 What I want to do is talk about the goodness of God and leave you with that. In Psalm 34, verse 8, it says, O taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. For part of my childhood, we lived in Washington, D.C. and neither myself nor my parents were Christians. But I remember one time my grandmother, my mother's mother, came to visit and one of the sightseeing things we did was visit the National Cathedral. Now in there, or at least back then, they had a bookstore and in that bookstore, they had some children's books and my grandmother bought me a children's book, a prayer. I still have it. It has beautiful color pictures and it has a variety of children's prayers. But there's only one of the prayers that I remember and you probably have heard it too. It said, God is great, God is good. Let us thank Him for our food. Now, children can repeat that simple prayer, but sometimes when they grow up, they change their mind about how good God really is. The goodness of God is a topic that is greatly misunderstood. People use it to malign him. They use it to blaspheme him. For those not persuaded of the goodness of God, they may be emotionally unstable. They're not grateful to him and this is a critical teaching in the scriptures. We need to understand it for ourselves and we need to be able to help others to understand it. So what I want to do is cover, I want to give you an overview of this very broad term, the goodness of God, list several biblical principles. What I did was I looked up every word that had good or goodness in it, every verse in the whole Bible and then I wrote biblical principles based on that. I want to give you a glimpse of how King David, who had a whole heart for God, viewed God's goodness. I was very taken with how much David talked about the goodness of God. And then we're going to see the ultimate example and that of course is our Lord Jesus Christ, the good shepherd. And then in view of all of that, we're going to see how God's goodness should affect our hearts and our thinking. And I'm going to read to you a lot of scripture because I just want you to be overwhelmed with the goodness of God. Now it's a broad term, it covers a lot. His goodness is seen in the creation, seen in his sovereign rule over his creation, seen in his holiness and righteousness, seen in his loving kindness, benevolence and mercy toward us in salvation, is also seen in his law and in his word. So the first biblical principles is that God made a good creation. In Genesis 1 verse 31, it says, in God saw everything that he had made and behold it was very good and behold there was evening and there was morning the sixth day. In Psalm 145 verse 9, it says the Lord is good to all and his mercy is over all that he has made. And Paul wrote in 1st Timothy 4 verse 4, for everything created by God is good and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving. So he gave a good creation, he made a good creation. And then point B, God gives good gifts. In Joshua 21 verse 45 it says, not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed, all came to pass. And in Job 2 verse 10, and Job is speaking to his wife here, all those terrible things had happened to him and she said to him, curse God and die, curse God and die. But Job said to her, you speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God and shall we not receive evil? In all of this, Job did not sin with his lips. And then in Matthew 7, that's part of the sermon on the mount, Matthew 7 verse 11, Jesus said if you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him? Paul wrote Philippians 1 verse 6 and I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. And then James wrote in James 1, 17, every good gift and every perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father of lights whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. So God made a good creation and he gives good gifts. And then point C, God uses evil, even evil and turns it to good. Yesterday or sometime we talked about Genesis 50 verse 20 where Joseph told his brothers, as for you, you meant evil against me. But God meant it for good to bring it about that many people should be kept alive. And then Romans 8, 28, for we know that those who love God, all things work together for good to those who are called according to his purpose. And then Hebrews 12, 10, for our earthly fathers disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them. But God disciplines us for our good that we may share his holiness. And then point D, God's promises are good. And you know how I study and how I come up with these principles, anybody can do it. I just get a concordance out and start looking up all the verses like I was studying good or goodness. And the first one, maybe I read in Genesis, then the first principle was God made a good creation. And as I go through the whole Bible, there may be other verses there that come under that one principle. And then I'll have a second principle. And so I'll add to it as I go. So anybody can do that if you really want to study a particular topic like that. So God's promises are good. And let me see what I have written here. Moses in Numbers 10, 29 said, the Lord has promised good to you. Solomon says, not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by his servant, Moses. And then point E, God is good. And we should express this to him when we're worshiping him. Think about it. Tell him when we're singing, when we're hearing his word preached, when we are praying. In 1 Chronicles 16, 34, it says, O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. In 2 Chronicles 7 and verse 3, it says, when all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord saying, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. The Psalmist in Psalm 119, verse 68 says to God, you are good, and do good, teach me your statutes. In Lamentations 3, 25, Jeremiah wrote, the Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. The little book of Nahum, chapter 1 and verse 7, the Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble. He knows those who take refuge in him. Jeremiah 31, 14, I will feast the soul of the priest with abundance, and my people will be satisfied with my goodness, declares the Lord. So God uses evil, he turns it to good, his promises are good, God is good. And then principle F, God's name is good. Psalm 54, 6, I will give thanks to your name, oh Lord, for it is good. And then point G, God's nearness is the Psalmist good. Psalm 73, 28, but for me, it is good to be near God. And then H, God's law is good. Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1, verse 80, he said, now we know that the law is good. And then point I, God's word is good, Hebrews 6, 5. This is in the context of it's impossible to restore those who have, quote, tasted the goodness of the word of God and then have fallen away. And then point J, Moses asked to see God's goodness and God's goodness passed before him. He has to see God and in Exodus 33, you can read about that. And then point K, God's goodness is great and abundant. Nehemiah 9, verse 25. And then L, see how much you can just learn about God's goodness by just looking the word up in the Bible, God's forgiveness and steadfast love is equated with his goodness. Psalm 69, 16, this is David. He said, answer me, oh Lord, for your steadfast love is good according to your abundant mercy, turn to me. And then point M, God's salvation is good news. In Luke 2, verse 10, the angel said, I bring you good news of great joy, a savior who is Christ the Lord. Isaiah 52, verse 7, prophesies, he prophesied about the Messiah to come and he said, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news. And when Jesus came, he read that in the synagogue one day and said, you are seeing this fulfilled in front of your very eyes. He was the fulfillment of this prophecy. And then point N, God's sovereign hand is good. Ezra 7, verse 9. Ezra was sent to teach the people and he said, for the good hand of the Lord is upon, let me see, I can't read my own writing. For the good hand of the Lord is upon him. It was about Ezra. Okay, and then Philippians 2, verse 13 is about us. It says, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. And then God's goodness is seen in our good works. Ephesians 2, 10, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Now, as I was going through all these scriptures, I was so just amazed at what a heavy emphasis that David, David wrote most of the Psalms, had on the goodness of God in his views. Now, David, I know David sinned big time, but he also is said of him, God says of him that David had a whole heart for God and he longed, David says this, I longed to see the goodness of the Lord. He looked forward to heaven, to being with God in heaven, but at the same time he saw God's goodness in this life on the earth. So this goodness is a recurring theme in David's Psalms. Psalm 23, 6, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 34, 8, O taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Psalm 100 verse five, for the Lord is good, his steadfast love endures forever. Psalm 25, 7, David said, remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions. According to your steadfast love, remember me for the sake of your goodness, oh Lord. And then Psalm 27, 13, I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. When our daughter Anna was first diagnosed with very aggressive cancer and it really didn't look good and I was so upset, but one of the things that I thought about was the future and Anna knows the Lord, she loves the Lord, she was clinging to her anchor the whole time that she was going through all of that and I realized, well if we'd lose her, she is going to be with the Lord and then someday we're gonna be with the Lord and I don't know, we don't know exactly what all is going to happen in heaven but it gave me great comfort to know that we can look forward to that. And just like David did, I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Psalm 3419, oh how abundant is your goodness which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you in the sight of the children of mankind, that's Psalm 31. Psalm 65, four, blessed is the one you choose and bring near to dwell in your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple. Psalm 6810, in your goodness, oh God, you provided for the Navy. Psalm 145, verse one and verse seven. I will extol you my God and King and bless your name forever and ever. They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. And then Psalm 145, eight through 10. The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all. His mercy is over all that he has made. All your work shall give thanks to you, oh Lord, and all your saints shall bless you. David, the shepherd boy of Israel, not only saw the Lord as good, but as his personal shepherd. In first Samuel 17, first Samuel chapter 17, verses, starting in verse 20. This is the story of David and Goliath. Now I have a son named, we have a son named David. And when David was a young or older teenager, like this day, I picture this David looking like my David, he was tall and skinny and had big feet. And now his body has caught up with his feet. But just a puny little kid there. And in first Samuel 17, the Jews, the army of Saul, King Saul's army, was in a face-off with the army of the Philistines. And it was scary and they didn't know what would happen. And then the Philistines sent their best warrior, and his name was Goliath, to come forward. And he was a giant man and he was huge and he was strong. And he taunted the Jews and he said, send your best man out here and whoever wins, then that'll determine who wins the battle. Well, the Saul and his army were just quaking in their boots. So David was this little shepherd boy and his father sent him with some supplies for his older brothers who were in the army. And so he said, it says, David rose early in the morning and left the flock with a keeper and took the supplies and went as Jesse, that was his father, had commanded him. And he came to the circle of the camp while the army was going out in battle array, shouting the war cry. Israel and the Philistines drew up in battle array, army against army. Then David left his baggage in the care of the baggage keeper and ran to the battle line and entered in order to greet his brothers. And as he was talking to them, behold the champion, the Philistine from Gath, named Goliath, was coming up from the army of the Philistines and he spoke these same words and David heard them. When all the men of Israel saw the man, they fled from him and were greatly afraid. The men of Israel said, have you seen this man who is coming up? Surely he's coming up to defy Israel and it will be that the king will enrich the man who kills Goliath with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father's house free in Israel. Then David spoke to the men who were standing by him saying, what will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes this reproach away from Israel? For he who is this, for who is this? And see, David made him mad. It was righteous anger. He was angry that someone could make fun of and taunt and threaten God's people like this. It says, for who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should taunt the armies of the living God? The people answered him in accord with this word saying, thus it will be done for the man who kills him. Now Eliab, David's oldest brother, heard when he spoke to the men and Eliab's anger burned against David and he said, why have you come down? With whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? So he's just being snide with his brother. I know your insolence and the wickedness of your heart for you have come down in order to see the battle. But David said, what have I done now? That it was, was this not just a question? Then he turned away from him to another and said the same thing and the people answered the same thing as before. When the words which David spoke were heard, they told them to Saul. Now Saul was king and he sent for him. And I'm sure Saul was disappointed when he saw David, what puny teenage boy he was. David said to Saul, let no man's heart fail on account of him, your servant will go and fight with this Philistine. And Saul said to David, you are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him. For you are but a youth, while he has been a warrior from his youth. But David said to Saul, your servant was tending his father's sheep. When a lion or bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went out after him and I attacked him and rescued it from his mouth. And when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them. Since he has taunted the armies of the living God. And David said, the Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, he will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, go and may the Lord be with you. And you know the story, David did go and Goliath thought that was hilarious that this kid, this runt came out to and David put stones in his sling, did the stone, hit Goliath in the head, Goliath fell down. David ran over, got Goliath's sword and cut his head off. So David saw, that's how he saw God, he wanted to protect God's reputation. He protected, David protected his sheep and then he wanted to protect God's people. He longed to see the goodness of God and this goodness recurs over and over again in the Psalms. And then we come to our ultimate example. Now our ultimate example of course is our Lord Jesus Christ. Now Shepherds, we just got back from Ireland and we were over there for eight days and went all over the country and it's very, very green over there. They have these rocks, there's rocks everywhere so they build these walls and there's sheep everywhere and they were just grazing in these fields but back in David's day and Jesus' day the shepherd had his sheep and he would move around so the sheep could graze but then at night they had certain areas, certain pins that several shepherds could put all their sheep in and there was just one door into the pin and it could be shut and then the sheep would be safe at night but when the shepherd came the next morning to get their sheep, they would call their sheep and only their sheep would follow after them. So this is a picture that was in the mind of the people back in Jesus' day and they could relate to this and Jesus tells this story in John chapter 10 and starting in verse one, it says truly, truly I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in another way, that man is a thief and a robber but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep, to him the gatekeeper opens and then he explains starting in verse seven, truly, truly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. He was saying, I am the Messiah, I am the one that you have waited for. All who came before me are thieves and robbers but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door, if anyone enters by me he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. And in verse four, he said, when the shepherd has brought out all of his own, all of his own sheep, he goes before them and the sheep follow him and they know his voice. And then verses 11 through 15 he explains further. He just makes it plain, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me just as the father knows me and I know the father and I lay down my life for the sheep. Now, I recently read a book by Randy Alcorn. The name of the book is If God is Good. Randy Alcorn doesn't know how to write a little book. They're always big books. But anyway, I was really taken by one of his quotes and I want to read it to you. He said, from eternity past, God planned a measured punishment for the first human sin and that was suffering. Had God made it out the full and immediate punishment that we deserved, the first humans would have died on the spot. In that case, there would have been no redemptive history, no human history at all. The fall, the first human tragedy became the mother of all subsequent ones. We should do nothing to minimize it or pretend it mattered less than it did. Yet the fall did not end God's plan for humanity. God would ultimately use evil to accomplish the greater end of redemption in Christ. And I want to read, and then he quotes Ephesians 1, 9 through 12. Let me read it to you. Ephesians 1 starting in verse nine. He says, God has made known to us the mystery of his will according to his kind intention which he purposed in him in Christ with a view to the administration suitable to the fullness of times that is the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In him also we have obtained an inheritance having been predestined according to his purpose who works all things after the counsel of his will to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of his glory. Alcorn said, God could hate evil and yet permit it in order to carry out an astounding, far-reaching, redemptive plan in Christ. One that would forever overshadow the evil and sufferings of this present world. So remember this. Alcorn says, God could have just struck Adam and Eve dead. It would have been the end of the human race. But in his kindness, he did punish them and it affected all of us, but it was a measured punishment with a view of knowing that he had already planned how to redeem us from our sin. And I just really love what Alcorn wrote. I liked thinking about that whole concept. God could hate evil and yet permit it in order to carry out an astounding, far-reaching, redemptive plan in Christ. One that would forever overshadow the evil and sufferings of this present world. Well, I ended this with one of my charts and I'd love to make charts, comparing charts. How can our hearts be renewed to view God's goodness rightly? How can you help other people to view God's goodness rightly? And on the left side is the heart of sinful man who's wise in his own eyes. And then on the right side, I said the heart of David longing to see the goodness of God. On the left side under sinful man, he would say, if there were a God, he would not permit me to suffer like this. David would say, there is a God and he is good to comfort me and my suffering. I can cast all my anxieties on him because he cares for me. And that is a quote from 1 Peter 5.7. Sinful man would say, if God were good, then he would alleviate the suffering we are undergoing. David would say, I know that God in his goodness and kindness is using this trial to somehow make me more like Christ. It is for my good and his glory. Romans 8, 28 and 29. Sinful man says, there is no God. If there were, he would not permit bad things to happen to good people. David would say, there is a God and he is good. The wonder of wonders is that he did not immediately kill Adam and Eve when they sinned. Instead, he let us play a part in the temporary suffering in this sin-cursed earth so that we can long, like David did, to see the goodness of God. That's Psalm 27. Sinful man says, it makes me so angry that God's permitting the suffering in my life. David would say, Lord, forgive me for being angry. Thank you for reminding me how much I need you. Psalm 34, verse four and eight. Sinful man says, why would God do this to me? David would say, this is good for me or God would not permit it. It reminds me what the Psalmist wrote, what David wrote. Before I was, no, the Psalmist in 1.19. Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep your word. You are good and do good. Teach me your statutes. Sinful man would say, I must come to the place where I forgive God for what he has done. Now that's blasphemy. We have nothing to forgive God for. David would say, God forbid that I would ever think such a thing. Thank you for this trial and thank you that it is temporary and being with you is for all of eternity. Thank you that you are giving me grace to bear up under this. First Corinthians 10, 13, 1st Thessalonians 5, 18. You hear this a lot. My God is good. He would never send anyone to hell. David would say, this is God's creation. He made us and not we ourselves. It is his prerogative to have mercy on whom he has mercy and compassion on whom he has compassion. He is the potter, we are the clay. What is so amazing is that he saves anyone, including me, Romans 9 verse 14 through 16. And then I ended this chart with, well at least I'm being honest about how I feel. David would say of that, what I'm doing is honestly sinning. There is no merit in thinking my feelings justify resenting what God is doing in my life. Lord forgive me and use me for your glory, however you see fit. Give me the heart of Job when it was said of Job and all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong. So let me just conclude by saying, God's goodness is a broad term. It covers a lot. It's like a cloak over all that he has done and all that he will do. We are to acknowledge that goodness. We are to praise him for it. We are to humble ourselves before him and express gratitude even in trials. We are to have the heart of David who longed to see the goodness of God in the land of the living. We are to never cease, never cease to be amazed at our Lord Jesus sacrifice of himself in our place on the cross. And we are to be like the little child who simply prays, God is great. God is good. Let us thank him for our food. But we would add to that prayer our good shepherd's name in Jesus name. I pray, amen. So let's pray. Father, we are just amazed at your goodness. Everything you touch is good. Everything that you have done, everything that you have created and the fact that you had mercy on Adam and Eve and now the rest of humanity to let us live, to let us enjoy your creation, to let us have family and friends and love others. And then for some of us, you have touched our hearts and we are overwhelmed with gratitude. And Lord, we praise you. You are the good shepherd. You, your sheep know you and they follow you. And I pray that you will give each of us the heart of David who longed to see the goodness of God in the land of the living. We pray in Jesus name, amen.