Psalm 119: 68
Thou art good and do good.
Do you believe this verse? Do you believe God is only good and does only good? It is really more difficult than it sounds. Of course, most of us would say, “Yes, I believe that,” but when bad things happen, we wonder where God is, why He let this bad thing happen and why He isn’t standing up for us.
Let me begin by sharing with you that it may be a good exercise to read the entire psalm. Warning: it is long. I do believe you can lift this verse out and it have meaning, but I also believe we benefit from seeing the landscape of the entire passage.
No one knows who wrote this psalm, but it certainly sounds like David. The psalmist was being antagonized and mistreated by the enemy. The psalmist in this time of reproach and incrimination turned to the Word of God. In other words, his response to being lied about and attacked was to turn to the Father and His statutes and precepts. David, if he be the psalmist, knew that vindication and ultimately salvation was in the law of the Lord. He was being treated unfairly and in an ungodly manner but rather than fighting with worldly means, he sought the Lord through Torah.
Does this in any way encourage you? I certainly hope so, because this shows us that we have an advocate. We are not alone, never alone. Do we feel alone, isolated and persecuted? Yes. None the less, our God is our strong right hand and will never forsake us. The psalmist, in his great time of need, in a time when he was being misused and taken advantage of, turned to the Word. He knew that the Word would rescue Him because He knew His Father was there in those pages. His strength was there awaiting him.
This is encouraging because we have many more writings than he did. Yet, he found solace in the Word. When the pressure is on, you may not feel like picking up your Bible and reading. You may be angry and not even want to sit still. I get it, but the Lord, our God and Father is awaiting to help us. Moreover, He is able to prevent us from stumbling. I know when you are hurt and angry, the last thing you want to do is to quiet yourself down and pray or read your Bible, but that is when you need Jesus the most. That is exactly when he wants you to let him be Lord. Let Jesus minister life and light to you. Remember he is good and does good and wants to pour out goodness on you but as the psalmist believed, the way is in the Word.
