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 

Christ has the inexhaustible means to do us good. He employs those means on our behalf consistently. David was keenly aware that his relationship with Christ was lifelong. He articulates it in our text. He declares that God’s goodness would follow him all the days of his life. He was cognizant that God was kindly disposed toward him and that He was intent on doing him good in every way. He was aware that Christ, His Shepherd, had done him good; was doing him good; and would continue to do him good for his whole life. Beyond that he was convinced that along with God’s goodness He would show him mercy. Christ would be faithful, longsuffering, and continue to bear with David’s many faults and failings. He would do so as long as David lived on the earth. This is our experience of Christ Our Shepherd, as well. He has already done us good. He is doing us good today. His character is such He will continue to do us good as long as we live. He is not only kindly disposed toward us but also merciful. He remains faithful to us even though we are fallible and often failing. He continues to be our Good Shepherd even when we exhibit our weakness. His goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our life.  

Our Good, Great, and Chief Shepherd, 
we rejoice that You are abundant in Your goodness to us. 
We praise You that to it, You add Your mercy, 
for all our days. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave You.  

Ephesians 4:32

How does God forgive us? Our text falls in what we may term the practical portion of Ephesians. Typically, Paul in writing his epistles, begins with the doctrinal discussion of his subject and proceeds later to the more practical application for which the doctrinal portion has laid the groundwork. Our text exhorts us to forgive one another ‘even as God in Christ forgave you.’ The implications of this statement are more far-reaching than we may immediately realize. We understand that the process of sanctification involves the work of God’s free grace wherein He renews us in the whole person after the image of Christ. Thus Christ is first, Our Redeemer, and afterward the Great Example for us to follow. We become imitators of Christ. Therefore, if we are to forgive each other as God has forgiven us, we need a clear understanding of how God forgives. This becomes the model for our own forgiveness of one another. We want to examine this carefully, that we do not assert that God does things He does not do and somehow lay upon ourselves, and others practices which are not an accurate reflection of how we should forgive.  

Our Good and Wise God, 
we rejoice that You have given us Christ 
to show us how to do. 
We praise You, that as we follow Him, 
we grow to be like Him. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.  

Psalm 23:5

Christ our Shepherd does more than preserve us. He causes us to live abundantly. Everything David has articulated thus far has detailed the positive effect of Christ’s leadership. True leadership is not about being the best, but about making everyone else better. Christ sees to it that His sheep have more than the bare minimum. As David put it, ‘You anoint my head with oil, my cup runs over.’ When Christ turned water into wine, He made an abundance of it. When He fed the 5,000, there was food left over. When He showed Himself alive from the dead, it was not just on one occasion to a few people, but on many occasions to a considerable number of people. Christ does more for us than to ensure we merely survive. He provides for us abundantly. He anoints our head with oil in preparation for the eternal feast. He pours out His goodness upon us until our cup runs over. He is not a meagre Christ. His is a Christ of abundance. What He gives us lasts for eternity. We have every reason to look to Him, our Good Shepherd for an abundance of good things. Therefore, we make much of Christ. He does exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think. 

Our Glorious, Living God 
we rejoice at Your abundant provision. 
We praise You that having given us Christ, 
You give us all things.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

 

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;  
You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.  

Psalm 23:5 

Fear has a powerful effect upon us. The presence of our enemies would naturally cause us to lose our appetite. David goes so far as to say that Christ, his Shepherd prepares a table before him in the presence of his enemies. Because Christ is with him, not only does he not fear that they will do evil to him, but he is calm enough to eat bread in their very presence. Christ wanted him to be so calm and composed that he would function in spite of the fact his enemies were in front of him. Christ prepared the table and bade him eat. Christ would have us without fear, even in the presence of our enemies. Then they would paralyze us with their fearful intimidations, He prepares a table before us. We know they are there. We hear their clamoring and shouts of hatred. We see the sunlight flash off their swords and hear their horses snort in anticipation of the battle. Yet we, the sheep of His pasture, eat at the table He has prepared for us. We are unfazed, unshaken, and unmoved by their threatening. Christ is with us. He does more than stand up to defend us. He prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies. If He left us to ourselves we would lose our appetite and freeze or flee. Because He is our Shepherd we eat at His table.  

Our Gracious Master and our God, 
we rejoice that You deliver us from fear. 
We praise You that You provide for us 
in abundance, even in the presence of our enemies. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning