A Word in Season: God's Goodness (Psalm 119:68)

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What do you think of God? What's your perception of him? That's perhaps the most important question you'll ever have to answer

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Because your sense of who and what God is is going to condition everything else

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It's certainly going to condition your disposition toward him your approach to him your expectation of him

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It will change the way that you and you pray it will change the way that you worship It will

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Change the way that you deal with other people too because the chances are that you will be to them

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What you think God has been to you you will reflect your perception your conception of God in all your dealings both with him and with others and So there's nothing more important than right views of God now we can

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Apprehend what God is we can lay hold upon him truly, but we cannot fully comprehend

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All that God is and it's important that we understand more and more of everything that God has revealed about himself but in Psalm 119 and verse 68

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David says something that must be a part and a central part of our sense of who

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God is He says there you are good and do good teach me your statutes is

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Your conception of God of one who is good. It is the beauty of his holiness

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Shining out in his graciousness. It is his merciful disposition toward others

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It is his heart of love toward those who are in need of him

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And that's every single one of us those who depend upon him God is not harsh.

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God is not reserved and distant. He is not cold and cruel He is altogether good

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Everything he is is a reflection of his goodness as his goodness is itself

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Connected with and reflective of all else that he is in his holiness and his mercy and his justice and his purity

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God's goodness is always a righteous goodness. It is always a tender goodness he is good and Therefore he does good the doing good is a reflection of his being good

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It is the outworking of that disposition his strength his wisdom

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All of these now are also engaged in the demonstration of the gracious disposition of his heart

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Towards others and you and I need to understand that this is our

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God that this is his heart Toward us we cannot we must not be suspicious of God We cannot and should not be bitter or resentful toward him.

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Whatever may be our Experience we must be persuaded that it comes from the heart and from the hand of a

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God who is in all things utterly Entirely purely and perfectly good

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And when we're persuaded of that the request that David makes naturally follows

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Teach me your statutes Instruct me Oh God set bounds around me show me the way that I should go

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Hedge me in in a path of righteousness Teach me what I need to know from you in order that I may walk in your ways

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Establish my obligations set bounds upon my path Show me all that you desire and all that you require

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Now, why would you ask that it's because you know that God is good and he does good you want to know what a good

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God requires and desires of you and for you It's the the disposition then of a soul that is persuaded that whatever

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God says Whatever God requires whatever God commands whatever

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Ordinances he establishes whatever boundaries he sets whatever path he directs is and must be a reflection of his own pure and infinite goodness

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That's the confidence then with which we come to him and that's the plea that should come from our hearts

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Now if you don't yet believe that God is good You study him in the pages of the scriptures if you haven't yet come to him as a good

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God See him there see him Pre -eminently in the person of his son

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Jesus Christ see his goodness shine forth come to him repentantly