By Landon Coleman
Pastor, Immanuel
Maybe you learned the following children’s song when you were young … “God, you’re so good. God, you’re so good. God, you’re so good. You’re so good to me.”
There is a mountain of biblical theology crammed into this short, simple song. In support of the idea that God is in fact “so good,” consider the words of the psalmist, “You are good and do good; teach me your statutes.” (Psalm 119:68)
I came across this verse in our current sermon series at Immanuel. Notice that the psalmist says two things about God in the first part of verse 68. First, the psalmist insists that God is good. Goodness marks God’s character. Goodness marks God’s nature. God’s goodness is both the source of goodness in the world and the standard of goodness in the world. God’s goodness is the basis of his steadfast love, his kindness, his mercy, his grace, and his faithfulness. If one denies the fundamental goodness of God, a mountain of theology will collapse. Hence, the psalmist reminds us that God is good.
Second, the psalmist insists that God does good. “You are good and do good.” (Psalm 119:68) In other words, God’s goodness is not an something God keeps to himself. Rather, God’s goodness is an attribute that sustains the eternal relationship between Father, Son, and Spirit, and God’s goodness is an attribute that overflows from the Triune God to his creation. In his character, God is good, and in his relationship to creation, God does good.
That’s the first part of verse 68. Now consider the second part of verse 68, and notice that it is built on the first part of verse 68. “You are good and do good; teach me your statutes.” In the mind of the psalmist, there is a direct connection between the inherent goodness of God’s nature and the way God relates to his creation – specifically, the way he relates to the creates he created in his image. The psalmist believed that the one, true God had spoken to human beings, and the psalmist believed that God’s Word to humanity was a good word. Thus, the psalmist made a request of God. He asked God to teach him his statutes.
The context of Psalm 119 is important to the way we understand the psalmist’s request in verse 68. Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible, clocking in at an impressive 176 verses. Almost every verse in this massive acrostic poem references the Word of God. Within Psalm 119, God’s Word is referred to as God’s statutes, commandments, law, precepts, word, ways, testimonies, and rules. All of these words and verses refer to the written Word of God, the Bible.
Now step back and consider Psalm 119:68 in the broader context of Psalm 119. The psalmist insists that God is good. The psalmist insists that God does good. The psalmist has an unshakable confidence that God’s goodness is reflected in God’s Word. Thus, he asks God to help him understand his Word.
Do you share the faith of the psalmist? Do you rest in the goodness of God? Do you see the goodness of God in this world and in your life? Do you want God to help you understand his good Word? In a subsequent post, I will talk about how the people of God ought to respond to the truths of Psalm 119:68.
