It Starts Small

We are coming to a close to this series on the 23 Psalm. Our goal in this series has been to find encouragement. These are difficult days for all of us. Many of us feel tired, jaded, discouraged, and flat. Some of us are anxious, fearful and even distressed at what the future might bring.

We came to this Psalm looking to be refreshed. I have loved meditating on Psalm 23. Living in it for these last weeks has done me good, how about you?

The first person to be helped by this Psalm was David himself. Picture what it was like for David to write this Psalm under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. His life was plagued with temptations, trials, and no loss in trouble. Aggravation from Saul, opposition from the Philistines, the pressures of leading a divided nation, trouble in his own family, not to mention the sins that plagued his own heart. Maybe to certain degrees our lives are no different than David. Me might not be King of a nation, but he had his fair shake at the human experience….the same human experience we face every day. We face the same enemy.

As David thinks about all that he is facing, his mind goes back to the early years of his life when his work had been keeping the sheep. As I reflect on the life of David, how encouraging is it that God allowed David to be a shepherd, so when David was inspired by the Holy Spirit he wrote from experience in a way we could all understand. As he remembers what he did for the sheep, some words come to him The Lord is my shepherd.

He begins to think about what that means. ‘When I cared for the sheep, they lacked nothing, and the Lord is a better shepherd than I was so the same will be true for me. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. How often do we try to take care of our own lives and steward them in our on way, all to learn that we fail miserably at it.

Words continue to come to David as he thinks about what it means for the Lord to be His Shepherd. The Lord leads me. He leads me into rest and He leads me into righteousness. We are unable to lead ourselves to rest or our own righteousness.

The Lord restores me. My heart wanders and my spirit falters. But the Lord picks me up. The Lord brings me back. The Lord will never let me go. We can never wander so far as to be out of reach of the Lord!

The Lord guards me. I have walked through some dark valleys and more lie ahead of me. But even when I walk through the darkest valley, my Shepherd will be with me. If your on the mountain or in the darkest valley, He is with you!

The Lord sustains me. The Philistines hate me. Trusted colleagues betray me. Members of my own family rise up against me, but the Lord stands with me and gives me strength. He prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

The whole of this Psalm is a meditation on what the Good Shepherd does for His sheep. And David’s faith is strengthened as he takes in what the Lord does for him. His first thought is “I shall not want” but by the end, he is able to say something even better: ‘Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23 is an exercise in faith. It brings to mind all that is true of you in Christ. That is why it is so encouraging. This Psalm is not a ritual saying at the end of ones life or at funerals. It is something we can meditate on today to be encouraged!

When you are tired and jaded and drained and flat, when you are run down and you need to be refreshed, bring to mind all that is yours in Jesus Christ and your faith will be strengthened.

¹ My soul, bless the Lord,
and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
² My soul, bless the Lord,
and do not forget all his benefits.

Psalm 103:1-2

Now today, we are looking at the last verse of this Psalm. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me…

When the Lord is your shepherd, His love surrounds you now and forever. And the love of the Good Shepherd is: A love that pursues, and a love that welcomes. Today we are going to look at a love that pursues.

One of the joys of a farming life are the dogs that chase after the sheep. A shepherd’s dogs are always with him. There are many internet stars that provide endless videos other shepherd dogs. I love to watch them in action. When the shepherd goes out to gather sheep from the hills, and bring them into the pens, the dogs go with him. They will run in wide acres over the hills, chasing the sheep in the direction the shepherd wants them to go. When the sheep are gathered, the shepherd will lead them, and the dogs will bring up the rear.

Sheepdogs are beautiful, highly trained, hardworking and intelligent creatures and no shepherd would ever be without them. Douglas Macmillan quotes a Scottish shepherd who preached on the verse we are looking at today: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. Think of a shepherd walking in front of his sheep. The sheep follow him, and behind them are two sheepdogs chasing after the stragglers, and keeping the flock close to the shepherd. The Good Shepherd has two sheepdogs; one is called ‘Goodness.’ The other is called ‘Mercy.’

I love that picture!  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. The Good Shepherd keeps me close to Himself through His goodness and mercy that are always chasing after me.

Let’s take a look at these two lovely sheepdogs:

Goodness

Someone may say, “Well my life is filled with a great deal of trouble.” You can easily list many things that are not as you would want them to be. Sin has brought its devastating effects into the world, and things are not as they should be in our world, our country, our work, our churches, our homes or in our own hearts. But there is good in your life too. James says:

¹⁷ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

James 1:17

Everything good in your life comes from the loving hands of God. So, thank Him for it. Sinners blame God for every thing and thank Him for nothing. Believers thank God for everything and blame Him for nothing. Goodness is God giving us what we do not deserve. Do not confuse God’s goodness with the idea that He somehow owes you something. God owes you nothing. He gives fromt he abundance of His love for you. If you belong to the Good Shepherd, God’s goodness is always chasing after you.

Mercy

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.

Goodness is God giving us what we do not deserve.
Mercy is God not giving us what we do deserve.

God chases after us with mercy. That is good news, because if God chased after us in justice we would all be in trouble.

When I lived in Colorado, summer time should have been a signal for fun in the sun, however, for many, it was a signal for wildfires. Several wildfires hit close to home. We watched the Waldo Canyon fire destroy and devastate and a few years later was the Black Forest fire.

Did you know that the Bible uses that picture to describe God’s judgment of the wicked.

Make them like tumbleweed, my God,
like straw before the wind.
¹⁴ As fire burns a forest,
as a flame blazes through mountains,
¹⁵ so pursue them with your tempest
and terrify them with your storm.
¹⁶ Cover their faces with shame
so that they will seek your name, Lord.
¹⁷ Let them be put to shame and terrified forever;
let them perish in disgrace.
¹⁸ May they know that you alone—
whose name is the Lord—
are the Most High over the whole earth.

Psalm 83:14-18

That’s how God’s judgment pursues the wicked. A wildfire sweeping over the mountain consuming everything in its path.

So, thank God, that in Christ He does not chase after you with the wildfire of judgment. He chases after you in mercy. Goodness and mercy will follow me. And this is how the Good Shepherd keeps us close to Himself.

If God was chasing after you with judgment and condemnation, of course you would run. But why would you run when you are being chased by goodness and mercy? Are you running from God’s mercy and goodness?

⁴ Or do you despise the riches of his kindness, restraint, and patience, not recognizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?

Romans 2:4

God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance. God’s goodness and mercy are chasing after you to bring you closer to the Good Shepherd.

And David is in no doubt about this. He says Surely goodness and mercy will follow me .’ When you belong to the Good Shepherd, you can be sure about this: God chases after you, not in judgment and condemnation, but in goodness and mercy.

Follow me

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. Remember, David has already said that the Good Shepherd leads His sheep. He leads me beside still waters. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

The Shepherd is in front of the sheep. But now he says that the Shepherd’s goodness and mercy follow the sheep. So, in Christ, you are encircled in the love of Christ.

There is an ancient Celtic hymn attributed to St Patrick in the 5th century. It begins with these words, I bind unto myself today, the strong name of the Trinity.

Then this:

Christ be with me, Christ within me Christ behind me,
Christ before me, Christ beside me,
Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

 ‘I Bind Unto Myself Today,’ Attributed to St. Patrick, (385-461), tr. Cecil Frances Alexander, (1818-95)

When the Lord is your shepherd, you are surrounded on all sides by the goodness and mercy of God. Behind me, before me, beside me, beneath me above me.

Brothers and sisters, nothing can ever separate us from you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

³⁸ For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38-39