Surely

In the 23^rd Psalm the word “surely” rings out with confidence and love and expectation and God and me in life together! It is reassuring and definite and without qualifiers. It implies love and providence, needs and challenges met, and no doubt. Look at these synonyms for surely:

Absolutely

Beyond Doubt

Definitely

Inevitably

Inexorably

Infallibly

Positively

Undoubtedly

Unequivocally

Unquestionably

Without fail.[1]

Surely…you can count on it! You can rest your life on this “surely.” Surely I am shepherded…surely I lack nothing… surely I am made to “lie down in green pastures”… surely I am lead “by the still waters”…surely the shepherd “restores my soul”… surely he leads me on “the right paths”[2]…surely I will “fear no evil”…surely he is “with me”… surely his “rod and [your] staff comfort me”….surely he prepares a “table for me in the presence of my enemies”…surely he anoints “my head with oil”…surely “my cup overflows”…”surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.”[3]

The 23^rd Psalm rings out with certainty and confidence in our God, in his providence and mercy for us. This short psalm contains and summarizes the teachings of the whole Bible—Old and New Testaments. The psalmist knows, he has experienced God as the one who provides us all good things, the one who leads us on the path to our own true selves, the one who blesses and loves us always. You can count on it!