This weekend I heard a sermon on Psalm 23 that was quite profound. The 23rd Psalm is arguably one of the most famous of all the Psalms.
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 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 goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
One of the things that has caused people to love this Psalm so much through the centuries is its inherent poetic beauty. Even people who have no belief in God are impacted by the flowing words and images.
The teaching I heard this weekend looked at Ps. 23 less from a poetic perspective and more in terms of what David was revealing about the character and nature of God. What stood out for me was his discussion on v. 6 and the phrase ‘goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life’. The metaphor of goodness and love following him is certainly poetic but what David is saying is that God’s goodness and love are chasing me down every day. We rarely live with the revelation of God’s mercy and love ‘chasing us down’. Usually we are more aware of feelings of condemnation and guilt about our sin and failures.
Today I am praying that the Lord would touch my heart with this truth: that his mercy and love are coming after me, no matter the sin and failure. Of course I still need to stop and repent of my sin and then receive the mercy and love and forgiveness.
Holy Father, I come to you today and confess that I have sinned. Yet again I have chosen my own way of doing things and I have acted as if you were not sufficient in my life. But today Lord I want to be fully yours. I want all the areas of my life to be fully under your leadership. Thank you that your mercy and love have been following me and now I stop and repent and I want to be overtaken by your mercy and love. I agree with your word Lord that I am no longer defined by my sin but by your incredible love for me and I am declared as your child.
My prayer is also that you would be touched by the truth that God’s mercy and love is chasing you down today and that you would pray to repent and receive that mercy and love!
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Jim