God's Character

I will exalt you, my God and King, and praise your name forever and ever. [Psalm 145.1]

All of Psalm 145 should be carefully studied by every follower of God. There is a reason the writer of this Psalm (David) is making such a fuss over God!

What was that reason? Psalm 145 is crystal clear about God's character - something the world, and worse, the Church, are woefully ignorant of!

Verses 8 & 9 of Psalm 145 give us the basis of God's character by which to measure everything:

The LORD is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. The LORD is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all his creation. [Psalm 145.8-9]

This wasn't just David's opinion of God either! God Himself gave this same description of Himself to Moses:

The LORD passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The LORD! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations.” [Exodus 34.6-7]

Anything that anyone might conclude about God that does not correlate with this description is in gross error.

Verse 20 is telling:

The LORD protects all those who love him, but he destroys the wicked. [Psalm 145.20]

It is the "wicked" who suffer God's wrath. Not surprisingly, it is the wicked who accuse God of foul play in their punishment!

If, in light of Psalm 145.20 that God "protects all those who love Him," a person experiences "unprotection" in his circumstances, should not that person understand that his or her experience of "unprotection" is the result of wickedness?

Proverbs says:

Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse will not land on its intended victim. [Proverbs 26.2]

Curses are tied directly to sin. Period. Man is sinful and curses are his default condition! BUT! God so loved the world... Remember His character defined above?

Whether a person intentionally commits a sin and suffers for it, or a person is simply born into sin and suffers for it, "unprotection" is the resultant condition by default. 

ENTER: Jesus Christ!

Jesus' ministry on earth began with this word: "Repent" (Matthew 4.17).

Repentance is the key that unlocks all the protection God offers. Without repentance, there is no hope of God's blessing. God's character is unchanged - He is always good - but man is hopelessly disqualified to experience God's goodness EXCEPT AS HE IS SEEN THROUGH THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST BECAUSE OF HIS FAITH.

God is good. Man is bad. Jesus initially and perpetually transforms a repentant man so he might enjoy God's goodness. There is no gray area regardless how worldly religion may try to convince otherwise.

Father, I want to be convinced of Your character so much that all the gray areas religion tries to explain will be eliminated.