“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!”
(Psalm 34:8)
We have five senses through which we experience our world – sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste. Through these five senses we observe, learn, and experience the physical context in which we live and move about. How wonderful, then, that when Scripture references how we experience God, it often uses these same concepts.
But in Psalm 34:8, it’s interesting to note that the psalmist combines two different senses together – “taste” and “see.” It seems he would have said “look” and “see.” He uses this combination intentionally, in accommodated language for our finite intellect so that spiritual things become meaningful in ways we can understand.
Consider what it means to “taste.” Imagine being invited to the palace of a king for a celebratory feast. The table reaches from one end of the massive dining hall to the other and is spread with the finest fare possible. You know that because you “see” it. But until you sit down and “taste” what is served, you don’t experience nourishment. It does you no substantial good.
In the above example, you “see” before you “taste.” Yet, the psalmist specifically writes “taste” first, and then “see.” In Scripture, “sight” and “seeing” equate to a spiritual persuasion of the truth of the word of God. This is a work of the Spirit in the enlightened and believing soul.
In this way the words the psalmist wrote, as well as the order in which he wrote them, make sense. Taste and see that the Lord is good! In being born again for the very first time, once you truly experience God, your spiritual eyes are opened. You are spiritually enlightened to the truth of who He is and therefore just how “good” He is! Once you are born again, the Spirit works in you to continue to spiritually persuade you of the truth of the word of God you read in Scripture.
Thomas Goodwin rightly said, “Christians are to taste how good the Lord is, or otherwise our desires are not stirred up in the right way. The apostle Paul prays for the Philippians, that love may abound in them, to approve the things which are excellent, and with affectation to discern things that differ. How did he tell them to do this? In spiritual knowledge and sense (Phil. 1:9-10), “in all judgment.” In all judgment, means in all good sense, that is, to perceive the goodness of things that are spiritual by a true and proper sense and taste.” This is the work of the Spirit’s spiritual perception in believers.
Once the soul of a sinner tastes the goodness of God through Christ, he sees the sweetness of Christ in His world, His works, and His Word. As 1 Peter 2:2-3 teaches, like newborn babes, newborn believers hunger to taste the sweet milk of the Word of God.
There is always more to “taste” of God than we have life to live, however. So as Christians we should always be hungry to experience more of our great God. The more time we spend with Him, the more experiential knowledge of His goodness in Christ by the power of the Spirit we see. And the more we see, the more we know by way of spiritual enlightenment. And the more spiritually persuaded of the truth of the word of God we become, the more of God we can see through the eyes of faith and spiritual understanding. This is how we exercise our spiritual senses (Heb. 5:14) to become more aware of the presence and goodness of God… to the point where the “fragrance of the knowledge of God is spread everywhere,” (2 Cor. 2:14)!
Do you exercise your spiritual senses to “taste” and “see” that the Lord is good?
- David said, “The angel of the Lord, encamps round about them that fear Him, and delivers them,” (Psa. 34:7-8). He immediately adds, “O taste and see that the Lord is good!” The holy angels, those favorites in the court of heaven, “are all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation,” (Heb. 1:14). What an amazing thought! Help me consider that all of heaven is at work for my preservation, God the Father sending His Son to redeem me; the Father and Son sending their Spirit to guide me; the Father, Son, and Spirit sending their angels to minister for me. Help me taste and see that the Lord is good, bountifully good, in all His works in my life!
- Lord, stir me to experience Your goodness. Move me to adore You. Cause me to be drawn by Your Spirit that I am not merely content to hear Your Word preached or to simply read it. Rather, make me hungry to taste and see the bounty of Your goodness!
- Lord, send Your Spirit in a great measure so that my eyes of spiritual understanding realize that I cannot only “taste” and “see” You (Ps. 34:8); I can also “touch” You (Acts 17:27). Continue to persuade me in my quickened mind and heart to desire to know You more, to sense You more, to experience You more.
- My prayers, Lord, arise from love, by which I desire both to partake of and to celebrate Your goodness. Help me magnify and adore You, and let everyone in my church, together with me, extol Your name every Lord’s Day!
Further References for Psalm 34:8
Ps. 2:12; 1 Peter 2:3; Heb. 6:5; Ps. 40:4, 84:12; Isa. 63:7
