In a month when many of us will have some holiday time, I have been thinking about the benefits of rest and refreshment.
Four words in one of the most famous chapters of the Old Testament, Psalm 23.3 reads: ‘He restores my soul’ and it is a wonderful summary of what we should pray for ourselves and for one another as the outcome of our summer breaks. Here are blessings which are constant and long-lasting even if the current monsoon rains were to extend throughout the holiday season!
God’s goodness and mercy
‘He’ is, of course, the LORD, the shepherd king who guides and governs his flock. Using the covenant name of God, Yahweh, or in its old transliteration, Jehovah, David draws our attention to the utterly dependable, totally faithful, sovereign care of the Lord for every cherished member of his flock. He is committed to our ultimate well-being, so that every day of our lives in this world is an experience of his goodness and mercy (v.6a), always available and always overflowing. He could not love us more than he does and he will never love us less, so that our confidence for both this world and the next is rooted in the certainty of his constant presence and his wonderful provision… ‘I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for ever’ (v.6b).
