May God be with us and bless
us as we turn to his word to consider it together tonight.
And we'll turn to the psalm that we read, psalm number 23 and
read verse 6. Psalm 23 and verse 6. Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the
house of the Lord for ever. Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the
house of the Lord for ever." So we reach the final service
in this place this year. We come for the last time in
2013 to worship together. And it is a good time at New
Year to remember. Remember the past year. Remember
the path, the life we have lived. Remember the Lord's leading,
his provision for us. Remember the things we have walked
through, the things we have had to do. and also to consider where
we are now, to consider our state now. It is a good time to reflect
on the Lord's goodness and the Lord's mercy. As we look back
and we see what he has done, how he has helped, how he has
provided, how he has brought us through, we look back over
the year which is almost past. Think of all of the services
in this house. Think of all of the sermons preached
here. Think of all the times we've been able to attend. Think
of all the things we've been through in our life and record
God's goodness and God's mercy towards us. This is, of course,
a very well-known psalm. It is a very often quoted psalm. Most of us could probably recite
this psalm without opening our Bibles and it is a comforting
psalm, a psalm which brings comfort to us all, brings comfort especially
of course to God's people. But before we, as it were, delight
in the wonders, the teaching and the comforts of the psalm,
one thing we have to consider very carefully is whether we
are in it, is whether it speaks of us, whether we can truly take
on its language. Because David says quite clearly
in opening, the Lord is my shepherd. He is my shepherd. And we need to consider and ask
ourselves, is he our shepherd, because none of the encouragements
and none of the blessings of the rest of the psalm flow to
us if he is not our shepherd. So we ask ourselves, is the Lord
our shepherd? Are we walking with him? Are we looking to him? Are we a real Christian? The shepherd, as described in
this psalm and as described in the Old Testament, was one who
led his sheep. The sheep followed behind the
shepherd and they looked to him and they went where he went. Is the Lord our shepherd? Do we look to him? Do we go where
he goes? do we follow it in his footsteps? The Lord is my shepherd. Well, what would he mean to us
if he is our shepherd? What has he done for us if he
is our shepherd? Well, he is the good shepherd,
as Jesus said, who gives his life for the sheep. A shepherd
who sacrificed himself for the sheep. So, let us consider, do
we look to him as our sacrifice? Do we look to the Lord Jesus
as our saviour? Do we look to him as one to take
our sins and bear them away for us? Is he our shepherd? Are we trusting him alone for
salvation? Maybe we could look at it with
another image which the Lord uses, He describes himself as
the door of the fold, the door. Have we entered in to the fold? Have we come in to the family
of God? Have we come in to the family
of believers through the Lord Jesus, through Him? What He has done, His love, His
sacrifice, Our Shepherd. Is He our Saviour? Is He our
only hope? Is He our Shepherd as we look
to Him to continue to guide us? Do we look to Him daily to protect
us? Do we look to Him daily to feed
us and help us? Do we go to him to feed our souls,
to keep them lively? Do we look to him and his word
to encourage us to go on? Do we look to him when we have
difficulties and we are perplexed? Do we focus on Jesus? Is he who we love to think on?
He who we love to think about? He who we love to meditate on?
Is he our shepherd? Have we come through the door. That's what's vital. That's what's
all important before we then enter into the blessings and
encouragements of the rest of the psalm. If he is not, if you
have come up, as the Lord Jesus said, some other way, jumped
over the wall into the fold, You look like you're among the
sheep, you look like you're in the church, but you have not
come through Jesus Christ and Him alone. Or if you are not
in at all, and you are wandering off in the wilderness in your
own happiness and in your own sin, and you are not following
the shepherd, then the comforts and encouragements of this psalm
are not yours. You cannot take them, because
he is not your shepherd. You see how important it is that
we consider where we are when looking at these things. Are
we a true follower? Well, if he is, if he is, and
I don't want to be too negative tonight, if he is our shepherd,
then we can sing this psalm with David. Then we can claim the
blessings of this psalm with David. Then we can look for the
encouragements from this psalm as words of encouragement for
us. The Lord is my shepherd. Well, where are you today in
your following of this shepherd? If you are a believer, if you
are in the Lord, where are you today? to someone who is in a
strange path, a strange place you may feel. How has the Lord,
why has the Lord brought you to this place? An unexpected
pathway to have to walk through, an unexpected set of circumstances
to have to deal with, a difficult path, a hard path. Still looking to the shepherd,
But it comes surprisingly. Suddenly, the path is hard. The path is difficult. Now the Lord, as we read in this
psalm, leads to different places. And He's led you to different
places, hasn't He? He's led you beside the still
waters at times. At times of blessing, at times
of refreshing. He's led to the green pastures. He's led
you to times of feeding, times of resting in the Lord. He's
led you about in the paths of righteousness. The Lord blesses. The Lord brings us to these good,
enjoyable, encouraging and restoring places. But also, also the Lord
leads through the valley of the shadow of death. A path of difficulty. A path of darkness. And is that
where you feel to be tonight? That's where he's led you. He's
your shepherd. You haven't deviated from the
path. You haven't left him. You're still looking to him.
You're still walking on. But now the path is hard. Now
the path is difficult, now the circumstances are too hard, it's
dark in this valley. It's dark and there seems to
be no end. Is it a hard, a perplexing, a
difficult path? Where are you tonight? Where
are you today? Be following, following looking,
And yet now, where is he? He seems to be distant. He seems
to be far off. The darkness of the valley seems
to envelop you. And the Lord seems to be distant. How now can this difficulty be
for good? How can this path be a path that
he's led you into? How can this path be a place
that he's brought you to? How can it be for good? You're having to endure temptations,
having to endure seeming no answers to your prayers, having to endure
doubts over whether you are in the path at all, whether he is
your shepherd, whether he's a good shepherd to you. You're in the
valley. and it's hard. Maybe you feel
like those disciples who were told by the Lord Jesus to go
into the ship. They were told quite clearly
that they should go over the other side. He constrained them,
we read, constrained them to get into the ship and go before
him into the other side. Maybe you feel like them. You've
done what he told you to do. You followed his command. They
did what he told them to do. They got into the ship. He constrained
them to get in there. They must get in the ship to
be obedient to him. I go over to the other side.
And you've obeyed. You've kept him in view. You've
followed him where he went. You've obeyed his command. And
now they're in the ship. And then they're in the midst
of the sea, tossed with waves and the wind was contrary. Now
they're in a storm. Now they're in difficulty. Now
they're in danger. And the Lord is not with them.
The Lord is on the shore. The Lord is in a mountain praying
and they're on their own in a storm in the midst of the sea. Does
that, in a sense, describe where you are or where you have been?
You know something of that. You've done what is right. You've
obeyed his command. You've got into the ship. But
the only result seems to have been darkness and storm and he
is not there. He seems to be distant. He seems
to be far away. Well, we know the course of the
Lord did come. He came walking on the waves.
He came and stilled the storm. But consider the experience before
he came. Does that explain? Does that
describe something of where you are? No, something of that experience. Where are you today? The Lord
is my shepherd. But where is the shepherd? Well, here we have and looking a different
way. This psalm encourages us to look
forward to the shepherd and follow. But verse 6 also encourages us
to look back. Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me, shall follow me. And wherever we may be tonight,
whether in a difficult path particularly or not, This time encourages
us, especially at the end of the year, now to look back and
see what we can see. Because when we look back, we
see these two following on behind. We see goodness and mercy behind,
following on. And as we look back over the
past year, surely we see goodness and mercy. all over, in every
circumstance throughout the year. As we look back, we see God's
goodness and mercy to us in our individual lives. We look back,
we see His goodness and mercy in our church life, in our family
lives. They're following us. They're
following us to this time. And what have they done? They've encouraged us. They've
kept us in the right path. One has described in that little
book, The Law of My Shepherd, which no doubt most of us have
probably read, these goodness and mercy described as two sheepdogs. One called goodness and one called
mercy. When the sheep look behind or when they start to wander
off and they start to go off the path from following the shepherd,
start to leave the fold, then this sheepdog, goodness, goes
and gathers them up. and brings them back. And when
they start to glide off the other side, then the other dog, Mercy,
comes and gathers them up. These two, Goodness and Mercy,
are looking, are working to keep the sheep on the path. To keep
the sheep following the shepherd and not allowing them to wander
off. What have they done? They've
kept us They've encouraged us. They've provided for us. They've
brought us safely to today, safely to this evening. Mercy and goodness
have always been there. And it's because of these two
that we are here tonight. We look behind. There we find
the encouragement, even in the darkness we may be in tonight.
There we find the encouragement that there has been always Goodness
and always mercy. Well, the Lord's goodness firstly. His goodness. Let us look back
to see His goodness following on. Well, hasn't everything we
have received, everything we've enjoyed, everything we have flowed
from His goodness? Without His goodness we would
have nothing. His goodness has brought us through.
His goodness has provided. His goodness has helped us in
our natural, providential life. Is it not His goodness that has
given us what we've needed? Is it not His goodness which
has provided what we've needed? Our food, our water, our shelter,
our employment, our family, All that we've had, all that we've
enjoyed, safety, good health, it's all been His goodness, hasn't
it? Him lavishing His blessing upon us throughout the past year. Is it not His goodness which
has guided us and shown us the ways we should go? Shown us when
we've had decisions to make? Made His will to be seen? Is
it not His goodness which has kept us from wandering, kept
us from danger, kept us from harm. Surely it's His goodness
that we are safely here tonight. All of His goodness and all of
His wisdom. His way, when we look back, surely
we see His way is perfect, as David says. It has been perfect. We can find no fault with it.
Though we may struggle to understand it, though we may struggle to
see why things have happened, yet surely we can see it's wise
because it's in the hands of a wise God. Surely we can see
it's good because it's in the hands of a good God. He has not left us. He has not
left us to ourselves. This goodness in our natural
life has come and blessed us as we look behind. There is goodness. What about in those hard times
in the last year? What about in those real difficulties? Those times of sadness? There's times when we've been
confused and perplexed about the way. Those hard times. Can we say that was goodness
of God? That was good of God to bring
those things into our life. Yes, there we see goodness following
on. Because there we see God's goodness
working for our good even through hard times. We see God's goodness
in bringing us to our knees to pray in hard times. We see God's goodness in coming
to test and to prove our faith in those hard times. We see God's
goodness working to show us His power, His help, His strength
in those hard times. We see God's goodness in ultimately
delivering us from hard times. You see, those times are filled
with His goodness. Though we may fear them, though
we may struggle through them, they are goodness as well. That's easy for me to say here.
I know it's hard to live it out. I know it's hard to see goodness
in the midst of a valley. But here we have the words of
David that surely there's goodness all the days. There we have the
word of God that surely there is goodness in everything. That all things work together
for good for them that love God. according to his purpose. All
things for good. So those hard times last year,
those sad times, those times that made you grieve, those times
that made you cry, those times that made you doubt, they were
still in goodness and they were still in the hands of a good
God. Surely there's goodness following
on. There's goodness in His blessings
for you. If you look back over the year,
can we look back and remember those times of blessing? Those
answers to our prayers? Those answers which we didn't
hardly expect? Those answers which surprised
us perhaps? that God heard and God cared. We think of those times that
we've read his word and found some food, found some blessing,
found some encouragement for us. We think of those times that
we enjoyed some touch, some liberty in prayer, enjoyed in the presence
of God, thinking on him, pouring out our hearts before him. Can
we think of a time that we came and there was something for us
here? We went and we had something to think about. Something for
us that God had spoken. Something which spoke into our
hearts. Something which spoke into our lives and circumstances. It was applicable for you that
night, that day. You think of the time when the
gospel was applied. Perhaps for the first time. Perhaps
in a fresh way. that the Lord directed to look
out of yourself again, look out of your sins and look to a crucified
Saviour on a cross. Was that not all His goodness?
All His goodness to bring you there, to give you those blessings? You think of the pathway the
Lord has led. Think of the way that we have
come. And perhaps, as I say, we're
still in a place of difficulty. We're still in a place of darkness. We still cannot see the way forward.
We still cannot see the future. We still cannot see the way that
he is leading and he is guiding. Where is that shepherd? Where
is he going? What will he have us to do? Oh,
but surely the encouragement is to look back. See, did he
fail us last year? Was he not good last year? Did he not teach us lessons last
year? Did he not provide for us last
year? Did he not humble us in his hand
last year? Did he not glorify himself last
year? All this goodness follows on
behind, keeps us on the path, looking to the shepherd in front. no evil, no error, no hardness,
all good. Surely goodness shall follow
me all the days of my life. But also there is this other.
There is goodness and there is mercy. Goodness and mercy. And we see both, don't we, as
we look behind. We see both following on. In every circumstance, in every
event of the past, we see goodness and we see mercy. Because all His goodness, all
His blessing flows to us because of mercy. Because of mercy. You see, these two work together. Goodness and mercy. We look over the past year and
we see much blessing, we see many things that God has given,
but what else do we see? Then we see much sin, much failure,
much disappointment, then we have much cause for shame, that
so many times we have forgotten Him, So many times we have denied
him, either in words or at least in action. So many times we have
kept silent. So many times we have turned
away from his word. So many times we have ignored
his command. So many times we have flared
to the throne of grace and given up in prayer. So many times our
heart has been filled with pride. and robbed him of his glory.
So many times we've been hard-hearted and even come to worship with
hearts of stone. So many times we've left in that
state as well. So many times we've lusted after
the world. So many times we've been selfish
and wanted our way and our will. It's a life, it's a year of sin
as well as a year of mercy and goodness. What do we deserve for the sins
of last year? What do we deserve as we come
back and see what we have done and how we have failed in the
last year? Do we not deserve to be consumed?
Do we not deserve God's anger? That's why we read the Lamentations
chapter 3. That's the verse that we opened
with. It is of Lord's mercies that
we are not consumed. We deserve to be consumed because
of our sin. He would have been just to cut
us off and yet His mercy has followed on behind and therefore
His goodness has flowed to us. It's His mercies that we are
not consumed. There we see it. Our sin has
not been dealt with. We have not fallen into hell
as we should have done. His mercy has lengthened out
once again. It's of the Lord's mercies that
we are not consumed. You see, every blessing, all
that we have has flowed to us because of mercy. Because God
has not dealt with us as we deserve. Because he is full of mercy. And where do we see that mercy?
That mercy flowing from? Why? How can there be mercy? Well, there can be mercy because
our sins are put away. There can be mercy because our
sins are dealt with. You think of David when he was
condemned for his sin by Nathan the prophet and how David fell
down and confessed what he had done and confessed his sin to
Nathan. And yet he hears these wonderful
words from Nathan. David said, I have sinned against
the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The
Lord also hath put away thy sin. The Lord also hath put away thy
sin. Thou shalt not die. The Lord's mercy to David. in not dealing with him as he
deserved, in putting away his sin. And isn't it wonderful that
we can see his mercy in not dealing with us as our sins deserve.
As we are hearing these words to each of his children, despite
the sins of the year, despite your failures, the Lord also
hath put away thy sin. It's put away. It's dealt with,
it's cast into the depths of the sea to be no more. How can
it be? Because in His mercy, all the
sins of 2013 and of 2012 and of all the years of your life,
all those sins have been laid on your Saviour. He has borne
them away on that cross. He has carried them away. He
has paid the punishment, the price instead. The mercy must
flow. It must flow because Christ has
died instead. Goodness and mercy shall follow. Oh, what a life of mercy. He is full of mercy. He's a God
of mercy. His actions towards his people
are all mercy. Give thanks unto the Lord for
he is good, says the psalmist, for his mercy endureth forever. And we see it in the finished
work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The finished work on that cross.
then we have the comfort, we have the assurance that mercy
must continue, mercy must flow, and we need that mercy as we go on. The many salutations in the opening
epistles, we have the salutation of mercy. Just one example, in
the second epistle of John, grace be with you, John says, mercy
and peace from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ,
the Son of the Father in truth and love. When he salutes the
people in the opening of his epistle, what he knows they will
need now and for the time to come is grace, mercy and peace. Don't we need mercy as we go
on? Not to deal with us as we deserve
as we go on. that the Lord's eyes may be directed
to Christ again and again as we sin, as we go on, that we
may be complete, saved in Him. We need mercy as we go on, because
we will fall again, because we will fail, but His mercy, His
goodness shall follow me all the days of my life. So we look back. We look behind,
even in a time of darkness now, we look back and we can see and
be sure that the past is all full of God's goodness and mercy.
Coming along behind, following us all along, everything is goodness,
everything is mercy. So what does that do for us as
we go into 2014? What does this do for us as we
step into the unknown future? Well, David reminds us that mercy
and goodness has followed him before, is following him now,
and surely, no doubt, certainly, goodness and mercy shall follow
me all the days of my life. Here we have the encouragement
to go on. the encouragement that his goodness
and his mercy will continue. As John Newton said, his love
in time past forbids me to think he'll leave me at last in trouble
to sink. Each sweet Ebenezer I have in
review confirms his good pleasure to help me quite through. His love in the past forbids
me to think He'll leave me at last in trouble to sink. Here we have it. The mercy and
the goodness shall follow me all the days of my life. For a believer, for God's people,
this mercy and goodness must continue. The past, the help,
the blessing of the past confirms that this is true today. the
darkness you're in, the perplexing path you're walking in, the hardness,
the difficulty, the unknown future, a feeling distant shepherd, you
know goodness and mercy is still there. Goodness and mercy is
still here. Goodness and mercy is still in
that situation. Goodness and mercy is still the
very essence of that path. Though they have been in the
past, still they are today and still they will be. Whatever
may come in our life in the coming year, whatever we may pass through
in the coming year, we know and can be sure that he knows best
because surrounding it all are these two. Goodness and mercy. It will continue. He will not. He cannot let us down. He will
carry us through. He will continue to work for
us. He will continue to work in us, continue to bless us,
to continue to keep us on the path as we remember His goodness
and His mercy until I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. What David sees here is a continuance
of goodness and mercy every step of his life and the assurity
that that goodness and mercy would bless and keep him in the
path with his shepherd until he came to the end, until he
came to the house of the Lord to be with him for eternity.
We have that encouragement here, that if we are a follower of
him, if he is our shepherd, then that goodness and mercy will
continue with us, will be with us every step, every day, every
year. And I will dwell in the house
of the Lord forever. They will guide us as we follow
the shepherd safely home. You will never be without his
goodness. You will never be without his mercy. How wonderful then to be able
to join with David. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. Well, we may have an uncertain
present. We may have an uncertain future.
But we can be certain of one thing. We can be certain of this. the goodness and mercy shall
follow us all the days of our life. And this goodness and mercy
we shall find is a rock to stand on, something which cannot be
removed, something which we are safe upon, something which is
solid as we take another step, another step into another year
looking to the Good Shepherd, for he is our Lord. May we walk on looking to Him,
trusting in Him with the knowledge as we look to Him, to our Shepherd
to guide us and to bless us and to feed us. May we walk on looking
unto Jesus with that knowledge, with that certainty that constantly
following on, constantly in every circumstance, constantly in every
difficulty, constantly following on as we look behind is goodness
and mercy and through them we shall one day dwell in this house
of the Lord forever. Though we may not see them, though
it may be difficult to view goodness today, though it may be difficult
to view mercy today, in today's present situation, yet they are
there. They are surely following on.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my
life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Amen. Let's close with the Lord's promise
in Isaiah 46. Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob,
and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are born by
me from the belly, which are carried from the womb. And even
to your old age I am he. And even to whore hairs will
I carry you. I have made and I will bear. Even I will carry and will deliver
you. May the grace of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ, the love of God our Father, The fellowship
and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us now, into the
new year and forever. Amen.