Being a Disciple Means Tasting God’s Goodness
This was a devotional based on Psalm 34 written for our Young Adults’ Retreat. This psalm encourages us to follow Christ, trusting that He will never let us down. As we taste of His goodness and faithfulness, we also call others to follow Him. We share it here for our encouragement and meditation.
This psalm was written by David, God’s anointed king, when he was fleeing Saul, who was jealous of David and wanted to kill him. David wrote this psalm after experiencing a surprising deliverance from Achish, one of the Philistine kings who were commonly referred to by their royal title “Abimelech” (c.f. 1 Samuel 21 for context).
David praises God for hearing his cry and delivering him from trouble, and calls others to also put their trust in God. He confidently exhorts his hearers to “magnify the LORD with me”, to “exalt his name together” (Ps 34:3). Why? Because God kept His covenant with His anointed king, and hence, can be trusted by all. In the words of Bible scholar Christopher Ash, “one needy man exhorts other needy people to come to the same God for rescue”.
David exhorts them to “taste and see”, to “fear“, to “seek“, to “take refuge“. Faith in God is expressed in a diversity of verbs — we enjoy Him, we listen to Him, we pursue Him, we hide in Him. Those who do these things are the ones who will experience good. We know this because it's in God’s character and power: He delights to protect those who humble themselves before Him, and destroys those who proudly oppose Him. It doesn’t mean that the righteous never suffer; Psalm 34:19 tells us that “many are the afflictions of the righteous“. But God is always faithful to save those who call on Him.
John 19:36 tells us that this psalm is not ultimately just about David, but about Jesus who sits on David’s throne. Consider how Jesus was wrongly accused, persecuted, and killed, but in the end was raised to life and vindicated. This changes the way we sing this psalm! David tasted God’s goodness in earthly deliverance, but we taste it in how God delivers us from our sin. See Psalm 34:22’s promise of forgiveness — “none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned”. What good news for sinners, that God keeps His promises and forgives those who trust in Jesus!
This psalm might seem out of touch with reality. After all, evil people seem to get away with evil all the time. Righteousness is not often rewarded in this life. But look to Jesus – He who endured the cross is now seated at the right hand of God (Heb 12:2). He calls us to trust in God amidst our suffering and cling to His promises.
We follow Christ, trusting that He will never let us down. And as we taste of His goodness and faithfulness, we call others to follow Him as well.
What does this psalm mean for our discipleship? We follow Christ, trusting that He will never let us down. And as we taste of His goodness and faithfulness, we call others to follow Him as well.
In times of trouble, how did David respond? What gave him the confidence to respond that way? How have you tasted God’s goodness and faithfulness, especially in Christ?