Psalm 34:8
Reading
O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
INTRODUCTION
We taste food to see how good the food is. When we taste the food and find it good, we say ‘This food is good, it is very delicious’. If it were to be a restaurant we would regularly go there to eat, sometimes we would invite friends, or go with our family. This applies to us who are Christians. We have tasted Christ and accepted Him as our Lord and saviour. We should be able to tell others how good and tasty our saviour is.
The Psalmist says in Psalm 34:8, “O taste and see that the Lord is good”. David has tasted the Lord and he knew that the Lord was good to him. He never kept the goodness of the Lord to himself. Verses 3 and 4 of our text say, “3 O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. 4 I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” David tasted God and knew that the Lord was good because of what God has done for him. He is now calling upon those who have not had a taste of God.
My question to you this morning is, have you tasted God? Is God good to you? How many people have you told the goodness of God? Let us tell His goodness over the mountains and the valleys, at the market, in our schools, workplaces, at home, to our friends and families, the goodness of the Lord. “O taste and see that the Lord is good”.
I want to give you 3 areas where the Lord is good to us all.
(1) O taste and see that the Lord is good in His PROMISE.
In Hebrew 13: 5b, “for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” This is one of the facilitating promises that God has made to us. It means He will always be with us. So, when facing difficulties, problems, or trials, we should be rest assured in God’s promise. The husband may leave the wife, the wife may leave the husband, and parents may abandon their children, but not with God. He said He will never leave us nor forsake us. What a privilege and love, so amazing and wonderful. The world may reject us, but remember God promised; He will never leave you nor forsake you.
Another marvellous promise from God is in Jeremiah 33:3, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” We should trust and believe that God can do and will do what He promises.
(2) The second area where we should taste and see that the Lord is good is in His PROTECTION.
God protects us from our enemies, even at the point of death. In Psalms 23:4, the word of God said, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” This can be interpreted as even when I walk through the dark valley of death, I will not be afraid, for you are CLOSE beside me. Your rod and your staff PROTECT and comfort me.
If I say I will tell you stories of my experience of how God protects me, it will be stories upon stories. I would share with you just two stories out of the many ways God had protected me. I had an automobile accident about four years ago. I did not know what had happened, but some eyewitnesses said when people took me out of the vehicle, I was lifeless, thinking that I was dead. Then they took me to a nearby hospital. It was God’s wonderful protection that made me to be alive today to declare the goodness of God.
My second experience was when I was in the University, there was student unrest which we called student riot. It was on a Sunday night when I was returning from Church service. Just
about entering the university premises, I was mistaken for one of the rioters. The anti-riot police asked me where I was coming from. I answered, I am from Church. They searched my pocket and found a pocketable complete King James Bible. It was then I was released. God protected me from the hands of these ‘armed-to-the-teeth’ police. That is my own story of how God wonderfully and miraculously protected me.
I strongly believe that you may have your own fearful stories than mine. For me in life, I have tasted God and found out that He is good. O taste and see that the Lord is good in His protection.
(3) The third area of us tasting God and seeing that the Lord is good is in His PROVISION.
In the book of First Kings 17:2-6, “2 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, 3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. 4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. 5 So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. 6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.” In this passage, Elijah experienced all the 3 points I have preached to you: (i) God promised Elijah to feed him, and God never failed him; (ii) God said He would protect him God did protect him from the hands of queen Jezebel in 1 Kings 19:1-3 because the wicked woman want to kill him; (iii) God provided bread and meat for Elijah, even through ravens.
Another wonderful story we read in the Bible is when God provided for His people in the wilderness. In Exodus 16:4, “Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.” God’s provisions to us are unmeasurable, God rains food for His people. Do you complain or murmur when things are not going well with you?
CONCLUSION
O taste and see that the Lord is good. Look at the word of God and claim some promises, knowing fully that God said it and I believe it. Numbers 23:19, “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”. You can stand on the promise of God if you have not. O taste and see that the Lord is good. I pray for you that you will experience God’s promise, His great protection, and His amazing provisions. May God help us to trust Him in Jesus’ name.
Amen!!!