Who He Is and What He Does

“For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.” ~Psalm 86:5

Years ago someone shared with me a helpful paradigm for reading the psalms that I want to share with you this week. Almost all of the psalms emphasize twin realities about God: His nature and His work — or, simply put, who He is and what He does. When you begin to read the psalms with these twin truths in view, you’ll start to see them everywhere. This week I want us to take a few moments to think about how Psalm 86:5 shows us these twin realities and how they help us in our Christian walk.

Notice God’s nature in the first half of the verse. He is “good and forgiving.” That’s His nature. He is good. Do you ever meditate on His goodness, simply sitting in quiet stillness and thinking about how good God really is? Think of all His goodness toward you in your salvation. Think of His goodness in creation. Think of how His goodness informs His providence. He is good. And likewise, He is forgiving — surprisingly forgiving, we might say. Think of the people in Scripture who didn’t deserve forgiveness — even the author of this psalm, David. Yet God is forgiving. This ought to serve as the greatest comfort for sinners. When we feel like our sins have made us unforgivable or that the sheer number of them is too great for God to overcome, we remember that He is forgiving. It’s His very nature to forgive us through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. Are you a sinner? Look no further than the God who is forgiving.

The psalmist also tells us what God does: He abounds in steadfast love to all who call upon Him. Steadfast love is that biblical term for God’s covenant faithfulness. He cannot break His promises or deny His covenant. But it’s not enough to say that God keeps His promises. Rather, He abounds in covenant faithfulness. He is overflowing with faithfulness, and it overflows toward us, His people. There is a river of covenant faithfulness that God directs toward His children, toward those who call upon the name of His Son in faith. God’s covenant faithfulness is no small thing, as though it were simply trickling in the direction of those who call upon Him. Rather, it is a tidal wave of faithfulness! It is barreling toward you in Christ. When you come to Christ in faith, you end up swimming in God’s covenant faithfulness! That’s why nothing can separate you from God’s love.

As you walk through life, struggling with sin and feeling like God couldn’t possibly care for you, remember that He is good and forgiving. How can He not pardon you? He abounds in covenant love. There is nothing that can separate you from Him.

Rev. Kyle Lockhart, Associate Pastor