“The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows them that trust in Him. Nahum 1:7
The Targum (Aramaic interpretation of the Hebrew Bible) reads the scripture above, “The Lord good – To Israel, to Hezekiah and His people, that betook themselves to Him, and put their trust in Him; whom He defended and preserved from the king of Assyria, to whom He was dreadful and terrible, destroying his army in one night by an angel.” We see this also in the deliverance from the Egyptians when He interposed in a cloud between the camp of Israel and the camp of the Egyptians, the cloud was to Israel a pillar of fire, to give them light; but to the Egyptians it was a cloud of darkness, to obstruct their way. And such is the varied aspect of Jehovah to His friends and enemies in all ages. In context towards the Ninevites (Nahum chapter 1), who had now almost filled up the measure of their iniquities, and forced, as it were, from Jehovah a decree of utter and everlasting amputation. “He is good;” “every way good”; and it is so in all that He has ever done. His works of creation were all, after an attentive survey of them by the Divine Artificer, pronounced to be “very good.” Each day was a new day and when it was finished the Great Artificer with the final stroke of His brush said, “It was good.” Nothing could be added or taken from it for it was done by Divine Perfection! Simeon comments “In the course of so many thousands of years there never has been found one single instance in which any work of His could be improved; so perfect has been the adaptation of every part to its respective use, and so complete the subservience of each to the good of the whole. His works of providence come less within the sphere of human observation, because we know not all the ends that are to be accomplished by them: but of these which have been the darkest we have had the unanimous testimony of the best judges, that “He has done all things well;” and that, however clouds and darkness may have been round about Him, justice and judgment have been the basis of His throne.” Of His works of redemption what shall we say? In what terms can we convey any just notion of them? Verily the tongue of an archangel is incapable of expressing the goodness of God in giving His only dear Son to die for us. This mystery far exceeds the comprehension of any finite intelligence: its “height and depth and length and breadth can never be explored.” The incarnation and death of the Son of God is the one subject of adoration amongst all the hosts of heaven, and will continue to be so through the countless ages of eternity. Redemption is the New Creation perfected in Christ Jesus the Lord and when He cried “It is finished” the Great Artificer with His brush signed it saying “it is very good!”
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