Tonight, as we come to a conclusion of our consideration of Psalm 23, I ask you to turn there with me. We will read that psalm together tonight. And I really would like us to read it together, if we would read it together in unison. Psalm 23. Shall we read together this Word of God? The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for His namesake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely, goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. It's that sixth verse, which is our text tonight. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, this psalm, Psalm 23, as we said a few sermons ago in the beginning of our study of it, has been described as the pearl of the psalms. It is the Gospel nugget of the Old Testament. Now we know, of course, that the Bible speaks much about the judgment of God against His enemies. But here in this psalm, as well as other places, but in a particular way, here in this psalm, we have the blessed comfort of the Lord's care and protection and preservation of the people of His pasture, of the sheep of His hand. And David has recounted the blessings of God to him, beginning with that beautiful confession, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. And with that beautiful imagery of a shepherd and his sheep, David has shown us how the shepherd provides necessarily for the totally helpless, hopeless, and undeserving sheep. The shepherd must necessarily provide for the sheep. And throughout this psalm, David explains how it is that he shall not be in want. How it is that he shall not lack anything. Even in the midst of the shadow of death and even in the midst of his enemies, he shall not be in want because God's grace is greater than all of his fears. The Christian life, as we know well, is a pilgrimage. And in shepherd-sheep language, David has taken us along on the pilgrimage from the high summer grazing spots, along the paths back to the protected lowlands of the winter, risking the dangers of the valley passageways, then back to the mountain tabletops. Sounds like the Christian life, doesn't it? Sounds like life in general. The Christian life is filled with different situations and circumstances with joys and with sorrows, with comforts and with dangers. Yet in all of this, the child of God can confidently confess, I shall not be in want. And now, beautifully, as David comes to the end of this psalm, he confesses his confidence and hope even for the end of his journey. The Lord's care and protection is not just for a season. It's never-ending. The Lord's comfort is both now and forever. And as we conclude our study of this beautiful Psalm 23, then with the sixth verse, we consider tonight the presence, the presence of the Good Shepherd gives confidence for life. As David gives testimony to the joy of grace now and to the assurance of glory forever. Having just talked about the valley of the shadow of death and dining at the Lord's table in the presence of His enemies, both reflecting situations of grave danger, David then confesses a lack of danger as he is in the presence of the Good Shepherd. Surely, goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life. David confidently enjoys the joy of grace now, today, in the present. And all the days of his life. And in a sense, he sums up all of the care that he has talked about earlier with two words. Goodness and love. The word love also being translated, as you know, as mercy or loving kindness in other translations. Now this is not spontaneous, on-again, off-again favor that the Lord shows when He feels like it. But when He doesn't feel like it, He simply doesn't show favor to you and me. This is the kind of loyalty and dependability that one finds or should find in a loving family. This is the kind of loyalty that there is to be between a husband and a wife, between a parent and a child, between a king and his people. This is loyalty that is unconditional, that seeks to give and never to get. God is perfectly loyal to His people, so much so that even the very hairs of our head are all numbered. His care is complete. And not only is God ready to help and save, but He also gives the assurance of the presence of His power over destiny in every situation and in every place of distress and suffering. The goodness of God that David speaks of, The goodness of God is His rich blessing toward His people over all of life, faithfully granting what we need. And His love or loving kindness or mercy is His never-ending love that is revealed in His grace and salvation, a grace and salvation which is expressed and is experienced in daily life. The psalmist speaks of the Lord's goodness and love in Psalm 118 when he says, Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endures forever. But notice what the Lord does with His goodness and love. David says that it will follow Him. And this means literally to pursue or to chase after. Boys and girls, sometimes when we're playing a game, you play chase games and you're running after each other, trying to catch each other. You pursue each other. This is what the Lord does with His goodness and His love. He pursues or chases after. This is beautiful because this one who was formerly pursued by His enemies who hated Him, those who were seeking to take His life, is now pursued and chased by something altogether different. The goodness and love of God that seeks to rescue, to heal, and to restore. Even as God's people, we know all too well that we deserve that God's anger and His punishment would pursue us. Yet, for the sake of Jesus Christ and His saving sacrifice, the presence of God's goodness and love instead shields and protects and leads and guides His people. Now, we need to understand, though, beloved, that David is not saying here that life will be grand with no problems. He's not saying here that everything will be easy street. If He was, then He would be contradicting everything else He had said so far. The valley of the shadow of death, His enemies. What He is saying here is that God does not allow His people to travel this pilgrimage unattended or alone. Now, boys and girls, that is a most precious truth. And the sooner you learn that and come to trust in God, what a precious truth and assurance that will be for you. That not one day, not one moment does God leave His people unattended. He never leaves them alone. All the days, good or bad, blue skies or gray skies, days of plenty or days of want will be crowned with the goodness and the love of the Lord. His presence and covenant faithfulness is with His people. And David knew this by experience, didn't he? He knew full well that Jehovah pursues His people with His presence. When David faced the mighty Goliath, he prevailed through the strong arm of the Lord. When David was being chased and hunted by his enemies, God always kept David one step ahead. When David fell deep into sin with Bathsheba, the Lord forgave him and restored him. But not only David. Bible history gives us many examples of the Lord's goodness and love following His people. After leaving Egypt, when trapped between Pharaoh's army and the Red Sea, the pillar of fire that was going before Israel moved behind them to shield them from the enemy and took away Egypt's threat. once and for all. When Noah's ark was just a speck on the worldwide sea, God never left him. When Daniel was in the lion's den, the angels took charge over the mouths of the lions. When his three friends were in the fiery furnace, they weren't even affected by the smoke. And think of Paul. As a prisoner sailing to Rome while the storm was tearing the ship like a piece of paper, Paul could say with confidence, not a hair will fall from the head of any of you. Now we cannot even begin to imagine the lives of the saints of old with the danger that surrounded them. We read about them in Hebrews chapter 11. Yet by the grace of God, they were champions of faith. Hebrews 11, 36-38 says, Some faced jeers and flogging while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned. They were sawed in two. That's what history says about Isaiah. Sawed in two. They were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted, and mistreated. The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains and in caves and holes in the ground. And sometimes we think we have it bad. And by faith, all these could confess, beloved, the joy of grace in their lives. They could with confidence say, Surely, goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life. Maybe you too have experienced in some way God pursuing you. Maybe it's through really knowing His forgiving grace. Or being restored from a life of sin and shame. Or maybe looking back, not while you were going through some danger, Maybe you were oblivious to the danger around you, but looking back, you realize how in physical danger you might have been. And the Lord was with you. That's all you can say. He brought you safely through. David had experienced the grace of God as he outlines in this psalm. And that experience gave him confidence in the hope of the same grace in the future. All the days of my life. Not just some. All the days of my life. And notice his confidence. Surely. That's a powerful word. Surely. He is so certain of the Lord's faithfulness that he knows that it can be no other way. The Lord's goodness and love will be there for me. David confidently boasts that these are his from the expert loving hands of his Master. Can you say this, beloved, about your good shepherd, Jesus Christ? Can you say this, that no matter what takes place in this life, you are followed with goodness and love? Of course, it's easy to confess this in the good times, isn't it? It's easy to make this kind of a confession when everything is going well. When it seems like you're on easy street. But what about when your body is attacked? What about when you must stand by helplessly as your loved one dies, especially with pain? What about when you're struggling with your job and the money just isn't there? What about when your friends turn against you? What about when you're not satisfied with God's appointed lot in life for you? What about when your world seems to fall apart and your dreams are shattered and Satan is breathing down your neck with his temptations. With any adversity that takes place, can you truly say, surely goodness and love follows me all the days of my life? Can you say, I have nothing to fear because my God is with me? God allows us to face dark days. Yet as believers, we always seem to find out that He has worked them to our benefit. It's true that we are more inclined to fear and to worry and to ask why when we don't understand. Yet always, and especially at those times, the Lord follows His people with His goodness and loving kindness. Only the one in the care of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, the one who lives in His presence can truly say in all things God works for the good of those who love Him who have been called according to His purpose. God grants us the experiences of life with His preservation, preserving us through them in order to give confidence for the future. That by His grace we might realize that indeed His mercy is new every morning. With Psalm 23, David helps us to realize that the supreme portrait, the supreme portrait of our shepherd with His sheep is that He gives completely. He gives undeservingly. He gives without reservation. All of His work, all of His watchfulness and skill and concern and self-sacrifice are born of His love. Love that gave itself for His sheep. John says, by this we know love because He laid down His life for us. And what that means, beloved, is that our Lord not only follows us with His goodness and love, He not only follows us with His goodness and love, but He goes before us. In fact, His goodness and love went before us to the cross. And it's for that reason that those who believe on Him and live in Him not only can have, but indeed, surely do have the joy of grace now. We can sing in confidence, My faith looks up to Thee, Thou Lamb of Calvary, While life's dark maze I tread, And griefs around me spread, Be Thou my guide. Bid darkness turn to day, Wipe sorrow's tears away, Nor let me ever stray from Thee aside. but david makes it clear that not only shall he not be in want in this life but because he belongs to the lord he shall not be in want ever forever and i will dwell in the house of the lord forever what a beautiful expression of the assurance of glory forever this is the desire of all those who have truly tasted and seen that the Lord is good. As David says in Psalm 34, O taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who, what? Trusts in Him. And that's an eternal blessing. This present world is not the Christian's home. As Paul says, our citizenship is in heaven. That's where we are called to store up treasures. As we travel through this life, Heaven is really where our focus must be. Today, in our day, in this life, we join Jacob at Bethel. As we come each Sunday to the house of the Lord, as Jacob said, the Lord is in this place. And here we receive God's grace of strength for the next leg of the pilgrimage. And that grace follows us every day. But one day, beloved, we shall rejoice in the fulfillment of the revelation to John. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Beloved, one day God's people will no longer frequent the house of God once every seven days, but they will dwell there forever. It's interesting, I think, how David takes us on this particular journey in the psalm, but beautifully ends up in the palace of the king. That's the goal. That's the final destination. The house of the Lord. Is that where you're headed? Those who will not be welcomed into the glory of His house will suffer the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth and where the worm does not die. In heaven, God's people will enjoy the sea of crystal, but in hell, the wicked will be consumed in the lake of fire. David, by faith, is confident of his destination. He finds rest and sanctuary in God alone. In fact, one of David's themes in the Psalms is of continually abiding in God's house. He says in Psalm 27, One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord. And he says in chapter 61, I will abide in your tabernacle forever. I will trust in the shelter of your wings. See, by the grace of God, David was not nearsighted. Boys and girls, that means to only be able to see things close up. I'm nearsighted. Badly nearsighted. You're all blurry right now. I can see things clearly about right here. I can't see things far away. David was not nearsighted, only seeing the things up close, only living for the here and now, but he was farsighted. He looked down the road. He could see down the road by God's grace. He persevered because he was preserved by the hand of God. And for him, there was no comfort or satisfaction in earthly pleasures if he did not first belong to the fold of God. He says in Psalm 144, Happy are the people who are in such a state. Happy are the people whose God is the Lord. Beloved, may this be true of us as with David, as I just said, that for him there was no comfort or satisfaction in earthly pleasures if he did not first belong to the fold of God. May we not find any sort of comfort or any sort of satisfaction in the things of this world, in anything, if we are not first belonging to the fold of God. The blessings that David enjoyed from the hand of God in this life elevated him to the hope of the everlasting inheritance he could confidently say with Paul, For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. And with the shadows of death surrounding him, as well as the threat of his enemies, David had the assurance of glory forever because he knew that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation. We could sum it up by saying, nothing could separate Him from the love of God. Beloved, being in the sphere of God's presence, enjoying the deliverance that He alone brings, dwelling in His house forever, is the only security that there really is. In fact, nothing more is needed. If you believe in Jesus Christ by grace through faith, if you have been purchased by the blood of the Lamb, that confidence is yours because Jesus said, Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. You know what that means? That means once saved, always saved. We don't say that arrogantly. We say that with humble confidence. To dwell in God's house is to live in His presence with your soul always at His throne of grace, begging for grace and always enjoying it. And in this life, the joys and the sorrows, the journeying and the rest, the temporary peace as well as the frequent struggles, all point to and all prepare God's people for that life to come. David opened this psalm with a confession of ownership. The Lord is my shepherd. Not talking about who He owned, but who it was that owns Him. He owns me. By His grace, David says, I am His. And now he closes with a beautiful confession of his contentment and satisfaction with his lot in this life and his sure hope for the next. He is at home with the Lord and desires nothing else. Are we as proud and content to belong to our Good Shepherd? Are we content with the joy of His grace now and the assurance of His grace for eternity? Psalm 23 is a psalm of comfort to be sure, but it's also a psalm of confidence. And the Lord graciously showers that comfort and confidence upon those who understand their need for a Savior and who are brought into the sheepfold through the one and only proper gate, Jesus Christ. The Lamb has been slain. The sacrifice has been made and accepted. And the flock of God can exuberantly proclaim the joy of the Lord is our strength. We all know of those who walk around from day to day nervous and weary and worn out. Those who have no confidence for today, let alone tomorrow. There is only true comfort in belonging, body and soul, in life and in death to our faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. The only true refuge, beloved, is to be safe in the fold of God, in the presence of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. Only there, only there can you find confidence for life, now and forever. Only in Him can you confidently sing, When ends life's transient dream, When death's cold sullen stream would o'er me roll, Blessed Savior, then in love, Fear and distrust remove, O bear me safe above, a ransomed soul. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, as we bow before You at the close of this service, at the close of this day, we thank You and praise You, O Lord, that we might leave here in this day with the confidence of being the sheep of Your pasture. Those under Your care, under Your protection. And may we, as we walk this life And whether young or old, as we experience the difficulties of this life, may we have this blessed confidence that we are safe, protected forever by our Great Shepherd. Father, bless us. Indeed, may our faith look up only to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of Calvary. And may You, O Lord, be praised. May that be our goal, always and only. Let our God be praised. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.