““Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.”

Surely

It follows from what has been proclaimed in the previous five verses that we have been looking, that what is now stated is certain and without doubt.

All the days of my life

Indicates that the first line refers to every day of our earthly journey, which are very limited in number.

Goodness and mercy

I notice this doesn’t say anything about comfort and ease, or intellectual clarity and certainty, or earthly power and respect, or status and fame, or pleasure and excitement, and as we saw last week, nor does it say anything about a long life. It lists none of the things that people tend to seek from other people or things in this earthly life.

True goodness and mercy can only come from from God; where we see those qualities in other people the source is still from God as He guides people through His Spirit.

When the source is from people alone, there is always an element of self-serving, of obligations owed in return, or pleasure derived from the experience, so it is never truly good or merciful.
And true goodness and mercy are only seen and valued by people who are looking to God, while people who are immersed in the competition of earthly life will see selfless behaviour as useless or dsyfunctional.

Follow me

This means that God is present and close to us every day of our earthly journey, it means that even when we go our own way, He is still there with us, like the Father of the Prodigal Son He is waiting for us to turn to Him.

Forever

This term changes our perspective from our short earthly life, the third line is for never-ending eternity

I will dwell in the house of the Lord

The house of the Lord is not built with earthly riches. Although the book of Revelation presents pictures using earth’s precious stones to portray the dazzling beauty of life with God, I find it more convincing to think of how we know God now, of his goodness and mercy, as being the building blocks of the house of the Lord, it is these that extend beyond this earthly life into eternity with Him.

I see His goodness in his provision for all we need in life, and for growing in his loving care and guidance, as he draws us closer to him. In the way he reveals the wonders of his creation to us, showing us his created world is built on his absolute truth and beauty, his wonderful nature is still reflected in his living creatures and his universe despite the fall from his perfection. And in the people he brings into our lives and the way he teaches us to care for them, albeit as an imperfect reflection of his perfect love for us.

His mercy is shown in that while I do not deserve his loving care, and my actions would justify the forfeit of his goodness to me, yet only the active rejection of his gift can deny me of his mercy in Jesus. When I turn to him I find he has been with me all along, continuing to comfort, to guide and provide.

When I see the turmoil and suffering that fallen mankind insists on bringing on itself, I am often drawn to reflect that “There but for the grace of God go I”, and give thanks, that no matter what my circumstances, I am carried in his arms, and will be forever.