We are looking at the assurances that David tells us about in the twenty-third Psalm. Last week we saw the assurance of pursuing goodness. This week we will look at the assurance of pursuing mercy. John Stevenson explains these two words in Psalm 23 that are inseparable, “Goodness that shall supply him when he is in want—and Mercy that shall forgive him when he sins:—Goodness following to provide, and Mercy following to pardon. Not goodness alone, nor mercy alone, but

The Psalmist has painted the news scene of the believer being served by the gracious host. We previously studied the passage and saw what type of Host the Lord is. But now the psalmist shifts the picture from the host to the menu. What does the Lord serve his guests? What are the benefits of the believers who sit at the Lord’s table? Like many lines of this Psalm, I think we have a poetic understanding of this Psalm. We

David changes his image from a shepherd to a gracious host. God becomes the one who prepares a table before him. Now before we look at this change it teaches us a vital truth about how we relate to God. God can only be compared to things we know, we cannot find a perfect example. Even the image of the church is found in different examples; bride, flock, family, living stones, etc. The change shows that every example we use

Creature comforts is a common expression in our vocabulary. The term started being used circa the 1650s. In Matthew Henry’s commentary of the whole Bible, he uses this expression (58 times) without any explanation of the term (implying a common understanding of the term).[1] We heard sayings like, I could not live without… fill in the blank. Every person will have their own answer, my phone, coffee, my truck, ice cream, my recliner, or my dog. This small, or big

If 1 Corinthians 13 would be called the wedding chapter; by this I mean that is the most common chapter of the Bible to be read at weddings. Then Psalm 23 might be known as the funeral chapter. We can understand why. Even Jacob at the end of his life, as he was on his death bed spoke to Joseph, “God has been my Shepherd all my life long to this day” (Gen 48:15). You could put the first and

I love the Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. I love this novel for many reasons, however one that gives a Pilgrim in this world great comfort. Right at the start of the novel, Christian feels a great sense of his sin and guilt. He knows this burden upon his back and what this would mean for him. He was the word of God and it has convicted him of Sin. Then in steps the evangelist who hears of the pain

We love a good story with restoration at the center. HGTV shows are filled with shows about renovations or restoration. We love to hear stories of broken families being mended together again. We love to see things live to see another day. People love the proposal of restoration and the finished product. However, most of the time we do not love the process of restoration. Although I warned everybody when I started a project in construction you could almost guarantee

The saying is that a picture paints a thousand words. However, I believe a few words can paint a picture. Today we look at merely seven words in Hebrew and fourteen words in Hebrew that paint a glorious picture. I would say this poetic line in Psalm 23 is one of the most famous parts of the Psalm. We love vs 1, for the image of the shepherd, but we love the scene painted in verse 2. You can almost

Veruca Salt is the famous little girl in the novel by Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. She is the spoilt child, she rarely hears the word no, and if she does then she kicks and screams until she gets what she finally wants. From her parents’ perspective, she is a darling princess who deserves anything and there is no price too high to pay for her. Now in a fictitious story, especially one written for children, and more