“Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”
We have looked at every verse of this beautiful psalm
except this one…and it may be the most powerful one of all.
When I was in 4th grade at Bunker Hill
elementary school, my beloved teacher Mrs. Fredericks had us memorize the
23rd psalm and recite it to the class.
I have forgotten many things in the last 50 years, but I
will never forget the day I recited this psalm.
Mrs. Fredericks was so proud, and later told me that I
could think of “goodness and Mercy” as twin Dobermans that followed me around
and protected me. As a fourth-grade boy,
that was all I needed to get interested in The Psalms. I have never gotten that image out of my
mind…and have always felt looked after and protected since that day.
This morning’s verse dovetails with the first verse of the
91st psalm. Psalms 91: 1 says
“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the
Almighty”.
This “911 Psalm” reminds me that when I dwell in the shelter of my King, I
can rest easy in His shadow. A bear cub is never safer then when he is in the
shadow of his mother, and I am never safer then when I stand with my King.
In this world which is filled with fear and anxiety it is
comforting to have “goodness and mercy” growling at my enemies, and to know the
shadow of the most feared warrior of the universe literally covers me.
But the final words of this verse are the most comforting… They
assure me that this is not a temporary arrangement. When I accepted Christ, my
eternal life began. I will one day
transition to a new body, but the old me has already been done away with - and
my eternal soul now dwells, and always will dwell, in the house of The
Lord.
Walk today with “goodness and mercy” watching your back,
and the Shadow of the “Great I Am” keeping you in the shade. And rest in the
assurance that it will always be that way.
“It is one thing to believe in God; it is quite
another to believe God.” - R. C. Sproul
No comments:
Post a Comment