God’s Overflowing Goodness
An Exposition of Psalm 145:9 and Its Far-Reaching Meaning
God is good!
The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works.[1]
This single verse, nestled within David’s great psalm of praise, declares a profound truth about the character of God. The Lord is good—not merely to some, not only to the righteous, but to all. His compassion extends over every part of His creation. The Hebrew emphasizes a broad, generous benevolence: God provides, sustains, and cares for everything He has made, from the smallest creature to the vast reaches of the heavens.
Throughout Scripture, we see this goodness displayed in countless ways. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.[2] Rain falls on the just and the unjust. Seasons turn, harvests come, breath continues in every lung—signs of a kindness that reaches far beyond any boundary we might draw.
When God called Abraham, He promised that in your offspring all the families of the earth shall be blessed.[3] Israel was chosen not as an exclusive recipient of divine favor but as a channel through which that favor would flow outward. The nation was to be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.[4] A light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.[5] The law, the prophets, the tabernacle, the temple—all were given to Israel so that the goodness of the Lord might become evident to the ends of the earth.
In the fullness of time, this purpose reached its climax in Jesus Christ.
The same goodness that sustained creation now became flesh. The compassion that rests upon all His works was most fully revealed when the Son of God laid down His life for sinners. At the cross, God’s goodness toward the undeserving and His righteous judgment against sin met in perfect harmony. Whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness...so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.[6] There mercy and truth kissed each other. Righteousness and peace embraced. The holy God both judged evil and provided salvation, so that His goodness might be known by people from every tribe, tongue, and nation.
This truth carries deep implications for our daily lives. The kindness of God is never meant to be received in silence or presumption. Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?[7] Every sunrise, every meal, every moment we are spared from the full consequences of sin—these are not accidents. They are invitations. They call us to turn from self-rule, to lay down pride, and to come to the One whose hand is open to us.
Those who respond in faith find that this goodness transforms thought, word, and deed. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.[8] Gratitude becomes the natural language of the heart. Instead of entitlement, we live in wonder. Instead of indifference, we show compassion. We learn to be good to others, even to those who do us wrong: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you...You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.[9] because we have first tasted the undeserved goodness of God.
At the same time, the Bible never separates God’s goodness from His holiness. The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.[10] Yet He is also the righteous Judge. He is slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, yet He will by no means clear the guilty. The day is coming when every wrong will be set right, when evil will be fully and finally judged, and when the creation itself will be delivered from bondage to corruption. The Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.[11] This judgment is not a contradiction of His goodness; it is the necessary outworking of His perfect character.
What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction—in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory.[12] Evil cannot coexist forever with infinite holiness.
The eradication of evil is itself an act that magnifies the goodness of God, allowing His redeemed creation to dwell with Him in unbroken joy: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth...He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.[13]
In light of these truths, our lives take on new purpose. We are called to reflect the goodness we have received. For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.[14] We are summoned to proclaim the God who is both merciful and just. We are urged to live in such a way that others may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven.
The goodness of the Lord endures forever. It reaches to all His works. It flows through history, through the cross, and now through every believer who bears His name. May we receive it with humble, repentant hearts. May we share it freely with a world that desperately needs to know the God who is good to all. And may every thought, every plan, every action of ours give Him the glory that is due His holy and perfect name.
Endnotes (ESV Translation)
[1] Psalm 145:9 — The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.
[2] Psalm 145:15-16 — The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
[3] Genesis 12:3 — I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
[4] Exodus 19:6 — and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.
[5] Isaiah 49:6 — he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
[6] Romans 3:25-26 — whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
[7] Romans 2:4 — Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
[8] Lamentations 3:22-23 — The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
[9] Matthew 5:44, 48 — But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you...You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
[10] Psalm 145:8 — The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
[11] Psalm 145:20 — The LORD preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.
[12] Romans 9:22-23 — What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—
[13] Revelation 21:1, 4 — Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more...He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.
[14] Titus 2:11-12 — For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.
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