Day #23 (Psalm 34) – “Taste and See that the Lord is Good”

GATHERING
THE CALL | Lamentations 3:25 [ESV]
    The LORD is good to those who wait for him,
           to the soul who seeks him.

CONFESSION | Lamentations 3:28–30 [ESV]
The phrase, Kyrie eleison, simply means "Lord have mercy" and has been used by the Church for centuries, including by Reformers like John Calvin as a congregational refrain during worship. We often use it to ask for the forgiveness of personal sin, but it is just as appropriate to call upon God's saving mercy as we experience the sinful effects of others upon us. Here we will use it as such. You can speak it, or you can sing it: 

~Kyrie eleison [sheet music]~
Let him sit alone in silence
    when it is laid on him;

~Kyrie eleison~
let him put his mouth in the dust--
    there may yet be hope;

~Kyrie eleison~
let him give his cheek to the one who strikes,
    and let him be filled with insults.

~Kyrie eleison~

ASSURANCE | Lamentations 3:28–30 [ESV]
For the Lord will not
    cast off forever,
but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion
    according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
for he does not afflict from his heart
    or grieve the children of men.

SING | Doxology [sheet music]
Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Amen

WORD
Read Psalm 34
2nd Reading: 1 Peter 3:10-12
 
Psalm 34:4-5 “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 is a psalm for the crushed in spirit, the brokenhearted, and the poor man who cries. Perhaps this psalm is familiar to you because it is a psalm we often sing together in church. The psalmist gives voice to those who have been humbled to the dust. This is a psalm of thanksgiving, thankfulness that the Lord (v.17) “delivers them out of all their troubles.”
 
The language of this psalm is gentle and kind. It begins in vv.1-3 with praise, but quickly moves to the needs and distresses of the saints. The image we find in vv.4-5 are of a congregation of people looking to God for help. They seek the Lord and he delivers. As they look to him, their faces shine with the radiance of the reflection of God’s glory. They have no shame.
 
Perhaps you have never felt this radiance before, this freedom from shame and deliverance from trouble? The call of the palmist is this: “Taste and see that the Lord is good!” (v.8). When our little children won’t eat their food, we ask them to just taste it. Taste it and you may find you like it.
 
There is nothing that tastes so sweet as redemption, for the poor man to laugh, for the crushed in spirit to be made whole, for the brokenhearted to be mended, for the hungry to be filled. Taste and see how good is our God. 

ABIDING
SING

• Psalm 123 | I Lift My Eyes [recording] [sheet music]
• Optional Meditation: Recording: Aramaic Our Father In Heaven from the Country of Georgia

FRIDAY-MEMORIZE | Psalm 123
- Spend time memorizing the words of the Psalm as best you can - 

SENDING
LORD'S PRAYER
Our Father in heaven, 
hallowed be your Name, 
your kingdom come, 
your will be done, 
on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread. 
And forgive us our debts, 
as we also have forgiven our debtors

And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. 
For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, 
Amen.

Lamentations 3:22–24
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
    “therefore I will hope in him.”