Saturday, January 31, 2009

Everlasting Mercy

Psalm 23 gave me,one who is constantly failing and doubting, much encouragement this morning. Jehovah is my Shepherd. The self-existing God, who needs no one to exist or be fulfilled, who was and is and is to come, is my Shepherd. This Shepherd or Caretaker provides for my every need, feeds me sweet morsels, guides me to places of rest, and continually brings my wandering soul back to Himself. He sets me in carriage tracks, great ruts made by the Lord Jesus while walking this earth, that I may know the righteous path.

Even when those carriage tracks lead me into valleys of pain and suffering and even death, I need not fear because He is right there with me. Psalm 22 is a picture of such a valley that the Lord Jesus must needs go through on our behalf. Yet three times we are told that God was not with Him. "Why art Thou so far from helping Me? Be not far from Me, But be not Thou far from me, O Lord." He was alone and forsaken. Yet God does not deal with us in that way. He is with us and comforting us in the valleys.

We all worry about the future at times. Especially when things are less stable than we would like. But the word of God describes our future and it is there for us to believe or not. "Sureley goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." I thank God that His mercy follows me like a shadow. The weak and the failures need mercy and we shall not want. "The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him."

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