The Kindness of God (Psalm 65)

As is usually the case, we can think of God’s kindness in two ways: his kindness as the Creator and his kindness as the Saviour. Or we can approach it in another way and think about his kindness in the past, in the present and in the future, and doing this would provide us with many examples of his kindness. A third possible way is to think about his kindness personally and communally. I will use the first option, but aspects of the other two will also appear.

God’s kindness as Creator

The garden of Eden was an expression of God’s kindness because there he provided for Adam and Eve all that they needed for life as his creatures. Sadly, they rebelled against him and were cast out of the garden. But they were not destroyed, although they were punished by becoming liable to death. And God continued to show kindness to his creatures. Nevertheless, his creatures continued to rebel against him, and things got so bad that God decided that society had to be brought to an end, which happened at the flood.

 

After the flood, God continued to show kindness to Noah and his descendants. The book of Genesis tells us that God promised them that the seasons of summer and winter, springtime and harvest, would continue, and they have done so since then. The author of Psalm 65 includes this divine provision in his song of praise: ‘You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it. You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy (vv. 9-12).

 

When Paul and Barnabas were in Lystra, they told the local people that God ‘did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness’ (Acts 14:17). They were idolaters, but the Lord continued to show kindness to them.

 

This has continued down to the present day. All over the world, God provided for the needs of billions of people. If we had asked a scientist in the eighteenth century if he could imagine a world composed of the number alive today and if God could meet their needs, he would have replied by saying that it was very unlikely given that there was a real struggle in providing for the needs of his own time. The problem today is not usually about a lack of amount of food, but human selfishness and greed and cruelty. It is the case that sometimes God minimises a harvest as an act of judgement for sin, but nowhere in this world does he treat people in the way they actually deserve. He is very kind to them. 

 

Why does God do this? The answer is obvious – he is kind. Jesus taught his disciples about this when he said: ‘But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful’ (Luke 6:35-36). But we can mention one more reason, as stated by Paul in Romans 2:4: ‘Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?’

 

God’s kindness as Saviour

When was God’s kindness in this way first revealed? Surely, it was in the Garden of Eden after our first parents fell. Instead of only announcing judgement, he also announced the prospect of deliverance for those who had rebelled against him. Out of his kindness, he promised that a Saviour would come who would provide that deliverance. He continued to show his kindness through the announcements he made further describing what this deliverance would look like. 

Moreover, in his kindness, he chose a nation through whom he could display his character, his power and his mercy to the world. The fact that Israel failed to do so, that his revelation of his intentions was ignored, is not a negative reflection on God’s kindness. Indeed, it is the opposite because he persisted in showing that he is kind.

 

Of course, we have to remember that God’s kindness does not mean that he disposes of some of his attributes. He remains just and he will judge those who ignore his displays of mercy. We need to remind ourselves that every meal we have eaten will speak loudly on the Day of Judgement, because each of them is a reminder to us of his kindness. Ignoring his kindness only adds to the intensity of the condemnation that ungrateful sinners will receive.

 

We know how God showed his kindness the most. It was when Jesus came into the world. Is this not what John 3:16 highlights? Obviously, that well-known verse highlights the love of God, and the amazing reality of him giving his Son for sinners on the cross. That verse also reveals that God gives eternal life to all who will believe in his Son. Surely, in both those actions we see the kindness of God. In each of them, we see the fullness of his kindness. Could he have given a higher Saviour to be our deliverer? No, he gave his equal. Could he have given more to believing sinners than his gift of eternal life? What would a greater gift be? The fact is that God is immeasurably kind.

 

When we think about his kindness revealed in the gospel and his kindness revealed by him as the Creator, we should immediately recognise our undeservedness of them and repent of our sinfulness. But we should also express our gratitude to the Lord for showing such kindness to sinners. And our experience of his kindness does not stop with what we receive through being creatures and what we are given at conversion. The Lord has many other ways of showing kindness once we become his people.

 

Divine kindness in the Christian life

Here, I will mention aspects of divine kindness that are true of every Christian. It is the case that they as individuals will have particular experiences of his grace that others may not require, depending on their circumstances. 

One general experience of the Lord’s kindness is described by Paul in Romans 8 when he says that the Lord works all things together for the good of his people. The word that I would highlight is ‘works’ and we should note that it is in the present tense. Of course, ‘all things’ means ‘all things’ and we should not miss out the sense of assurance that comes from recognising his universal authority. Yet in order to see his kindness in a particular manner, think of everything that has happened to you today. There would have been a wide variety of things, and from our perspective they might have seemed totally unconnected, with no bearing on one another. We might even regard them as over, with no future influence on us. Yet our gracious God is working together all those loose threads in our lives and he will produce amazing good out of them. We cannot understand how that will happen, but we should rejoice in knowing that it will happen because the Lord is kind and has our good in mind.

 

A second general blessing that all Christians possess because of the kindness of the Lord is the vast range of his great and precious promises. Some of those promises are unconditional in the sense that they are independent of our behaviour – for example, there is the great promise that every Christian will be conformed to the image of Christ and glorified when he returns. While it is good to increase in Christlikeness now, we don’t earn future perfect conformity by our current devotion. Other promises are conditional. If we wish to enjoy God’s peace in our hearts we have to delight in his law and obey his Word. There are promises for all kinds of situations for our encouragement in the spiritual life. They reveal in a marvellous way the kindness of the Lord.

 

A third general blessing and one that is connected to the two mentioned is that of answered prayer. God hears our prayers and while sometimes he says no or wait, he usually answers our requests far above what we can imagine. When we pray for his help, we may have some form of answer in mind, but often the answer to one request will be wide-ranging in its effects. Answered prayer is an obvious way in which the Lord reveals his kindness.

 

Kindness in the future

Thinking about the longterm future of God’s people is veiled in some ways by the wonder of what is involved in the life of glory. Take the description of the Day of Judgement in Matthew 25 and the way the rewards that will be given to God’s people are described. The judge on that day will give the promised kingdom to those who served him in loving acts of obedience expressed towards his people. In another parable, Jesus says that judge will give great positions to those who served him. What is being stressed in both these parables is the kindness of the judge.

 

Paul explained to the Ephesians what eternity will be like: ‘in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus’ (Eph. 2:7). The apostle means that there will be a continuation of what we have already received through the liberality of divine grace. It is not possible for us now to describe in detail those features of divine kindness, but we can say that they are worth anticipating with delight.