SURLY GOODNESS AND MERCY
Psalms 23:6
Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
I WILL
The will of a person is a powerful source
The Will can drive a person to success or failure
Your Will is personal and individal
A. It is Intentional
It is a personal decision
It is a dedication
I will dwell in the House of the Lord.
Will is the subject,
Dwell is the verb
The house of the Lord in the object
Your will should be under the guidance of the Lord.
God leads us to a dwelling place.
We have a choice, but God directs our choice.
David was chosen to be King
God led David to the right choice
THE DWELLING PLACE
B. It is a divine place Psalms 62:1
It rests in the heart
C. It is a safe place
It is a place of protection Due 33:27
It is a place of provision Lev 26:3-4
It is a place of learning
It is a place of teaching
D. It is a place of Joy Luke 1:14
It is a place of peace
It is a place of freedom
It is a place of comfort
E. It is a place of rules Lev 22:31
It is a place where obedience is required
F. It is a place of directions 2 Tim 3:10
G. It is a place of purpose 2 Cor 5:5
F. It is a place of promises 2 Cor 1:20
Over 3000 promises in the Bible
H. It is a place of rewards Hebrews 11:6
I. It is a permanent place John 8:34-35
It always was and always will be
It is a present place
J. It is a place of God’s Love Mark 12:30-31
I will dwell in the House of the Lord
I am giving up all other places
I am not going to be in and out.
It is my selected place of residence
It is a prepared place
John 14:2-3
I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come
back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am
Why do I want to be there? My advocate is there
Surly goodness and mercy
Sure is an element of faith
Its confidence in God
Only God is good
Mark 10:18-19
"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good — except God alone.
Surely goodness is the Father
Mercy is the Father’s favor
Mercy is defined as;
Compassion for the miserable. Its object is misery. By the atoning sacrifice of Christ a way is open
for the exercise of mercy towards the sons of men, in harmony with the demands of truth and
righteousness (Genesis 19:19; Exodus 20:6; 34:6,7; Psalms 85:10; 86:15,16). In Christ mercy and
truth meet together. Mercy is also a Christian grace (Matthew 5:7; 18:33-35).
(from Easton's Bible Dictionary, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 2003,
2006 Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
I need the Father's mercy because I live in the flesh and am a dirty rag
Isaiah 64:6
6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags, and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
KJV
Psalms 51:1-2
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
Therefore, never the less, I am intent on following God to the end.
I am not focused on today, I am focused on the future
Surly Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.
God does not follow anyone. What is David saying?
Let me suggest:
His mind was focused on the goodness and the mercy of God.
All of his thoughts and actions were devoted to the Lord.
God’s grace and mercy are limitless
Grace and mercy are aspects of God’s love
You can’t have grace (favor) without mercy (forgiveness)
You will not have God’s love without His grace and mercy.
Let me leave you with three things: from Psalms 23:6
1. Firm faith. "Shall follow me." "Goodness and mercy." These are just the two things into which God's beneficiaries consider. Goodness to creatures; mercy to sinful creatures. An angel is the object of one; a man of both. The good man says, "I have needed both; I have had both all my days, and surely they shall follow me all my days."
2. There is also the idea of settled purpose. "Shall follow me." By daily habits of devotion, by the culture of child-like faith, and by holy familiarity with Divine things, I will seem to myself to be constantly engaged in God's service.
3. Then comes the assurance of expectation and hope. "I will dwell in the house of the Lord." We take the faith of the man to expand and enlarge, till they embrace the great and ultimate future of the life that is to be, and he says, " I have been led on-wards to that. These capacities and affections of mine, the stirring of spiritual life within me, were never made to find their perfection here. I carry within myself, in my religious consciousness, a prophecy, an earnest of something greater than the life that now is."
(from The Biblical Illustrator Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2006 Ages Software, Inc. and Biblesoft, Inc.)
CLASS QUESTIONS:
1. How has God shown you grace today?
2. How has God shown you mercy?
3. Where is the best place to live?
4. What are you doing to relocate?
Rev. M. Mitchell
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