The Sinful Heart 18

Charity does not oblige us to think any man good, because Christ says, “there is none good.” (Thomas Adam, Private Thoughts on Religion)

“The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).

Perhaps one of the issues about our own depravity is our changing the definition from what is good in the eyes of God to what we like or want. When Moses cried out to God to show him His glory (Exodus 33:18), God responded my opening the eyes of Moses to His goodness and the sovereignty of His grace. For example, Psalm 136:1 starts off that important Psalm with these words: “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.” The language seems to indicate that we are to give thanks to the LORD because He is good. How do we know He is good or what is one way this goodness is manifested? His goodness is manifested in the fact that the lovingkindness of the LORD is everlasting. So the lovingkindness of the LORD flows out of His goodness.

Psa 136:9 The moon and stars to rule by night, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
10 To Him who smote the Egyptians in their firstborn, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
11 And brought Israel out from their midst, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
12 With a strong hand and an outstretched arm, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
13 To Him who divided the Red Sea asunder, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
14 And made Israel pass through the midst of it, For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
15 But He overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
16 To Him who led His people through the wilderness, For His lovingkindness is everlasting;
17 To Him who smote great kings, For His lovingkindness is everlasting,
18 And slew mighty kings, For His lovingkindness is everlasting:

In the parts of Psalm 136 listed above, not many people in the modern world would begin to understand how the lovingkindness and the goodness of God could possibly be displayed in those actions. How could it be that the lovingkindness of God in the smiting of the firstborn of the Egyptians was good? How could it be that when the LORD drowned the army of Pharaoh in the Red Sea that His lovingkindness displayed His goodness? How could it be that the goodness of God is seen in killing great and mighty kings? When we are hesitant to think of those things as displays of the goodness of God it displays the lack of goodness in our hearts because our idea of good is not the same as God’s idea of goodness.

God’s idea of goodness is the display of His glory in the good of His people who bear His name. In the modern day the idea of good is simply what feels good for me, though there are some who argue that it is what is good for the greatest number of people. The goodness of God shines forth in the cross of Christ, but so many today think of that as a horrible event and could not be true because of the wrath in it. The wicked heart of man can behold the very essence of the glory of the goodness of God and think of it as vile and beneath true morality. The human heart is so full of self that it does not seem to be able to see anything but what is of benefit to it (as it thinks of benefit) at the moment as good.

How wicked it is of the human heart to even think that its fleshly actions for self can be good. How wicked of the human heart to think that its fleshly actions in religion for self can possibly be acceptable to God. How wicked is the human heart to curse God for His display of justice and righteousness and think of it as evil. How wicked is the human heart to only think of good as that which makes it feel good. In doing so, that is one way human beings try to be like God. Notice how Genesis 3:5, which was the promise of the Serpent to Eve, fits with the present idea of human beings determining what is good: “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When man fell into sin, he thought he could determine right and wrong for himself. However, that is the prerogative of God alone. So man thinks he can determine what is right and wrong for himself and in doing so he judges God as non-good. To the degree human beings follow their own wisdom as to what is good is to the degree that they think goodness comes from them and is determined by them. This is a hideous evil and an attempt to usurp the throne of God. God and His goodness will triumph.

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