O Taste and See the Goodness of Our God
Psalm 34 is a thanksgiving psalm. Today’s selections from Psalm 34 take us from praise to receiving instruction. As we repeat the refrain, we recall not only the stories of Elijah (1st reading), but all the ways in which God’s goodness has sustained the chosen people, including ourselves, throughout history. The verses invite us to savor our personal experiences of God’s nourishing presence, give communal thanks to God and never be ashamed of our need for help. The psalmist, fresh from the experience of being saved by the Almighty from danger, calls on all the “lowly” to praise God who saves the poor who trust. The “lowly” are the defenseless, who have only God to turn to. If the defenseless person prays, God will hear. Those who believe taste and see and “bless God at all times.”
I will bless you, O God, at all times, your praise always on my lips.
My soul makes its boast in you; the afflicted shall hear and be glad.
Glorify our God with me. Together let us praise God’s name.
I sought you, and you answered me; and delivered me from all my fears.
Look towards the Most High, and be radiant; let our faces not be ashamed.
These poor ones cried; you heard them, and saved them from all their troubles.
Your angel, O God, is encamped around those who revere you, to deliver them.
Taste and see that God is good! Happy are they who take refuge in you.
[verses taken from People’s Companion to the Breviary © 1997 by the Carmelites of Indianapolis]