An Abundance of Goodness and Truth

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11)

Our God is an abundance of goodness and truth. Those three phrases – abundance, goodness, and truth – those three phrases are absolutely essential for the validity of this statement. They are the three legs of kitchen stool. Take one out, and someone’s getting hurt. But why exactly are these important?

For one, God is an abundance. As He is the infinite God, there is no limit to the abundance, the fullness of which He can give His people. Our God can give of Himself and not be any less for it. He gives without lacking; He fills without emptying. He is the well that never runs dry. For us to have pleasures “forevermore,” there must be an abundance. Do you remember the wedding feast of Cana? What was Mary’s complaint? “They have no wine.” Party over! An open bar that runs out of drink is both a disappointment and a falsehood. We cannot enjoy something unless we can enjoy it securely, unless we can have a secure supply.

And for two, God is an abundance of good. All of His works are good and just. In Genesis 6, man is described as an abundance of evil. “Every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). How different from our God! Jesus is described as one who was constantly doing good (Acts 10:38). If there was the slightest mixture of evil intent in God, the whole of His heaven would be contaminated. Our eternal abode would be one of eggshells, for we would be worried if that one sliver of evil would rear its ugly head. In our God, we have no worries of that. He is abundant in goodness.

And three, our God is an abundance of goodness and truth. In Him is no falsehood, no deceit, no deception. Falsehood leads down the path of destruction, but truth takes us down the path of life. He guides us with His very own counsel, with the counsel that laid the foundations of the earth and that planned the redemption accomplished by Christ. With this counsel, He leads us and receives us into glory. As Augustine prayed: “Lord, let Thy Holy Scriptures be my pure delight in which I can neither deceive or ever be deceived.”

Our God has a greater abundance of goodness and truth than the sun does light and heat. From Him springs forth all of our life, joy, and peace. The closer we are to Him, the more we will enjoy Him. As Lelia Morris penned: “Nearer, still nearer, while life shall last, till safe in glory my anchor is cast; through endless ages, ever to be nearer, my Savior, still nearer to Thee.”