Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…. (Psalm 23:6a)
We come now to the last verse of this most blessed psalm. We are going to look today at the first phrase in that verse. It all began with The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want, and has continued now to a glorious ending for the sheep taken care of by the Good Shepherd.
One literal translation of our text would be, Only goodness and mercy follow me all the days of my life. Every believer needs these twin angels of goodness and mercy each day of our lives. Perhaps they embody all that we need.
The rancher’s diligent effort and labor is essential to the welfare of the sheep. This is summed up by the psalmist in this statement. It is a bold statement. The sheep, with such a shepherd, are in a privileged position. It shows confidence in the One who is in control.
It is surely easy to say this when things are going well: when our health is excellent, our bank account is full, our family is well, and our friends are fond of us. But can we say this when things are not going so well: when our body is breaking down, when a loved one is slowing dying, when our job folds up, our family is in disarray, and our friends prove untrue? Are there times that we are tempted to panic, to bolt from His care? Do we have the stupid notion that we can survive better on our own?
God never gives up on those who trust in Him, who love Him! The Scriptures declare: He will never leave us nor forsake us, and We love Him because He first loves us. We do not deserve His care. The basis of our serenity is our confidence in His ability to do the right thing in all situations.
At the end of each day, the shepherd, lying at the door of the sheepfold, could count his blessings, seeing how good the Lord had been to him that day. As David looked back over his life, despite his many sins and failures, the Lord had showered him with goodness and mercy.
But there is another way to look at this text. Just as goodness and mercy follow us all our days, providing great blessing, should not goodness and mercy follow us, in our wake?
Sheep can, depending on their management, be either the most destructive creatures to land, or the most beneficial. Left to themselves, they despoil land, especially causing great erosion. But with proper management, they are known as ‘those with the golden hooves.’ This is primarily because of their manure. It is the best balanced of any livestock.
Also, they consume a wide variety of herbage. Included in that herbage are weeds that need to be controlled. Sheep can restore a ravaged land if one knows how to manage them. They leave behind great benefit to the land—goodness and mercy.
We should be a blessing to others. Is this true of my life? Do I leave blessing behind me? Jesus Christ was one who was known as one who “went about doing good” (Acts 10:38). Do I, like Him, forgive others? Do I leave a blessing behind?
Finally, we should be a blessing to the Lord. When the shepherd sees his sheep flourishing, and the land benefiting, this brings contentment. God likewise appreciates love—my love. When I love and trust Him, then He is pleased. Goodness and mercy have followed me.
Next week we will plan to conclude our look at Ps 23.