Oh taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
This is a testimony of David while he was in a difficult and dangerous situation. David turned to the Lord God in prayer… his testimony is—
“The Lord answered me and delivered me from all my fears."
Trusting in God is relying on His character... His ability, strength, and truth. Our every confidence is in the Lord God for our well being.
A Psalm of David [when he feigned madness before Abimelech]
1 I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul shall make its boast in the Lord, the humble shall hear of it and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
5 They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed.
6 This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him—and delivers them.
8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
9 Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him.
10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger, but those who seek the Lord
shall not lack any good thing.
11 Come, you children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry.
16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
20 He guards all his bones, not one of them is broken.
21 Evil shall slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
22 The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.
To enjoy God and His blessings, trust Him, fear Him, and walk in His ways. We can draw from this psalm the life that God blesses is not free from trials.
Some trials are due to our own sins and shortcomings
Some trials are due to the sins of others
When we turn to the Lord, He can use even our past sins for His holy purposes.
So whether your trials are due to your own sin or to the sin of others against you—don’t let them cause you to turn away from the Lord in anger or bitterness. Let them push you to the Lord for deliverance and grace. Our trials should drive us to the end of ourselves, so that we seek the Lord for salvation as we fear Him and learn to walk in His ways.
To come to the end of ourselves, we must be brokenhearted over our sins
A. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” Isaiah also writes about a broken and contrite heart (Isaiah 57:15): “For thus says the high and exalted One who lives forever, whose name is Holy, ‘I dwell on a high and holy place, and also with the contrite and lowly of spirit in order to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.” We all need the Lord to “revive” us back to good spiritual health from time to tome. So…“If anyone needs reviving, it begins with a broken and contrite heart!
B. Our brokenness should drive us to seek the Lord for salvation and take refuge in Him. Until we realize that you are broken beyond our own ability to fix it, we will not cry out to God. As God opens your eyes to the seriousness of our sin, it then drives us to the cross. David may have been hiding in a cave from Saul and from the Philistines, in his heart he was hiding in God as his refuge (vs. 8).
C. To experience God’s salvation, we must fear Him. “I sought the Lord, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.” He goes on to say “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them.” “Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.” If we do not fear Him, you will not take refuge in Him.
D. To fear the Lord is to live in obedience to Him. There is an emphasis on being righteous, or, to obey the Lord’s principles. We are exhorted to “depart from evil and do good.”
“Those who hate the righteous will be condemned” (34:21). We must make sure we have taken refuge ONLY in Jesus Christ! “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom.
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