Taste and See
Devotional for October 10 · Psalms 34:8 · 12-minute read
1I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise will always be on my lips. 2My soul boasts in the LORD; let the oppressed hear and rejoice. 3Magnify the LORD with me; let us exalt His name together. 4I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears. 5Those who look to Him are radiant with joy; their faces shall never be ashamed. 6This poor man called out, and the LORD heard him; He saved him from all his troubles. 7The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and he delivers them. 8Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! 9Fear the LORD, you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing. 10Young lions go lacking and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
Context
Psalm 34 is attributed to David and, by its heading, is linked to the day he fled from Saul to Gath, a Philistine city, and, when he was recognized, pretended to be insane in order to escape (1 Sam 21:10–15). The heading calls the king Abimelech, and 1 Samuel calls him Achish; Abimelech was probably a title used by Philistine kings. It was not a moment of glory. David left there alive, but humiliated and empty-handed.
Even so, the psalm begins with praise: “I will bless the LORD at all times” (v. 1). The first half (vv. 1–10) is a public testimony. David tells what he lived through (“I sought the LORD, and He answered me,” v. 4) and invites others into the same experience (“Magnify the LORD with me,” v. 3). Verse 8 is the center of that invitation. Centuries later, the apostle Peter would use this language to speak of Christians who have already tasted that the Lord is good (1 Pet 2:3).
What the text says
- v. 4: “I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.” The invitation to taste grows out of a concrete experience, told in the first person.
- v. 6: “This poor man called out, and the LORD heard him” shows who is speaking: not a successful hero, but someone without resources who depended on God.
- v. 8: Tasting and seeing go together, and the verse ends by saying who experiences this goodness: “blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!”
Reflection
“Taste and see that the LORD is good.” David's invitation uses the language of the body: the palate and the eyes. He does not say analyze and conclude, or believe it because I said so. He says: try it. That is what we do at the table when someone offers us something we have never had. The explanation helps, but only the one who tastes knows the flavor.
There is a curious detail in the Hebrew. The word translated “taste” comes from the same root as an expression in the heading, rendered there with the idea of feigning madness, which literally means something like changing one's judgment, one's discernment. Many commentators notice this wordplay: the man who had to pretend he had lost his judgment before a human king discovered, by taking refuge in God, a new way of discerning. God's goodness is not perceived from a distance; it is recognized by those who draw near.
This matters for anyone who doubts. Biblical faith is not afraid of questions; before the empty tomb, the angel called the women to come and see the place where Jesus had lain (Matt 28:6). But some things can only be known from the inside. No one truly knows a friendship just by reading about it. The psalm invites you to take a step: seek, cry out, take refuge. And notice that David's testimony is humble. He calls himself “This poor man” (v. 6). Tasting God's goodness is not a privilege of strong people; it is what happens to those who cry out because they have no one else to turn to.
But pay attention to verse 10: “those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.” This is not a promise of material abundance. The same psalm says, further on, that many are the afflictions of the righteous (v. 19). The good here is what God considers good for those who fear Him, and God Himself is the greatest of these goods. Jesus said He is the bread of life (John 6:35). In Christian reading, tasting that the Lord is good means, in the end, knowing Him.
How can you taste today? Not with an experiment to test God, like someone demanding a sign, but with steps of trust: reading a passage of Scripture attentively, praying honestly, obeying in one concrete point, giving thanks for something small. David began by saying he would bless the LORD “at all times.” Gratitude trains the eyes to see the goodness that is already present, even on the days when it is hardest to see.
Connections
- 1 Peter 2:2-3 (stated in the text): Peter takes up the language of v. 8 when he speaks of those who have already tasted that the Lord is good.
- John 6:35 (editorial reading): Jesus presents Himself as the bread of life: God's goodness tasted in a person.
- Matthew 28:6 (editorial reading): The invitation to see with your own eyes is repeated before the empty tomb.
To apply
- Heart: do I know God's goodness more from hearsay or from my own experience?
- Relationships: with whom can I share, simply, something God has done for me, as David did in v. 4?
- Today: tonight, write down three concrete signs of God's goodness that you noticed during the day.
Prayer
LORD, You are good, and Your goodness does not depend on my mood or my circumstances. I bless Your name. I confess that I often speak of You as someone who knows You only by hearsay, and that I take refuge in other things before taking refuge in You. Today I want to taste and see. Open my eyes to see Your goodness in small things, teach me to seek You sincerely and give me courage to tell others what You have done for me. In Jesus' name, Amen.
To memorize: Psalms 34:8
Today's step: Today, before going to sleep, write down three moments when you noticed God's goodness and thank Him for them in prayer.
To go deeper: read Psalms 34 and get to know Gratitude.