Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations. (Psalm 100:4-5, NKJV)
Once we grasp an understanding of God that is based in Scripture – and subsequently an honest assessment of ourselves – we cannot help but be moved to worshipful praise and joyous thanksgiving for who He is and what He has done for us!
For the Lord is good. Imagine how random and catastrophic life would be if the Great Creator and Sustainer of the universe were not good … if He were sadistic, or merely uninterested and whimsical. But God is good, and faithful in His goodness. He is good to all (Ps. 145:9). Everything He made was “very good” (Gen. 1:31), and everything He does is good (Ps. 119:68). A cause for praise!
For His mercy is everlasting. How vulnerable and doomed we would be before a righteous and holy God were we not rescued by His mercy (Lam. 3:22). Every morning – without fail – there is a fresh supply (Lam. 3:22-23). From eternity past to forever future, God’s chosen ones are awash in His “tender mercies” and “loving kindnesses” (Ps. 25:6). A cause for praise!
For His truth endures to all generations. How destitute we would be for a standard to live by if what God established “in the beginning” were not still true today … if none of His promises could be believed anymore … if the only ‘truth’ we could hang our saddle on was whatever we could concoct on our own. Yet, not only can we bank on God keeping His promises (Ps. 33:4), but Christ Himself is called “Faithful and True” (Rev. 19:11). A cause for praise!
Let us worship the Lord with praise for who He is, and for what it means to you that He is good, that the well of His mercy never runs dry, and that His truth endures forever.
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My Faithful Father,
I’m ashamed to admit that I can easily lose sight of Your goodness when my life doesn’t go as planned or when I experience pain and grief. Yet I’m thankful that in the midst of my doubts and struggles I’m still drawn to Your Word. It is such a comfort to hear You say that You “know the way that I take” (Job 23:10), to be reminded that whatever happens is part of Your grand plan for me (Jer. 29:11), and that everything that You have ordained in my life will ultimately turn out for Your glory and my good (Rom. 8:28). Because You are good, Your sovereign plan and divine purpose are also good. Help me trust Your goodness, Lord, that I may “cease striving” against what You are doing and rest in the assurance that it is all ultimately good, because You are good, and You are God (Ps. 46:10).
“There is none good but one, that is God.” (Matt. 19:17)
Though I am unable to truly see my sin as You see it, Lord, what I can see is enough to make me realize that I would be hopelessly doomed for eternal punishment without Your unbounded and ever-prevalent mercy applied to my account – mercy backed by the surety of Christ’s shed blood on the cross. Your infinite mercy is mine solely because You choose to give it. It permeates every breath I breathe, every moment I live. And I know it will never quit, because You say so.
“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.” (Ps. 103:8)
In a confusing and chaotic world that wants to dismiss the veracity of truth and make the standard for life a ‘relative’ one, I am so thankful that You still are Truth and Your Word is Truth. Whether it suits my fancy or not … whether I choose to believe it or not … has no bearing on the matter. Because You never change, the truth of who You are and what You say also never changes. You are the same yesterday, today and forever, and likewise, Your truth endures through all generations – a Rock that never moves, no matter how much the sands of time around it shift.
“All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.” (Ps. 119:160, NIV)
