Psalm 23 Musings - THE PROMISE
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”
When The Words of God become spoken words to our hearts, everything shifts. It’s always amazing when He does this. This is why it’s important to read The Word of God with heart and ear to the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit who reveals the Living Word in a way that transforms us.
This happened for me, on one of the hardest days of my life, singing a song with the words from Psalm 23: “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” Words I had heard, read, sung, and quoted thousands of times - became mine. The Holy Spirit whispered: “this is for you”.
“Goodness and mercy IN THIS LIFE, and then with me in Heaven forever.”
I still carry this promise, and just saying these words reminds me of my (ongoing) journey with the Shepherd, down paths of His choosing… green pastures, dark valleys, and up high mountains. He has etched these words deep into my soul, and I pray I never forget them.
But what started as a promise to hold onto hope began to unfold into a realization of life changing reality. Shortly after He gave me this verse, I began reading a book that talked a lot about the Hebrew word “HESED”. It got me thinking. Not long after, I discovered that it is this very word that David used when he penned “goodness and mercy…”. This set me on a path of discovery that has opened up a depth of connection with God that has changed everything for me.
If you are a Bible reader, you have likely come across this little word many times - and maybe not known it. In the Psalms as “mercy” , “lovingkindess” or “unfailing love”. Once you start looking, you can’t unsee it - HESED is all over the Old Testament, mentioned over 250 times:
Numbers 14:18–19: "The LORD is slow to anger and filled with unfailing love (hesed), forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion"
Isaiah 54:8: "In an outburst of anger I hid My face from you for a moment; but with everlasting lovingkindness (hesed) I will have compassion on you"
Isaiah 54:10: "For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, But My lovingkindness (hesed) will not be removed from you, And My covenant of peace will not be shaken"
Lamentations 3:22: "The LORD'S lovingkindnesses (hesed) indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail"
But the Hebrew word has far more depth than what we can say in one word in English. The Hebrew reader would have known this. It carries the idea of "kindness," "faithfulness," "mercy," "goodness," "loyalty," or "steadfast love", often used to describe God’s feelings or demeanor towards His people. In short, it describes COVENANT love. Covenant being a way to express one’s character, a way to show “this is who I am, this is what I am like”. HESED describes God. Full devotion. Read that right - not our full devotion to God, but God’s FULL DEVOTION to His children.
I like to agree with a few brain scientists and Bible scholars who associate HESED with what we call “attachment love”. It’s the closest human concept that we can relate to what we see here in God’s nature towards us. Attachment is one of the most powerful and influential forces in the human brain and connects to our deepest needs and desires as humans.
We know that human’s greatest need is safety, and this happens relationally within what we call SECURE ATTACHMENT. For secure attachment to form for a child, there must be a safe, constant, devoted, available and responsive caretaker. Our brains learn secure attachment first with caregivers, then with peers. What an amazing thing that Father God moves towards His children this way. I believe David got it. He was securely attached to God, knowing God’s HESED David celebrated the joy of knowing He was completely welcome in the presence of His Father (Psalm 16:11)
For us today HESED - covenant love - culminates in the person of Jesus Christ. He manifested sacrificial agape love in going to the cross for us, conquering death, rising again and establishing a new covenant that would essentially ATTACH us to God FOREVER in SAFETY.
Secure attachment with God is a spiritual reality In Christ, but becomes a relational experience as our brains require to recognize God as our Heavenly Parent. Our hearts and brains have to learn that we have a true safe haven and secure home base. For those who haven’t experienced this in family, it can be hard to embrace - but life altering to finally find the attachment every human is looking for in a Good Heavenly Father.
Learning about HESED and attachment took me on such a long detour, I almost forgot about goodness. But when I started uncovering the other part of the promise, it was another incredible discovery. The word David uses for “good” is the Hebrew word “TOV”
Once again, if you are a Bible reader, you might guess that we first catch this word in Genesis when God looks at all He has made and says “it is GOOD”. In English these words are often used to describe TOV: beautiful, best, better, bountiful, cheerful, fair , favour, fine, glad, pleasant, prosperity, welfare. The Hebrew reader would know that this little word also has depth that’s hard for us to caputre in one word - but a really good choice might be “functional”. Consider what functional actually means - “it works the way it’s supposed to”. It might describe something to be in working order, operating according to design, fulfilling its purpose… When we look at God calling His creation good, we can see it - all of His creation was fulfilling the purpose for which it was created.
If I personalize the promise of Psalm 23:6, I have to assume that God is more committed than anyone else to me EXPERIENCING ALL THAT I was made for. This is HIS agenda. He wants His children to thrive, to be full, to experience a life lived out of design and purpose.
Jesus embodied both HESED and TOV. He came as The GOOD Shepherd - stepping into our world and lived fully into the purpose with which He came for - to “lay down HIs life for the sheep”(John 10:10-11). He offers New Life to whoever will receive it - an invitation to step into the true experience of living a life that you were designed for. Filled with Life and Love.
In Christ, we are literally baptized into the TOV and HESED of God. To be a new creations in Christ, is to be permanently attached to God, and endowed with Life to live out fully into the purpose with which we were created.
Goodness & Mercy. Tov & Hesed.
In this life, today, I believe God wants us to experience this fullness, possible through Jesus Christ - no barrier, no limitations, just something to be received. In Him we are attached to God and filled with His Life to live the life we were made for.
