Surprise Packages

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(Psalm 23:6) Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

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David conscripted a startlingly vivid and thought-provoking word for this gentle, calming psalm. Radaph (translated "follow"), usually meant (1) pursue to overtake, usually with hostile intent, (2) chase or put to flight, as an army would do to a defeated foe, (3) hunt down an elusive prize, or (4) attend to very closely.

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I am comforted to know that God employed this picture to help me understand how He feels and thinks about me. In this description, He deploys two expert trackers to keep up with me. Goodness (tov) chases me in order to bestow upon me all necessary things that are "pleasant, beautiful, excellent, lovely, delightful, convenient, joyful, fruitful, precious, sound, cheerful, kind, correct, righteous, and virtuous" (and much more). Mercy (chesed) bestows God's lovingkindness...as though I could tell His goodness from His lovingkindness.

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Lord, I just don't understand why You do this. Your mercy and goodness track me down even though I seem lost and play hard to find. Hebrews 12 informs me that I reject Your health-producing gifts because they come in packages that don't expect or want. Help me to always recognize and receive You gifts.

Learning Precedes Teaching

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(Matthew 9:13) Go and learn what this means, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.

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This Great Commission—to learn of God’s desire for mercy instead of sacrifice—preceded His other Great Commission to go teach, disciple, and baptize people (Matthew 28:19,20). The context here is Jesus—the friend of sinners—collecting, befriending, redeeming, and commissioning people who had been trampled by people and troubled by life.

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The Old Testament prepares us for the New, and in it David demonstrates God’s merciful, benevolent strength. In a similar way, he collected everyone who was in distress, in debt, and discontent in their soul. He told the persecuted, “Stay with me, do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life. With me you shall be in safe keeping” (1 Samual 22:2,23).

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Lord, when David was in this distress, he worshiped You. Thank You for recording David’s thoughts and words in Psalm 63 so I can pray that way, too. Thank You for providing relief, comfort, and direction for my soul, too.

Learning to Fall Well

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(Matthew 4:9,10) “All these I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.”

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Falling down is a significant aspect of worship. Falling, in those ancient times, meant “casting down,” and it described utter submission and dependence. To receive that sort of relationship, Satan offers false hopes to keep people depressed and oppressed. Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 3) demanded that worship, too, only to learn that “the Lord upholds all who are falling and raises all who are bowed down” (Psalm 145:14).

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Too easily have I stumbled and fallen into false worship, dedicating my energies into worthless endeavors. Too casually have I bowed myself to lies, only to find myself distressed and humiliated. But finally, I’ve learned to cast myself upon the Lord’s mercies and to commit myself to His kingdom. He feeds the hungry, sets prisoners free, and lifts those who are bowed down. He is the glory and lifter of my head (Psalms 146:7,8; 3:3).

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Lord, I gladly cast myself before You in total submission. You alone deserve such worship. You alone are gracious, full of compassion, slow to anger, and great in mercy (Psalm 145).