“Hey friend! How’s it going?”
“Good! Things are good.”
Sound familiar? I know I have this conversation on a regular basis.
Good. What does it really mean?
Charles Spurgeon describes the first half of Psalm 34 as a hymn and the second part a sermon. Remember the backstory In 1 Samuel 21? David escapes the Philistines by pretending to be a madman. The story continues in 1 Samuel 22:1-2.
David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. 2 And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him. And he became commander over them. And there were with him about four hundred men.
Picture the scene with me. David, fresh from danger, delivered but humbled and in hiding. His heart is overflowing with gratitude which he channels into this beautiful psalm. He looks out at the camp. Four hundred men, not even counting the women and children, seeking leadership. Not a crowd of warriors ready to overthrow the sitting king, but broken down, depressed people.
Have you ever been in distress? Burdened by debt? Bitter in your soul? In desperate need of something good?
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
I can almost hear David’s urging in the exclamation, Oh!
Taste. See. Engage personally and know for yourself. The Lord is good. Not the superficial good based on circumstance or perspective, but good in the wider sense. As in, when God finished creating the heavens and the earth, looked at it all and called it good (Genesis 1:31).
The people have come to the cave seeking shelter, safety, and reprieve. David reminds them and us that true refuge is found in the Lord who is good.
Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack.
We’ve talked before on the blog about what it means to “fear” the Lord. (Check it out here) To fear Him is to acknowledge that He is in control and over all things. He can be trusted because He is capable of delivering on all His promises. He called David to the cave at Adullam (which, fun fact, means “justice of the people”) and he called each man and woman there as well. We are called to be set apart (1 Peter 2:9) and He will provide for us (Phil 4:19).
The young lions suffer want and hunger, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
What image does the phrase “young lion” call to mind? A lion has both positive and negative connotations throughout Scripture (Psalm 7:2, Proverbs 28:1). Personally I like Matthew Henry’s take on the subject.
“Those that live by faith in God’s all-sufficiency want nothing; for in him they have enough. The young lions. often lack and suffer hunger-those that live upon common providence, as the lions do, shall want that satisfaction which those have that live by faith in the promise; those that trust to themselves, and think their own hands sufficient for them, shall want (for bread is not always to the wise)-but verily those shall be fed that trust in God and desire to be at his finding. Those that are ravenous, and prey upon all about them, shall want; but the meek shall inherit the earth. Those shall not want who with quietness work and mind their own business; plain-hearted Jacob has pottage enough, when Esau, the cunning hunter, is ready to perish for hunger.”
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Dig Deeper
- What is your go-to when you are in distress or bitter in soul? How can you take refuge in the Lord?
- What does it mean that the Lord is good? How can you taste and see this for yourself?
- Do a word study on some of the key words in these verses (good, fear the Lord, lion). How do these words enhance your understanding of the text?
Join the Discussion