Psalms 34:8

8 Find out for yourself how good the Lord is. ¹ Happy are those who find safety with him.

Psalms 34:8 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 34:8

O taste, and see that the Lord [is] good
He is essentially, infinitely, perfectly, immutably, and solely good in himself; and he is communicatively and diffusively good to others: he is the author of all good, but not of any evil, in a moral sense; this chiefly regards his special grace and goodness through Christ: all the divine Persons in the Godhead are good; the Father is good, he has good designs towards his people, has provided good things for them, made good promises to them, and bestows good gifts on them: the Son is good; the good Shepherd that has laid down his life for the sheep; he is the fountain of all grace and goodness to his churches, and to particular believers; he has wrought a good work for them, the work of redemption, and he speaks a good word on their behalf in the court of heaven: the Spirit is good; he works good things in the hearts of the sons of men, and shows good things unto them; and gracious souls, such as the psalmist here calls upon, are capable of tasting and discerning how good the Lord is in some measure; see ( Psalms 119:103 ) ( Song of Solomon 2:3 ) ( 1 Peter 2:2 1 Peter 2:3 ) . While unregenerate, their taste is vitiated, and remains unchanged, and sin is what they feed upon with pleasure, and so detest everything that is good; but in conversion a new taste is given, so as to have a saving experimental knowledge of the grace and goodness of God in Christ, an application of it to them; and in such manner as to live upon it, and be nourished by it; and though this is not a superficial taste of things, like that of hypocrites, nor a single one only, being frequently repeated; yet it is but a taste in comparison of the enjoyment of it in the heavenly state; and every taste now influences and engages trust in the Lord, as follows;

blessed [is] the man [that] trusteth in him; (See Gill on Psalms 2:12); the Targum renders it, "that trust in his word".

Psalms 34:8 In-Context

6 The helpless call to him, and he answers; he saves them from all their troubles.

7 His angel guards those who honor the Lord and rescues them from danger.

8 Find out for yourself how good the Lord is. Happy are those who find safety with him.

9 Honor the Lord, all his people; those who obey him have all they need.

10 Even lions go hungry for lack of food, but those who obey the Lord lack nothing good.

Cross References

• 1. 34.8 1 Peter 2.3.