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STUDY 14: GOD’S GOODNESS IN THE PSALMS – 2

©Rosemary Bardsley 2023

[Note: In each of the study tasks below it is helpful to read the whole Psalm, not just the verses referenced.]

In this second study on God’s goodness in the Psalms we will look at what God does that is good. In particular, we will see that God’s goodness is especially active towards those who belong to him – to those who believe in him.

 

A. GOD HAS MADE HIMSELF KNOWN TO US IN THE UNIVERSE HE CREATED

The Psalm writers see the goodness of God in the created world. At the time when they wrote, they did not know as much about the ‘heavens and the earth’ as we do today. They did not have super-powerful telescopes; they did not have electron microscopes. But they still stood in awe of the God who made and sustained the natural world.

Bible study: How did the Psalm writers express their praise of God’s goodness in nature?
8:1 – 9

 

19:1 – 4

33:6 – 9

50:1 – 6

65:5 – 13

68:7 – 10

 

74:12 – 17

89:5 – 13

95:1 – 5

96:5, 10

97:6

102:25 – 27

104:1 – 32

 

135:5 – 7

147:4 – 9, 15 – 18

 

148:1 – 13

How does this truth help you to trust God?

 

How does this contrast with the mindset that has discarded belief in God as the Creator and Sustainer of all?

 

 

B. GOD HAS GIVEN US HIS WORD

The Psalm writers did not have the complete written revelation of God – they had only the five books of Moses, commonly known as ‘the Law’, and perhaps some of the history. Yet they saw the goodness of God in his giving it to them. They loved his word, because it enabled them both to know him and to live for his glory.

Bible study: Read Psalms 1:1 – 6, 19:7 – 11 and 119 (the whole Psalm).
What do they teach about the goodness of God’s word?

 

How is God’s word good for us?

 

What qualities of God’s word make it good?

 

 

Compare your attitude to God’s word to the Psalm’s writers’ attitude to God’s word.

 

C. A GOD WHOSE WORKS ARE AWESOME

The Psalm writers knew God as one who did wonderful things. They knew it from their nation’s history, and they knew it from their personal history. This knowledge, this faith, filled them with praise and joy, and gave them confidence that this wonder-working God, if he, in his mercy so willed, could work similarly in their present circumstances.

Bible study: How is this confidence in God expressed in these verses?
9:1,2

26:6, 7

40:5

66:1 – 8

71:17 – 18, 22 – 24

72:18

78:1 – 4

86:8 – 10

96:1 – 3

105:1 – 4

106:2

107:8, 15, 21, 24, 31

136

145:1 – 12

150:2

How does this evidence of God’s power in action encourage you to trust that God is good?

 

 

D. GOD IS A GOD WHO SAVES

Often when the Psalm writers cried out to God for help they asked him to save them or to keep them safe. Knowing him as they did, they knew that this was something that they could rightly expect him to do. His actions in the past, his covenants, his faithfulness, his love and compassion – all of these combined to produce this trust: that God is the God who saves.

Read these verses. How do they express this confidence?
3:1 – 6

4:7, 8

5:1 – 3

6:1 – 4

17:6 – 9

31:1 – 5

40:13 – 17

55:16 – 18

57:1 – 3

62:1 - 8

71:1 – 6

72:12 – 14

109:26 – 31

138:1 – 8

How is your confidence in God’s goodness towards you enriched by these verses?

 

E. GOD HAS A SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN HIM

God’s relationship with those who believe in him is quite different from his relationship with those who do not. It is a relationship of deep care, concern and mercy, in which God is committed to our well-being, and actively at work for our good. [Many of the verses in the previous and following sections are also relevant here.]

Bible study: How do these verses enrich your understanding of your relationship with God?
1:6

4:3

5:11, 12

6:8, 9

9:10

18:6, 16, 28, 32 – 36

23:1 – 6

31:19, 20

34:1 – 8, 17, 18, 22

42:1 – 11

61:1 – 5

63:1 – 8

86:1 – 7, 11 – 13

116:1 – 19

145:17 – 21

Think about your relationship with God. What truths about the goodness of God described in these verses also true of your relationship with God?

 

 

F. GOD FORGIVES

The truth we saw in the previous study that God is a God of love, compassion and mercy is evident in the related truth that God forgives sin. It seems amazing that the Psalm writers, who knew nothing about the death of Jesus Christ as a substitutionary sacrifice, had such a strong assurance of God’s forgiveness. But, when we consider that they had the five books of Moses, perhaps it is not surprising at all, for the truth about the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ is embedded in tabernacle, it is embedded in the sacrifices and festivals, and it is present in God’s interactions with Abraham.

From these passages, what do you learn about God as the God who forgives?
25:1 – 22

 

32:1 – 11

 

51:1 – 17

 

65:1 – 4

 

103:1 – 18

 

130:1 – 6

 

Think about the forgiveness that God has given to you in Jesus Christ. How does your confidence in your forgiveness compare with that of the Psalm writers?

 

REVIEW
Although we have looked at many verses, we have really only scratched the surface of what the Psalms reveal about the goodness of God. There is so much more that could be said. So much more for us to understand.

What aspect of God’s goodness in the Psalms is significant for you?

 

Why is it so significant? And how will it impact your daily life?