August 25, 2023 SURELY GOODNESS AND MERCY
Psalm 23:6 “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
If we miss the the true meaning of one of the words of this familiar verse, we miss the main point of the verse and the impact it has. The key word is follow. We think of the word follow as someone simply walking or trailing behind one as they walk down the street-or wherever; like a puppy dog following it’s owner. The Hebrew word for follow in this Psalm is ‘radapy,’ and it means to chase down, to pursue relentlessly, to chase after. For me, that definition of follow sheds new light on this verse. Francis Thompson, author of a poem entitled ‘Hound of Heaven,’ refers to goodness and mercy as the hounds of heaven who never stop pursuing. The word mercy is often translated ‘loving kindness.’ There are many verse that refer to the goodness of God. The very nature of God is that He is good and He is merciful. Like David, who wrote this psalm, we experience difficult times in this life, but even so, His goodness and mercy are always pursuing us, chasing us down! The key for us is to have our hearts truly turned to the Lord; even though David failed and sinned, his heart was set on God. David knew that God was good and merciful. No matter what we are going through at the present, and no matter how difficult life may be, we can find comfort in the fact that the goodness and mercy of God or relentlessly pursuing us. God wants to show us His love, His kindness and His mercy. If we have failed in some way, if we have sinned, or if we are enjoying our walk with the Lord and we have no unconfessed sin, let us know that He is always pursuing us to show us His goodness and mercy. All God wants is for our hearts to be fully turned to Him; when He is our hearts desire, we will walk in His ways and will experience His love, His kindness and His love. If you listen, you can hear the hounds of heaven barking because they are on your trail!
Psalm 86:5 “For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive; abundant in loving kindness to all those who call on you.”
Blessings, Buddy
Psalm 23:6 “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
If we miss the the true meaning of one of the words of this familiar verse, we miss the main point of the verse and the impact it has. The key word is follow. We think of the word follow as someone simply walking or trailing behind one as they walk down the street-or wherever; like a puppy dog following it’s owner. The Hebrew word for follow in this Psalm is ‘radapy,’ and it means to chase down, to pursue relentlessly, to chase after. For me, that definition of follow sheds new light on this verse. Francis Thompson, author of a poem entitled ‘Hound of Heaven,’ refers to goodness and mercy as the hounds of heaven who never stop pursuing. The word mercy is often translated ‘loving kindness.’ There are many verse that refer to the goodness of God. The very nature of God is that He is good and He is merciful. Like David, who wrote this psalm, we experience difficult times in this life, but even so, His goodness and mercy are always pursuing us, chasing us down! The key for us is to have our hearts truly turned to the Lord; even though David failed and sinned, his heart was set on God. David knew that God was good and merciful. No matter what we are going through at the present, and no matter how difficult life may be, we can find comfort in the fact that the goodness and mercy of God or relentlessly pursuing us. God wants to show us His love, His kindness and His mercy. If we have failed in some way, if we have sinned, or if we are enjoying our walk with the Lord and we have no unconfessed sin, let us know that He is always pursuing us to show us His goodness and mercy. All God wants is for our hearts to be fully turned to Him; when He is our hearts desire, we will walk in His ways and will experience His love, His kindness and His love. If you listen, you can hear the hounds of heaven barking because they are on your trail!
Psalm 86:5 “For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive; abundant in loving kindness to all those who call on you.”
Blessings, Buddy
RSS Feed