Banner of Praise Ministries
Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Rev. Dr.Levi Howard Wright, Pastor & Founder
Subject: “Taste And See… He’s Sweet I Know.”
Text: Psalm 34:1-10
“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praises shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.”
Introduction
“Try It You Will Like It.” Have you ever been to a supermarket when a company was giving out free samples of food? The basic concept behind this form of advertising is “Try It, You Will Like It.”
The assumption here is that once you’ve tried the product, you’ll come back for more. King David assumed the same thing about one’s experience with the Lord when he said, “Oh, Taste And See That The Lord Is Good”
The American Heritage Dictionary definition for TASTE:
1) To distinguish the flavor of something by taking it into the mouth.
2) To experience or partake, or sample especially for the first time. To appreciate; to enjoy.
3) The sense that distinguishes the sweet, sour, salty, and the bitter qualities of disolved substances in contact with the taste buds on the tongue.
This sense in combination with the senses of smell and touch, which together receive a sensation of a substance in the mouth.
To taste mean to eat; discern; perceive; to evaluate. To Taste in its verb form refers to the testing of goods by means of the sense of taste. From the primary act of tasting, (Ta’am) tasting developed into the idea of evaluative sampling of thing other than food. (Ta’am) Tasting as a noun came to refer to “discernment,” that is to the capacity to appropriately choose and delight in good things.
The great proverbial King Solomon speaks of a woman who lacks taste when it said in Proverbs 12:22 “As a jewel of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion.”
And he also spoke of a woman with good taste, in Proverbs 31:18 when he said “She perceives her merchandise is of high quality and did not let her candle go out by night.”
The Apostle Paul and David both spoke of having “Tasted of the heavenly gift.” The sense of taste includes most of the other sense-----sight , smell, and touch. And certainly this is also true in spiritual things.
There are basically three different classes of Christians:
(1) There are those who hear without seeing;
(2) There are those who both hear and see without tasting;
(3) There are those in whom all three combine---to whom “Faith” cometh by hearing,” in whom faith growth by seeing, in whom faith is developed and consummated by tasting.
David extended an open invitation for us to come and enjoy and to magnify and exalt the Divine Name and Goodness of the Lord. He challenged people to “Taste” and “See” that the Lord is “Good”.
He wanted them to Taste the Goodness of God, because he wanted them to experience God first hand.
O Taste and See, he did not say “See and Taste. Before we taste a substance we generally look it over first. But here, we are told, that we must taste before we see.
There must be an appreciation for Divine things before we can see and enjoy the Lord.
Two things are necessary to the enjoyment of this goodness:
1) Freedom from guilt and
2) A sense of gratitude.
Enjoying God’s Goodness involves trusting Him.
Trusting Him will ensure us true blessedness. We must trust and follow the Lord, and forget the things in the past and things behind us and press on to the things that are before us. Oh Yeah, “There is no want to them that fear the Lord.”
My Brothers and Sisters we must Taste of God for ourselves and not lean and depend upon the testimonies of others.
The Bible declares that some men moral perceptions are so perverted that they call good evil and evil good.
They call bitter sweet and sweet bitter.
They declares that revenge is sweet and forgiveness is stale and flavorless. God turned them over to a reprobate mind.
They looked at His Goodness, but they will not come and Taste for themselves.
They are Lookers Only and not Taster. We need to both Taste and See for ourselves that the Lord is Good.
In verse 4 in our text today we hear a man confess that he had once been entrapped by a multitude of fears which had crippled his walk toward Mount Zion.
But he Tasted of the Goodness of the Lord and found that it was sweet.
For he said “I sought the Lord and He heard me and delivered me from all my fear. He did not say just some of his fears but all of his fears.
Oh, my Brothers and Sisters want you Taste and See that the Lord is good?
In verse 5 we see a group of cheerful witnesses testifying that in times past their faces had been clouded with sorrow, because the sunshine had gone out of their souls.
But they Tasted and Looked upon the Lord and He enlightened their faces. They tried Him and they liked Him. They Tasted and found out for their selves that the Lord is Good.
In verse 6 a poor man confessed that he had been in many a tight places, closely beset by powerful temptations.
But he Tasted of the Lord Goodness and found that it was sweet.
And he cried out, and the Lord heard him and saved him from out of all his troubles.
Notice he did not say some of his troubles, but all of his troubles. Oh want you Taste and See that the Lord is good?
In verse 7 it seems as though all of the combined individual testimonies began to merge together into one great victorious testimony of assurance.
And the angel of the Lord encamped round about them that feared the Lord and delivered them.
In verse 8 after hearing all of the individual testimonies there were issued a mighty appeal, “O Taste and See that the Lord is good.” Blessed is the man who trust in the Lord”
By Brother and My Sister, I don’t know about you today, but I don’t trust “Hearsay”.
And I am not content with the testimonies of others.
And I need more than theoretical knowledge of How Good the Lord Is.
I want to Taste and See for myself How Sweet the Lord Is!.
When you are going through a trials in your life. Taste and See how Good and Sweet God is.
Let the Lord take your trials, an make them inward, experimental trial of His Goodness.
You cannot see his goodness except by tasting Him for yourself.
But, if you Taste of Him you shall See, like Jonathan’s honey, enlightens the eyes.
His Grace and Sweet Goodness will enlighten our eyes.
Taste and See that the Lord is Good and Sweet.
You can only know the sweetness of His taste through having a personal experience with Him.
You will not know the true meaning of the food at a banquet by looking only.
You must taste the wine to know the sweetness of the grapes from which it was made.
You cannot know the quality of a beef steak by looking at it only, you must first bite into it to taste and see if it is good.
David said, “Blessed is the man that trust in the Lord”. Our “Faith” is the “Soul’s” Taste; they who test the Lord by their confidence and by their faith will always find him good and sweet and will receive a blessing.
Verse 9 says “O fear the Lord ye His saints”. We must render humble childlike reverence to the Lord. We must walk circumspectly in His Laws.
We must respect His will. We must tremble at the thought of offending Him. And we must be hastened to serve Him.
We must fear God only and not the wrath of men, neither should we be tempted to sin , because of the threats. Fear God only and nothing else, “For there is no want to them that fear the Lord.”
God will not allow his faithful servants to starve. He may not give you luxuries, but, he promised to supply all of your needs, and he want go back on his word.
David said, “I was young but now I’m old never have I seen the righteous forsaken nor His seed begging bread.”
Taste and See that the Lord is good. Many of our wishes may remain ungratified, but our real wants the Lord will supply.
Verse 10 says, “The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger.” Lions are ferocious, cunning, and strong in all the power their of youth, and yet they sometime howl in their ravenous hunger, and even their craftiness, in oppressing men, they still often have wants.
But the simple minded Christian, who dare not act as a greedy lion. “Are fed with food convenient for them. “ Taste and See that the Lord is Good”
They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.” O Taste and See that the Lord is good.
No good thing shall be denied to those whose first and main purpose in life is to seek the Lord.
Conclusion
The best way of knowing the goodness and the sweeteness of the Lord is to Taste and See for yourself.
Taste of His goodness and put Him first in your life! Put the Lord first and you will see that He’s sweet and you will know it.
Taste and See that the Lord is sweet and He will eliminate all of your worries and anxieties.
Jesus said in St Matthew 6:31-34 “ Don’t be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too.
Live one day at a time and Taste and See that the Lord is sweet ?
TASTE AND SEE THE LORD FOR YOURSELF HE’S SWEET I KNOW. YES ............... GOD IS LIKE.
God is like LOVE, He’s so sweet, He sees no color.
God is like the RAIN. He’s so sweet, If you let Him, He will clean your soul.
God is like the WIND. He’s so sweet, You can’t see Him, but you can feel Him.
God is like a MOTHER. He’s so sweet, He will take care of you.
God is like DIAL SOAP. He’s so sweet, You can raise your hand to show that you are a child of the King. Aint you glad you know Him, don’t you wish everyone did.
God is like TIDE. He’s so sweet, He will get the strain out that others leave behind. When he comes in, He washes out all of our sins.
God is like HALLMARK. He’s so sweet, He cared enough to send the very best His only Begoten Son.
God is like TYLENOL with extra strength and no after affects. He’s so sweet, that He will relief you from all minor and major aches and pains of life.
God is like DENNY’S. He’s so sweet, He will never closes the doors in your face.
God is like AMERICAN EXPRESS. He’s so sweet, that you don’t want to leave home without Him.. He can help you in all situations.
God is like TIMEX. He’s so sweet, He will takes a licking, but keep right on ticking.
God is like SCOTCH TAPE. He’s so sweet, that you can’t see Him, but you know He’s always there.
God is like MCDONALD. He’s so sweet, that He will do it all just for you.
God is like COKE ACOLA. He’s so sweet, because He’s the Real Thing.
God is like PAN AM Airlines. He’s so sweet, and He will makes the going great.
God is like BAYER ASPRINS. He’s so sweet, and He will works wonders for you.
God is like GENERAL ELECTRIC. He’s so sweet, that He will light your dark path..
God is like VO5 HAIR SPRAY. He’s so sweet, and He will hold out through all kinds of stormy weather.
God is like SEARS & Roe Buck He’s so sweet, that He has everything that you need.
God is like ALKA SELTER He’s so sweet, If you try Him you will like Him, because He’s sweet I know.
Taste and See God’s Lovingkindness.
The Apostle Paul said in Romans 8:35-39, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or, persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor, things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the Love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
O Taste and See that the Lord is Sweet! Yes, He’s Sweet I Know.
Dark clouds may rise and strong winds may blow, but I will tell the world wherever I may go, I have found a Savior, and He’s sweet I know.
TASTE AND SEE THAT THE LORD IS GOOD..... YES HE’S SWEET I KNOW.
When things are going bad Taste and See, He’s sweet I know.
When your soul feel sad and lonely Taste and See, He’s sweet I know.
When you are being tried by Satan’s snares Taste and See, He’s sweet I know.
When your burden seem so hard to bear Taste and See, He’s sweet I know.
If you are lost in sin and want to be saved, Taste and See, He’s sweet I know.
When your heart is heavy laden, Taste and See, He’s sweet I know.
When your eyes are filled with tears, Taste and See, He’s sweet I know.
When your body is sick and the doctor say you cannot get well, Taste and See, He’s sweet I know.
When your rent is past due and you don’t know where the rent money will come from, Taste and See, He’s sweet I know.
When you don’t know where your next meal will come from, Taste and See, He’s sweet I know.
When the news come that your child has just been placed on Death Row, Taste and See, He’s sweet I know.
Dark clouds may rise and strong winds may blow, but I can tell the world wherever I may go that I Tasted and Saw for myself and He’s sweet I know. Yes, I have a Savor and He’s sweet I know.
“HE’S SWEET I KNOW”
He had no home but He promised believers a mansion.
He had no bakery but he produced bread to feed 5,000
He had no pills or hostipal but yet he healed the sick
He had no money yet he paid His friends taxes
He attended no college yet he taught not as the Scribes, but as one having the authority and holding a PhD Degree
“HE’S SWEET I KNOW”
He was born in a borrowed stable. Luke 2:7
He was laid in a borrowed cattle manger. Luke 7, 12
He used as His pulpit a borrowed boat. Mark 4:1
He fed thousands with a borrowed lunch. John 6:9-11
He taught from a borrowed book. Luke 4”16-17
He slept in a borrowed bed. Luke 9:58
He rode as King on a borrowed donkey. Matthew 21:2-3
He observed the Last Supper in a borrowed room. 26:18
He was mocked as King in a borrowed robe. Matthew 27:27-31
He was crucified on a borrowed Cross
He was buried in a borrowed tomb. Matthew 27:59-60
But early Sunday morning when the women went to the tomb they found that the stone had been rolled away.
Yes, Jesus is all that you need. Jesus rolled away the Rock that sealed the Rock, that entombed the Rock, that was the Rock of Ages.
And the Rock of Ages walked out of the Heart of the Rock with all Power in Heaven and Earth in His Hands.
Jesus rose from the mist of the Rock with All-power in His hands.
He had Saving Power, Deliverance Power, Healing Power, Redeeming Power, and Holy Ghost Power in His hands.
And because He has All-Power. He’s All That We Need. Yes, He’s Sweet I Know.
“HE’S SWEET I KNOW”
I Tasted Him on Calvary and He’s sweet I know.
I tried the Lord for myself and He’s sweet I know.
I Tasted Him and He gave me “New Life.”
I Tasted Him and He Redeemed me with His Precious Blood.
I Tasted Him and He Sanctified me.
I Tasted Him and He made me Holy.
I Tasted Him and He gave me a “New Song.”
I Tasted Him and He gave me “Joy” unspeakable “Joy.”
I Tasted Him and He gave me His “Amazing Grace” and “Everlasting Life.”
Oh, Taste and See and You Will Like Him.
When You have been Lied on.
When you have been Spit upon.
When you have been MISUSED and ABUSED.
When SNARES are placed in your way.
When STUMBLING BLOCKS are placed in your way .
Because He’s so sweet He will make you Love your Enemy and Bless those who Curse you.
He will make you forgive those that despitefully misused and abused you.
Taste and See that the Lord is good and you will like Him... Amen... Amen.... Amen....
