God is Good

 

In Psalm 86, Israel’s King David prayed, “Bow down Your ear, O Lord, hear me; for I am poor and needy. Preserve my]life, for I am holy; You are my God; save Your servant who trusts in You! Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I cry to You all day long. Rejoice the soul of Your servant, for to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You. Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications. In the day of my trouble I will call upon You, for You will answer me. Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord; Nor are there any works like Your works. All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, and shall glorify Your name. For You are great, and do wondrous things; You alone are God. Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name. I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forevermore. For great is Your mercy toward me, and You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol. O God, the proud have risen against me, and a mob of violent men have sought my life, and have not set You before them. But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth. Oh, turn to me, and have mercy on me! Give Your strength to Your servant, and save the son of Your maidservant. Show me a sign for good, that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed, because You, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.”

 

There is a responsive saying in many Christian churches, where the pastor says: “God is Good” and the congregation replies: “All the time”. Then the pastor says: “All the time” and the congregation replies: “God is good!” Yes, Good is God, backwards and forwards. Think of all the good that God does for you. He is not just our Maker, who created everything (time, space, matter and life); He made them all good. Genesis 1:31 tells us, “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day [of creation].” Jehovah Jirah means God, my Provider, He is our Providence and every way possible providing good. 

 

The 1828 Webster’s dictionary defines the word “good” as benevolent; from the God’s attributes of merciful; gracious, out of God’s love. We tend to use the term “good” by Webster’s definition for us “doing good”, which is; Having moral qualities best adapted to its design and use, or the qualities which God's law requires; virtuous; pious; religious; applied to persons, and opposed to bad, vitious, wicked, evil. Having a moral mind and associated works; thoughts and actions which are just and in conformity to the moral law or divine precepts. Kind; wholesome, benevolent; affectionate, faithful, pleasant; Promotive of happiness; good will;

 

It reminds me of the Boy Scouts of America Slogan of “Do a good turn daily”. The Scout Oath is about being “good”: On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.” The Boy Scout Law is equally based on “goodness”: A Scout is: Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous,  Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent. These are “Good” attributes that reflect our heavenly Father and promote love, joy and peace for all. 

 

God is good. Maybe, we all need to think and do good in this world.

In Christ, Brian