On Psalm 34

Summer Psalms - On Psalm 34

August 5, 2022

Pray for Illumination - Heavenly Father, help me to know your ways; teach me your paths and lead me into your truth. Amen.

Read Psalm 34

Taste and see that the Lord is good;
    blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.    Psalm 34:8

One of my favorite places to visit with my family in the summer, when I feel like splurging on a treat, is an ice cream (gelato) shop on Venables St in Vancouver.  There are over 200 flavors to choose from and, pre-covid, you would be able to try a few samples before you had to make that very difficult and final decision!  Some were clear rejections - like the one that was spicy hot!  Others simply made the decision more difficult.  However, once you made that decision, there is always that period of uncertainty if you really got the best flavor (so you sample the choices of the other family members!). 

The psalmist knows that there are many gods to choose from, but he also knows that there is no god like the Lord. He praises the Lord and exalts his name before the people.  Let me tell you about my God!

I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
    he delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant;
    their faces are never covered with shame.
This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
    he saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
    and he delivers them.   Psalm 34:4-7

He is so confident that he challenges anyone and everyone to simply “taste and see”!  Then you too will know the goodness of God - you will know what I am talking about.  

In a Sunday School room, I remember seeing a sign which said, “You are the best Christian that someone knows”. Our lives might be the best testimony to Jesus Christ that someone in our sphere of influence might encounter and I wonder what “taste” my life leaves in their mouth.  Is it bitter or sweet?  

In our prayer today, let us ask God to reveal the flavor of our testimony.  Ask God to rid you of the things that might make you bitter or distasteful.  Be nurtured by his grace as you seek the Lord with all your life.  Allow him to produce a sweetness of spiritual life that will be hard for others to resist.