Psalm 34: 8

“Taste and see that the LORD is good;

blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”

Psalm 34: 8

We are to engage our senses as we come to God. Sometimes food can be good to look at, but tastes bad. Other times we have to overcome the look to experience the great taste. God is not like that, we can use all our senses to know and experience that God is good.

---

“Taste and see that the LORD is good;

blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”

Psalm 34: 8

Taking refuge implies finding safety from trouble. In a time of trouble we can find safety in God. As we find our safety in God we are blessed. Even in a time of trouble we are blessed.

This whole Psalm follows this theme; when bad things come to those who trust God and follow Him, He will rescue them, He is their shelter. Here we are told we can find refuge in God. We know that difficulty will come, we know even more that God will be with us and we are safe in Him.

---

“Taste and see that the LORD is good;

blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”

Psalm 34: 8

God is good. Our definition and standard of good is God. If we want to know what good looks like we can look to God, He is the standard. It is not simply that God does good things. It is more foundational than that, more core to God’s being than that. He is the definition of good. This is how David can write about being blessed in times of trouble.

---

“Taste and see that the LORD is good;

blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”

Psalm 34: 8

Taste and see is a call to sample and test that God is good. Almost like saying “You need goodness? Come and try God, for He is good.”

It can be a reminder to us, like 1 Peter 2: 3, we have tasted the goodness of God in our salvation. Yet we can still benefit from this reminder to come and enjoy God in all His goodness.

---

“Taste and see that the LORD is good;

blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”

Psalm 34: 8

Like many Psalms this verse speaks of blessing in times of trouble if we find our refuge in God. Scripture does not promise a trouble free life. Rather it promises that God will be our refuge.

---

“Taste and see that the LORD is good;

blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”

Psalm 34: 8

There is a certainty and confidence in the language here. The Psalmist is calling us to sample God’s goodness completely confident that we will find it and come to know that God is good. Do we have, or convey this certainty and confidence when we tell others of Jesus, when we declare his goodness?

---

“Taste and see that the LORD is good;

blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”

Psalm 34: 8

God provides refuge that is good. It is not just hiding out until trouble passes, like the hobbits under the tree roots as they leave the Shire. It is a place of blessing, a place where we are with God, hidden in Him. A place of safety and provision.