Prevented by Goodness

Psalm 21:1–3 KJV

1 The king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord; And in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! 2 Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, And hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah. 3 For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: Thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.

God is Good

God is the Definition of Good

There is no good apart from God.

No good apart from God Ps 16.2 “2 O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord: My goodness extendeth not to thee;”

Psalm 16:2 ESV

2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”

James 1:17 (KJV)

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

Mt 7.11 “11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?”

Survey the Things About God that are Good

Good things of God

Good land Dt 8.7 “7 For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills;”

Good commandments Dt 10.13 “13 To keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?” Good commandments.

Rm 7.12 “12 Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.”

Dt 10.13, Ne 9.13, Rm 7.12, 1 Ti 1.8.

Good way 2 Chr 6.27 “27 . . . taught them the good way, wherein they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given unto thy people for an inheritance.”

Good hand of God Ez 7.9, Ez 8.18, 22.

Good spirit Ne 9.20, Ps 143.10 “10 Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: Thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.”

A goodly heritage Ps 16.8 “8 I have set the Lord always before me: Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.”

A good name Ps 54.6 “6 I will freely sacrifice unto thee: I will praise thy name, O Lord; for it is good.”

Meaning of his name - redemption

Reputation of his name - testimony

Good mercy Ps 109.21 “21 But do thou for me, O God the Lord, for thy name’s sake: Because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me.”

Good will toward men Lk 2.14.

Good work in you Pp 1.6.

God Creates Good

Ge 1 after each day of creation, God declared it to be good.

What God creates is good

Ge 1.31 looking at the overall picture, it was very good

Formation might not look too good

Brooding in darkness and chaos

Think of Day 2: all watery, and no atmosphere to speak of; and certainly no life. But God said, it was good.

Slow (too-slow?) development of life?

Days 4-5: God took time to populate life into the various spheres of his creation. But even though life was absent in some areas, he still declared it to be good.

Void of purpose (and the creation of the image of God): that was the apex of his creation; but in all the days leading up to it, he still said it was good.

Ps 33.1-9 “1 Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: For praise is comely for the upright. 2 Praise the Lord with harp: Sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. 3 Sing unto him a new song; Play skilfully with a loud noise. 4 For the word of the Lord is right; And all his works are done in truth. 5 He loveth righteousness and judgment: The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. 6 By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; And all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. 7 He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: He layeth up the depth in storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the Lord: Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. 9 For he spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.”

Ps 33.16-19 “16 There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: A mighty man is not delivered by much strength. 17 An horse is a vain thing for safety: Neither shall he deliver any by his great strength. 18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, Upon them that hope in his mercy; 19 To deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine.”

God sustains you in the lean times

Each phase of God’s work in you is good, not just the final phase. (He’s still working on me.)

Don’t let the shadows, the murkiness and the silence discourage you; it’s all good, and the totality will be very good.

Threats to Good

The Day of Trouble

Nahum 1:7 KJV

7 The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; And he knoweth them that trust in him.

In the midst of the overwhelming forces that are only understood as the working out of God’s sovereign plan, we can take refuge in the goodness of God.

Even Evil can be Turned for Good in God’s Hands

Rm 8.28 “28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

Ge 50.20 what the jealous brothers meant for evil, God made good.

Trials of the wilderness are to do you good in your latter end

Dt 8.16 refers to the Lord God, “16 Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;”

He sustains us through the process

The intention of the process is ultimate good.

You will find the good when you find where God is in the trouble

Ps 4.6 “6 There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? Lord, Lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.”

Because when you see the face of God, then you will see the goodness embedded in your situation.

God’s Goodness is Infinite

God Will Keep Getting Better

In response to Doeg the Edomite’s treachery,

Ps 52.1 “1 Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? The goodness of God endureth continually.”

Crown the year with goodness Ps 65.11.

Ps 65.4 “4 Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, And causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, Even of thy holy temple.”

Ps 65.11 “11 Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; And thy paths drop fatness.”

God has been good to this church, but his goodness is going to keep on growing.

Ex 18.7-11 Jethro praised the goodness and greatness of God, who confounded the enemy at the place of their strength to save his people.

Prevented with Goodness

Prevent (approach and stop him up) with goodness Ps 21.3.

Psalm 21 (KJV)

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.

1 The king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord; And in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!

2 Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, And hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah.

3 For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: Thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.

4 He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, Even length of days for ever and ever.

5 His glory is great in thy salvation: Honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.

6 For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: Thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.

7 For the king trusteth in the Lord, And through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.

8 Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: Thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.

9 Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: The Lord shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.

10 Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, And their seed from among the children of men.

11 For they intended evil against thee: They imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.

12 Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, When thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them.

13 Be thou exalted, Lord, in thine own strength: So will we sing and praise thy power.

His goodness continues forever

1 Chr 16.34, 2 Chr 5.13 Ez 3.11, Ps 100.5, 106.1, 107.1-31, 118.29, 136.1. Give thanks; he is good; his mercy endures forever.

1 Chronicles 16:34 KJV

34 O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; For his mercy endureth for ever.

2 Chronicles 5:13 KJV

13 It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord;

Ezra 3:11 KJV

11 And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.

Psalm 100:5 KJV

5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; And his truth endureth to all generations.

Psalm 106:1 KJV

1 Praise ye the Lord. O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: For his mercy endureth for ever.

Psalm 107:1 KJV

1 O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: For his mercy endureth for ever.

Psalm 118:29 KJV

29 O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: For his mercy endureth for ever.

Psalm 136:1 KJV

1 O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: For his mercy endureth for ever.

Believe in God’s Goodness

Belief in the goodness of God maintains strength Ps 27.13.

Hebrews 11:6 (KJV)

6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Lamentations 3:25 (KJV)

25 The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.

Psalm 31:19 (KJV)

19 Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; Which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee Before the sons of men!

Psalm 27:13 (KJV)

13 I had fainted, unless I had believed To see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Psalm 34:8 (KJV)

8 O taste and see that the Lord is good: Blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

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Extra

God brings every good thing to pass Jos 21.45.

In great goodness people still didn’t serve God Ne 9.35.

Satisfied with the goodness of your house Ps 65.4.

Prepared of thy goodness for the poor Ps 68.10.

Fills the hungry with good things (and sends the rich away empty) Lk 1.53.

God is good to Israel . . . those of a clean heart Ps 73.1.

Goodness to those who continue in his goodness Rm 11.22.

No good thing will he withhold Ps 84.11.

The Lord will give good Ps 85.12.

Good, and ready to forgive Ps 86.5.

Good to all Ps 145.9.

Goodness of God leads men to repentance Rm 2.4.

Rains on the just and the unjust Mt 5.45.

Good master Mt 19.16, Lk 18.18-19. (none good but God).

Jesus was a high priest of good things to come He 9.11, 10.1.

Sin Distorts God’s Goodness

Ge 3.5-6 The pleasures of sin are but for a season

Satisfies with good things, renews youth like an eagle Ps 103.5.