Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your great love, for your great mercy, for your tenderness towards us. We ask that you would bless this time of singing and praising and worshiping you. We're just so grateful for the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Father, we ask that you would help us as a body, as a community, as a church of believers to express your love, that we would love you with all of our hearts. Help us to love our neighbors. Father, we do want to worship you with our lips, but we also want our hearts to worship you. And please draw our hearts close to you. Most of all, we ask that you would help us to be conformed to the image of your beloved son. We thank you again for this church, this body of brothers and sisters who love you, who love each other. We pray for your servant, Chris Brody, as he comes. Share the word. Thank you again for your great love. In Christ's powerful name, amen. I know you just sat down, but I'm going to ask you to please stand to honor the Word of God as it is read together. Psalm 86 This is a prayer of David. Bow down your ear, O Lord, and hear me, for I am poor and needy. Preserve my life, for I am holy. You are my God. Save your servant who trusts in you. Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I cry to you all day long. Rejoice the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. For you, Lord, are good and ready to forgive and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon you. Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer and attend to the voice of my supplication. In the day of my trouble, I will call upon you for you will answer me. Among the gods, there is none like you, O Lord. Nor are there any works like your works. All nations whom you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name For you are great and do wondrous things. You alone are God. Teach me your way, O Lord. I will walk in your truth. Unite my heart to fear your name. I will praise you, O Lord, my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify your name forevermore. For great is your mercy toward me, and you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol. Oh God, the proud have risen against me, and a mob of violent men have sought my life, and they have not set you before them. But you, oh Lord, are a God full of compassion, gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in mercy and truth. Oh, turn to me and have mercy on me. Give your strength to your servant, and save the son of your maidservant. Show me a sign for good that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me. Thank you, Lord, for your word. May it be a lamp to our feet and a light for our path. You may be seated. Six weeks ago, we gathered in this very place with a lot of uncertainty. Shane graciously opened the Word of God and preached to us from Psalm 23. I was acutely aware, to say the least, of every word sung and spoken that Sunday morning, probably more so than I ever have been in a worship service. The reminder of Christ as the great shepherd who cares for his sheep was timely and beautiful. The description through the short amount of verses in Psalm 23 is graphically beautiful. Peace by the river, a table of peace amongst enemies. But then you get to verse six. And verse six is an interesting verse. It's the looking forward conclusion verse, and it doesn't have all of the detail. You know that if you look at it at the surface, if you can unpack it, it probably has a lot of detail in it, but it's very simple. And then it ends very abruptly, abruptly 12 Hebrew words. Surely goodness and mercy in English, sorry, surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Kind of stuck with me after that morning and over the next several weeks, God made it very clear that what he was going to lay on my heart to share with you this month was going to stem from that passage from that verse. So the plan, moving forward this month, is to basically unpack Psalm 23-6. You might call it a little bit of a deep dive. I hesitate to say that because one person's concept of depth may not be the same as another person's concept of depth. But we're going to unpack the 12 Hebrew words in Psalm 23-6 and look at not just what David has to say, but what others have to say elsewhere to bring a greater explanation to those ideas. So let's take a look at the first seven words of Psalm 26. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. Starting with the word, surely, This is a word that is assertive. It's an expression of truth and an elimination of doubt. It expresses confidence. It's on the basis of experience and it is in fact reality and fact. We can substitute to emphasize the word undoubtedly. So when David makes this statement about goodness and mercy following him all the days of his life, he's saying that it is happening without a doubt, undoubtedly. Goodness, this is an interesting one, because at the same time that God is doing work in my heart to show this passage to me, there's also a sense in which I'm being brought back to the passage in Exodus 33, where Moses asks to see God, even though he spoke to him, as the Bible describes it, face to face. He requests that he might see the full glory and the presence of God. And God says, well, you can't see my full glory, but I will do this for you. I will hide you in the crevice of a rock and I will cause my goodness to pass by you. And then I will shield you as I pass by and remove my hand of shielding so that you may see the trailing end of my glory. And he does that for Moses. And in his description of himself in his own physical presence that he will be willing to share with Moses, he uses the word goodness. I will cause my goodness to pass by you. And I thought, Hmm, is that the same goodness that we're reading here in Psalm 23? Turns out it's not the exact same word, but they come from the same root. The goodness of God, as we see described in Exodus 33 in God's presence is the source. The goodness or good that we see in Psalm 23 is the result. They come from the same root word. One acts as the source and the other is the result. So David says, undoubtedly the resulting goodness that comes from the presence of God will be one of the things that follows me all of the days of my life. Goodness. And then we have mercy. This word mercy is. I'm not going to overstate this. It is simply the concept of God's steadfast, loving kindness. It is what our hope is built upon. It is the message of the gospel. It is Christ. It is redemption. It is all of those things. It is the steadfast, loving kindness of God. And if we look at goodness as the result of God's presence, then we should see what's translated mercy here, the steadfast, loving kindness of God, as the process. So he lists them backwards from what we would typically think. But what David is saying here is surely the steadfast, loving kindness of God, that which is the process and also the result, the goodness of God that emanates from his very presence. These things will be with me all of the days of my life. That's good, but it gets better. The word follow here. This is a word that means pursuit chase. Now it's not pursuit in the wily coyote roadrunner sense of pursuit where there's chasing after attempting to catch, but never quite reaching. That would not be encouraging that if we said the steadfast, loving kindness of God and the goodness that flows from God's presence is chasing after us, but never actually catching us. This word for pursuit follow. is the word that means to be dogged by, to be hounded, a pack of hounds, literally on the heels of a fox, chasing it to the point where the fox doesn't know what to do or where to go next. It would be wholly appropriate to refer to goodness and mercy as the hounds of heaven. So David says, surely this goodness that emanates from the presence of God and the steadfast loving kindness of God will hound me all of the days of my life. Now, it's three separate words that are put together for all of the days of my life in Hebrew. And when these three words in their specific forms are used, The idea that's being communicated here is an idea of wholeness. And what that means is that there's not a section or a chapter or a part of David's life that is going to be absent from the hounding of God's mercy and goodness. So in the wholeness. Of the days of his life. David says, I will be hounded. Interesting note about the concept of days here. Days as it is translated in this verse is not intended to be understood as a numerical valuation of the number of days that we live. In the Western world, we tend to be very literal, very factual, very numbers-based. And when we talk about the days of our life, we measure those in months, in years. We celebrate the months and the years as they continue and as they pass by. That is not the point and that is not the language and that is not what's being communicated here. What's actually being communicated here is that life is not intended to be measured by the number of days that we have. Life in its wholeness is presented as an age, a period of time, and it's consistent in its wholeness, regardless of the inconsistency of the details of life. David measures it as consistent in its wholeness because God is consistent in hounding us. with his goodness and his lovingkindness." So, all together, David makes the statement, undoubtedly, for the whole of my life, I will be hounded by the steadfast lovingkindness and the resulting goodness of God. Now that takes the great shepherd message to a beautiful conclusion. And I had the privilege of spending some time away on a spiritual retreat not too long ago. We met and we gathered and the first personal time that we spent together where we were sent to look at God's word, the passage that we spent our first time together in was Psalm 86. And it took me about 10 minutes of looking at Psalm 86 to realize this is in fact an expansion of the first seven words of Psalm 23 six. So let's take a look. We read it together. I know. And then I jumped to Psalm 23, kind of all over the place. It'll make sense. Promise. In Psalm 86, this is a prayer of David and David, uh, gives what I'm going to argue as a, as an expansion of his declaration from Psalm 23, verse six. In the whole of the days of his life, David lays out for us in this Psalm, Psalm 86, several things. The whole of the days of his life are, number one, going to include poverty. He says it right there in verse one. Bow down your ear, O Lord, and hear me, for I am poor and needy. This idea of poverty is not an idea of a failure to have monetary funds. This idea of poverty means that I am bowed down because I am powerless. Poor isn't necessarily maybe the best translation. The best translation is I have no power. I cannot do anything for myself. He doesn't just leave it there. He also says that I am needy. This is an accurate word because what's being communicated here is the idea of I am literally without. I have no power to provide for myself and I am without. Now again, as good Westerners, we tend to think that money solves all problems. So we phrase it in our mind as though, oh, well, he's talking about financial poverty and financial without. But please let me remind you that being powerless and being without goes so many different directions. Within the community, within our families, within our church congregation, within the relationships that we have outside and inside, we can find ourselves very often powerless and without. In verse seven, David says, that in the whole of the days of his life, there won't just be poverty, there won't just be need because he is without, there is also adversity. In the days of my trouble, I will call upon you for you will answer me. Word for trouble there is the idea of adversity, opposition. And again, we tend to simply think that adversity and opposition is when somebody stands against us. But let me remind you that adversity and opposition can take more, many more forms besides just one standing in front of us, refusing to see things the way that we see it. In fact, David goes on to describe the adversity and the opposition that he is experiencing. Verses 14, 15, and 17. In verse 14, David says, the proud have risen against me and a mob of violent men have sought my life. This mob that is rising against him, this is the idea of overflowing rage. Sometimes we find ourselves in the course of the days of our lives dealing with rage. It's an unreasonable response. And that's why it's characterized with the concept of boiling over. There is also violence. They are attempting to do harm. And there is in verse 17, those who hate him. And again, hatred can take many forms, but notice that David doesn't just lay out all of the things that we would consider to be negative aspects of what is involved in the days of his life. The whole of the days of his life. He also mentions things like inverse to holiness. There is piety, there is doing that which is the good of God. Again, we're back to that Exodus 33, goodness of God is the source. Psalm 23, 6, the presentation or the result of good. In this passage, David says, I am one of those who also demonstrates this result, this demonstration of good that comes from God. And he refers to himself on at least three occasions in this psalm as a servant, one who is dedicated to caring for and following after God. So then, question, in the midst of poverty, need, adversity, rage, violence, hatred, but also holiness and servanthood, How was David hounded by God's goodness and mercy through all of these, the whole of his days? Well, it's interesting because if you look at what he has to say in verse in Psalm 86, his recollection and imagery is both personal and physical. Consider the response to the days of poverty and the days of need. He says in verse one, Lord, that you would bow down your ear and that you would heed me with your eye. In verse two, preserve my life, which is the idea of keeping active watch over my soul. In verse three, be merciful to me, oh Lord, which literally carries the concept of stoop down to show me your favor. At the point of lowness, David's response is to call to God and say, come please and meet me where I am here at my lowest, because you are a God who will hound me with your goodness and your steadfast loving kindness. Blessed are the poor in spirit. When David talks about the adversity verse 7, the rage in verse 14, the violence in verse 15, and the hatred in verse 17 that is all a part of the whole of his days. He reflects on the hounding of God in this way, verse 7, in the day of my trouble I will call upon you and you will answer me. The word there for answer is the idea of to come and dwell with, to come and stay with you. In verse 11, he says, teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth. This is the most interesting concept in this entire chapter. This word for teach literally means to shoot arrows. Now, I ran out of time to be able to dig, dig, dig through how the connection point between shooting arrows and teaching. But I imagine that my son, who right now is going through the preparation phase in Fort Jackson, South Carolina, will one day in the not too distant future be crawling under barbed wire with live ammunition being shot over his head. I think it's appropriate that shooting arrows can cause teaching. But what a graphic imagery for David to bring to the discussion. In the midst of dealing with adversity, rage, violence and hatred, teach me, Lord, by shooting arrows over me. In verse 11, David says, Unite my heart. I'm sorry. In verse 11, David says, Teach me your way, O Lord. I will walk in your truth. Unite my heart to fear your name. This idea of having a united heart or a heart that is undivided is for the purpose of concentrating our affections to take that which we. Tend to be, according to scripture, unfaithful with and wander from and to bring it to the point where it should be so that we might, our affections might be set upon the one who pursues us, who hounds us with his goodness and his steadfast, loving kindness. In verse 16, David says, Oh, turn to me and have mercy on me. This idea of turning is not just a, okay, I'm going to change direction and look at you, but it's, I'm going to change direction and I'm going to go to you. And in verse 13, and I know I went out of order here, but there's a reason for it. In verse 13, David says, great is your mercy toward me. You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol. The imagery here is to literally plunder the soul from the abode of the dead. God will literally plunder and take your soul from the abode of the dead. It shall not remain there. That is not its destiny. Because blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. Now, if you start at the beginning, you work your way from top to bottom through Psalm 86. This prayer is a little bit messy. It's a little bit all over the place. It would be great if it had an alphabetic acrostic or a chiastic structure or something where we could poetically say, Oh, look at this. Here's this beautiful thing. This poem is a mess. He jumps back and forth from. making statements of this is who you are, God to statements of, I need you, please do this for me to statements of this is what is happening in my life. And the mess of Psalm 86 reflects the mess of reality because life is not a happily ever after story. In case you didn't know that. Life instead is a progression of struggle and victory. It's a progression of request and declaration. I need you, God. You are great. I need you. You are great. If we believe that God will faithfully hound us with his loving kindness and goodness, then we are right to request. as David requested. Bow down your ear and heed me with your eye. Keep active watch over my soul. Stoop down to show me your favor. Dwell with me in answer. Teach me, shoot arrows over me. Unite my heart and concentrate my affections. Turn and come to me. and plunder my soul from death. Do not let death have dominion over me. The beauty of this prayer is that in the midst of this mess, there is a poetic reminder, and I'd love to draw your attention to it. Look at verse five. For you, Lord, are good and ready to forgive. and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon you. You, Lord, are hounding me with goodness and mercy. Incidentally, same Hebrew words there in verse five, the goodness and mercy words from Psalm 23. Now drop down to verse 15. But you, O Lord, are a God full of compassion and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in mercy and truth. Again, verse 15, You are hounding me with goodness and mercy. Again, the same words from Psalm 23 verse six. So there in verse five, the declaration of God's hounding with grace and mercy in verse 15, the declaration of God's hounding with grace and mercy and what sits right in the middle between them. Verse 10. You are great. You do wondrous things. You alone are God. That word wondrous, surpassing, extraordinary, things that we couldn't even imagine. I'd like to, with one last thought, set the context. by reading to you a short passage. This is from Luke's gospel. And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives. And the disciples followed him. And when he came to the place, he said to them, pray that you may not enter into temptation. And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and he knelt down and prayed, saying, Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. And there appeared to him an angel from heaven who strengthened him. And being in agony, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling to the ground. In that context, then, I would call you to consider the appropriateness of this prayer. Bow down your ear to me, O Lord. Hear me, for I am poor and needy. Preserve my life, for I am holy. You are my God. Save your servant who trusts in you. Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I cry to you all day long. Rejoice the soul of your servant. For to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. For you, Lord, are good and ready to forgive and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon you. Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer and attend to the voice of my supplications. In the day of my distress, I will call upon you, for you will answer me. Among the gods, there is none like you. O Lord, there are none. nor are there any works like your works. All nations whom you have made shall come and worship you. and shall glorify your name, for you are great and do wondrous things. You alone are God. Teach me your ways so that I might walk in your truth. Unite my heart to fear your name. I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart. I will glorify your name forevermore, for great is your mercy towards me, and you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol. The proud have risen against me, A mob of violent men seek my life. They have not set you before them. But you are a God full of compassion, gracious, long-suffering, abundant in mercy and truth. Turn to me. Have mercy on me. Give your strength to your servant. Save the son of your maidservant. Show me a sign for good that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me. Heavenly Father. May we recognize. The reality. That the goodness that flows from your presence and your character. and your steadfast loving kindness hound us all of the days in the wholeness of our life. May we in confidence call out to you like David when we find ourselves in positions of being without, of being powerless, of being plagued by hate, whether it comes from outside or inside. When adversity strikes, may we with confidence call upon you to be what you are to us. And that is goodness personified and steadfast, loving kindness. Thank you. Thank you for being a God. slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, faithful, merciful, gracious. You are great. You do wondrous, extraordinary things. And you alone are God. Amen. At this time, I would like to invite those who are assisting with the Lord's