Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

The Goodness of God Pt.1

Amen. Let’s turn to the Psalm 107. We want to continue talking some about the attributes of God, or as we have been sharing, just coming to the knowledge of the Lord. We were reading out of Tozer’s book some the other evening, The Knowledge of the Holy, and we’re going to make reference this morning to a Scripture that Moses was referring to the Lord on the mount, "Just show me Your glory" (Exodus 33:18). I just want to know a little more about who You are. I think for most of us, even those of us who have walked with the Lord, sometimes we think we understand, we think we know God. We were talking about the fact that there is no way we can know God in the totality of His being because the finite never comprehends the infinite. We’re never going to know His ways because His ways are high above our ways. We have the revealed will of God in His word, the general purposes, and the course that we’re on. All that’s necessary and all that pertains to life and godliness has been entrusted to us and revealed to us; but what He’s doing in our lives is so far beyond our comprehension. Because of that we have to walk by faith—trust, reliance, the assurance of God’s goodness, who He really is. That’s what we want to talk about a little bit today, the goodness of God. Because if we don’t first of all understand that God is good, we’ll never trust Him. We can never be confident that everything that’s working is because of the infinite mercy, love, wisdom, righteousness and holiness of our God; infinite beyond our comprehension, beyond all of our understanding in any way. There are no limits to the goodness of God, and His goodness towards us is limitless. Think about that. God always is looking for your best. Do you believe that? I don’t always believe that. Things begin to become adverse, many times, and I don’t even put it off on God. I don’t say, "God why are You doing this to me?" I just get bummed out that things are not good, things are not right, things are not the way that I would like them. Has anybody ever gotten that way before? I’m that way right now. I’m so frustrated right now in so many different areas in where we are in our lives, and what’s going on around me. At moments like that the key is us being able to look beyond ourselves and understand, again, the tendency that all of us have. We want to understand what’s best for us rather than believe what’s best for us; because what’s working in my life right now has to be for the glory of God, for the goodness of God. It’s further revelation of our own hearts and the thinking that—sometimes we become comfortable and we think, "I have this resolve and my rest in the purpose of God, and guidance of God, and the goodness of God." And the frustration causes you to realize, "No I’m not where I need to be right now." So what do we do at times like that? We fall down on our face, we cry out for an encounter with God and we purpose to proclaim His goodness, whether you feel like it or not.

So we’re looking at Psalm 107, and I think that this is a Psalm that most of us need to be very familiar with in so many ways. The Scriptures reveal to us the greatness of our God, and the goodness of our God. I think that it would behoove us as we are getting ready to start this little bit of study, if you don’t have this book, again, I would encourage you to get a hold of it. Like I said, I’ve read it over, and over, and over again. I don’t know of anything that’s really helped more than this as far as different authors; some of the books of Tozer, The Pursuit of God, this book, The Knowledge of the Holy; and of course, a couple Jerry Bridges’ books on holiness and grace that we’ve shared with you over, and over again. These are books that just radically change your life. I would like to read one statement out of Tozer then we’ll get over to Psalm 107. Tozer’s definition of God’s goodness, I think, is hard to improve on so I’ll just read it to you. "The goodness of God is that which disposes Him to be kind, cordial, benevolent, and full of good will toward men. He is tenderhearted and of quick sympathy, and His unfailing attitude toward all moral beings is open, frank, and friendly. By His nature He is inclined to bestow blessedness and He takes holy pleasure in the happiness of His people."

That’s pretty good, isn’t it? What a great definition of God’s heart for us and His desire for you and me to experience the peace and the joy that His original purpose was for His man. The reason that God created us was to fellowship with Him, to know Him, and to enjoy His bounty forever. Now, sin caused a breach in that. Sin caused self-will and ambition outside of God and the building of our own kingdom. So Father is always trying to push us back into dependency upon Him and the treasure of the knowledge of God, and the rest in His heart for us. The Scriptures, of course, speak and tell us, "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." (James 1:17). We see the immutability of God that it’s always His intention to do good to us. God doesn’t change. Stop and think. God is infinitely and always kind to you. Isn’t that good to know? When we are under the pressures of life, and we’re experiencing different trials and we’re looking into the vast unknown and the sovereign God, the Almighty God says, "Here’s my purpose for you: life, peace joy, happiness," and that’s His purpose. Many times in the avenue of those things manifesting in our life, there is adversity and trials. You know what I’ve found over the years? Many times that causes me to appreciate the great mercy of God even more. Do you ever get to the place sometimes of just taking for grated the good things of God? Now, God is always good, but we’re not always thankful. God is always good and merciful and His bounty towards us is exceeding abundant above what we could ask or think, and yet we so often want more, don’t we? Then we get a glimpse of our own hearts, and we see the vileness of our own lives and the discontentment and complaining about why things aren’t going better, or why they’re not the way that I would want them, even the frustrations of everyday living.

We were coming home the other evening, Greer and I tried to get away for a few days to get rest—if you all would pray, we drove late into the night, we got there around two o’clock in the morning. She got sick the same way that she was in Africa and we basically came home. So that was our rest. That’s what I’m saying. I am so frustrated right now; everything is right now a chore. In the midst of that, if it’s not bad enough we have to come home, we leave and we get one whole mile away from the beach and traffic stands still. Now, I don’t know about you, but I take that personally—not always, but when I’m in the state that I’m in right now, it’s like nobody else is in traffic, it’s just me. Why me? Does anybody know what I’m talking about? And that becomes an indicator to me that something is not right in my spirit. When you begin to personalize everything, then your life is out of order, things aren’t right.

We’re not seeing beyond and into the eternal realm where there’s peace. There’s always peace when we look to eternity, amen? There’s always peace when we’ll lift up our eyes and look to the hills from whence comes our help. So it tells me that I’m living too much in the moment and I have to begin to pray, and begin to seek the heart of God. As I was experiencing that, then, I got to have some good time in fellowship with the Lord and as we were back I was able to spend some good time in prayer and fellowship with Father yesterday asking Him to reveal to me the purposes for which He is revealing my heart. See, I don’t want to just know what’s wrong; I want to know what I can do about it. What can I do now that can bring You glory, that I might be able to somehow say thank You for Your boundless mercies and grace towards me. The goodness of God poured out, lavished upon us that while we were yet sinners He loved us. He died for us, and redeemed us to himself, and called us His own. He calls us by name and He says that we’re His sons, and He has prepared a place for us, and He’s coming to receive us to Himself. What a treasure! What a blessing that God would be good towards us, merciful towards us. Our response to that, many times, is to try to show merit, to somehow think that once we get a glimpse of our depravity we want to try to do good instead of just boast in His goodness.

Our righteousness, our goodness, is as filthy rags. It’s not what we are doing for God; it’s what we’re doing by God. That’s a good one to write in your notes. You can always begin to get a glimpse that we don’t really understand the goodness of God when we’re trying to do something to merit His favor. God is always going to show you favor. God is always going to be good. What we’re going to look at in just a moment is the very ability to believe in Him, the very ability to perceive His goodness is His mercy and grace toward us because we’re incapable of knowing Him, or seeing Him, or appreciating Him without His free gift. So with all that, let’s go to Psalm 107 and we’ll go back and fill some of that in during this time we have this morning. Psalm 107—a couple of passages that are pertinent to the goodness of God, "O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever" (Verse 1). Now, through this Psalm 107 we’re going to see this phrase over, and over, and over. Sometimes we speak these words and they become so common to us, but I like the way the psalmist begins this, ^"O give thanks unto the Lord…" Thanksgiving, that heart of pouring forth gratitude, because we are absolutely without merit as it pertains to God’s goodness to us, His divine favor, the lavishing of His gifts, His presence, our very breath the gift of God. So He says, "We thank Him because He is good." We’re thankful for His goodness. Now, don’t translate that over and make that synonymous with His gifts, because the goodness of God, many times, will withhold what we think we want, or that which would make things better from our limited perception. God does not always give us what we want; He gives us what’s good for us, because God is good. He is infinitely good, He is eternally good, and He is immutably good. Everything that emanates from God is because God is good. That little phrase, people say, "Good is good," and the other people respond what? "All the time." But we cannot make that statement, "all the time," based upon circumstances from the finite perception. So faith, then, grasps the reality of the spiritual, the eternal, and the infinite goodness of God. That’s what God is at His very core, and because of God’s goodness, God loves, and God shows mercy, and God gives grace. That manifests itself in many ways—faith, mercy, grace to believe, to receive eternal life, to receive divine healing, to receive the Holy Spirit, the promise of the Father, and empowering to live beyond our natural ability. Those are all just expressions of the goodness of God. You see, it’s His nature to want to give. It’s His nature to want to make you happy. It’s His nature to give us eternal gifts and eternal rewards. So the psalmist then says that His mercies endure forever. Mercy is the expression of God’s goodness toward our indebtedness. God is merciful as it pertains to justice.

God’s mercy doesn’t give us what we deserve, but because of His goodness He shows mercy. Remember we talked about mercy and justice, because of the unitary Being they are never in opposition to each other. They work in absolute union, oneness; not in harmony; they are not separate things. Justice and mercy are not separate in God, they are one. It’s a oneness, a unity. So we embrace these things that are God’s gifts. He says let them that have been partakers of the goodness of God, the mercies of God, those of us that are the redeemed—"Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy" (Verse 2). So there’s to be a boasting in our sonship, and in our justification, and in our relationship with God. He goes on and says in verse 8, ^"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." This tells me one thing about the goodness of God—those that hunger and thirst for righteousness will be satisfied. Many of us don’t realize that the goodness of God is something that’s apprehended as we pursue God. We don’t pursue His goodness, we pursue His presence. To know Him and to find Him, then, is to experience the goodness of God. This is where Moses encountered Him on Mount Sinai, crying out for His favor, and crying out for His presence, because the Lord had talked about the fact that He was not going to go with him. Moses said, "If You don’t go, I can’t go. I can’t lead Your people. These are Your people. I just need confirmation of what You’re going do in our lives." Turn over to Exodus 33 for just a moment and let me show you what I’m talking about. In this psalm He talks about sending His word and healing us and delivering us from imminent destruction, and that men would praise the Lord for His goodness and His wonderful works to the children of men. That phrase is repeated over, and over through this psalm. I would encourage you to take a little bit of time and refresh your hearts with this.

In Exodus 33, I think that it speaks very specifically to what I want to talk about this morning. We know the story. We know what’s occurring here in the life of Moses and the deliverance of the people from bondage in Egypt. The hand of God is manifest in their deliverance. The Red Sea, of course, divided and the enemy was destroyed. The provision of God on a daily basis in angel’s food being manifest. Then Father brings this reproof to them because of their sin and the idolatry that had manifested in their midst. He said, "I will not go." God says He’s going to bring destruction upon these and Moses begins to intercede, and he says, "…forgive their sin; and if not, blot me I pray thee out of thy book which thou hast written" (Exodus 32:32). That’s a very noble statement. We see the heart of Moses, and we hear Paul later speaking that same heart for his people Israel, but I like God’s response. The Lord doesn’t speak down toward Moses, He’s not even bringing a rebuke to him, but He’s bringing to him revelation. "And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book." He said, "You’re misunderstanding My mercy and My goodness."

This is the revelation to Moses, again, of that unitary aspect of God. God’s saying you can’t expect Me not to be just, but I’ll always be merciful. You see, Moses didn’t know God yet. The Scripture says that he spoke with God face to face. Now we know clearly that doesn’t mean that he saw the face of God, because we see later in this chapter that you can’t look upon God and live. That phrase "face-to-face" just talks not only about intimacy, but it talks about the fact that he didn’t have an intermediary. He was dealing personally with Moses. There weren’t any other agents; it wasn’t angels appearing to him, it wasn’t the voice of prophets that were speaking. It wasn’t even these stone tablets, but God dealing directly with His man Moses, showing intimacy and indicating the purity of the message directly from the mouth of God, the tablets written by the finger of God. Moses is experiencing something here that no other man ever experienced. Isaiah’s vision and revelation, "I saw the Lord high and lifted up and his glory filled the temple," didn’t come to this relationship, this encounter that Moses is having that a man would deal face-to-face with God. So he says to him, "Listen. I’m going to be merciful, I’m going to show you my lovingkindness, but it’s not going to negate my justice." "He that hath sinned against me will be blotted out of my book." Now that’s a pretty strong statement, but God’s going to go on and reveal that it’s not His will that any would perish. The people were trembling outside, down the hill, and saying, "Go up and get the word of the Lord and we will do whatever the Lord says," and they’re partying down there, and all of the lascivious behavior that’s taking place, and the idolatry, and God brings this judgment upon them. Moses comes down in verse 26 and says, "Whoever is on the Lord’s side let them come unto me," and all the sons of Levi gathered." In verse 27 of Chapter 32, he says, "And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour."

We’re getting a glimpse of the holiness of God and the justice of God. See, so many of us seem to think that God’s goodness and His benevolence and His lovingkindness just kind of winks at sin. We were just finishing our teaching on the fifth commandment and people today have trouble, they say, "How could you kill your own companion? How could you judge and bring judgment on your own flesh and blood?" Because we’re not greater than God; it’s the pride and the arrogance that would put our emotions above. People that won’t do the Word of God think that they’re better than God. "I love more than God." "I’m more compassionate than God." "I’m more merciful than God." Those of us that won’t rest in the circumstances don’t believe that God is good, so we begin to fend for ourselves.

He said, "I want you to go out and to administer my justice." Three thousand immediately fall at the justice and the judgment of God. Moses begins to now intercede, and God says, "Listen, I hear your prayer." I like what is said here, now watch. Moses prays and says, "If You don’t spare the people, and if You will not go with us, take me out of Your book." God said, "Get this straight, you’re staying in the book, and I’m taking out whoever I want. Now go do what I told you to do. Go and lead the people into the place that I’ve spoken of." In all of our lives there’s a time to step back and say, "What did God tell me to do?" "I don’t like it, I don’t feel like it, I don’t see it, don’t understand it, but I’ve heard the voice of the Lord, I know what God has told me to do." Moses’ response to the admonition in this—look at the dialogue taking place between him and God. God said, "I’m going to blot out whoever in sovereignty I purpose to blot out, and I don’t mean arbitrarily." God does not arbitrarily say this one is going out and this one is going in. It’s based upon our reception of the gift, our acknowledging of His love and mercy, our reception of His grace or the rejection or the vaunting of self-will and self-righteousness against His mercy, love and grace. Verse 34, "Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them." You see, there is a day and he says, "I’m going to bring judgment on the third and fourth generation." Now that doesn’t mean that for generations they are going to be separated from God and dammed, but hear me very clearly, choices we’re making right now can affect our seed for generations to come.

It doesn’t mean that it’ll keep them from the presence of God, but it gives place to the enemy. It creates our sin, and our lack of trusting the goodness of God creates the Ishmaels that we have to contend with. Do any of you have Ishmaels in your life? Things that you’ve done in your own strength that still haunt you? Things in your own flesh that have overcome you, and your covetousness, and lusts, and now you’re still wrestling with circumstances because your flesh is out of control, because you didn’t trust in the goodness of God? And we had to take these things to ourself, fire into your bosom. You can never get away from that infidelity in your own heart and mind, and we war with it every day, and our sin is ever before us, as David said. What a heart broken, restored back to perfect fellowship, walking in the power of God, and still experiencing consequences clear to the fourth generation. We need to be careful of the decisions we’re making based upon temporal circumstances and not trusting the goodness of God. We’re in the situations we’re in for a reason. We’re not subject to fate. God is ordering the steps of the good man and we rejoice in it, and we say before the people God is good and His mercy endures forever. You say it when you don’t feel like it because it’s true. You say it when you don’t see any reason that would line up in the natural, finite perception because it’s true and because God is good and his mercy endures forever. So Moses then says, "Lord, I’m not going. If You’re going to send Your angel, and the promise is fulfilled but Your presence isn’t going to be there—I’m not interested in anything but Your presence." In Chapter 33, verse 3, He said, "I’m not going to go up in the midst of you for you are a stiffnecked people." "Now look, lest I consume you in the way"—here’s a very interesting statement, God’s saying, "Look you do not want Me present because if I’m present and you keep living the way you are, I’m going to have to take you out."

Now, the Lord is not implying they can go somewhere out of His presence, but He’s saying, "If you want to live in My presence, there’s a price to be paid. You’re saying you want Me present but I’m going to deal with every sin that manifests itself the moment it manifests itself." God is good and his mercies endure forever. How badly do we want the righteousness of God in our lives here? Are we ready to truly have him reveal who and what we are? You see, the more we cry out for the holiness of God in this place, the more that [what’s] going to be dealt with. Do you really want it? How many of us say, "Well, no, just let His angel go before us and as long as we can know supernatural supply and bounty, and eat the fruit of the land, I think I am content with what I know about myself. I don’t want to have any more revelation. What I’ve dealt with is sufficient." You see, I believe that’s where we are as a fellowship. We’ve come a long way. God has purged us. He has sanctified us, and yet we’ve seen just recently that God is bringing off another layer, and some of us are squirming. Some us are weeping, and some of us are angry with God and what is taking place. But God says rightly, you’re a stiffnecked people, and He said, "If I’m in your midst and you won’t allow me to continue to purge and purify then I’m going to have to visit you with justice and judgment."

There’s a cost for the presence of God. He said, "…take off thy ornaments from the, that I may know what to do unto thee. And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb. And Moses took the tabernacle and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. [That’s interesting, the tabernacle of the congregation.] And it came to pass, that every one which sought the Lord went out unto the tabernacle…" (Exodus 3:5-7). Now, isn’t that interesting? Here you have the generation population of covenant people, those that were called the people of God, and yet God wouldn’t, at this moment, show Himself in their midst. There was a place they had to go to encounter the presence of God. Look, God used to come to them and the proving of our hearts is us going to God. "You’ll find me when you seek me with all of your hearts" (Jeremiah 9:13). "Come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord. Touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you" (2 Corinthians 6:17). You see, even in our midst right now, there’s a going out; there’s a moving on in pursuit of God. We don’t have time to turn over there right now, just put it in your notes to do some reading. Write down Deuteronomy 7, verses 1 through 12, and see the call to come out. See the heart of Joshua as he wouldn’t depart, so fearful that he would miss the glory of God and would not leave the tent of the presence of God. The Scriptures says, "And it came to pass, when Moses went out unto the tabernacle, that all the people rose up, and stood every man at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he was gone into the tabernacle" (Verse 8). How many of us right now are intently waiting for a word from the Lord? We come together here—now, we’re not looking to one man, Moses, to go to God, but we all have bold access by the blood of Jesus. Yet, in our midst we know that God has set up apostles, and prophets, and evangelist, pastors, and teachers to bring us the admonition that would perfect us for the work of the ministry. How intently are we waiting to hear what God has to say about us, the course that we’re to enter into? How many of us are expecting, really, the visitation of the Shekinah glory of God?

It says, "The people would see the cloudy pillar standing upon the tabernacle and they would rise and worship, every man at his tent door." Aren’t you glad that we don’t have to worship from afar anymore? You and I have been given that right to access God. Are we taking our privilege? You see, God’s doing a work in our midst right now. What are we doing to enter the tabernacle? What provision are we making to stay until we’ve heard the voice of God? Not just to come and put in our hour, but in our devotions and in your prayer time here on Tuesdays and Thursdays, we come and we stay until we’ve had a visitation from God. Have we counted it so common?

We were just speaking in the back about a situation. Someone said, "I just need to hear from God." How do you hear from God? We’ve talked about that in the past. Is the voice of God an emotion to you? Are you going to hear something that’s contrary to the twenty-five Scripture verses you’ve already heard, to your counselors, to those over you in the Lord? What voice are you waiting to hear? If you do hear something, you’re going to be answered according to your idols, the prophet tells us. What are you wanting to hear from God? Is it not the will of God or the Word of God until it agrees with your own emotions, and feelings, and preferences? God has already revealed Himself to us, His will, His standard, the call to our separation and the price of obedience. Verse 11 says, "And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend." Isn’t it interesting that both Abraham and Moses here now are referred to as friends of God? We can’t call God our friend, but He can call us His friend. I wouldn’t presume to say God’s my friend. I have nothing to bring to this relationship. This covenant that was cut was one-sided. I have nothing to bring. He provided everything and calls me friend. He provided everything and calls me a prince, and a priest, and a son, and an heir, and a joint-heir. And I stand before His holiness undone, and unworthy, and so thankful.

Somewhere along the line we seem to think we have something to offer. Maybe we’ve done something. "I sacrificed this for the glory of God." "I served these positions for the glory of God." We’re just unprofitable servants, amen? We’ve just done that which God has blessed us and graced us to do. We're totally debtors. No right to access Him and yet He calls us boldly into His presence and talks to us as a friend.

The spirit of Joshua and Caleb—we find right here Joshua, the young man that would not depart from the tabernacle, the one that accompanied him up the mountain. Isn’t it interesting that as Joshua went partially up the mountain he just got a glimpse and a taste of God and now he wants all he can get? Have you tasted God? Taste and see that the Lord is good. Has your appetite been whetted and now we hunger and thirst only for that presence to know Him as He is, to embrace His wisdom and His mercy for us?

"And Moses said unto the Lord, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight." "Lord, You keep talking about this relationship that we have, but I don’t know you." "You know my name." We don’t want to be like Jacob and get into a wrestling match and start telling God, "Tell me Your name," or cry "uncle" as we’ve shared with you what that’s talking about. We’re not trying to force our will upon God, but, "Father, I don’t know what You want of me." "What do you really want from me," Moses is saying.

Now, isn’t it interesting? Let’s stop and let’s go back and survey this thing. Moses thought he knew the will of God, and in his own strength killed the Egyptian and goes into exile. In exile he gets his wife, he leaves his wife and kids; he goes back in by the commandment of God from the burning bush to set God’s people free. He knows the grace of God, he’s given the rod. He sees the great judgments, the plagues. The people are delivered, the Red Sea is divided, and they come out. The water comes from the rock, he becomes presumptuous, he smites the rock instead of speaks to it; the reproof and the rebuke that takes place. He comes and he begins to know the glory of God. All of these things that are part of this process of him in the wilderness. At this particular point, of course, they’re coming out, he’s getting the commandments of God, and in the midst of all of this he said, "I don’t have a clue who You are."

Let me ask you a question: do you know God? Are we at a place where we are confident that we have this thing pretty much figured out? "You’ve said that I found grace in your sight. If I have grace (unmerited favor), shew me now thy way that I may know thee, that I could then go out and finish this job for you." Look at how it’s worded. "Show me now Your way that I might come to a greater knowledge of You. The more I know of You the more I need grace, unmerited favor, more revelation." "And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest." Moses’ response is, "If Your presence go not with me, don’t take us up." "For is this not the proof that we found grace in Your sight, that we would know Your presence." "And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name." And he said in verse 18, "Lord, then I beg of you, show me Your glory." Now when we talk about glory, we’re talking about this word in the Hebrew here. It means give me a glimpse of Your majesty, of Your honor, of Your essence. "And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee…" Now, here’s an interesting phrase: he says, "I want to see Your glory," and God says, "My glory is My goodness."

You see, that which makes God capable of all honor is His goodness. Not only His moral righteousness and that which we would call holiness, purity, separateness, but His benevolent being of always looking to do good in expression toward the needy, the unlovely, because everything that God does is good. Even in creation it says, "And He spoke these things into being, the light, the firmament and then He proclaimed and it was good" (Genesis 1:20-21). It represents My will, My purpose. What makes something good is not our moral judgment of whether it’s good or not, it’s whether it brings glory to God. If it brings glory to God it’s good. In the natural it may appear to be not so good, but what makes it good is its origin in God. "By Him and for Him," the Scripture says (Colossians 1:16).

"And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy" (Verse 19). It’s quite a revelation that God gives us of Himself here. He said, "As I pass before you, you’re going to come to know my intent for you, lovingkindness, graciousness, mercy, without merit." "You’re a stiffnecked people, but I’ve chosen you who were not a people. I’ve made you the people of God," the Scripture says. "And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen" (Verses 20-23). When it talks about back parts, it’s not talking about just a rear view. What He’s saying is, "I’m going to pass by and the glory is going to leave a trail, and all you need to know of Me is the residue of having been there and it will be sufficient." Now think about for just a moment because that’s what this word means here, the back parts. Don’t be taken up with needing to understand it all. Feast on what He has given us of Himself and call Him good, and merciful, and just. Boast in the goodness of the Lord. Psalm 27:13, the Psalmist says, "I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living."

I can remember a number of times that I just feasted on that particular verse. I remember times of trials that we went through with Janet. I remember the times of being betrayed by some of my closest friends who weren’t content just to take that which God had entrusted to us but wanting to destroy us. I can remember the decisions that had to be made. As Moses, just falling on your face before God, as David making the statement, "If God’s on my side then He’ll restore me. Take the ark of the covenant back." "If God’s for me, I’ll see it again. He’ll bring me back to that place." "I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living."

We all know that when we finish this race it’s going to be beyond that which eye has seen, or ear has heard or heart could imagine, the things that God has prepared for us that love Him. What about now in the land of the living? I’d fainted unless I believed to know His goodness now. So we just rest. If there’s no hope of the goodness of God, then we can’t stand.

In verse 19 of Psalm 31, the psalmist again cries out, "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 [Look.] before the sons of men!" God wants to show Himself mighty in the midst of this world. He wants to do us good that people can look and say, "God’s for them." It’s not just about us; we’re living for the glory of God as epistles read of men; the testimony that God knows how to deliver those that are His own. So we rest, and having done all, we stand and we declare the great goodness of God. No merit, just mercy. No judgment of God and wondering why it wasn’t done quite to the standards and the expectations we had, but we say with David in Psalm 23, verse 6, "Surely His goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. God has prepared a place for us in the midst and in the presence of our enemies." In the land of the living, praise God, goodness awaits you. The mercies of God are there and they’re new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. So we rest. As we end for this morning, I want you to understand this: we rest, not in our faith. See, some of us think that faith is a force and a virtue that somehow is meritorious, and because we have faith God blesses us. No, God’s grace and mercy provides us with the faith in His goodness, and because of that we’re blessed, praise God. There is no merit in believing, but we must believe that God is good.

See, if there’s not repentance, if there’s not a true brokenness, if there’s not a true remorse for the condition of our hearts and the need to be reconciled back to God—I’m not talking about gross sins—I’m talking about just in our unbelief, in our lack of trust and rest in the goodness of God. I don’t know of any sin that’s greater than believing that God is not good. You see, the pride that rose up in Satan, the pride that rose up in Adam and Eve was the fruit of believing that God wasn’t good, that He wasn’t going to treat them right, that He was holding out on them. How are we judging Him this morning? As we sit and look and we look at our life circumstances and we look at what’s ahead of us, do you really believe that God has no intention but your good in His glory? God requires and demands that we repent to be reconciled back to Him, but there’s no merit in repentance, because repentance is predicated on the fact that God’s good and will forgive us, amen?

Why would you come and repent to somebody that isn’t good, that isn’t going to graciously open their heart and say, "Of course, I forgive you." And in God’s case, "My whole purpose for allowing you to get into this situation and in this breach is to bring you to a brokenness and a humility so that you would come back and recognize My goodness." Is there an anxiousness? Is there a lack of contentment? Those are all judgments upon God that He’s not really caring and good. "God, why have You forsaken me? Why am I cast off?" "Why do the wicked prosper?" "God, remove this thorn from me." "My goodness is sufficient for you." And in that we’re content, and in that we rest, and in that we judge God. Though He slay us we bless Him. "Thou hast prepared a table for me in the presence of my enemies,… goodness and mercy follow me all the days of my life."

Father, we thank You for that in the name of Jesus. As Your people we look around right now, and in the midst of this crooked and perverse nation You ask us to be even more straight and narrow. It’s not going to be an easy path that You’ve called us to. We’re going to be opposed, we’re going to be misunderstood, and that which we’ve known to this point in our lives has just been the onslaught of the footmen. The horses and chariots are yet to come. The wars to be waged are beyond that which we’ve known, but Your grace is sufficient for us. If we had not believed to see Your goodness in the land of the living, truly we would have fainted. Greater is He that’s in us, than he that’s in the world. If our good God be for us then who can be against us? You declared, "Be not weary in well-doing, for in due season there’s a reaping for those who don’t faint." So we look and refuse to judge You based upon circumstances. Whether we be in abundance or abased, we say God is good and His mercy endures forever. Whether we be strong or weak, we say God is good and His mercy endures forever. Whether we be bold or fearful, we say God is good and His mercy endures forever. Though we’re satisfied in relationships or lonely, we say God is good and His mercies endure forever. Whether we’ve been given revelation for the moment and understand for the moment, or stand without knowledge and confused we say God is good and His mercies endure forever. Whether it’s a day of boldness and good, it’s a good day, or a day of defeat and condemnation, we say God is good and His mercies endure forever; because that which brings glory to You and that which brings victory to us is the acknowledging of Your goodness, and that all things work together for good to those that love You and are called according to Your purpose. Be glorified in our lives, be glorified in our midst, for You are good and Your mercy endures forever. And everybody said, "Amen." Turn to somebody next to you and say, "God is good." And the other person said, "All the time."

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