There's many uncertainties in life. I imagine
that just about every single person in this sanctuary
can think of certain uncertainties in their own
lives, in their own situations, in their own
careers, in their own callings, in their own
relationships and families. There are so many
uncertainties and changing things in the world,
in the world in which we live, and in our lives.
The unbeliever has a hard time getting their
footing with regards to things that are certain
and unchanging. But the believer can live in
this world and enjoy. Certainties. And so I want
you to hear this message today and be strengthened
in your soul, strengthened in your heart, because
with those certainties that the believer has
in the gospel as a result of redemption, they
can live lives that are steadfast. They can live
lives that are consistent in and persistent in
grace. They can have stable footing in this ever
-changing world, culture, and society, in their
ever -changing situation, in their own life,
in their own heart, in their own mind. And what
are those certainties as a result of the gospel?
Well, today, we read in verse 6, Surely, Goodness
and loving kindness will follow me all the days
of my life. And I will dwell in the house of
the Lord forever. Notice in verse 6 as David
finishes up this psalm that he is certain of
at least two things in verse 6. He is certain
that goodness and loving kindness will in fact
follow him the rest of his life. The whole time
that he lives in this earthly pilgrimage, God's
goodness and his loving kindness will be upon
him. He knows these. He's assured of these. But
he's also certain of something that goes beyond
even his life. Look at the word forever at the
end of verse 6. David is certain. He's confident.
He's persuaded and convinced in his heart. That
he will worship and fellowship the triune God.
Not just the days of his earthly pilgrimage.
But following the grave. Following death. Eternally.
He will dwell with the living God. The believer
can have certainty, assurance, and hope. Of God
and his faithfulness in their lives. Until the
day they die. For they can have an absolute certainty.
Of God's faithfulness to them. Following even
their deaths. That he will continue to be good
to his promises. And faithful to them in their
lives. I want every believer in this sanctuary.
To walk with that comfort. With that assurance.
That persuasion. That conviction in their heart.
That God will have his goodness and loving kindness
upon you all the days of your life. And that
even when you face the grave. Even when you come
to your death. You can have certainty. That the
Lord's faithfulness will continue. and persist
in your life even after you die. So the first
thing we're going to consider today in pursuing
this end of being, enjoying this persuasion or
this conviction in our hearts, the first thing
we'll consider is the persuasion of David's heart.
Now notice in verse... Six, David says, surely
goodness and loving kindness will follow me all
the days of my life. When we think about this
statement, David is not merely stating a fact,
is he? He's not simply communicating information
that is true and accurate and right. He's not
saying, Surely, goodness and loving kindness
will follow me all the days of my life. With
no emotion, with no conviction, with no feeling,
with no sincerity, with no earnestness, no, David
possesses in his heart an assurance that these
realities are in fact true, and not just of everybody.
But they are true of him in particular as one
of God's covenant people. It's not information
in his head that is compelling him in this fashion.
It's the fact that his heart has been moved.
His heart has been affected. His heart has been
stirred by something, and we'll consider what
that is, by certain truths, certain realities.
He knows deep down in himself that these are
true of him. What we have here, brothers and
sisters, is real, true, heart religion in action.
In the life of David. He knows that God is a
covenant keeping God. This is the Lord. Capital
L. Capital O. Capital R. Capital D. If we remember
back to the beginning of the series. He knows
these facts. And he knows the truth about who
God is. But these facts and these truths that
have been revealed. Have somehow made their way
into his heart. To give him an assurance and
a conviction and a certainty that they are true.
His affections are involved in his religion.
It's not mere orthodox thinking or mere true
theology. It's theology and doctrine and truth
about God. That has affected and persuaded his
heart that these realities are true. This is
the pinnacle of his covenant communion with God.
This is the height of his covenant fellowship
with the living God, the shepherd. is to know
in his heart that these realities are true, to
walk with an assurance and a peace that's settled
in his being, where he knows that they are true
of him. Covenant communion with the Lord is not
intended to be dry, indifferent, cold, formal,
relationship or union. Is that what we see in
David in verse 6? Dry, cold, indifferent, formal
religion playing out in his life? No, his heart
is intimately involved in this covenant fellowship
that he has with the living God. He's persuaded
of the goodness and loving kindness Of the Lord.
He knows. Without a shadow of a doubt. That for
the rest of his life. The goodness. And loving
kindness of the Lord. Will be upon. His life.
And he knows. That he will continue to have fellowship.
And he will continue to worship. This God. Even
following. His death. So, this brings us to the
second thing we have to consider this morning.
The realities which have persuaded David's heart.
Now, David's heart hasn't just been convinced
magically. David's heart hasn't just incidentally
been warmed to these realities. David's heart
hasn't just incidentally been persuaded of these
truths. When we come to verse 6, we have to ask,
what has moved David's heart? We have to ask
the question, why now, at this point in the psalm,
do we find this rejoicing assurance? Where he
says, surely, goodness and loving kindness will
follow me all the days of my life. What is it?
that has persuaded David's heart that these things
are true of him. Well, we have to remember the
structure of the psalm. If we recall, there's
a progression and a development in this psalm.
David starts out and he says, The Lord is my
shepherd, I shall not want. He's making statements
about who? The Lord is. About who the Lord is
as a covenant keeping. All sufficient eternal
God. And then he expands on this provision. He
says. He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores
my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness.
For his namesake. He's making statements about
who the Lord is. And how the Lord provides for
his covenant people. And then in verse 4, with
the arrival of valleys and shadows. Even though
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for you are with me. He now becomes
direct with the Lord, speaking intimately and
directly to the Lord, recognizing that the Lord
is with him. Your rod and your staff, they comfort
me. You prepare a table before me in the presence
of my enemies. You have anointed my head with
oil. My cup overflows. So in verse 5, we're almost
to the peak of the mountain. In verse 5, we're
almost to the top, but not yet. And what is verse
5? It's this overwhelming statement and explanation
of God's covenant blessings in the life of this
sinful man. And it's almost as though these blessings
are bubbling up in David and they're causing
him to want to jump up and say, Amen. They're
warming his heart. They're working on his heart.
They're stirring his heart. And then in verse
6, we find this statement of confidence and assurance
and heart persuasion. The peak of Psalm 23 is
verse 6. The crescendo is verse 6. So if we ask
ourselves what has led to David's assurance,
the peak, then the answer is everything below
it. It's built on everything underneath it. So
everything in verses 1 -5 are those things which
have persuaded his heart that goodness and loving
kindness will follow him all the days of his
life, and that he shall dwell in the house of
the Lord forever. So what is it that's come before
him? When we consider this, we could categorize
it in this way. The character of God has persuaded
David that these realities are true. It's the
Lord. It's the shepherd. It's his benevolent
kindness and love towards David. He's been thinking
and meditating on the character of God, his nature,
his being, his person, who he is. What God is
like. But it's not just God. It's the Lord's
covenant dealings with David himself. Now, what
do we see this great, majestic, mighty, glorious
God doing in Psalm 23, 1 -5? We see Him providing
for David. Caring for David. He's having covenant
dealings with David. He's leading, guiding, protecting.
He's protecting. He's with David. and throughout
the entirety of Psalm 23. So he's dealing with
David as one of his sheep, as one of his covenant
flock. We see in these verses leading up to verse
6, the reality of the Lord's ongoing presence
in David, in David's life. We see in verses 1
through 2, he makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside quiet waters. He's in front.
He's with. He's around, David. Then we find in
verse 4, he's with me, your rod and your staff.
They comfort me. Why? Because he's present. He's
near. He's close. His presence is with David
the entirety of Psalm. But we also see the experiential
benefits that David enjoyed persuaded him. It
wasn't just that the Lord was with him. His rod
and his staff were present. But he actually enjoyed
courage. He could say, I fear no evil. He enjoyed
boldness as a result. of the Lord's presence
with him. And he enjoyed comfort as a result
of the Lord's protection and preservation in
his life, his rod and his staff. So there were
real experiential realities that David enjoyed
in his heart and his soul as a result of the
Lord's covenant dealings with him throughout
Psalm. Verses 1 -5. He thinks about these things.
He recognizes these things. And they persuade
him. They teach his heart. That these things
are in fact true of him. They train his heart
brothers and sisters. That these realities are
true of him. As they are true. Of all God's covenant
people. We also see that throughout these verses.
The reality. That all these. Are in spite. Of
David's weakness. Need. And helplessness. So
we think about verses 1 through 5. And what is
implicit in 1 through 5? David is very, very
needy as a sheep. David is in desperate need
for God's guidance and His direction, His provision
in life. He needs the goodness and loving kindness
of the Lord in his life. So he's thinking about
the fact that he doesn't deserve any of these
realities. He's thinking about the fact that
he himself does not deserve the loving kindness,
the mercy, and the goodness of God to be in his
life. He's thinking about the fact that God who
is sovereign, God who made the world, has placed
his loving kindness upon him as a fallen sinful
man who's made horrible decisions throughout
his life. Yet it remains. He's dwelling on these
realities, brothers and sisters, and it is these
things. which persuade, convince, and teach his
heart that the goodness and loving kindness of
God will be with him all the days of his life.
And that he will worship and he will be with
God even following his death. Now, as we consider
all of these things leading up to verse... 6,
we have to recognize that many of these are objective,
revealed truths. How does David know who the
Lord is? What the Lord is like? It's been revealed
to him in the scriptures, in the word of God,
in the Torah, in the law, in the prophets. Through
the prophets speaking, through the prophets proclaiming
and prophesying in that day, in that age. These
things are revealed truth. They're objective
truth. They're unchanging. They're from the Lord
for the good and the benefit of his people. So
David dwells and thinks on objective realities
and truth to persuade his heart of these. grand
and glorious things. But it's not just objective
truth that persuades us hard, is it? We think
about verses 1 -5, and we can also see that it's
the Lord's work in David that is convincing him
and persuading him of these things. It's what
God is doing in David's life while he suffers.
While he hurts, while he's afflicted, while he's
going through difficulties and trials, he recognizes
that God is at work in his situation. So there's
things that do with his experience of God in
his work, in his soul, in his heart, in his mind,
and in his life. It's not just the objective
realities. We must recognize that David is thinking
about... the hold of God and his interaction
and his dealing with him as one of his covenant
people. Now, I think there's something in that
for us, brothers and sisters. I'm sure that as
David goes through the valleys and the shadows,
as David has his kingly business to attend to,
As David has the business of the kingdom to deal
with, he's busy. I'm sure that he has things
on his mind. I'm sure that he has other things
that he's wrestling with in his heart. But David
had to have taken time, brothers and sisters,
to slow down and to think about what the living
God was doing in his life. Through these circumstances.
To ask himself. What is God doing in my heart?
What is God doing through these trying circumstances?
What is God doing in this situation? How is God
providing for me? He slows down. To think deeply.
About the Lord. And the Lord's covenant dealings.
With him. As the recipient of those blessings.
Brothers and sisters. It is so easy. To get caught
up. In the business of life. To go from one thing
to the next thing. And to forget. The most important
things. The work of the Lord Jesus. And the work
of the spirit of God in our lives. And the providence
of God. and guiding and working in our lives.
We have to take time. We have to slow down and
think about the Lord and what the Lord is doing
in our lives and in our situations as I'm sure
that David did. This will help us chew on those
realities by faith. That offer us and provide
us with that assurance and that persuasion in
our hearts. That certainty. That confidence that
you as a believer want to have. But we have to
slow down. We have to think about the Lord. And
we have to think about what He is doing in our
lives. In a sense we could say also. But David
battle -tested these realities. What do I mean
by that? He knew these things were true. He knew
that they were right and correct according to
the law, according to Revelation. But brothers
and sisters, he trusted these realities. He believed
these things. He leaned on these things. He depended
on these things for his life. This is why he's
able to say that goodness and loving kindness
will follow him all the days of his life. Turn
with me to Psalm 34. In Psalm 34, starting in
verse 8, we read these words. O taste and see
that the Lord is good. How blessed is the man
who takes refuge in him. O fear the Lord, you
his saints. For to those who fear him, there
is no one. The young lions do lack and suffer
hunger. But they who seek the Lord shall not
be in want of any good thing. Now we think about
this. Why is David able to say this in Psalm
34? Why is he able to exhort and encourage others
to taste and see that the Lord is good? Because
David himself has tasted and seen that the Lord
is good. He knows that the Lord is good. He knows
that the Lord is kind. He himself has enjoyed
these realities. He has experienced the deliverance
of the Lord. If you read verses 1 -7 and further
on in the psalm, you'll see the delivering hand
of God to rescue him in his difficult and trying
situation that he is reflecting on in Psalm 34.
So in a sense, the more we taste, and see that
the Lord is good in our own lives, the more we
want to know the goodness and loving kindness
of the Lord, and the more sure we will be of
the goodness and loving kindness of the Lord
in our own lives. These realities are things
that David believes in his heart. We know this
because he's assured of them. We know this because
he has a persuasion of them in his life. All
of these things that David believes, that he
has faith in, are the things which have persuaded
him that they are true of him. That God will
be faithful to him the rest of his days, and
that God will be faithful to him. following the
grave. So what exactly is David persuaded of?
Now we've already answered this at the beginning.
David is persuaded of two primary things. The
first, he is persuaded of the Lord's ongoing
and continual faithfulness to him throughout
the rest of his life. That's what these realities
have taught his heart. That God will not cease
to be faithful to me throughout the days of my
earthly pilgrimage. The Lord will continue to
be good and loving to me because he is a covenant
-keeping God. Now, goodness is one of those moral
attributes of God. In a sense, it is that which
compels God to bestow His mercy or His loving
kindness on His people. But this word for loving
kindness is special. It speaks of His eternal
love. It speaks of His covenant love in the life
of His people. The word for follow is very, very
unique in this text. It actually means to chase
after. Some people would actually say that it
means to run after. And somebody referred to
goodness and loving kindness as the Lord's footmen.
Those men that follow a person perfectly, persistently,
relentlessly. So this word, follow. should give
us great encouragement, brothers and sisters.
Because David is saying that no matter where
I go in life, no matter what I'm doing, no matter
what age I am, what time period I am, no matter
how close I am to the grave, no matter what situation
I'm in, no matter what's going on in my life,
the goodness and loving kindness of God will
follow me. They will hunt me down. They will
persist me. They will pursue me. It's almost
as though, in verse 5, David is referencing enemies.
It's almost as though David has this idea in
the back of his mind that there are enemies that
want to chase me down. There are enemies that
are gunning for me. There are enemies that are
coming after me. They're running after me. They're
pursuing me. But in David's mind, he recognizes
that the Lord's goodness and the Lord's loving
kindness will always outrun every single one
of those dangers or those threats or those enemies
because the Lord's loving kindness will follow
him all the days of his life. Every single hour,
every single minute that you continue on in this
life, in your body, brothers and sisters, God
will be good to you and he will have his faithful
covenant love upon you until the day of your
death. But it doesn't stop there. David is convinced
and persuaded that he will dwell with God in
his presence. He will worship God forever. Beyond
the grave. Following the grave. that God's faithfulness
will continue and keep on with him even after
he has died. So when we think about these two
things, it's worth noting that David's faith
in the Lord enables him to have a confidence
not just in his current situation, not just in
the past and what God has done, But consider
the fact that here David's confidence is forward
oriented. To the future. The days that are ahead.
The rest of his life. And beyond. So his faith
in these grand and glorious realities actually
enabled David to have a boldness, a confidence,
an assurance. Of his life in the coming days.
And what is to come in his life. Some might say.
Well how are you so confident. Of what is to
come in your life. How can you say. Friend. Brother.
Sister. How do you know. That you will remain
in the love of God. How do you know that you
will grow? How do you know that you will be sanctified?
How do you know that you will grow in grace or
godliness or wholeness? How do you know that
you will grow in love for Christ and love for
His church and love for the Lord throughout the
rest of your days? Isn't that presumptuous? No,
it's not, brothers and sisters, because David
has seen and tasted That the Lord has been good
and faithful to him all the days of his life
up to this point. That he is in the trial and
difficulty. And he knows the character of God
and the covenant -keeping character of God. So
he knows with certainty, based on the character
of God, that he will continue to be faithful
to him the rest of his life. This is not a promise
of pleasant circumstances, of easy situations.
This is not a promise of a life free of trouble.
But it is a promise, brothers and sisters, that
God will not lift His goodness, that God will
not lift His loving kindness from His people.
It will remain upon your life. regardless of
the situation, regardless of the period of your
life. He will be faithful throughout the duration
of your days, and He will be faithful throughout
the duration following the grave and eternal
life to His covenant people. David knows this
is true because it's based wholeheartedly on
who the Lord is and not... on David. All of these
things, none of these things, none of these things
are things that David has merited or things that
David has earned or things that the Lord is obligated
to give to him. Why does the goodness and loving
kindness of the Lord follow David all the days
of his life? Why will it? Because the Lord is
good. Because the Lord is faithful. The Lord
is abundant in mercy and compassion and loving
kindness. It comes forth from His character and
His being. The aim, brothers and sisters, of
our covenant fellowship with the Lord, yours
as a new covenant member in Christ, is to have
a heart persuasion. Don't walk around with a
cold, informal or formal, indifferent, formal
attitude with regards to who the Lord is. The
goal of the New Covenant And your communion and
your fellowship with the Lord is to have a vibrant
walk in faith in union with the living God. We
want to have assurance in our hearts and in our
minds, brothers and sisters. New Covenant believers
have been given so much to believe in. And so
much with such Clarity. Such clear truth to look
at, to gaze upon by faith, to persuade our hearts.
Think about everything God has given to New Covenant
believers to place their faith upon. Think about
everything that God has done and everything that
we can gaze upon by faith to stir our hearts,
to walk in assurance. Think about the Old Testament
and the great and mighty deeds and works of God.
The Psalms talk about this all the time. The
great and mighty deeds of the Lord. I just finished
reading through the account of Jericho and the
walls of Jericho coming down and Israel coming
into the Promised Land. Brothers and sisters,
This is a Lord working and fighting on behalf
of his people. The Lord's hand is actively at
work. He is moving, and they are majestic and
mighty. They are worthy to be studied. We should
look at them and be encouraged in our hearts
that he will continue being faithful in our lives,
just as he was faithful to his... People in the
Old Testament. We could consider the promises
of the Old Covenant. The glorious and the grand
promises of the coming Messiah. The coming Lord.
The coming Savior. And then we get to the New
Testament. And what do we have, brothers and
sisters? We have those promises fulfilled in
Christ, in the Gospel. We have historic events
of the Gospel being brought into history. We
have the Son of God taking on flesh and dwelling
among us. We have Him living a perfect life unto
the law of God, obtaining righteousness. We have
the Son of God taking on flesh and coming to
the end of His life as a perfectly holy and righteous
man, going to the cross and dying on behalf of
sinners. A historic event, but there's more than
just the physical. Suffering is taking place.
We have the wrath of God propitiated and satisfied
for all of God's people. And all of their sin
atoned for by that wrath being poured out upon
the Lord Jesus. We have the resurrection. And
we have witnesses in the Bible that verify and
credential the resurrection, brothers and sisters.
the Lord has given us all of these glorious realities.
Preeminently, the person and the work of the
Lord Jesus Christ. We have His ascension, His
ongoing mediatorial rule at the right hand of
the Father. We have 2 ,000 years of church history
where God has been faithfully working in and
through the life of His people to build His church.
That's a work of God, brothers and sisters. We
can look at all of these things to build up and
strengthen and induce assurance, persuasion in
our hearts. We think about all that God has given
us and canonized in the Scriptures. It's a wonder
that we ever lack persuasion in our heart, isn't
it? When God has given us things with such clarity,
isn't it miraculous that your heart and my heart
still must be persuaded that God will be faithful
to His people? Is that not humiliating to the
human soul? Is that not degrading to my own heart?
Then I have to continually be persuaded, continually
be convinced that God, the holy God who made
the world and sent Christ and Christ died on
the cross and proved His love of His people does
not not speak volumes with regards to the depth
of sin in human heart that we must be convinced
that God will be faithful to us. Because we are
so eager to doubt. We are so eager to discredit
the work of God. It's a wonder we ever lack these
realities in our hearts considering all that
God has given to us in Christ. And given to us
clearly in the Word of God. Or maybe it's not
such a wonder that we lack these realities knowing
what is in us. Maybe we shouldn't be surprised
that we have to be persuaded to such a degree
knowing what is outside of us in opposing the
church of Jesus Christ. Maybe we shouldn't be
surprised if we understood the deceitful nature
of our own hearts better. The world, the flesh,
and the devil are always seeking to persuade
you as the people of God. The world, the flesh,
and the devil are always seeking to persuade
me. Of the goodness of sin. The goodness and
the loving kindness of corruption. The beauty
and the grandeur of carnality. And the flesh
and anger and rage and bitterness. And all the
rest that the Bible condemns clearly. We have
an enemy outside of us that is working against
us, brothers and sisters. We have an enemy within
us that is seeking to... To deceive us. We should
not be surprised. Of the depth. And the wickedness.
And the perversion of sin. In our own hearts.
This is why. David's. Statement in Psalm 26.
Psalm 23 verse 6. Is all the more important.
We can know assurance in our hearts. You can
know what it means to have a heart persuaded
and confident and certain of God's faithfulness
in your life in the coming days and beyond the
grave. But listen, brothers and sisters, by grace
and by the Spirit of God, you must work for it.
You must believe these realities in grace. You
must exercise the faith that God has given to
you in this life to believe these things. But
here's the incredible thing about it. Even in
our days of failure. Even in the days when we
fail to do that. Even in the days where you go
astray like a sheep. Even in the days of your
desperate need where you can't even see two days
in front of you. Listen and hear me well, brothers
and sisters. His goodness and loving kindness
will still be upon you. Yes, we must labor in
faith for assurance in our hearts, brothers and
sisters. But His goodness and loving kindness
because of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ,
will always be upon you. That's the gospel, brothers
and sisters. That even though you don't do what
you're supposed to do, God is always faithful
to you. That even though you don't believe as
you ought to do, even though you don't live under
your glory as a believer, His goodness and loving
kindness are still upon you. These are the realities
we must gaze upon by faith and allow our hearts
to be stirred and warmed and inclined towards
the Lord. My exhortation to you is this. Look
at the faithfulness of God. Look at the character
of God and by faith, live unto him for his glory.