Surely goodness and
mercy shall follow me… – Ps 23:6
Some of the most blessed truths of scripture
are hidden in plain sight – in the most popular passages and verses that we
quote often and feel we know like the backs of our hand.
Thanks to a quaint church tradition, Psalm 23:6
is quoted more times than any other scriptural verse (except of course 2Co
13:14); yet it has a most blessed treasure embedded in it.
The word translated “follow” in Ps 23:6 has a
more aggressive sense in the Hebrew. It’s a judicial term (analogous to a warrant
issued by a judge ordering the arrest of an offender). It’s a military term (to
“ambush” or “waylay”). And finally, it’s a hunting term (to “pursue”, to “track
down”, to “persecute”).
WOW! You are in some serious trouble Beloved.
The Psalmist is telling you that the Chief
Shepherd/Judge of the Earth has issued a bench warrant on your head. He has
commanded a certain “GOODNESS” and another “MERCY” to hunt you down. They have
been ordered to waylay and ambush you – “ALL THE DAYS OF YOUR LIFE!”
Stop! Turn around! Look who is pursuing you! Do
you see them now? Are they “ancestral curses”? NO! Are they spirits from
“ancient altars”? NO! Are they forces from neglected “spiritual covenants”? Again
NO!
Even if those constructs exist, I don’t think
they can outrun these two divinely commissioned emissaries. Heads up Beloved, they that be for you are more than they that
be against you.
You shall win. You shall succeed. You shall
rule. Because the LORD is your shepherd, you shall not want!
We’ll round up our two-week meditations on the
most-beloved Psalm with this updated rendition of its last verse:
Surely, (without a doubt or
without fail) Goodness and Mercy shall PURSUE, PERSECUTE, CHASE, DOG, and
HARASS me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
AMEN and AMEN.
More Blessings await
you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.
GREG ELKAN
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