“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” (Psalm 23:6 New King James Version)
“So why should I fear the future? Only goodness and tender love pursue me all the days of my life. Then afterwartd, when my life is through, I’ll return to your glorious presence to be forever with you.” (Psalm 23:6 The Passion Translation)
“Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever.” (Psalm 23:6 New Living Translation)
Surely goodness and mercy and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell forever [throughout all my days] in the house and in the presence of the LORD.” (Psalm 23:6 Amplified Bible)
“Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD as long as I live.” (Psalm 23:6 Holman Christian Standard Bible)
“Your kindness and your mercies pursue me all the days of my life, that I may dwell in the house of the LORD JEHOVAH to the length of days.” (Psalm 23:6 Aramaic Bible in Plain English)
There is so much for me in Psalm 23. I am shown clearly the identity of my Shepherd. He is the One who knows me best, and loves me most. It has always been His desire and design (will) for me to be completely immersed in His provision and protection regardless of the current circumstance, or situation, that I am facing.
I am clearly shown my identity as one of His sheep. I need to see myself through His eyes. I need to feel about myself the way that He feels about me. He sacrificed everything that He has, and is, to rescue me and bring me safely back into the fold. The way to know the value of something is by the price that is willingly paid for it. My Daddy willingly stepped out of His Heavenly Kingdom, stripped Himself of His Kingly position, power, and prestigue; and gave His very life to purchase me. I am His beloved son in whom He is well pleased, just like Jesus. That is beyond my ability to put into words.
This Psalm gives me a glimpse of what I possess. My Shepherd has spared no expense in providing me with the very best that Heaven has to offer. Everything that my Daddy has is now mine. Everything He is has been given to me in my union with Christ. Even my enemies stand in awe of who I am, and what I have, because of the family to which I belong.
Verse 6 puts the icing on the cake. No matter how much of my Shepherd’s goodness, mercy, and love I have experienced so far there is infinitely more available. As a matter of fact, it is chasing me down each and every moment of each and every day. I am being aggressively pursued by my Daddy and everything that belongs to Him. Ponder that!
There is always so much more that can be said, but this is not the time or place to go that deep. It is my hope that each of us will take the time to pursue this further as we follow up on…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 209 Life With the Shepherd (Psalm 23) Part 7 – Verse 6.