In this new apologetic series, I’m going to take a look at some of the alleged Bible contradictions brought forth by atheists and skeptics of Christianity. Today, Psalm 145:9 is our verse.
Psalm 145:9 says, “The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.” This is a pretty simple verse, but skeptics often point out God’s acts in the Old Testament as a direct contradiction. For example, it can be seen that God wasn’t good to the Egyptians who drowned in the Red Sea during the Exodus. With this in mind, did the Bible contradict itself?
Firstly, it should be noted that Psalm 145 is a hymn of praise, and often hymns and poems aren’t meant to be taken as absolutes as lyrics are usually exaggerated to make a point. But does that mean God isn’t good? Let’s look at the verse in context. Verses. 8-10 say this, “The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. All you have made will praise you, O Lord; your saints will extol you.”
Simple enough. But further along, verse 20 says this, “The Lord watches over all who loves him, but all the wicked he will destroy.”
And so, with the context known, it becomes quite clear this isn’t contradictory at all. God is certainly good to all, but when one or a group of people from that “all” turn wicked, they no longer deserve that goodness, and so open themselves to God’s anger. Yet even then He is patient, as seen time and time again throughout the OT. Destruction is always the last resort.
In the end, if the skeptic wishes to use this verse isolated from its context and genre, he would wind up with an unjust God, unable to punish any abhorrent act of evil.
Our Certain Joy 