Knowing for yourself....Psalms 34:8

Psalms 34:8.....Knowing for yourself...

Psalm 16:8 “I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.”

HISTORY

If you look at the beginning of the text you see that David is the writer of this Psalm.

And this Psalm takes place during a trying time in David’s life...

Exalting Jesus in Psalms 1–50 Taste and See (Psalm 34)

The superscription says, “Concerning David, when he pretended to be insane in the presence of Abimelech, who drove him out, and he departed.” The specifics of this story are recorded in 1 Samuel 21, and it is one of the most interesting moments in David’s life. While Saul was still king, David was rising in prominence. When David was seen, people would chant, “Saul has killed his thousands, but David his tens of thousands” (1 Sam 18:7). As a result, Saul became jealous and angry, and he was consumed with trying to kill David. As David was running for his life, he fled to Gath. This was an interesting place for David to hide because it was the hometown of Goliath, whom he had killed a few years prior. Everyone in Gath knew who David was.

Exalting Jesus in Psalms 1–50 Taste and See (Psalm 34)

David was recognized, and news got to the king that he was there. David, while trying to save his life, ran into a town filled with people who wanted to end his life. He was trapped, but he had an idea. He decided to act like he had lost his mind. He let his saliva run down his beard and he began to scratch at a doorpost. When the king saw him, he said, “Look! You can see the man is crazy!” And David left Gath unharmed. From that situation David wrote Psalm 34

So he was hiding from King Saul due to his jealousy and went to the country of Philistine and had to get up out of there.

And he finds himself in a cave. David went to the cave at Adullam where many desperate men joined him. This joyful and wise psalm seems to have been written from that cave, and sung in the presence of those men.

It is here that David writes this wonderful Psalm that is before us today.

It is here in a cave that the loyal followers of David here this wonderful Psalm

David is pouring his heart before the men about God but this Psalm also has a purpose....

Exalting Jesus in Psalms 1–50 (Taste and See (Psalm 34))

it’s an invitation

Exalting Jesus in Psalms 1–50 Taste and See (Psalm 34)

about the joy of experiencing the goodness of God

Exalting Jesus in Psalms 1–50 Taste and See (Psalm 34)

David begins by inviting us to proclaim the goodness of the Lord with him. He invites us to exalt God’s name together. Even more than that, David is inviting us to experience what he himself has experienced—namely, the goodness of God

WORK VERSES 1-7, TALK, PREACH...

A invitation to know God for yourself....

Let’s walk....

Psalm 34:8 “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!”

Knowing for yourself.....

I am a firm believer that you can not say that you like or dislike something if you have never tried it for yourself....

Stop going off of someone else’s report and find out for yourself.....TALK, PREACH…(FOOD OR PEOPLE OR PLACES)

Just like David, I can invite you to try something but you have to have your own experience so you can make your own decision.....that’s that Free Will....TALK, PREACH

but once again, for those in the cave with David and for the church today, This is an invitation to see for ourselves what David has seen for himself. It is an invitation to experience the goodness of God. David pleads with us to accept this invitation because he knows that those who trust God to satisfy the longing of their hearts will be fully satisfied with God. That is the point of Psalm 34.

Let’s go deeper...

The first thing that should stand out to us is the action that needs to happen.....

Psalm 34:8 “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!”

Taste and sight are physical senses, ways in which we interact with the material world. In some ways, faith is like a spiritual sense, and with it we interact with the spiritual world. To taste and to see are like trusting God, loving Him, seeking Him, looking unto Him.

TALK, PREACH....

like stated these actions are related to having faith....

now we know the definition of faith but in case you dont, Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

ok, David say taste and see but this definition says things not seen.....stay with me

when you driving in your car, you cant see what’s down the road, but if you have had and experience with God you know that He will keep you safe...

now when you reach you destination with out harm....you just had a taste of God’s goodness and saw His goodness...

because just like He did David, He delivered you from all hurt and harm....

Oh TASTE AND SEE FOR YOURSELVES......TALK, PREACH....

there is some action on our part, we have to try God for ourselves.....

Exalting Jesus in Psalms 1–50 We Are Invited to Actively Pursue Him

Taste” is a command that demands action. It is not something that happens passively or by accident. Those who really taste and see are those who have chosen to actively pursue the Lord

Exalting Jesus in Psalms 1–50 We Are Invited to Actively Pursue Him

Every person must choose to taste. Each must choose to pursue the Lord. This is what David did. He walked with the Lord, he trusted the Lord, he pursued the Lord, and as a result, he experienced the Lord’s goodness.

I know what mama and daddy told but I have to know for myself....

I am glad for the invitation but I have to find out for myself....

So David has sent out the invitation and next he gives us his thoughts on God...

Psalm 34:8 “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!”

Ever since I know the Lord for myself, I feel you David, hype him up....

Psalms 1–75 C. David’s Wisdom (34:8–14)

He summoned all who would listen to discover the same soul satisfaction he had found in God

Now, you can’t hype everyone up....man will let you down.....but God....TALK, PREACH...

but David was a living testimony to His goodness...

I am a living testimony to His goodness....TALK, PREACH...

Taste and see God's goodness, that is, take notice of it and take the comfort of it,

A Commentary, Critical, Experimental, and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments, Vol. III: Job–Isaiah Psalm 34

On tasting and seeing you will experience how “good” the Lord is.

and when you see what David was talking about....when you see what mama and daddy was talking....on how good God truly is...

you are knowing for yourself....

Lastly, by taking action and experiencing for yourself and knowing for yourself, you will surely trust Him more and see the results of your trust...

Psalm 34:8 “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!”

what are those results....being blessed....

David knew how blessed he was....God called him when he was just a young boy tending his fathers sheep

God helped him defeat the philistine giant Goliath...

God had saved him from King Saul..

God had raised this ruddy shepherd boy up to do great things....

David was sure that the one who did taste and see — or, who trusted in God — would not be forsaken. God would make him blessed.

let’s be clear on something, The psalm does not say that the righteous have no troubles but that God delivers them from their troubles.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Bible Chapter 34

He makes all truly blessed that trust in him

one final thing, One of the most discouraging things about the American church is how many people attend church each Sunday for their weekly dose of Jesus. To think about it in terms of “tasting,” these people eat junk food all week and expect that Sunday salad to make them healthy. It doesn’t work that way. One healthy meal does not negate twenty unhealthy meals. In order for people to truly experience all that God has to offer and to know his goodness, they must choose to satisfy the cravings of their hearts with God, not junk. Those who do will be rewarded

is there anybody in here that has chosen to know for yourself...

is there anybody in here that have been blessed because of it.....

I know what David is talking about…because when I was sinking deep in sin.....TALK, PREACH, CLOSE.....

J. Josh Smith and Daniel L. Akin, Exalting Jesus in Psalms 1–50, ed. David Platt, Daniel L. Akin, and Tony Merida, Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2022), 257.

Duane A. Garrett, “The Poetic and Wisdom Books,” in Holman Concise Bible Commentary, ed. David S. Dockery (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998), 224.

J. Josh Smith and Daniel L. Akin, Exalting Jesus in Psalms 1–50, ed. David Platt, Daniel L. Akin, and Tony Merida, Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2022), 254.