SUMMARY
The psalmist is so certain of God’s goodness that he or she can taste it.
ANALYSIS
This verse lies within a song of thanksgiving that seeks to teach everyone to “fear” God and thus to “have no want” (v. 9). The psalms frequently urge the “fear of the Lord,” and the parallelism of PsalmA psalm is a song of praise. In the Old Testament 150 psalms comprise the psalter, although some of the psalms are laments and thanksgivings. In the New Testament early Christians gathered to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. 33:8 helps us understand what that means: “Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.” To fear God is to stand in awe of God–the appropriate response of creatures who know that they are not themselves gods. Still, one need not be in terror of the God of the Bible, for God is good–so good you can taste it, says the psalmist. Many Christians speak this verse as an invitation to HolyHoly is a term that originally meant set apart for the worship or service of God. While the term may refer to people, objects, time, or places, holiness in Judaism and Christianity primarily denotes the realm of the divine Communion, for in the sacrament, above all, they understand that one can “taste” the goodness of God.
Those who fear God “have no want,” says the psalm. Countless psalms make clear that believers, too, suffer; but the psalms know that with God suffering can be endured and finally overcome. At last, there will be “no want” at all, and, in the meantime, “Better is a little that the righteousA righteous person is one who is ethical and faithful to God's covenant. Righteousness in the Old Testament is an attitude of God; in the New Testament it is a gift of God through grace. In the New Testament righteousness is a relationship with God... person has than the abundance of many wicked” (Psalm 37:16).
