God Is. . . Good
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Introduction
Introduction
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Psalms 1–72: An Introduction and Commentary Psalm 34. Thank God!
A substantial quotation and some distinct further echoes of the psalm in 1 Peter 2 and 3 (and in other epistles) illustrate the indebtedness of every generation to this psalm
1 I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. 3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! 4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. 5 Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. 6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. 8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! 9 Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! 10 The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! (ESV)
Ps 34:1-10
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! (ESV)
Sometimes the goodness of God is assumed. (LORD is good.)
Sometimes the goodness of God is assumed. (LORD is good.)
Praise
A hearing (4a)
Peace (4b)
Provision
Safety
The Goodness of God produces in us:
Praise (1)
Joy (2)
Worship (3)
Prayer
The Goodness of God drives us to:
Repent
Grow
Sometimes the goodness of God is assumed. (LORD is good.)
Sometimes the goodness of God is assumed. (LORD is good.)
Here’s what I mean:
Sometimes we assume what God should do if he is to be considered in our estimation as “good.”
Problem is we cannot define God through our assumptions; rather, he defines himself through his revealed truth.
We need to roll back our assumptions.
Trilemma of Epicurius:
If God is unable to prevent evil, then he is not all-powerful.
If God is not willing to prevent evil, then he is not all-good.
If God is both willing and able to prevent evil, then why does evil exist?
Assumption 1:
If God is all-good, there would be no evil.
God is not the author of evil, but because of sin there is evil in the world.
Assumption 2:
If God is all-good, he would stop all evil.
God is the one who gives the definition and destination of evil
Some things that we call evil may actually be for our good
Some things we believe are for our evil end for our good.
Problem is we cannot define God through our assumptions; rather, he defines himself through his revealed truth.
We need to roll back our assumptions.
Before we talk about the goodness of God as actions we need to look at the goodness of God as an attribute.
God is not just good with blessings, he is good in his being.
Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good.
19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.
The goodness of God is equated with his glory - his identity.
God doesn’t just DO good, he IS good.
8 Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
The goodness of God is related to morality.
18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
God is understood as the standard of morality and the standard by which we understand anything to be good.
Sometimes the goodness of God is overlooked. (See)
Sometimes the goodness of God is overlooked. (See)
Did you ever wonder why the expectation of blessing is our default? Why do we never ask, “Why do good things always happen to me?”
Natural thinking would say: If the world is not governed by a sovereign, loving God and is a random world of chance and molecules that operates through a ‘survival of the fittest’ then blessing should be the oddity and pain and suffering the default.
But we DO have an expectation of goodness because Creation was created GOOD - the desire for good is a whisper of God placed in us by our Creator.
We are all made in the image of God and so we all long for good.
Only the biblical worldview makes sense as to why we at times experience evil but long for good.
Only the biblical worldview offers a solution to overcome that evil with good.
The expectation of blessing is our default and because real life does not always match our expectation, we tend to focus (SEE) on the opposite.
ILLUST - walk up to a group and we tend to talk more about and be fascinated more with the stories of trial than of triumph. Rarely do you hear, “So this awesome thing happened. . .” with a reply of, “Oh yeah, this awesomer thing happened to me. . .”
Problem is three-fold:
The problem is two-fold:
1. We are blind to the blessings already around us.
2. We’re missing an eternal definition of what is good.
3. We have a selfish view of our blessings.
We don’t have an eternal definition of what is good.
We have all tasted the goodness of God and it is meant to see that God is good.
**Take a minute and write down five things that happened this morning that show God’s goodness to you.
We are blind to the blessings already around us.
We are blind to the blessings already around us.
45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
We define what is good from our view not God’s.
17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
“blessings in disguise”
**Take a minute and write down five things that happened this morning that show God’s goodness to you.
Often, we are more concerned with our ‘gets’ than our ‘gots.’
Hymn by Johnson Oatman, “Count Your Blessings,”
Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.
4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. 5 Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. 6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.
Ps 34
David is recounting the blessings of God at a time when he was in trouble.
English Standard Version Psalm 34
OF DAVID, WHEN HE CHANGED HIS BEHAVIOR BEFORE ABIMELECH, SO THAT HE DROVE HIM OUT, AND HE WENT AWAY.
2. We're missing an eternal definition of what is good.
2. We're missing an eternal definition of what is good.
We define what is good from our view not God’s.
17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
“blessings in disguise”
ILLUST - Drive home from Florida
3. We have a selfish view of our blessings.
3. We have a selfish view of our blessings.
We didn’t earn God’s blessing. We are not owed God’s blessing and yet we are blessed.
We are blessed not because we earned God’s blessing but because God is good.
Should not we, then, as God’s people not just be a people who are blessed but a people who are blessing.
As
We are blessed to be a blessing.
2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
Sometimes the goodness of God is misunderstood. (Taste)
Sometimes the goodness of God is misunderstood. (Taste)
Difference between seeing and tasting.
ILLUST - Foods that look bad but taste good.
Pigeon Relief - aka, blueberry cream cheese pie
We define what is good from our view not God’s.
17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
“blessings in disguise”
It is one thing to recount the goodness of God, it is another to currently experience it.
Not only does God want you to recount the blessings in your life or see that he is good through seeing the blessings in other’s lives, he wants you to experience (TASTE) his goodness.
God delights in you and he wants you to delight in him.
Do you want your child to have good things in life?
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?
11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
It’s important to note that the final understanding about what is good lies with the parent in this illustration meaning the final understanding lies with God in reality.
ILLUST - If my son comes to me and asks for seven cupcakes for dinner (don’t think it hasn’t happened!), even though he thinks it is good, I know it isn’t. I will give him what I know is good, not what he THINKS is good.
He simply needs to know I am a good father and trust me to bless.
Sometimes the goodness of God is underused. (Blessed . . . refuge)
Sometimes the goodness of God is underused. (Blessed . . . refuge)
Don’t miss this:
Notice how the
Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
Notice how the second line of each verse expounds the first line:
(6) This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him
(6) This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him
and saved him out of all his troubles. (ESV)
(9) Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints,
Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack! (ESV)
(What happened) and saved him out of
Blessed = ‘happiness’
- not ’things are really horrible, but I’m going to put on my religious face and say I’m #blessed'
This person is experiencing joy.
The goodness of God leads to your joy.
Refuge = ’shelter’ - shelter from what?
The experience of the goodness of God that ultimately leads to joy takes place in the midst of a world of pain.
The Goodness of God offers to us:
Praise
A hearing (4a) “answered me”
Peace (4b)
Honor (5)
Salvation (6)
Protection (7)
Provision (9-10)
Safety
The Goodness of God produces in us:
Praise (1)
Joy (2)
Humility (2)
Worship (3)
Prayer (4)
The Goodness of God drives us to:
Humility (2)
Repent
4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
Salvation
7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Grow
1 Pet 2
2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Conclusion
Conclusion
What would change in your life if you could better understand the goodness of God?
There would be less grumbling and more gratefulness.
There would be less worry and more peace.
There would be less hoarding and more blessing.
There would be less sin and more growth.