High School | Taste & See (Psalm 34) | Joel Pickett

Main message: Psalm 34 calls people to move from knowing about God to experiencing his goodness—"taste and see"—and David shows that experience arises through praise, prayer, humble dependence, obedience, and persistent trust even in affliction.

Key points:

• Background and structure: Psalm 34 is written after David’s escape in 1 Samuel 21:10–15; it’s a Hebrew acrostic with the first half (vv.1–10) as praise and the second half (vv.11–22) as instruction/wisdom.
• The invitation: “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good” (v.8) urges an actual encounter with God, not just intellectual assent.
• How to taste God’s goodness: praise him continually (verbal testimony and worship) and call on him consistently in faith and humility (seek expecting an answer; a contrite heart is heard).
• Obedience accompanies experience: fear the Lord expressed by guarding the tongue, departing from evil and replacing it with good, and pursuing peace with others.
• Trust through trials: believers still face afflictions, but God delivers and preserves; the psalm points forward to Christ (no bones broken; John 19:36) as the ultimate provision of God’s goodness.

Scriptures mentioned: Psalm 34, 1 Samuel 21:10–15, Psalm 27:13, Psalm 23, Psalm 16, 1 Peter 2:3, James 1:6–8, Psalm 51, James 3, Ephesians 4:28, Hebrews 12:14, Romans 12:18, John 19:36, Hebrews 2:9