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“They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness.” (Psalm 145:7a)

When we say that something is “good,” what do we mean?

When something is “good,” it does what it is supposed to do. Imagine that you are playing soccer, dribbling the ball down the field. You fake around one defender and then another. Now, the goalie is the only player left between you and the goal. You dribble to the right and then kick the ball high and to the left corner of the goal. It flies past the diving goalie’s outstretched hands. That was a “good” shot: it did what it was supposed to do.

Psalm 145:7a says, “They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness.” When David says that God is abundantly good, what does he mean? He means that God will always do what He is supposed to do. God never makes a mistake or a bad decision. Everything that He does is best for Him and for His creation – even when it doesn’t seem to us that things are good. We are too limited to be able to say whether something is truly good or bad, but we can trust that the God always does good.

God is not just good; his goodness is great, or abundant. When Steph was a kid, she used to save up her money to buy small bags of M&M’s. She would go home and lie on her bed and read a book while eating them one at a time, trying to make them last for a looooong time. But they always ran out way too soon! When something is “abundant,” it means that there is more than enough of it. Abundant M&M’s would be a bag that never ran out. That is how God’s goodness is to all people: it will never run out!

God is always good, and His goodness is abundant.

My Response:
» The verse says, “They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness.” When was the last time I got excited and told someone how good God is to me? Who can I tell today about God’s goodness to me?

“O give thanks unto the Lord for he is good: for his mercy endures forever.” (Psalm 136:1)

The line for the roller coaster was very long and the sun was very hot, as all the guys in Jack’s family leaned against the railing. Their goal was to reach the sheltered area, get out of the hot sun, and eventually ride “Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.” But the line was going so slowly. Standing in the hot sun and listening to whining children, people were getting annoyed.

On top of that, there was a recorded voice that kept saying the same thing over and over again. “Howdy partners,” said the man in a western drawl, and he went on to talk about the ride. His announcement always ended with, “We hope you enjoy riding on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad!” Jack decided he had heard that recorded message over 50 times while they inched forward to the ride. After about the 20th time, he and his dad and brother started reciting it with him, always ending with, “We hope you enjoy riding on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad!” Soon all the people around them were chiming in, “on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad!” Well, it worked. The park workers got the message and sped things up some. Jack breathed a big sigh of relief when he finally got his turn on the roller coaster!

In Psalm 136, the Lord has something very important that He wants you to learn about Him. It is so important that He repeats “for His mercy endures forever” 26 times! Why do you think this idea so important?

Mercy means that someone does not receive the punishment he deserves. You might be thinking, “But I haven’t done anything to deserve a punishment.” The Bible says that you have. In fact, all men deserve to be punished forever in hell (Romans 6:23). That is why this phrase is so important! Without God’s mercy, all people would have to spend eternity paying for their sins. But “His mercy endures forever.” That means that God not only holds back your deserved punishment in this life, but, if you have accepted His gift of eternal life, you can enjoy God’s mercy forever even though you don’t deserve one minute of it! It will last for as long as God lasts, and God never changes. “His mercy endures forever!”

God wants you to be grateful for His enduring mercy.

My Response:
» Have I accepted God’s saving mercy to me? If so, have I thanked Him for saving me? Is there anyone that I need to show mercy to as well?

“The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.” (Psalm 18:2)

“Enough!”

When was the last time you heard that word? Did your dad say it to stop your siblings from fighting? Did a teacher say it after asking for volunteers? Or did you say it when your mom asked if you wanted more dessert? “Enough” means that you don’t need any more; you have all you need and cannot take any more. Can you imagine having enough video games to keep you busy for the rest of your life? How about having enough clothes, movies, money, or friends? You name it. It is hard to imagine having “enough” so that you could sit back and say, “There is nothing else I need or want.”

The funny thing is, you already DO have “enough.” Did you know that? Scripture says that God is enough. He is all you ever need. He is the Provider, the greatest Joy, Peace, and Life; He is everything you could ever need or want. He provides Living Water to satisfy your thirsts. He is the Bread of Life that can feed your soul (Isaiah 55:1-2). God knows all and is all. Friends, clothes, good grades, video games, and money will never be enough to make you happy. God is all you need. He is your Rock (Psalm 62:6), Fortress (Psalm 18:3), and Shepherd (Psalm 23) – He is GOD.

Job recognized that God was enough. Job 1 records that after Job heard that everything was taken from him – his oxen, donkeys, sheep, camels, servants, and children – he fell down on his knees and worshipped God. He did this because he knew that God was enough to sustain him in every situation. God was all that he needed.

What do you think you need? Are you thinking, “If I only had such-and-such, I would be happy!”? God is everything that you really want or need. He truly is enough.

God is all you ever need.

My Response:
» What do I think I need to be happy?
» Do I trust God to be enough?
» How can I start depending on God to satisfy my needs?

“That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:7)

David had just become king of Israel. He summoned a servant of Saul, the former king, and asked him, “Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may shew the kindness of God unto him?” (2 Samuel 9:3)

The servant told the king about Mephibosheth, a grandson of Saul who was still living. Mephibosheth had fallen when he was a little boy, and his injuries had never healed correctly. Now he was lame. He could not be a great warrior for King David, and he couldn’t be of much help as a servant. If anything, he would only be a burden to the king.

David called Mephibosheth to his house. He told Mephibosheth that he had been good friends with his father, Jonathan. He invited the lame man to live with him in his palace, to own the land that had belonged to Saul, and to eat at the king’s table for the rest of his life. Mephibosheth hardly knew what to say. He could not imagine why the king would even think twice about a man like him, but he bowed before David and gratefully accepted his offer.

How was David’s act of kindness like the kindness of God? God had a plan to show kindness to us before we were even born. He showed us kindness through the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, who died for our sins and provided a way for us to come to God. In a way, we too were “lame.” We were completely undeserving. There was nothing that we could do to help ourselves or to earn God’s favor. We were dead in our sins. But because of God’s great mercy and love, He brought us alive at the moment of our salvation. He brought us into His family and now He provides for us everything that we need. The best news of all is that His wonderful plans of kindness are not finished yet. Ephesians tells us that He has great treasuries of grace and kindness stored up for “the ages to come,” throughout eternity!

God has shown His kindness to us in Jesus Christ, and He will continue to do so through all eternity.

My Response:
» Do I understand how undeserving I am of God’s kindness?
» Have I bowed before God today and thanked Him for His kindness to me?

“My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.” (Psalm 145:21)

As part of their aquarium tour, Maria and her dad had watched a video presentation about deep sea life. Maria loved seeing all the pictures of the colorful fish that swim around coral reefs. She loved seeing the dolphins leap above the waves in pairs and hearing the strange songs that the whales sing deep in the sea.

But she began to notice that the narrator of the presentation never said anything about God. He talked about how amazing the sea creatures were. He talked about how mysterious their habits and lifestyles were. But he never once talked about the God who created them. Instead, he said they had formed all by themselves over billions of years and that “Mother Nature” had given them certain abilities.

When the video was over, Dad looked at Maria. “What did you think of that?” he asked.

“I liked seeing all the animals, but I don’t think that man on the video knew God,” she said.

“You’re right. He didn’t give God any praise for all of the wonderful undersea life He created,” said Dad. “The sad thing is, there are thousands of people in the world today who would agree with him – people who don’t believe that there could be a real God.”

They walked out to the large “touch tank” where people could pick up sea urchins and crabs and hold them in their hands. The lady at the tank asked Maria if she wanted to hold a sea urchin. Maria held out her hand, and the lady placed a round, spiny creature in her palm. The sea urchin moved his spines gently back and forth, and they tickled her fingers. “What do you think of him?” the lady asked.

“He’s wonderful,” said Maria. “God did a great job of creating him!”

God deserves praise from us for all of His works, and for Who He is. Psalm 145 tells us it is right for us to speak to others about our wonderful God and the things He does. When we are careful to praise Him and give Him credit for what He does, we honor His name.

God deserves to be praised by all creatures, especially those who know Him.

My Response:
» Am I careful to give God praise and credit for His works?
» Am I ever ashamed to speak about Him when I’m around unbelievers?