Psalm 23:6 - Assurance Of David

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.

Psalms 23:6

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.