Psalm 119:28-29
"You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
you are my God, I will extol you."
O Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures for ever.
NRSV
This is the end of the Psalm for Palm Sunday. When reading this on Wednesday, I was struck by these verses. I'm still stuck on gratitude so I'm sure "I will give thanks to you" is what drew my attention, but "he is good" really stood out. "God is good" has been coming up often in my thoughts and with that phrase I am reminded about this scene from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis:
“Aslan is a lion- the Lion, the great Lion." "Ooh" said Susan. "I'd thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion"..."Safe?" said Mr Beaver ..."Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you.”
God is not tame or safe. We tend to think of "good" as nice, comfortable and easy. But God is not always nice, comfortable or easy. The Jesus who cleared the Temple, turning over tables and driving out the money changers was not nice. So what does it mean, "God is good?"
I tried to find some commentary on verse 29, specifically what "for he is good" means. I admit that I didn't spend a lot of time looking, but I couldn't really find anything that answered my question. I found some commentary stating that God is good because He kept His promises and helped the Israelites and King David. But I want to know what the Psalmist meant by the word "good." I don't read Greek or Hebrew and was not able to find an explanation of the original word used and every translation that I found uses the word "good."
As I've been thinking about it I've decided that the phrase "God is love" is more appropriate. You may be wondering how is that so different than "good", but "love" is a messy thing. Love is not always nice, comfortable or easy. Love is beautiful, joyful and painful.
We all know that those we love are the ones who can hurt us the most. Love indicates a relationship, a complicated, messy relationship. Parents must make their children do things they don't want to do, like homework or chores. Parents also get angry, frustrated and hurt by their children. Couples don't always agree and sometimes are even mean to each other. We experience both joy and pain in our relationships, especially with those we love. But the love remains!
Isn't that how it goes with God? We don't always want to be obedient, but it is for our own good, like doing homework is what is best for the child. We feel betrayed, frustrated and impatient with God as we go through times of crises. But the love remains!
Even if life isn't nice, comfortable or easy, God loves us! Our relationship with God is complicated and messy. But the love remains!
I tried to find some commentary on verse 29, specifically what "for he is good" means. I admit that I didn't spend a lot of time looking, but I couldn't really find anything that answered my question. I found some commentary stating that God is good because He kept His promises and helped the Israelites and King David. But I want to know what the Psalmist meant by the word "good." I don't read Greek or Hebrew and was not able to find an explanation of the original word used and every translation that I found uses the word "good."
As I've been thinking about it I've decided that the phrase "God is love" is more appropriate. You may be wondering how is that so different than "good", but "love" is a messy thing. Love is not always nice, comfortable or easy. Love is beautiful, joyful and painful.
We all know that those we love are the ones who can hurt us the most. Love indicates a relationship, a complicated, messy relationship. Parents must make their children do things they don't want to do, like homework or chores. Parents also get angry, frustrated and hurt by their children. Couples don't always agree and sometimes are even mean to each other. We experience both joy and pain in our relationships, especially with those we love. But the love remains!
Isn't that how it goes with God? We don't always want to be obedient, but it is for our own good, like doing homework is what is best for the child. We feel betrayed, frustrated and impatient with God as we go through times of crises. But the love remains!
Even if life isn't nice, comfortable or easy, God loves us! Our relationship with God is complicated and messy. But the love remains!
God is not tame, but God is love!
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