IN the previous verses the prophet Nahum has warned sinful Nineveh the greatness of the power of God to execute his judgement on this city on account of their persistent godlessness and rebellion against God. In these next two verses, the prophet holds before Nineveh and us who live today, the very nature of God.

The first thing these verses reveal to us is the presence and self existence of God. It is taken as axiomatic that God exists in timeless glory and power. It is taken as self evident that God is the creator and sustainer of all he has created, which is this universe in which humanity lives. It takes for granted the truth that God is in control of all he has created, and orders all things according to his sovereign rule, and that all creation belongs to him. In the time of Nahum this revelation of God was self-evident and accepted, even by those, like Nineveh, who rebelled against him, and lived according to their sinful desires, as they followed the will of Satan and their sinful nature. In the present time things are not quite so clear. The problem lies in the fact that Satan's dominance over the humanity has caused some to deny the existence of God, some to say that it is impossible to know God in any way and that the world is governed by chance. Some who are religious have false views of God from their own thinking, some in the visible church place their wisdom over the Bible, and by this authority decide what God is like, and reject the whole revelation of himself that God has given of himself in his infallible word. In substance these people claim that the Bible only contains the word of God, but is subject to error in many ways according to the limitations of the writers of the various books in the Bible. In contrast the Bible claims for itself that it is the infallible revelation of God and does not err, and that God in sovereign power made sure that the writers of the various books in the Bible expressed his truth without error.

This is the true way for us sinful and limited creatures to approach the Bible, so as we come to study and meditate on these next two verses we seek the illumination of God by his Holy Spirit to hear what these verses are revealing to us.

I have entitled this sermon with the title the 'GOODNESS OF GOD' and this is the truth expressed by the prophet in the opening four words of verse seven. These read 'The Lord is Good'. This is the whole substances of God in all his actions in the universe he has made, and towards humanity as a whole, to the rebellious, and to the faithful. God is good in all his actions whether in blessing or in judgement. This description of God's character and way is true for verse 7 as well as verse 8.

THE GOODNESS OF GOD TO THE FAITHFUL.

Verse 7 tells us that the Lord is a refuge to those who trust him in times of trouble, and that God cares for them. In seeking to understand this truth of God, the first thing we need to be clear upon is what the words 'those who trust in him' express.

Two Scriptures come to mind as I approach this question. One is from the Old Testament and is found in Proverbs 3: 5 and these words read 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding'. The other is found in the New Testament in the letter to the Hebrews chapter 11: 6 and these words read 'And without faith it is impossible to please God, because every one who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him'.

In the first place both these Scriptures speak of God as an almighty personal God whom to trust is the whole substance of true religion. However this must be unpacked and open up for us. The question is how can we trust in this almighty God unless he has revealed himself to us. This is the core of the matter. Trust is in a person, and before we are able to truly trust this person, we must have him revealed to us. In a words we must believe that he exists and and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Going into this matter further the words of Proverbs 3: 5 extend our understanding. Firstly, trust must be with all our hearts. This means that there must be a wholehearted trust, that is a trust without any questions and reservations; then secondly, in this trust we must not 'lean on our own understanding'. This advice is so needed because there are two serious flaws in our own understanding. The first is that we have been created by God, so it is impossible for us to come to a true understanding of God by our own thought and wisdom. God gave us our understanding and so it must be less than the wisdom of God, and to say that we can decide the truth about God by our own wisdom is folly. The other thing that makes it impossible to know the trust about God by our own understanding is in the fact that our wisdom is limited and corrupted by our inheritance in Adam. As the progeny of Adam we inherit the corruption which Adam infected the whole of humanity when he obeyed Satan rather than God, and so gave his allegiance to Satan rather then God. Paul describes this corruption in Ephesians 2: 1-3 when he reminds the Ephesian believers what they were like before they were quickened with new life by God's saving grace, mercy and love.

From all this it is clear that unless God reveals himself to humanity there can be no true understanding of God, and this is absolutely necessary if we are to trust in him truly and completely. So firstly and most importantly trust in his written word recorded for us in the Bible is where true trust in God must be founded. We must trust God's word, what he has revealed to us. It is important to realise that there can be no true knowledge of God unless God is pleased to reveal himself to sinful human beings. God has graciously done this in giving us the Scriptures. Because of this, trust in the Lord must commence with wholehearted acceptance that God has spoken the truth about himself in the whole of the Bible. It is not good enough to say the Bible simply contains the truth about God, and because of this we must rely on our human wisdom to discern what God is like. If we do this we will simply create a God which we would like God to be from our own sinful and corrupt perception and desire. Such a God can only be an idol created in our thinking and in our own image.

Further to this, such a way of approaching and understanding of the truth about God, leaves us with no assurance whatsoever. This is because each individual, committed to this way of thinking, means that there will as many false gods as there are people who imagine them by their own wisdom. It is no good saying that there is a consensus which will approximate to the truth, for this way of approaching the knowledge of God leaves us with doubts and no assurance. So there can not be any authority which gives any certainty.

Trust in the Lord must be, and can only be, when we receive the whole of the Bible as the infallible truth of God that God has made known to us. If we do this we will be in good company. This is because this was accepted by our Lord Jesus Christ, the apostle Paul and the apostle Peter, and indeed all the true people of God we read about in the Bible.

This is the only way to know what it means to trust in the Lord, because it is only in the Bible are we taught by God how we are to approach him, and what is required of us as we approach him. The Bible reveals to us that God is holy, and cannot tolerate anything that falls short of the glory of his holiness. The Bible tells us that according to his holiness he must judge and exterminate sin, and this means that all humanity must come under the judgement of God and suffer that judgement for sin in everlasting damnation. The Bible makes clear that this problem of our sin must be dealt with if we are to escape this dire end, and know fellowship with God. The Bible is the place that the wonderful love of God in meeting this urgent need is made known to us. It is in the Bible that we are continually told how the problem of our sin, and the way to know God's blessing, may be found. It is sufficient to say here that this revelation is encapsulated in the words of Jesus in John 14: 6 where we read these words of Jesus 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me'.

This was the faith that Nahum is resting on although he and the Old Testament saints only saw it in the promise of the Saviour, Messiah, to come which we know more clearly as Jesus Christ.

It is to these people of faith, who trust in the Lord so revealed, that know the blessings Nahum speaks of in Nahum 1: 7. The Bible reveals to us that such people know God as Father, and so are his children under his care; and that Jesus is our Shepherd and we are his sheep under his care.

First of all such people who so trust in the Lord find themselves in his care. This has deep meaning that also needs to be unpacked. We can sum up the revelation and teaching concerning this care from John chapter 10 where Jesus says in verse 1 'I tell you the truth...' and goes on to tell us about the sheep pen in which all those who are his sheep dwell in safety. Jesus tells us that we can only enter his sheep pen through the gate, where he is the door. If any try to climb in another way suggested to them by their own wisdom, they are simply thieves and robbers, and not his sheep.

Then Jesus tells us his goodness as the good Shepherd, and how he gives his life for his sheep. And this brings us to the cross where he voluntarily suffered the death we deserve so that we might have life and belong to him. He bought us to be his sheep at the greatest cost of suffering the eternal death we deserve in our place when he died at calvary. He points us to his victory in his resurrection which gives us the assurance that he fully suffered the whole penalty of our sin, and so the penalty of death is cancelled by him for all who are his sheep. His care for us as his sheep is that he firstly gives us the blessing of eternal life.

Jesus goes on to speak of how he goes before his sheep leading them in the right way in life. He tells us that he provides pasture, that is all that we need for life. He is the good shepherd who defends his sheep from all harm. He tells us that he knows each one of us by name, and loves us all individually. So Nahum's word is God's word, and Nahum is telling us the truth which is for all who trust in him. We are everlastingly cared for.

Nahum also gives this assurance in the midst of the troubles of life. He tells this glorious truth that the Lord is good to be our refuge in times of trouble. Life is full of troubles. The children of God, the sheep of Jesus, have a refuge in the Lord when the ordinary troubles of life which all humanity undergo fall on us. The rest of humanity have no such refuge. There only refuge is in themselves and other human beings who are limited in the help they are able to give, and so they have no care when suffering terminal illness, or the persecution of cruel human beings, or when losses pile up around them. The Lord is the refuge of his people and he does holds us, strengthen us, and bring us through all such troubles.

Then there are the troubles which are peculiarly the experience of those who trust in the Lord. Satan is our vicious enemy who assaults us in every way he can. There is the trouble of the forces of the world seeking to bring us down. There is also the enemy within which comes from our sinful nature which Satan continually tempts and attacks in order to cause us to sin and grieve our loving shepherd. In all these troubles the Lord is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (Psalm 46).