5. His Goodness
The
fifth reason why the rightful fear of God should be stimulated in us it is
because of His goodness as indicated by the Psalmist David who wrote, "Oh,
how great is your goodness, which you have laid up for those who fear you,
which you have prepared for those who trust in you in the presence of the sons
of men! (Psalm 31:19).
It
is the goodness of God that leads one to repentance; for this reason, God ought
to be revered. That is, He deserved to be truly loved, highly respected, greatly
honored, show reverence, and stand in awe of Him. The prophet Samuel said, I
will teach you the good and right way. Only fear the Lord, and serve Him in
truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for
you" (1Samuel 12:23-24).
Because
of God's goodness, we are to fear the Lord our God, and serve Him, and to Him
we should hold fast, and take oaths in His name. He is our praise, and He is
our God, who has done for us great and awesome things which our eyes have seen.
The
goodness of God is manifested in three ways:
- In
material blessings
One
should always remember that, all that we are and all that we have is a blessing
from the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things
that are in them, who in bygone generations allowed all nations to walk in
their own ways. Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that
He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts
with food and gladness" (Acts 14: 15-17).
Furthermore, we have been duly admonished by Jesus Christ saying; “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:44-45).
- Spiritual
blessings
The
goodness of God is also spiritually manifested as confirmed by the Psalmist who
wrote; “Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who
fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of
the sons of men! You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence From
the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of
tongues. Blessed be the LORD, for He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a
strong city!” (Psalms 1:19-21).
- Forgiveness
of sins
The
goodness of God is also demonstrated by His forgiving mercies as again
confirmed by the Psalmist who wrote; “Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I cry to
You all day long. Rejoice the soul of Your servant, for to You, O Lord, I lift
up my soul. For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in
mercy to all those who call upon You” (Psalms
86:3-5).
And
so, our attitude towards the goodness of God should be one of rejoicing,
remembrance and satisfaction because of all the good He has done for us by
providing us with His physical and spiritual blessings and follow the example
of King David who wrote; “One generation shall praise Your works to another, and
shall declare Your mighty acts. I will meditate on the glorious splendor of
Your majesty, and on Your wondrous works. Men shall speak of the might of Your
awesome acts, and I will declare Your greatness. They shall utter the memory of
Your great goodness, and shall sing of Your righteousness.” And according to
the prophet Jeremiah, “I will satiate the soul of the priests with abundance, and
My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the LORD." (Psalms 145:4-7; Jeremiah 31:14).
The
stark reality is, The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all
His works. All His works shall praise Him and His saints shall bless Him.
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To be continued
With brotherly loveLucius Joseph
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