- Give Good
Psalm 85:12
Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good;
And our land shall yield her increase.
God is good, therefore He gives that which is good. It is not true that God is good because He gives that which is good. In the same way: I am a sinner, therefore I do things that are bad. Not: I am a sinner because I do bad things. God gives good things because He is essentially and intrinsically good. The fruit comes out of the tree; the kind of tree determines what kind of fruit. Good apples do not make a good apple tree; a good apple tree produces good apples. The essence and nature of the thing determines the fruit or product of that thing. “Out of the heart proceed….” Our good works do not make us good people; our sins do not make us sinners. Sinners sin; it’s what they do. In order to do good works, I must be changed into a good person by dying to the old self and living in the new man in newness of life. The new man is good and does not sin. Thus, to be saved and prepared for life with God I must be changed from death to life, transformed with a new sinless nature. Baptism and faith effect the transformation.
All this is to say simply: I do what I am; God does what He is. The basic truth of the Christian faith is this: God is good. Amen. Believe that God is good and much good results. God is good and can only give that which is good. God cannot be the author or evil and He cannot cause bad things to happen. God sends only good and He has the power to turn evil into good. Because God is good I can easily believe the promise that He shall give that which is good. If God is good then I joyfully believe and affirm: “God is good to me!”
All good things come from God; in fact, all things come from God. The Devil’s Evil and my Sin have turned some of those good things into destructive and deadly things. But God is still the source of all things. Everything that God made was very good and He is still giving very good things to us daily and richly.
What does the word “good” mean? In the context of this promise good means prosperity: “our land shall yield her increase.” Land increase suggests fertility and abundance of produce, which is the basis of general prosperity all the time. This prosperity is first of all material, but there is no doubt that the promise of prosperity applies also, and even especially, to the spiritual world where true peace and prosperity, peace and wellbeing, goodness and happiness thrive and abound when the believer is right with God. God’s promises of good includes: forgiveness of sins, eternal life now, salvation from all spiritual enemies, inner joy and lasting peace, and abundance, even extravagance, of all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. The goodness of God is unfathomable, and the good things He gives us are beyond anything we can think or imagine. Yes, God Gives Good!