“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life” Psalm 23:6. Goodness in the Hebrew text means just that; in Exodus 34:6 God “proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering and abounding in goodness and truth.” Mercy in the Hebrew means kindness, piety, and (rarely) reproof, but even when it shows up as reproof it is good for us because He is our Father who is treating us as His dearly beloved children and it is for our benefit (Hebrews 12:5-6). So we with the Psalmist in 109:21 declare “…Your mercy is good…” The word surely is an affirmation of certainty and confidence that no matter where he goes or what might befall him the goodness and mercy of God will be with him! I see the word of the Lord to king Asa with Judah and Benjamin (those under his reign) in 2 Chronicles 15:2 as applicable here, and to us, “The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.” Truly goodness and mercy are a part of God’s person and character as we can ascertain from the already quoted portion of Exodus 34:6. The Apostle points out in Romans 2:4 the forbearance and longsuffering of God are a part of His goodness that leads us to repentance, but he also points out in the very next verse that failure to respond to that goodness during this life will trigger His wrath and righteous judgment! Yes, God is good all the time; the question is will you receive and continue in His goodness, Romans 11:22? So I ask, what is your response to His goodness and mercy? “Oh that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men” Psalm 107:8, 15, 21, 31. Surely we are blessed with His goodness and mercy.
God’s goodness and mercy
By Rose Hill
Oh my God so good You are,
Your mercy extends to us from afar.
Now for Your kindness thanks we give,
That in Your blessings we can live.
Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version copyright …1982 by Thomas Nelson Co. used by permission.