He Is Good God Almighty

Over the last several weeks we have been exploring in the Psalms and considering the phrase from Crowder’s song - “Good God Almighty”. Let’s listen one more time to Crowder.

Psalm 123:1–4 NRSV

1 To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens! 2 As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, until he has mercy upon us. 3 Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt. 4 Our soul has had more than its fill of the scorn of those who are at ease, of the contempt of the proud.

He is Almighty

Last week we focused on His almighty power! “He’s got the whole world in His hands, He’s got the whole world in His hands, He’s got the whole world in His hands - He’s got the whole world in His hands.”

Our God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing my God cannot do!

I remember as a teenager, learning that God was omniscient - meaning, He is all knowing, God is omnipresent - meaning He is everywhere, and God is omnipotent, meaning He is all-powerful. These are 3 of the primary attributes of the God we worship.

The images in this Psalm that we read this morning are uncomfortable for us because slavery brings up some very ugly thoughts and images. The very idea of slavery in America continues to affect race relations even today.

It is impossible for us to put ourselves in the place of a slave that would be looking to a master for everything. If a person is a slave, the quality of your life is defined by the kind of master who owns you. In her autobiography, Incidents in the life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs describes one of the ways that was true: She says: “Mrs. Flint…was a member of the church; but partaking of the Lord’s Supper did not seem to put her in a Christian frame of mind. If dinner was not served at the exact time on that particular Sunday, she would station herself in the kitchen, and wait till it was dished, and then spit in all the Kettles and pans that had been used for cooking. She did this to prevent the cook and her children from eking out their meager fare with the remains of the gravy and other scrapings.”

Thankfully, that wasn’t the experience of everybody, but what an ugly picture it draws. In the Old Testament times it was not the experience of most slaves - most were actually highly valued.

Yet, in the relationship of slave to master - the master is in the position of almighty power. You have probably heard the saying that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. That is the problem with might! Among humans, power corrupts!

Almighty is an impressive word - a scary word, really! It’s always to your advantage to be the strongest, and most of us have areas of strength, but we also have areas of weakness. Almighty, though, implies that there is no weakness. God is almighty!

An almighty being would be someone that would strike fear in anybody. But there is a twist, because power corrupts humans, but:

God is Good

All the time, and all the time, God is Good!

In our message about His goodness, I shared the thought that sometimes people get confused when we say that God is good and think that we are talking in terms of his quality. When we say that God is good, we are not using that term as a measure of quality. What we mean by the phrase is that He is good - as opposed to evil. He is always GOOD! In other words, He always does what is right - He defines what is righteous - He is Good!

Even when we turn on the news and see the devastation of so many things that happen in our lives, we know that God is good! One of the reasons that so many horrible things happen in our world is that He gave humans the right to choose, and humans have all chosen to sin! Romans 3:23 says: “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” That means every person that is hearing my voice right now - yes, that means you and that means me! Every one of us has sinned, and sin brings consequences that sometimes are devastating.

Sometimes the devastation is direct: Somebody chooses to commit armed robbery because they want something that somebody else has, and in the process they murder someone. The devastation that results for the loved ones of the one that was murdered is a direct result of the sins of coveting, stealing & murder.

Sometimes the devastation is more indirect: Company leaders make a decision not to fix something that they know is in need of fixing because it will cost them too much money. That greed can lead to devastation for people who are harmed by that greed.

Sometimes devastation is a result of systemic evil: things like the holocaust, or wars, or slavery, or racism can be systemic in nature. All of these things come about because of power: more correctly, it should be said that it is because of the abuse of power. Again, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

It is one of the things that frightens me about our country. I love our country, but for a long time now, we have had a great deal of power - we aren’t all-powerful, but we are very powerful as a nation. I am thankful for the freedoms that we possess. I am glad to be an American - but the danger is real, that we will use our power for evil and not for good, because in humans, power corrupts.

But with God, there is a key difference: He is good, all the time and all the time He is good. His goodness will never be corrupted by the power that He has! He is all-powerful, and He is always good!

He is Good God Almighty

In His goodness, we, like the Psalmist can turn to Him in the midst of our brokenness and find a God that will be merciful to us.

We can say these words along with the Psalmist because of who He is: “Have mercy upon us, O Lord, … we have had more than enough of contempt.”

The Communion Supper, instituted by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is a sacrament, which proclaims His life, His sufferings, His sacrificial death, and resurrection, and the hope of His coming again. It shows forth the Lord’s death until His return.

The Supper is a means of grace in which Christ is present by the Spirit. It is to be received in reverent appreciation and gratefulness for the work of Christ.

All those who are truly repentant, forsaking their sins, and believing in Christ for salvation are invited to participate in the death and resurrection of Christ. We come to the table that we may be renewed in life and salvation and be made one by the Spirit.

In unity with the Church, we confess our faith: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. And so we pray:

Holy God,

We come today into your presence, grateful that we serve a God who is always good. We gather at this, your table, in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, who by your Spirit was anointed to preach good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives, set at liberty those who are oppressed. Christ healed the sick, fed the hungry, ate with sinners, and established the new covenant for forgiveness of sins. We live in the hope of His coming again.

On the night in which He was betrayed, He took bread, gave thanks, broke the bread, gave it to His disciples, and said: “This is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

Likewise, when the supper was over, He took the cup, gave thanks, gave it to His disciples, and said: “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in remembrance of me.” Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Matthew 26:27–29, Luke 22:19)

And so, we gather as the Body of Christ to offer ourselves to you in praise and thanksgiving. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us and on these your gifts. Make them by the power of your Spirit to be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the Body of Christ, redeemed by His blood.

By your Spirit make us one in Christ, one with each other, and one in the ministry of Christ to all the world, until Christ comes in final victory. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.

And now, as our Savior Christ has taught us, let us pray:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

The body of our Lord Jesus Christ, broken for you, preserve you blameless, unto everlasting life. Eat this in remembrance that Christ died for you, and be thankful.

The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, shed for you, preserve you blameless unto everlasting life. Drink this in remembrance that Christ died for you, and be thankful.