Praising Him for His Goodness

Psalm 107:8 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

There’s nothing like meditating on the goodness of God that stirs up the joy in me, and moves me to praise Him with every fiber of my being. On the other hand, nothing much saddens me more than the attitude of many Christians, who seem to have no joy whatsoever. Many seem to be not only depressed much of the time, but deeply ensnared in bitterness and despair.

One of the reasons this is so troubling, is that so many of these poor, wayfaring strangers have been led into that condition by scripturally errant pastors, prophets, and Christian counselors.
Anyone who tries to teach, comfort, or counsel by saying things like, “God has sent this trial to teach you how to trust Him” or, “It may not be God’s will or timing, in your particular case, for you to be healed from your affliction” or worse yet, “You know... This sin, sickness, or affliction may be your ‘cross to bear’, and you should just thank God for it” — that person may have your best interests at heart, but his message is contrary to the gospel of Christ.

God is good... ALL the time!

At least five times in Psalm 107 alone, we are exhorted to give thanks, and to praise God for His GOODNESS. There are primarily two Hebrew words translated “goodness”, in the Old Testament. One of them is “tuwb” (pronounced toob), and it refers to gladness, joy, welfare, or beauty, i.e., the ‘goodness’ of the promised land.

The other word is “checed” (pronounced kheh’sed), and it means mercy, kindness, etc. This is the word in Psalm 107... “Oh that men would praise the Lord for his ‘goodness”.

God is the source of both. As a matter-of-fact, both words are in one very familiar line of scripture... “Surely goodness (tuwb) and mercy (checed) shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.” (Psalm 23:6)

It is this goodness (mercy), for which we come “boldly unto the throne of grace” to obtain (along with grace), to help us in a time of need. God wants to help you out of your trial. He is not the giver of trials, He is the giver of mercy and grace — goodness, in other words. And His expressed intention is to deliver you.

Sources of trial

If God’s people would only quit blaming Him for their problems and begin thanking Him for the solutions to their problems, my how the circumstances would change for many people! Now think, before you disagree with that — it really is just another way of saying what the Psalmist said... “Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness!”.

You may say, “Well... We really don’t ‘blame God’ for our problems”. But there are many religiously doctored up ways for people to express that very sentiment. It is communicated in songs and sermons alike; thus, propagating the idea that faith and spiritual maturity come through trials, and therefore God, many times, will not deliver you from those trials because they are part of your training. If that were true, most of us would be spiritually perfected faith giants by now.

There are trials of persecution and affliction that come upon the righteous just because they are Christians. And though these trials do not come from God either, they are associated with godliness; and they are part of the package of being a servant of the Lord. The trials and tribulations I am addressing in this article, however, are primarily those which do not have anything to do with persecution or godliness.

Psalm 107:8-13 once again, reveals some of the sources of these trials...

Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron; Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High: Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.

Here we have God’s people sitting in darkness, bound up in many different kinds of affliction. Why? ... Because God was trying to teach them something? ... NO. The scripture is very clear as to the reason for their despair. They “rebelled against the words of God, and contemned [despised] the counsel of the Most High”.

God was bound by His own honor and justice to allow them to suffer the consequences of their own determination and stubbornness. And He will do the same for you and me. What I want you to see, is the fact that even though they brought the trial and affliction on themselves; when they called on the Lord for help, He was right there to deliver them. And again — He will do the same for you and me.

Continuing in the same passage of scripture, verses 17 - 21...

Fools, because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted. Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses. He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Once again... Was it the sovereignty of God, that brought such hardship upon these folks? Was it some hidden purpose of God, working in the lives of these afflicted souls? Hardly! Their afflictions came because of their sinfulness and rebellion to godly authority and counsel — which is iniquity.

Did their affliction teach them anything? Was their faith in any way strengthened by the trial? Absolutely not! When they finally cried out to God for mercy... He sent His WORD... Not more trials and tribulations! He sent His WORD and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.

Please note that God’s Word equates trials and affliction with DESTRUCTION, not training or strengthening. Our deliverance, our healing, our maturation, our training, our equipping for service, our strength — all of that, comes from His WORD, not from trials and affliction.
And think about this for a moment... It was rebellious, transgressing, fools mentioned there, in Psalm 107, who had sense enough to call on the Lord for help, rather than blaming Him for their trials. So, does it not make sense, that if God would hear and deliver the rebellious, transgressing, fools... How much more willing would He be, to hear and deliver those who stand before Him in the righteousness of Christ Jesus — those who boldly come to the Throne of Grace to receive mercy and grace to help in such a time of need?

Deliverance from trial is not based on our goodness, but on His. May we forever praise Him for His goodness and His wonderful works in our behalf.