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October 18, 2024
- By Ed Powell
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"O taste and see that the LORD is good." Psalm 34:8
The psalmist triumphantly praises God after being blessed in answer to seeking Him in his distress. The Lord has delivered him from all his fears, and David recognizes that the angel of the Lord encamps round about them that fear, trust, and revere Him. As David looked to the Lord, the Holy Spirit gave him a perception of God's care and concern, of His presence and power, and His compassion of his need. His heart overflows with thanksgiving and praise..."I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth" (Psalm 34:1).
What a beautiful experience David had as he "sought the Lord" in implicit faith. Without reservation David trusted God. Why do we find it so difficult to turn from our selfish individualism and independence and trust God, even as David? If we are to "taste and see that the Lord is good," we, too, must come where the ground is level for all of us...at the foot of the cross. For it is there we will recognize the greatness of His grace, the magnitude of His mercy, and the depth of His love.
But there is more. To experience that "the Lord is good," we must reach out in practical faith and "partake" of His goodness..."lay hold" of what He has purchased for us and provided to us. In child-like faith we dare to believe in the ONE whose "compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22-23). Many may be very wise and learned, and may be able to proclaim with accuracy the deep things of God. Many may in words and profession greatly magnify and expound the Word of God, BUT, many have never tasted "that the Lord is good."
Take a man who has never tasted honey. However conversant he may be of all its qualities and benefits, he has no concept of its satisfying flavor. It's not until he partakes of the honey that the sensory receptor on the surface of his tongue perceives its delightful goodness. I think this is what David means..."Taste and see that the Lord is good."
Only those who have been "begotten of God" by the Holy Spirit have tasted that the Lord is gracious. You might ask, "Why is this true?" Because they have never felt or recognized the lost state of their sinful condition. They have never sought forgiveness or deliverance from their sin that has separated them from God, through Jesus Christ.
Peter "tasted" of the grace of God after the penetrating eyes of Jesus "looked" into him, bringing heart-rending conviction for denying being a follower of Christ. In bitter tears and utter repentance, he "tasted" of the grace and mercy of God of being forgiven, restored, and reconciled. Paul, who claimed to be the "chief of sinners," also "tasted" of God's mercy and amazing grace that brought him into an everlasting bond of love to Christ as he went forth abandoned in devotion to the Lord of his life.
It is wonderful to have a knowledge of God's Word...BUT, to apply His Word by practical faith we "taste that the Lord is good" as in no other way. His Word becomes ALIVE and MADE REAL...we enter into an "intimate relationship" with the Lord, and HE becomes A LIVING REALITY. We will with David stand in awe and proclaim..."I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall be continually in my mouth." THE LORD IS GOOD!
© 2007 by Ed Powell. Used by permission.
This page was reprinted by permission from: http://litmin.org/dare.php?date=2024-10-18&print=1
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