Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever. Psalms 23:6
David, the son of Jesse and the youngest of his brothers knew a lot about sheep and shepherds. He also knew a lot about singing and making music unto the Lord. Through this Psalm (as well as plenty of others) we know that he also knew a lot about the Lord and His relationship with His children.
Through this Psalm you can literally see David’s life unfolding before you and you can also see the unseen hand of God in his life. He talks about the Lord’s care and provision for His children (His sheep, as it were). He mentions God’s forgiveness and restoration, which David knew about first hand as well (remember the wife of Uriah).
David knew his share of troubles and included something in the Psalm about that as well, referring to the “valley of the shadow of death”. But, not just covering one side of the battles that come with this life, he also sings of God’s anointing and abundant provision.
But, all of that brings us to our verse. Obviously, David’s life was not one of sinless perfection and it certainly was not a life free of trouble. There were plenty of rainy days in his life and a few days where it seemed as if the sun would never shine again. David knew the pain of loss and even despair. He was well acquainted with sorrow and disappointment.
Some of this may seem like a familiar tune — David may be singing your life story as well as his. Maybe, like David, you have not always been a perfect saint; perhaps a few bad choices along the way. You may have been let down by others and falsely accused and attacked by those who should love and care for you (hopefully not to the point of having to hide out in caves!) and you could have even been betrayed by someone close to you as David was. That’s all a part of life in this world. What’s so good about all of that? Nothing. This is not about any of that stuff that life consists of nor is it about you — it is about your heavenly Father and your Savior, Jesus Christ.
Someone asked Jesus about doing something good to get into heaven and Jesus explained to him (and to us) that only God is good. Our righteousness is, at best, like filthy rags. Yet, for all of the evil that is in this world and all of the bad, your life can be filled with goodness every day. On top of that, even though you can do nothing to deserve it, God’s favor will fill your life for all the days of your life.
This last verse of the twenty third Psalm provides you with the assurance of a good day every day as well as a blessed hope for eternity. Believe and confess today and all of your days that your life will be filled with God’s goodness and that His mercy is being poured out on you and your loved ones.
God’s got you covered in this life, even in the midst of all of the challenges you face every day. And, He has a house for you to dwell in forever. It’s all about His goodness and mercy!
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