Where Now?

Psalm 23

Psalm 23 NIV

A psalm of David. 1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Introduction

Today we are talking about the 23rd Psalm. More specifically, we are discussing the 6th verse of the psalm.

Today’s sermon is the 5th in a series of sermons on the 23rd Psalm. The series is entitled, “That’s My Story and I’m Sticking To It.”

Background

The psalms are intensely personal prayers, or hymns. They were written as songs with harps and singers, and like a song the emphasis is on an emotional connection. The psalms are really like songs of praise or love songs to God (Yahweh).

THEOLOGY OF THE PSALMS

Although the psalms are quite diverse, one theme pervades them all: God is King. His dominion extends throughout the universe because He created and sustained it. This reign will never end because He is eternal and all-powerful.In His sovereignty, this Great King chose Israel to be His people. He revealed himself to them by a special name, Yahweh, and linked Israel with himself by a covenant. Initiated with Abraham (see Genesis 12 , 15, 17), God expanded this covenant with Moses (Exodus–Deuteronomy). In essence, Yahweh promised to serve as a faithful king over Israel in return for its worship and obedience.

Lennox, S. J. (1999). Psalms: a Bible commentary in the Wesleyan tradition (p. 21). Indianapolis, IN: Wesleyan Publishing House.

Today’s verse looks at the covenant relationship in terms of God’s continuing presence, protection and provision.

Main Thoughts

Psalm 23 moves from abstract to personal.

Surely goodness and mercy

Goodness

God's goodness is a bedrock truth of Scripture. His goodness is praised in the psalms ( 25:8 ; 34:8 ; 86:5 ; 100:5 ; 118:1 ; 136:1 ; 145:9 ). Jesus affirms the Father's goodness when speaking to the rich young ruler ( Matt 19:17 ; Mark 10:18 ; Luke 18:19 ). In 1 Peter 2:3 Peter echoes the language of Psalm 34:8: "Taste and see that the Lord is good!"'

Although we might discuss God's goodness in some abstract philosophical sense, in Scripture his goodness appears most clearly in his dealings with people. He is not only good in general, but he is good to us ( Psalm 23:6 ; 68:10 ; 73:1 ; 119:65 ; 145:9 ; Lam 3:25 ; Luke 6:35 ; Rom 2:4 ; 11:22 ; Eph 2:7 ; Titus 3:4 ). Human goodness is modeled on divine goodness ( Matt 5:48 ). For human beings goodness involves right behavior, expresses itself in kindness and other praiseworthy qualities, includes avoiding evil, and springs from the inner person.

It is nearly impossible to think about goodness in the abstract. In Scripture goodness always involves particular ways of behaving. Because God is good, he is good to his people; when people are good they behave decently toward each other, based on God's goodness to them. Moses' invitation to Hobab expresses this emphasis: "Come with us and we will treat you well, for the Lord has promised good things to Israel" ( Num 10:29 ). The general biblical words for "good/ goodness" include this idea of right behavior, although the idea is often expressed by means of a more specific term like "upright/uprightness" or "righteous/righteousness."

The goodness God's people exhibit shows itself in various moral qualities, notably kindness; hesed [d,s,j], translated "goodness" or "kindness, " serves as one of the major synonyms of tob [b'f], "good, " in the Old Testament. In the New Testament many words describe the specific characteristics and behaviors of good people, including "just/justice, " "righteous/ righteousness, " "holy/holiness, " "pure/ purity, " "gentle/gentleness, " and "kind/kindness." If "goodness" is the general term, these other specific terms show what goodness means in daily living.

Goodness involves not only right behavior but also avoiding its opposite, evil. The choice between good and evil has lain before people since the garden of Eden when Adam and Eve ate fruit from the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil" ( Gen 2:9 ). Since then God's curse has fallen on "those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter" ( Isa 5:20 ). A wise ruler like Solomon, or indeed anyone who wants to obey God, needs the wisdom to tell good from evil ( 1 Kings 3:9 ; Heb 5:14 ). Those who serve God will "seek good, not evil, hate evil, love good" ( Amos 5:14-15 ).

For the Christian or the faithful Israelite, goodness has never been a matter of outward behavior alone; it comes from within. An evil person is evil within ( Gen 6:5 ; Mark 7:14-23 ; and parallels). In the same way a good person's good behavior shows a good heart ( Matt 12:33-35 ).

In the Old Testament God's goodness to his people and their goodness in response is based on the covenant between them. God's appeal to his people to return to the covenant relationship finds expression in a call to simple goodness ( Mic 6:6-8 ). In the New Testament goodness is a fruit of the Spirit ( Gal 5:22 ), while moral excellence is one of the steps on the "ladder of virtue" ( 2 Peter 1:5 ).

Mercy

Millard Erickson wrote in Christian Theology,

“God’s mercy is His tenderhearted, loving compassion for His people. It is His tenderness of heart toward the needy. If grace contemplates humans as sinful, guilty and condemned, mercy sees them as miserable and needy.”

Scripturally, at the root of the word “mercy,” we find several Old Testament Hebrew words.

Mercy in Hebrew

Racham means “to love or have compassion,” to have a disposition of mercy (Psalm 116:5).

Kapporeth means “ransom” and it’s associated with the “mercy seat” in Scripture (Exodus 25:22).

Chesed means “goodness,” “kindness,” or “mercifulness” (Psalm 18:25).

Mercy in Greek

In the New Testament Greek, the words are

Eleemon, meaning “to have pity on,” to “show compassion,” or to “be merciful;” (Matthew 5:7).

Oiktirmos also suggests compassion or pity. It’s the idea of divine forbearance in showing compassion and passing over sins. (Romans 12:1).

Mercy trumps judgment.

Mercy as the Foundation of God's Covenant.

RE goodness and mercy ...

That is, God’s favour, and the blessed and comfortable effects of it; Nothing but goodness and mercy.

Our moods may shift, but God’s doesn’t. Our minds may change, but God’s doesn’t. Our devotion may falter, but God’s never does. Even if we are faithless, he is faithful, for he cannot betray himself (2 Tim. 2:13). He is a sure God. And because he is a sure God, we can state confidently, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”

And what follows the word surely? “Goodness and mercy.” If the Lord is the shepherd who leads the flock, goodness and mercy are the two sheepdogs that guard the rear of the flock. Goodness and mercy. Not goodness alone, for we are sinners in need of mercy. Not mercy alone, for we are fragile, in need of goodness. We need them both.

- Max Lucado

shall follow me

by which emphatic expression he signifies God’s wonderful freeness and readiness to do good to his people, and that his blessings not only prevent us, but even pursue them who flee from them, or that they follow us in our journey through life, as the water out of the rock followed the camp of Israel through the wilderness.

Over the years of his long life David had found that God is good all the time. Further, the Lord's unfailing love would be present with him every step of life's journey. Paul encourages us in Romans 8:38–39 to count on God's love in all of life's circumstances. Nothing can separate us from His unfailing love. We can use trials to make us more aware of God's love so that we grow, rather than become bitter.

It’s typical that a predatory animal might follow or pursue a sheep. But what is it that David says follows and pursues him? God’s goodness and mercy (chesed). Not something bad but something very good. It pursues him. For his whole life.

And for those of us who know Christ, we have this kind of never-ending relationship with the Lord that’s marked by goodness and loyal love. We have Christ’s promise to be with us always. We have the promise that he will never leave nor forsake us. We are assured of his goodness and mercy.

Our lives have been overscheduled, and our calendars so full, we make it hard to be caught by those glorious twins. Between family, friends, and other adult responsibilities, we are simply worn out. But here’s the blessing; God’s goodness and mercy will never tire coming after us.

All the days of my life

From the former instances of God’s favour to him, he justly concludes that he would continue to show him favour in a similar way; for nothing can separate us from the love of God, if we do not separate ourselves from it: and the experience we have had of his goodness and mercy, already so often vouchsafed, naturally tends to beget an assurance of their being continued to the end.

Past experience teaches believers to trust that the goodness and mercy of God will follow them all the days of their lives, and it is their desire and determination, to seek their happiness in the service of God here, and they hope to enjoy his love for ever in heaven. While here, the Lord can make any situation pleasant, by the anointing of his Spirit and the joys of his salvation. But those that would be satisfied with the blessings of his house, must keep close to the duties of it.

This is the "result" of what is stated in the previous verses. The effect of God's merciful dealings with him had been to lead his mind to the assurance that God would always be his shepherd and friend; that He would never leave him to want.

Through all its changes; in every variety of situation; until I reach its close. Life indeed would end, and he does not venture to conjecture when that would be; but as long as life should continue, he felt confidently assured that everything needful for him would be bestowed upon him. The language is the utterance of a heart overflowing with joy and gratitude in the recollection of the past, and full of glad anticipation (as derived from the experience of the past) in regard to the future.

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever

Such passages are, of course, not to be understood literally; they express the longing of the soul for a sense of the continual presence of God, and a realization of constant communion with him.

Whereas I have formerly been driven from God’s house, I rest assured that I shall now constantly enjoy that blessed privilege of worshipping and enjoying God in his sanctuary, which I prize more than all my dominions. David’s words here, however, look still further, even to a perfection of bliss in a future state: as if he had said, The divine goodness and mercy having followed me all the days of my life, when that is ended, I shall remove to a better world, to dwell in the house of the Lord for ever, the house of my heavenly Father, in which there are many mansions, where the church of God will constitute one fold, under one shepherd, “the fold into which no enemy enters, and from which no friend departs; where the servants of God rest from all their labours, and see a period to all their sorrows; where the voice of praise and thanksgiving is heard continually; where all the faithful, from Adam to his last-born son, shall meet together, to behold the face of Jesus, and to be blessed with the vision of the Almighty; where they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them, or any heat. But the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and lead them to living fountains of waters.

John 14:2 LEB

2 In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places; but if not, I would have told you, because I am going away to prepare a place for you.

Revelation 7:16–17 LEB

16 They will not be hungry any longer or be thirsty any longer, nor will the sun ever beat down on them, nor any heat, 17 because the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and will lead them to springs of living waters, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Psalm 84:4 LEB

4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they can ever praise you. Selah

Psalm 26:8 LEB

8 O Yahweh, I love the dwelling of your house, and the place where your glory abides.

Reckless Love by Cory Asbury

Before I spoke a word, You were singing over me You have been so, so good to me Before I took a breath, You breathed Your life in me You have been so, so kind to me

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the ninety-nine I couldn't earn it, and I don't deserve it, still, You give Yourself away Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God, yeah

Conclusion