Text: Psalm 145:1-9
I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will praise you
and extol your name forever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
4 One generation commends your works to another;
they tell of your mighty acts.
5 They speak of the glorious splendour of your majesty—
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
6 They tell of the power of your marvellous works—
and I will proclaim your wondrous deeds.
7 They celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness.
8 The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.
9 The Lord is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.
The theme of Ps 145: Seven of God’s most amazing qualities:
1. The Lord is great (vs. 3-7)
2. The Lord is gracious and compassionate (vs. 8)
3. The Lord is good (vs. 9-13a)
4. The Lord is faithful (vs. 13b-16)
5. The Lord is righteous (vs. 17)
6. The Lord is near (vs. 18-19)
7. The Lord is watching (vs. 20) ~ like a good parent.
(9) The LORD is good to all.
ALL – not just Christians / good people / His favourites – TO ALL!
Jesus teaches this same truth in his Sermon on the Mount:
Matthew 5:45, “[God] causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
We’ll come back to the word “evil” in a moment.
In other words, God is good even to people who aren’t!
Jesus teaches something similar towards the end of his sermon:
Matthew 7:9-11, “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him?”
Q. What does Jesus mean by calling people evil?
There are genuinely evil people in the world. But Jesus is not speaking about them.
Evil = the potential for behaviour that is less than kind or causes pain to others. It means you are not always as good as you could be.
I.e., Jesus is not speaking about wicked, vile, nasty people. He’s talking about us. We all have the potential for behaviour that is less than kind or causes pain to others. None of us are always as good as we could be. And yet, we know how to give good gifts to [our] children.
If we’re like that, how much more will [our] heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him?
What Jesus teaches here is vital to our understanding of God’s goodness because we all have a tendency to question his goodness when we face hard times: “If God is really good, then why is this happening to me?”
Jesus supplies an answer. All people have the potential for behaviour that is less than kind and causes pain to others. We are not always as good as we could be
Most of the challenges we face are due to:
1. The unkind choices of others.
2. The unwise choices we make.
James addresses this in his letter:
James 1:13-18, When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own [evil] desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
In the midst of problems, conflict, trials and temptation, God is Good!
The difficulties we face may be of our making, caused by others, or a combination of both. But God is Good!
I’ll offer a word of caution here. Our confession of God’s goodness must not lead us to be superficial either with ourselves or others.
- Don’t deny what’s happening to you (have a safe place).
- Don’t condemn others with trite responses.
Proverbs 25:20: Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar poured on a wound, is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.
God’s goodness does not exempt us from life’s challenges:
Consider David, the author of the Psalm in today’s text. He made significant mistakes. He suffered the loss of a baby, rebellion in his family, threats on his life, abandonment of friends, and times of mental distress. Many of his sufferings were of his own making. Some were caused by others, while some were a combination of both.
And yet, he wrote songs that we still sing, read, and enjoy thousands of years later. David’s songs are crammed full of life’s experiences and exclamations about the goodness of God:
Psalm 23:6: Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Psalm 27:13, I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
And so, we taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
And we declare, For the LORD is good, and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. (Psalm 100:5, Cf. Psalm 106:1; 107:1-2; 118:1, 29; 136:1).
And we pray, answer me, LORD, out of the goodness of your love; in your great mercy turn to me. (Psalm 69:16)
And we plead, teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. (Psalm 143:10).
And we ask, what shall I return to the LORD for all his goodness to me? (Psalm 116:12).
God is SO good that he even turns the bad things, the suffering and pain, into good…
“…we know that all things work together for good to those who love God” (Romans 8:28). Amen!
Discussion Questions
Share together personal experiences of the goodness of God.
Jesus encourages us to live with the expectation of good because God is good. And not just expecting BIG good things but also looking for God’s goodness in every detail of our day. Discuss this statement in the light of Matthew 6:25-34.
The Psalms are full of exclamations about God’s goodness. Read and discuss Psalm 13:6; 16:2; 25:7; 34:10; 52:9; 86:5; 103:5; 116:7; 119:68; 135:3.
Discuss: The goodness of God is all around us! And not just when everything is going well. Consider the story of Joseph in your answers (Genesis 50:20).
God’s presence always shows up when His people recognize His goodness (2 Chronicles 5:13). Why do you think that is?
Discuss Romans 2:4, “…the goodness of God leads you to repentance?” Why do you think God’s goodness draws us to him?
Human suffering is caused by human freedom, natural law, or a combination of both. Watch or listen to this sermon for an explanation. You may want to watch this in your connect group and then discuss it.