Table 5.2 Additional Terms in Psalms for Blessing
| Hebrew | English | # | References | Totals: Ps./all OT |
| בְּרָכָה | blessing | 6 | 3:8; 21:3, 6; 24:5; 129:8; 133:3 | 9/71 |
| טוּב | goodness | 5 | 25:7; 27:13; 31:19; 65:4; 145:7 | 7/32 |
| טוֹבָה | goodness | 4 | 16:2; 65:11; 68:10; 86:17 | 8/67 |
| יטב | to do good | 3 | 51:18; 119:68; 125:4 | 7/117 |
| שָׁלוֹם | peace | 7 | 29:11; 35:27; 72:7; 85:8, 10; 119:165; 147:14 | 27/237 |
| גְּמוּל | benefits | 1 | 103:2 | 4/19 |
| תַּגְמוּל | benefits | 1 | 116:12 | 1/1 |
the sons of Korah desire a manifestation of Yahweh’s kindness, mentioning His act of giving and His peace (85:7–8). Near the end of the Psalter we find another connection between blessing and peace (147:13–14). Additionally, the blessing theme includes two words that mean “benefit,” listed below in Table 5.2. No doubt in other places Psalms touches on the theme without using one of the dozen words inventoried in the tables below. For example, Psalm 145, which uses four of the words, additionally includes two significant propositions of God’s goodness. (1) “The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down” (v. 14), and (2) “Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing” (v. 16). Thus wherever we find fulfillment of human desires, prosperity, or deliverance from trouble, we are looking at God’s blessing and goodness.
Propositions
The many verses listed in Tables 5.1 and 5.2 direct us to several theological generalizations. We begin with a proposition that should be obvious, but there is a human tendency to forget that (1) because God is good, He is always doing good.122 In other words, His nature manifests itself in His actions. The psalmist puts it quite simply: “Thou art good, and doest good” (119:68). David affirms this: “For You, Lord, are good … and abundant in lovingkindness [acts of love]” (86:5). The phrase “for the Lord is good” (יְהוָה כִּי־טוֹב) describes His nature (34:8; 100:5; 135:3). The shorter form, “for he is good” (כִּי־טוֹב), occurs five times (106:1; 107:1; 118:1, 29; 136:1). In the contexts of many of these verses, the psalmists mention God’s good actions, sometimes in general: “the mighty acts of the Lord” (106:2) and “magnificent, amazing deeds” (136:4, NET). Specifically, God’s good deeds include provisions for those in need (34:9), rescue from enemies (107:2), responding to someone calling in distress (118:5), and election to be a part of His special treasure (135:4).123 David says, “Good and upright is the Lord; therefore will he teach sinners in the way” (25:8). Later he exclaims about that characteristic in action: “Oh how great is thy goodness” (31:19a).
(2) God has extended His goodness to all of His creation. This proposition is explicit in 145:9. “The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.” This is what theologians call common grace.124 David announces that God provides water for the earth, thus “blessing its growth” (65:9–10, ESV). He says to God, “Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness” (65:11).125 Another psalm proclaims, “The land yields its harvest; God, our God, blesses us” (67:6, NIV). The expression of God’s benevolence to all His creatures occurs also in 85:12; 104:27–28;