The Attributes of God (Part Nine)

Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! (Psalm 106:1 ESV)

God is Good. “In one aspect of this word, it is merely equivalent to holiness… On the other hand, the goodness of God may be spoken of as kindness, benevolence, or beneficence towards others, in which it is seen to terminate outside of himself. Thus we speak of him as being very good to us.” (Boyce, Abstract of Theology, p. 93). God wants to act for the benefit of others; he desires that others enthusiastically share in the joy and peace of all that he is (Exodus 33:19; 2 Chronicles 5:13; 30:18; Psalm 25:7-8; 31:19; 52:9; 100:5; 119:68; Nahum 1:7; Matthew 19:7). Out of this desire flows goodness toward his creation (Psalm 145:7, 9, 15-16; Lamentations 3:25; Acts 14:17; James 1:17). In fact, since the creation came by the power and will of the One who is good, all that God made was “very good” (Genesis 1:31).

God’s people should rejoice in his goodness (2 Chronicles 6:41; Psalm 106:1; 107:1; 118:1), and we should seek to experience the goodness of the Lord (Psalm 34:8). And we find that God in his goodness reaches out to his people (Psalm 73:1; Matthew 7:11; Romans 8:32; 2 Peter 1:3). God is “essentially good; not only good, but goodness itself: the creature’s good is a superadded quality, in God it is his essence. He is infinitely good; the creature’s good is but a drop, but in God there is an infinite ocean or gathering together of good. He is eternally and immutably good, for He cannot be less good than He is; as there can be no addition made to Him, so no subtraction from Him” (Manton, quoted by Pink, The Attributes of God, p. 65).

“When others behave badly to us, it should only stir us up the more heartily to give thanks unto the Lord, because He is good; and when we ourselves are conscious that we are far from being good, we should only the more reverently bless Him that He is good. We must never tolerate an instant’s unbelief as to the goodness of the Lord; whatever else may be questioned, this is absolutely certain, that Jehovah is good; His dispensations may vary, but His nature is always the same” (Spurgeon, quoted by Pink, p. 69).

God’s goodness motivates God’s people to act for the good of others. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone (Titus 3:8 NIV). Since we have experienced the goodness of God, we should act for the good and benefit of our neighbors. In this way, we are instruments of his goodness in the lives of all around us.

Grace and peace, David

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