“Surely Goodness & Mercy Shall follow me…& I shall dwell…” Psalm 23:6

Oct 10

Week 10 - Psalm 23:6 “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

This is our last journal going through Psalm 23 together. It has been a joy to study the deeper details of this scripture, and I pray it has drawn you closer to our Shepherd.

I think of this week as our umbrella of gospel truth covering and pointing to the lens through which we see our life here on this earth as God’s sheep. These final verses in Psalm 23 share that God’s goodness and mercy is with us, and because of the hope of glory, we are forever changed.

GOODNESS AND MERCY

When I think about God’s mercy, I immediately think of Lamentations 3:21-23. The scripture says, “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

A few years ago, the part, “His mercies never come to an end” stood out to me for the first time as I listened to a podcast interview with Gloria Furman. She pointed out that since the earth is round, it’s always morning somewhere – hence, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning, and it’s always morning somewhere. The beautiful truth is that His mercies are not confined to morning time; they are always overflowing.

“His mercies never come to an end” rings in my head over and over. May we receive His endless mercies with thankful lifted hands.

Another version of the Bible uses “love” instead of mercy, saying, “surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life…” So what does this point to?

Endless mercy and love at the same time.

God’s love never ceases (Lamentations 3:22).

God’s love never ends (1 Corinthians 13:8).

The goodness and mercy-love of God follows you as God is those attributes in perfect form. In God’s perfect goodness, perfect mercy, and perfect love, He goes before you and is holding you always (Joshua 1:9).

I recently heard a pastor say that compassion and mercy go hand in hand. That’s our God.

His perfect character is the rock foundation upon which our faith stands. In his book, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, Keller emphasizes, “His goodness and mercy and compassion to me are new every day. And my assurance is lodged in these aspects of His character” (emphasis added).

When reflecting on your faith in God, what aspects of His character mean the most to you right now?

Remember the shepherd’s compassion using his staff to draw sheep near? Do you see Him as the good shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep (John 10)? Do you trust that Jesus Christ laid down His life for us (1 John 3:16)?

As image bearers of the Good Shepherd, we are called to exemplify qualities of His character, and Phillip Keller encourages us to think about the following questions when he said, “The only real, practical measure for my appreciation for the goodness and mercy of God to me is the extent to which I am, in turn, prepared to show goodness and mercy to others.”

Such a humbling reminder.

Keller then asks,

“Do I leave behind peace in [others’] lives – or turmoil?”

“Do I leave behind forgiveness – or bitterness?”

“Do I leave behind contentment – or conflict?”

“Do I leave behind flowers of joy – or frustration?”

We know His goodness and mercy is found along His path leading to our final home, and in the same breath, while we are here, we are called to leave a trail of His goodness and mercy behind us each day.

Practically speaking, that looks like more patience in the checkout and carpool line, pausing before speaking in moments of frustration, and using salt in our speech to encourage one another towards having an eternal lens daily. In both the big moments and the small.

When reflecting on the questions Keller asked, what type of daily trail are you leaving behind? Are you butting heads with one another or spurring others towards Christ’s love?

Because God’s mercies never come to an end, we follow our Shepherd with surety and encourage one another in this race set before us while we seek to show His mercy to one another (Hebrews 12:1).

We live in the tension of the present moment and looking towards what's to come, as Paul encourages us in Philippians 3:13-14, “But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

WE WILL DWELL

One of my favorite songs in the last year has been, “We will Dwell” by Iron City Worship band. The lyrics are often running through my head:

Sing, sing over us with the voice of our Shepherd,

Lead, lead us to life with the sovereign arm of mercy.

We will dwell in the shelter of the most high God,

We will sing in the courts of the King Who is coming again,

There is rest here in Your presence

Lift, lift up our eyes from the losses and the longings

Burn, burn like a fire through the terror of the darkness,

When the mountains fall into the ocean,

We trust in the One Who’s name is strong,

Trust in the hand of God Almighty

When the ocean rises up against us

We trust in the One Who’s name is strong

Trust in the hand of God Almighty

The lyrics speak for themselves. Do you find rest in His presence knowing He is with you in the losses and the longings? Do you trust in His sovereign arm of mercy as you believe He is coming again?

As I’ve stood on the threshold of life and death with my daughter, I can confidently tell you that we can “trust in the One Who’s name is strong.” We can rest in His presence. There is comfort that only He can bring in life’s deepest valleys, and in Him, I’ve found steadfast compassion and hope in my forever home.

It was in those moments that I was more confident of God’s presence than ever before. We are truly called to live with a daily surety, as Keller reminds us, to “live ever aware of God’s presence.” Our awareness of God’s presence is reflected in our influence on others, our personal study of God’s word, our willingness to be led by Christ, and our desire for satisfaction in our Savior.

As we influence others, Keller encourages us, “Almost every day I am literally rubbing shoulders with men and women ‘on the other side of the fence.’ What is my impact on them? Is my life so serene, so satisfying, so radiant because I walk and talk and live with God…Do they see in me the benefits of being under Christ’s control? Do they see something of Him reflected in my conduct and character? Does my life and conversation lead them to Him – and thus into life everlasting?”

As we study God’s word, Romans 12:9-21 and Colossians 3:10-17 are great verses to dive into qualities of a true Christian as we long to live as marked sheep.

As we are led in our seasons, we can make an impact on others by turning our misery into ministry. Keller mentioned in his book, “Only those who have been through such dark valleys can console, comfort or encourage others in similar situations.” I understand where he’s coming from here, but I want to encourage everyone to seek out opportunities to point others to the hope of our Savior in the midst of all of life’s circumstances. However, instead of coming with a solution or looking for the perfect words to provide in their hard moments, offer the ministry of presence and listening. Sit with people in the gaps and wait without all the answers in the hard because, as a wise friend said, “We can stand in the ‘I don’t know’ because of WHO we know.”

As we live in the world without conforming and instead press on toward the upward call, I point to C.S. Lewis’ famous quote, “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”

Short term sparks of joy from this broken world fade in hard seasons, while leading us to long for our better hope in the perfect life with Christ to come. It’s when we realize our need for the Shepherd that we seek to follow Him and everything changes.

When we lift our heads up to seek who our Savior is in the midst of our valleys, His comfort abounds.

In the book, A Gospel Primer for Christians by Milton Vincent, he says, “Hope of eternity with Christ in heaven also enables my heart to thrive during the most difficult and lengthy of trials here on earth. When looking at the sheer weight of unseen glories to come, my troubles seem light by comparison; and when looking at the staggering length of eternity, my troubles seem fleeting by comparison. It is only against the backdrop of a glorious eternity that my circumstances can been seen in such a manner…”

We were made for another world. Thank You, Jesus, for the promise of LIFE to come.

In thanksgiving, we proclaim the lyrics of the song, “We Fall Down” by Chris Tomlin:

“We fall down

We lay our crowns

At the feet of Jesus

The greatness of mercy and love

At the feet of Jesus

And we cry holy, holy, holy

Is the Lamb.”

As Believers, we must preach the gospel to ourselves daily. We remind ourselves:

The Shepherd anticipates our needs and gives us our daily bread. (Psalm 23:1)
The Shepherd brings peace in as nothing else can do. (Psalm 23:2)
The Shepherd provides still water in the midst of calm grazing and also in the midst of a storm. (Psalm 23:2)
When we are cast down, God leads us to the safe places that lead to restoration of our soul. (Psalm 23:3)
He leads us in paths of righteousness and holiness to live set apart for Him. (Psalm 23:3)
The Shepherd guides us to rich nutrients in the soil found in the valleys we walk. (Psalm 23:4)
He uses His authority with His rod and extends His compassion with his staff. (Psalm 23:4)
He sits with us in the presence of our enemies and covers us with His oil of protection. (Psalm 23:5)
Our Shepherd is the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. (2 Corinthians 1:3; Psalm 23:6)
He promises us the hope of the glory to come – and we keep our lamps burning with anticipation and fervor until His return. (Luke 12:35)