I remember singing this incredible short anthem as a chorister. It's one of them pieces of music where your hairs stand up on the back of your neck. Have you ever had that? I even remember year after year the same chorister singing the solo and once thought 'I want to give it a go'. When the opportunity was opened up during choir practice one night, I jumped at the chance and put my hand up. The choirmaster began to play the introduction... What a fail! The words, the music, absolutely nothing came out from my mouth. I still remember it and believe that embarrassing and unfortunate experience still stands heavy with me today.
Listen to it sounding perfect here: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKXD4hndlWs
As a chorister, you sing enormous amounts of scripture, sometimes without recognising and appreciating the words, only the music. More than ten years have gone since my voice broke and I know significant chunks of scripture now because I still remember the music we sang them to.
The words from Psalm 38:8 are capitulated in the anthem O Taste and See which is written by Vaughan Williams . Today these words have struck me. I think spiritually, emotionally and mentally, I'm currently in one of those whirlwind moments. It has been a season of things moving so fast that I've not yet processed what's happened and what's still happening. My life, particularly in the last six months, has changed and transformed massively. And I know there's still more yet to come! I suppose there always will be change to come.
It strikes me that change is often something people are fearful of. It's the unknown, the end of something old and the beginning of something new that unsettles some people. We all deal with change in different ways. Some crack on, deal with it as if nothing phases them. Others find it hard to accept, and settle into new ways. Change can often feel like bereavement rather than celebration. It can often be liberation or even a burden.
The words O Taste and See are a warm invitation for us to personally try the whole 'believing in God' thing out. It's also a reassurance, saying that if we trust in God - we'll like what we'll taste and see. Many people turn to prayer in the most darkest of days in their lives. Why? Because some people recognise that in all their desperation the only other viable option left can be God. I'm challenged today, to not only trust God when everything else fails, but trust him in everything.
What we taste and what we see will be good. Because God is good.
