Back in June, when I was at church camp, I learned a new song. Actually, now that I say (type) that, I think I might’ve heard it last year, but I’m forgetful. It felt new to me this year. It’s called “The Goodness of God.” First off, a disclaimer: I’m a bit of a stick in the mud when it comes to “new” church songs. So many of them are written for solo performers and not for congregational singing. Many of them are written like traditional pop-like songs, with the expectation of a band accompanying the performance. Also, a lot of the modern lyrics are just meh… and some are more about singing about ourselves than about encouraging each other or praising the Lord. Alright, that’s enough of me being crotchety.
The Goodness of God is a beautiful hymn. Here are the lyrics for the first verse and chorus…
I love You, Lord
For Your mercy never fails me.
All my days, I’ve been held in Your hands
From the moment that I wake up
Until I lay my head
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God…
[CHORUS]
And all my life You have been faithful
And all my life You have been so, so good.
With every breath that I am able
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God.
I catch myself going back to that chorus. It’s been a while since hymn lyrics have so totally ensnared me. The message is simple but powerful: It extols the Lord for His unwavering faithfulness, as many hymns do, but then it goes even further: It compels the singer to tell the Lord that they (we, us, the singers) will try harder to measure up to the Lord’s degree of faithfulness. All our lives God has been faithful and so good to us. Why not use every breath that we have to sing of God’s goodness, and to be as good to Him as He is to us?
That’s a level of perfection we’ll never achieve, but what a goal to set for ourselves!
~Matthew
PS: Don’t forget that, at the end of September, we will enjoy our Family Day weekend Gospel Meeting with Barry Grider. Be here on Friday evening, September 26th, at 7pm, as well as Saturday evening, September 27th, at 7pm to hear two excellent lessons from God’s Word, both in the lead-up to our big Family Day Sunday on September 28th.