Goodness and Mercy Shall Follow Me

Surely Goodness and Mercy Shall Follow Me and I Will Dwell in the House of the Lord Forever.

Continued Study of A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by Phillip Keller.

Today we finally come to the close of this book.  We have followed the sheep through a year in their life.  And as Keller has pointed out in every chapter, we see the benefits of the flock that are under the care of a good Shepherd.  Now the psalmist is summing it up by saying “Surely Goodness and Mercy Shall Follow Me and I Will Dwell in the House of the Lord Forever. “  Lets take this apart and see what this means for us.

A sheep that could say such a thing knows without a doubt that he is in a privileged place.  No matter what comes, his shepherd has proven faithful and he can be perfectly sure that goodness and mercy will follow him.  As I say this of course I am referring to us “human sheep”.  Do we as Christians really know and experience this statement?  Do we really believe that no matter what happens, goodness and mercy are ours?

What about when we lose a job, lose a loved one, have an illness, accident, etc.  When hope lies in ruins can we say without a doubt that “Goodness and Mercy Shall Follow Me and I Will Dwell in the House of the Lord Forever.”?  Most of the time it is in the “looking back” that we see the hand of God and not when we are going through the trial.  But our Good Shepherd picks us up in those valleys of despair and carries us through.  We MUST have as the foundation of our faith that no matter what comes upon us we realize that we are truly in Christ’s care and no difficulty or dilemma or seeming disaster can descend on us without eventual good coming out of the situation.

John 10:7-15. In this passage Jesus talks of how he is the Good Shepherd, how he knows his sheep.  In verse 14 & 15 he says that he knows his sheep just as he knows his Father and we know that he and the Father are one.  He knows us that intimately and loves us.  We can be assured that if we have taken him as Savior and Lord of our lives that “Surely Goodness and Mercy Shall Follow Me and I Will Dwell in the House of the Lord Forever. “

Keller also points out that just as goodness and mercy follows us, it should also be left behind us.  We need to leave a legacy of goodness and mercy.   Is this true of our lives??  Do we leave a blessing and benediction behind us?   Isaiah 52:7 says: How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of them that bring good news.  Perhaps we should ask ourselves these questions:

Do I leave behind peace in 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?

Do I leave behind love – or hostility?

What is our attitude toward others? Do we see others with the compassion of Christ, are we willing to overlook faults and weaknesses in others and extend forgiveness?  If we are unable to extend forgiveness then is certain that we know little or nothing in a practical sense of Christ’s forgiveness and mercy to us.

If we know firsthand about the goodness and mercy of God we will be warm and affectionate toward others.  This is a blessing to God.  We can bless God! Sometimes we feel that only God can bless but we can bless Him.  It’s a two way proposition.

Keller points out that nothing pleased him more than to see his flock flourishing.  It delighted him personally to see that the care he had given them had been compensated.  They were content.  Our shepherd is looking for that satisfaction from his flock as well.  This is the benefit we can bring to him.

He looks on us and loves us deeply.  That is why we love him, because he first loved us and gave all for us.

And so we, as satisfied sheep want to Dwell in the House of the Lord Forever. “ We go back to John 10:9.  This doesn’t just mean that when we get to heaven we will dwell in his “house” but here on this earth we dwell in his presence.  In the presence of the Holy Spirit, who guides us along our paths every day.

We can develop a habit of having an awareness of “Christ in us” empowering us to live a richly rewarding life in cooperation with Him.  We can live surrounded by his presence.  He is conscious of every circumstance I encounter.  He attends me with care and concern because I belong to Him.  And this will continue through eternity.  Wow!  I shall dwell in the presence (in the care of) the Lord forever.