WWUTT 999 O Taste and See that the Lord is Good?

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.

Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints, for those who fear Him have no lack when we understand the text.

You're listening to When We Understand the Text, committed to sound teaching of the Word of God. For questions and comments, email whenweunderstandthetext at gmail .com.

And don't forget our website, www .wtt .com. Here's our host, Pastor Gabe.

Thank you, Becky. Well, being Thursday, it is our Old Testament study, and we've been in the Psalms.

Today we'll be looking at Psalms 34 and 35. I'll begin reading in verse 1 of Psalm 34 to the end of the chapter.

Of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, so that he drove him out and he went away,

I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

My soul makes its boast in the Lord. Let the humble hear and be glad.

Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.

I sought the Lord, and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to Him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.

This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all of his troubles.

The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and delivers them.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.

Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints, for those who fear Him have no lack. The young lions suffer want and hunger, but those who seek the

Lord lack no good thing. Come, oh children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the

Lord. What man is there who desires life and loves many days that he may see good?

Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Turn away from evil and do good.

Seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and His ears toward their cry.

The face of the Lord is against those who do evil to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers Him out of them all.

He keeps all His bones, not one of them is broken. Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.

The Lord redeems the life of His servants. None of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.

Now this is an interesting beginning here to Psalm 34. You'll notice the header on it of David when he changed his behavior before Abimelech so that he drove him out and went away.

We read this story in 1 Samuel 21 and this is right after David and Jonathan had their exchange where Jonathan revealed to David, my father

Saul wants to kill you. So David is fleeing for his life. He comes to Nob to Ahimelech the priest.

That's Ahimelech, not Abimelech. Abimelech is the name we have at the start of Psalm 24.

Ahimelech was the priest at Nob. David got some food from Ahimelech. It was the consecrated bread.

He also didn't have a weapon and Ahimelech had the sword of Goliath, the very sword that David used when he fought

Goliath and cut off his head. And so Ahimelech, I had to get in my mind.

I'm talking about Ahimelech and not Abimelech here. Ahimelech gave him the sword. So now he's got a weapon.

Where did David go after that? He went to Gath. Do you remember where Goliath was from?

He was from Gath. Why did David go there knowing that he might get recognized and the

Philistines would probably try to kill him? Well, the assumption is that maybe David was going to the place he knew

Saul would not go. Saul was not going to seek David amongst his enemies. But when

David got there, he was recognized. Of course, he's even carrying a Philistine sword with him. The servants of Achish, the king of Gath, said to him, is not this

David, the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances?

Saul has struck down his thousands and David is ten thousands. And David took these words to heart and was much afraid of Achish, the king of Gath.

So he was going there probably to seek Achish's help. But when he was recognized, here's what happened in verse 13.

He changed his behavior before them and pretended to be insane in their hands and made marks on the doors of the gate and let his spittle run down his beard.

He's just acting like a madman. Then Achish said to his servants, behold, you see, the man is mad.

Why then have you brought him to me? Do I lack madmen that you have brought this fellow to behave as a madman in my presence?

Shall this fellow come into my house? And so start of chapter 22,

David departed from there and escaped to a dulem. So this was actually a narrow escape on David's part to have been able to get out of what probably would have been the clutches of Achish.

But the thing is, there in First Samuel 21, Achish is the name of the king in Gath.

But here it says Abimelech was his name. Well, the possibility was that his name really was

Abimelech. That may have been the name the Hebrews gave to the king of Gath. But Achish could have been like a proper title, just like a governor or a prefect or something like that.

So the king of the Philistines, a king may have been a regional king. Somebody who was over the city of Gath would have been called

Achish. So that was probably like the generic title. And Abimelech may have been his actual name, at least the name that the

Hebrews gave him. So that would be the explanation there. But that's the story behind what

David was delivered from at the time that he writes this psalm. And this is the song that he writes, being able to escape the

Philistines there at Gath and not just escape the Philistines, but even be protected from the hand of Saul.

So verse one, I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

My soul makes its boast in the Lord. Let the humble hear and be glad.

Oh, magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together.

All of that very praising high glory to the king who delivers.

David is running from the anointed king. He comes into the presence of an enemy king, but he's been delivered by the king of kings.

Verse four, I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.

He's been acting like a loon and praying in his mind all this while.

God, please let this work. Please deliver me from the hands of my enemies. Let me not fall to them.

Those who look to him, to the Lord are radiant and their faces shall never be ashamed.

Remember that David changed his face in the presence of Achish so that he would look like a madman.

You have to wonder here if what was going on in David's heart following all of that may have been.

I didn't need to do all of that. God was going to protect me. So I disfigured my face in front of Achish so that he wouldn't recognize me.

But I shouldn't have to do that. I shouldn't have to humiliate myself that way.

The Lord will protect me. Remember, he was an anointed one of God. He had been anointed by Samuel to be the next king following Saul.

So of course the Lord was going to deliver him out of that situation. There was not a need for him to change his face.

The faces of those who trust in him shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried,

David says, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all of his troubles.

The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and delivers them.

Now verses 8 through 10, Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.

Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Again, David's running.

He is fleeing. He's got nowhere to go. Where he ends up next in 1 Samuel 22 is in the caves at Adullam.

And it's probably there that he ended up writing this psalm. So he's escaped from Saul. He escaped from Achish.

He gets to Adullam and maybe there, this is where he writes this. And it could have been much later than that.

I'm not saying that's, you know, David sitting down with parchment and pen and he's writing a psalm in the cave.

He's probably singing it to himself and memorizing it. Or it could have been sometime later when he's remembering back on a time that the

Lord had delivered him. But the song was nevertheless inspired by this exact exact circumstance.

So David has nowhere to go. He's fled to a cave. And he nevertheless says the man who takes refuge in the

Lord will be delivered and know that the Lord is good. Oh, fear the

Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack. The young lions suffer want and hunger, but those who seek the

Lord lack no good thing. This reference to lions could be a reference to the fact that the people who were coming against David were like ravenous predators.

And so they will suffer want and hunger. Eventually, they're going to they're going to run out of what they've got.

And because they don't fear God, he's not going to provide for them. But those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

They are completely satisfied in their spirits, knowing that the Lord will provide. Come, oh, children, listen to me.

I will teach you the fear of the Lord. David didn't need to fear Saul. He didn't need to fear

Achish. He didn't need to fear hunger or living in a cave. Fearing the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge, according to Proverbs 1 7.

And remember, Proverbs 1 is written by Solomon, who was David's son.

And David is saying here, come, oh, children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the

Lord. That doesn't directly mean that he's talking to Solomon, but you see the connection there.

Solomon learned the fear of God from his father, David. What man is there who desires life and loves many days that he may see good?

Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Turn away from evil and do good.

Seek peace and pursue it. You know, we have an interesting relationship with technology this day and age that David would not have known in his time when he wrote this psalm, which is about 3000 years ago.

We have social media available to us where you can connect with people all over the world online, share things about yourself, make comments about things.

And because we converse this way a lot, because you're listening to a podcast, you probably also have social media of some kind.

Right. So you're probably communicating with somebody via Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, whatever it might happen to be.

YouTube comment sections. And and so because we have this form of communication so readily available to us now, which wasn't even as easily accessible 15 years ago.

But we have to watch what we say online just as much as we should watch our words when we're speaking with another person.

What you tweet, what you text, what you message, you know, all those things is every bit as important as the stuff that you say from your own mouth.

You are going to be accountable for the words that you type or swipe as much as you will be accountable for the words that you speak.

So keep your tongue from evil. Keep your fingers from clacking on those keys to communicate evil words, your lips from speaking deceit.

You can't be a gossip or a slanderer even online. Folks turn away from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it.

Your words even online can bring peace to another person or keep peace between people.

The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry.

The face of the Lord is against those who do evil to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

So you notice the contrast there. The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil.

He's not looking toward them. He does not regard them. They are not his friends. That's the way that you could consider this text.

So those who are righteous, who do the things of God, who have the righteousness of God, which has been given to us through Jesus Christ, the

Lord looks upon us with favor. He is our father and he is pleased with us as his children.

But those who do not fear God and instead of doing righteousness, they do evil.

His face is against them. He's not looking toward them. He doesn't regard them as children.

As a matter of fact, they are the objects of his wrath and he will cut off the memory of them from the earth.

When Jesus returns, he's going to be ushering in his peaceful kingdom and we will dwell with him forever in the new heavens and the new earth.

But what will happen to those who did not know Christ? They will be wiped from the earth. They will be cast into the same place that the devil and his angels will be thrown into the lake that burns with fire and sulfur.

So those who do not know Christ will be wiped from the earth when the righteous cry for help.

The Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the broken hearted and he saves the crushed in spirit, near to the broken hearted, saves the crushed in spirit.

You know, we have to stop looking at the interruptions of life as interruptions. They're just part of life, plain and simple.

And life doesn't get any easier. You're not going to have any more time than you have right now.

And things may not settle down. However chaotic things might be for you, it may not calm down at all.

The person that wronged you may not apologize or the person that you wronged and had to apologize to may not forgive you.

And this thing that you're going through may even be more than just a season. But we have peace in Jesus Christ.

John 14, 27, Jesus said to his disciples, my peace, I give to you not as the world gives.

Do I give to you? Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

And we know that Jesus Christ has overcome the world. He will deliver ultimately in the end so we can have peace with God in our

Lord Jesus Christ. What can man do to me? The Lord is near us.

He is near to the broken hearted. And he saves the crushed in spirit.

Verse 19, many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

He keeps all of his bones. Not one of them is broken. That, of course, is a messianic reference.

For Christ, who is the righteous one, did not have any broken bones when he died on the cross.

Affliction will slay the wicked and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.

The Lord redeems the life of his servants. None of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

Another way we can understand this, God will not lose a single one of those whom he has redeemed in his son.

Psalm 35, beginning in verse 1. Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me.

Fight against those who fight against me. Take hold of shield and buckler and rise for my help.

Draw the spear and the javelin against my pursuers. Say to my soul,

I am your salvation. Let them be put to shame and dishonor who seek after my life.

Let them be turned back and disappointed who devise evil against me.

Let them be like chaff before the wind with the angel of the Lord driving them away.

Let their way be dark and slippery with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.

This reference to the angel of the Lord, many scholars believe to be a reference to Christ himself, the son of the triune

God. Verse 7. For without cause they hid their net for me. Without cause they dug a pit for my life.

Let destruction come upon him when he does not know it and let the net that he hid ensnare himself.

Let him fall into it to his destruction. Then my soul will rejoice in the

Lord, exalting in his salvation. All my bones shall say, O Lord, who is like you?

Delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him, the poor and needy from him who robs him.

Malicious witnesses rise up. They ask me of things that I do not know. They repay me evil for good.

My soul is bereft. But I, when they were sick, I wore sackcloth.

I afflicted myself with fasting. I prayed with head bowed on my chest.

I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother. As one who laments his mother,

I bowed down in mourning. But at my stumbling, they rejoiced and gathered.

They gathered together against me. Wretches whom I did not know tore at me without ceasing like profane mockers at a feast.

They they gnash at me with their teeth. And we have some messianic applications going on here as well.

Even where it says, but I, when they were sick, I wore sackcloth. I afflicted myself with fasting.

When you read in the gospels about Christ healing the crowds that would come to him, it would say that he would look upon them with compassion.

Because they were as sheep without a shepherd and he would begin healing their sick. So in his heart he broke for them.

He had a broken heart for them. And likewise, as Jesus had said to Saul on the road to Damascus before he became the apostle

Paul, he said, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Jesus identifies with his

His own who are in Christ Jesus who believe in him by faith. He regards them as his own brothers and sisters.

So when we are afflicted, it is the same as if someone were afflicting

Christ. Verse 15, but at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered.

They gathered together against me. Wretches whom I did not know tore at me without ceasing like profane mockers at a feast.

They gnash at me with their teeth. How long oh Lord will you look on? Rescue me from their destruction, my precious life from the lions.

I will thank you in the great congregation in the mighty throng. I will praise you.

Let not those rejoice over me who are wrongfully my foes and let not those who wink the eye who hate me without cause for they do not speak peace.

But against those who are quiet in the land they devise words of deceit. They open wide their mouths against me.

They say aha. Aha. Our eyes have seen it. You have seen oh Lord be not silent.

Oh Lord be not far from me. Awake and rouse yourself for my vindication for my cause my

God and my Lord. Vindicate me oh Lord my God according to your righteousness and let them not rejoice over me.

Let them not say in their hearts. Aha. Our hearts desire. Let them not say we have swallowed him up.

Let them be put to shame and disappointed altogether who rejoice at my calamity.

Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me.

Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore great is the

Lord who delights in the welfare of his servant. Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness and of your praise all the day long.

Amen. This has been when we understand the text of pastor

Gabriel Hughes for all of our podcasts episodes videos books and more visit our website at www .utt

.com If you'd like to submit a question to this broadcast or just send us a comment email whenweunderstandthetext at gmail .com