his mind so they would think him insane and let him go.
That theme of deliverance is woven throughout this psalm.
It opens in vs. 1-3 with David praising the Lord – “I will bless the Lord at all times!” – and calling others to join him – “O magnify the Lord with me!”
In vs. 4-7, we find we find a pattern established.
David called on the Lord.
The Lord heard David.
The Lord delivered David.
In vs. 8-14 is the pinnacle of the psalm.
David has seen the goodness of God in his deliverance from sure death.
He now calls on others to “taste and see” that goodness for themselves.
In vs. 15-18 the formula of calling, hearing, and delivering is repeated that we saw previously.
This time it is applied not just to David but to all the Righteous.
You see, David’s experience was personal was it was not unique.
God can and will deliver His children.
In the final section of vs. 19-22 I see the contrasting fates of the righteous and the wicked.
The righteous may suffer, but God delivers them and blesses them.
The wicked may seem to prosper, but God will judge them.
That is an overview of the flow of ideas in this psalm.
I love vs. 18.
It is one of my favorite verses in all of Scripture.
Psa 34:18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
We will see someone upset and crying, and say to ourselves, “The just need a few minutes to themselves.”
Tears will often drive people away.
But that is not the Lord.
He gets closer when our heart is broken.
He makes sure He is right next to that person who has lost all hope.
That is the God we serve!
He helps the helpless and consoles the inconsolable.
I think of Christ’s words here:
Mat 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Mat 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Mat 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Also:
Joh_6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
Our tears touch the heart of God and move Him to action.
They are not cried in vain.
Psa_56:8 Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?
None of that really has much to do with my sermon, but I just could not help but spend a little time there.
As much trouble as many of us have had lately, it is a good reminder.
No, the verse I want to focus on – the title gives it away – is vs. 8
Psa 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
David has just laid out a personal case for the goodness of God.
He had prayed, God had heard, and God had delivered him from the mess he made.
God could have said, “Now, David, you made that bed so now go lie in it for a little while.”
But God swooped in like an eagle after its prey and yanked David out of his deadly peril.
David knew he was just being smart by fooling the Philistines.
He knew without God’s hand he was a goner.
A lot of us need to remember that.
Without God, we are nothing.
Without God, we have nothing.
Without God, we will have nothing.
But God pours out His grace upon us.
He grants us not only salvation but sonship in His family.
He has a place prepared for each of children to dwell in forevermore.
None of that is because of how great we are – it is all about how great He is!
That is why this is such positive song of praise.
When we face our darkest trials: we can call on God, He will hears, and He will deliver.
As David is reminiscing about his deliverance, he looks around at everybody else.
Did they know how good God was to him?
Did they know how good God is to all the redeemed?
There is a challenge here – TRY IT OUT!
I will admit, this illustration I am about to use is largely the inspiration for this sermon.
I know we do not have a ton of soccer fans around here.
I also know that most people here could not care less about the World Cup that is going on.
But there has been something fascinating and uplifting happening in conjunction with it.
People are travelling in from all of the world to cheer for their country’s teams.
Many are coming to America, or at least parts of America, that they have never been to.
Do you know what is happening?
They are blown away by our country and our people.
They have a hard time processing some of the things we take for granted.
I have seen videos of Europeans going to Walmart for the first time.
Now, to us going there is a drudgery – my wife does the Walmart+ thing and has her groceries delivered so she doesn’t have to go.
But there is nothing like a Walmart or Costco in Europe.
They have a bunch of specialized little shops, or small supermarkets with only a few items.
Here, we have 47 kinds of peanut butter.
And you can buy them in the same store as tires, clothes, and tvs.
I saw another video of I think a lady from Britain.
She said back home she could only by like 15 Tylenol pills at a time.
Even that you had to give them your ID.
She picked up a two pack of 1,000 count bottles of Tylenol, bought them at a self-checkout, and said she felt like a drug dealer walking out of the store.
She did just to say she could – she did not even know if they would let her take them on the plane!
Speaking of planes, did you see that so many people are having their bottles of ranch dressing taken away that they try to bring in the carry on that they are going to start making airline-friendly sizes?
I saw another video were a couple went to a swamp because the wanted to see a real live alligator.
There was a redneck guy putting his boat in, and he invited them to go for a ride so they could see some.
They ended up hanging out and swimming – he even let them shoot a gun for the first time.
How about the people who go to Buc-cee’s for the first time?
They said they have special tour buses from Houston just to take people to one.
How about the people from all over the world eating Texas barbecue for the first time?
They don’t have anything like that anywhere else!
Little things blow these visitors away.
Things like free chips and salsa before a meal and unlimited free refills on drinks.
I also see people talking about friendly and safe America is.
Most of the world it is not safe to walk around a neighborhood or a park.
Why is this reaction so amazing?
Because for years they have just heard about dirty and nasty and mean that America is.
But now, they have tasted and they have seen.
Someone said that 20 years of liberal, anti-American propaganda was wiped out by visiting just one gas station in the South.
My wife and I have talked a lot about this phenomenon that going on as people discover real America.
We have been beaten down for so long and told how horrible our nation is.
Many of the elite want to make us more like Europe.
Friends, those Europeans have got a taste of the good life here and they want to move here!
I tell you, I think this has been a major shot in the arm for our Nation going into the Semiquincentennial, or rather, the 250th anniversary of the establishment of the greatest nation in the world.
We have such a tendency to always have to put down things:
Our country is great, but…
I think it is a wonderful thing that we get reminded just how insignificant most of those gripes are.
Now, I may have preached a little there, but that is not the message.
My message is this:
Sometimes we need a reminder that God is good.
Sometimes if you eat some food too much it starts to taste bland.
You just get numb to things.
Sometimes we forget just how good things are.
I have two things for you to help you with that.
First, watch someone else taste it.
Ever take a friend to one of your favorite restaurants for the first time?
How much satisfaction do you feel when they taste it and find it is everything you told them and more?
Sometimes in the Christian race we sort of tune everything out and lose focus.
It is good to be reminded every now and then just how good God is!
To see the joy in a child, the zeal of a new convert, or the passion of a missionary.
It stirs you up and reminds you just how sweet it all is.
Second, take another taste for yourself.
Sometimes we get into our heads that we do not like some food.
When I was a teenager, one time I ate a cookie dough blizzard from Dairy Queen.
Turns out I was getting sick and did not know it, and my stomach decided to reject it.
I would not eat cookie dough for months.
I knew it wasn’t the cookie dough, but that association was stuck in my mind.
Until finally I got another cookie dough blizzard.
I tasted and I saw what I had been missing.
Friends, if serving God has turned to drudgery, maybe its time to step back and take a taste again.
Take some time.
Savor it.
You see, this verse is a fact stated like a promise.
God is good.
If you put Him to the test, He will be good.
CONCLUSION
- One of the reasons we forget the sweetness of the Lord is because of other things we are consuming.
- I do not think there is a better, more refreshing drink on earth than a big, cold, glass of ice water.
- But if you are drinking too many Dr Peppers, that water just won’t cut it.
- That’s what our hearts are like.
- I challenge you to put God to the test.
- Pray – see what happens.
- Serve Him – see what happens.
- Once you get a taste of the blessed life, turning back from it will be hard.
- Taste and see salvation.