IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD - SERMON VI: NO END
The sixth jewel of truth is that in the House of the Lord – in the eternal presence of the Lord our God - there is NO END. The sixth verse of the 23rd Psalm says this: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
The words “goodness” and “mercy” are two words that should not be simply scanned over as if everyone grasps the full meaning of the truth conveyed by these two words.
Perhaps we have a pretty good idea about the meaning of goodness. For example, you may have heard someone say something like this: “She did that out of the goodness of her heart” – and this is usually in response to one’s generosity in giving of oneself, or giving of one’s resources, to another person, even though the act of kindness was not necessary.
We would like to think that all of us have, at one time or another, done something out of the goodness of our heart – something that was done on behalf of another person simply because it seemed at the time to be the right thing to do; so, it was something we wanted to do for someone; but there was no ulterior motive.
On the other hand, have you ever heard someone say, “Well, for goodness’ sake” – usually in response to a bit of startling news that has just been received – whether good or bad.
If in response to good news, I suppose the use of the word goodness would be appropriate; but what if the news is not good? Would the word goodness be appropriate in response to bad news? Probably not; yet we hear it used both ways.
Point is: It is easy to become so accustomed to hearing or saying a particular word that we lose sight of its real meaning.
Don’t ever lose sight of what the psalmist meant when he talked about the “goodness” of God. The Lord God is our Good Shepherd; just as the Palestinian shepherd always wanted what was best for his flock, the Lord our God always wants what’s best for His people – those of us who are often referred to – symbolically - as the sheep of His pasture.
Our Good Shepherd not only desires to meet our needs, He pursues us to offer what’s best for us - even when we go astray. He takes the initiative!
In this 23rd Psalm, David has been reciting all of the blessings that are ours day by day - as our needs are met; now, in this final verse, he points to the days ahead with optimism by using the word “surely” - as if to say, “Our needs have been met up to this point; so there ought to be no doubt in our minds that God’s pursuit of what’s best for us will continue.” After all, the Lord God our Shepherd is the same - yesterday, today and forever.
Notice that, up to this verse, the psalmist has been painting a picture of the sheep following the shepherd. In this sixth verse, he is telling us that in the days ahead the shepherd will be pursuing the sheep.
That reality is brought home to us by his use of the imperative “shall follow me.” What this declarative statement proclaims is that the goodness of the Lord God our Shepherd will pursue his sheep for the rest of their lives.
God is in pursuit of what’s best for you - whether you want him to or not. He is not going to give up on you. He is not going to turn away from you. He is not going to turn you away from him. He is going to pursue your best interests while you live on this earth and beyond.
You may not recognize his pursuit of you due to a closed mind; you may not respond to his pursuit of you due to the hardness of your heart; you may ignore his pursuit of you because you are hard headed.
Nonetheless, you are being pursued by the goodness of God; and I would not want you to overlook the fact that, just as the Palestinian shepherd had helpers, so does the Lord God our Shepherd.
Perhaps you have never thought of it that way – but there are family members . . . friends . . . folks who work in this place where you reside, who serve as caregivers; think of them as God’s helpers – whether they want to be thought of that way or not. The Lord God our Shepherd depends on caregivers to serve Him by serving you out of the goodness of their hearts!
This verse also tells us that the “mercy” of God pursues us all the days of our lives. In the original language, this word translated “mercy” was used to describe the love of God for those who love him. Sometimes in scripture the word is translated “loving kindness” – and it is always associated with faithful actions on the part of God toward his people and faithful actions on the part of God’s people toward others.
We are talking here about a multi-faceted positive attitude that God has shown to us and that we are to show to others . . . “unfailing love” . . . “redeeming love” . . . “sacrificial love” . . . a love that is so strong that it can only be expressed with passionate abandon. “Mercy” is about a kind of love that is “greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell.”
George Matheson came as close as anyone to describing this love that is indescribable. He wrote the text of a hymn to which he gave this title: “O Love That Will Not Let Me Go.”
God’s love is not going to let you down so that you give up . . . drown in your worries . . . frown over your dependent situation – if you are willing to give a blessing as well as receive a blessing in the name of Jesus.
How do you do that? How do you give a blessing? You give a blessing when you freely give your family, your friends, your caregivers an opportunity to serve God by serving you.
The Good Shepherd wants your loved ones to be his helpers. The Good Shepherd wants you to bless them through giving them an opportunity to shepherd you – to care for you.
As we grow older, our need for assistance grows greater. If you are like me in that regard, you will agree with me when I say, “I need all the help I can get.” For example, the older I get the greater my tendency to forget. Folks must remind me of so many things these days that I sometimes wonder if I ever remembered anything.
On the serious side, though, my heart goes out to folks who suffer from any disease that impairs memory . . . mobility . . . speech . . . any kind of physical or mental function. Yet, even though we find ourselves limited by aging and declining health, the psalmist assures you that God wants what’s best for you no matter what your circumstances might be.
Yes, God’s goodness pursues us all the days of our lives; God’s mercy pursues us all the days of our lives; and you know what He promises will be the final outcome? “I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.”
For you see, in the House of the Lord – in the eternal presence of the Lord our God – there is NO END. No end to God’s goodness! No end to God’s mercy! No end to the lives of those who belong to Him!
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.” Selah.
