Psalm 23

Thanks for coming for our Lord's Supper service this evening.

! If you don't know me, my name is Steve.

I'm the pastor of the church here and one of the leaders.

! And Clifford here, who's one of our church members,

is going to be preaching for us tonight on Psalm 23.

But before we get there, we're going to just look quickly at 1 Peter,

1 Peter 2:24

chapter 2, verses 24 and 25.

It's on page 1218 in the church Bibles.

1 Peter, chapter 2.

1 Peter 2 · chapter mention

Trying to link together what we're looking at this morning

with what we're looking at this evening.

So Psalm 23, obviously the famous psalm about the Lord being our shepherd.

And we were thinking this morning about Romans 3

and the Lord Jesus bearing our sins in his body on the cross.

And that's picked up here in 1 Peter, chapter 2.

1 Peter 2 · chapter mention

Verses 24 and 25.

So I'm going to read them.

I'm going to pray for us.

And we'll begin that way.

Let's read God's words.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross

so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness.

By his wounds you have been healed.

For you were like sheep going astray.

But now you have returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls.

Let me pray for us.

Heavenly Father, we thank you that the Lord Jesus bore in his body our sins on the cross

so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness.

Thank you that his wounds on the cross are the source of our healing and wholeness.

Thank you that though we were wandering far from you,

you have now brought us back to the Lord Jesus,

the shepherd and overseer of our souls.

And we pray for our time together this evening.

We do ask, Lord, as we come to look at your word and hear it together,

we ask that you might speak to us and encourage us.

We pray that we might know what it is to be being pursued by you,

that you come after us and love us and take care of us.

And pray as we share the Lord's Supper together this evening,

that you might just remind us and refresh our confidence in what Jesus has done.

So bless us in our time together this evening, we pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Now, if you turn your Bibles to Psalm 23.

Psalm 23.

If you head to the middle, you'll be about right.

It's page 555.

In the church Bibles, page 555.

Psalm 23.

So I'm going to read it for us, and then I'm going to hand over to Clifford,

who's going to preach God's word for us.

Psalm 23.

A Psalm of David.

The Lord is my shepherd.

I lack nothing.

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside quiet waters.

He refreshes my soul.

He guides me along the right paths for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me.

Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil.

My cup overflows.

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.

Amen.

Amen.

Good evening.

Thank you for your welcome.

Thank you for the opportunity, Steve, to share with you all this evening.

I'm feeling nervous because I haven't done this for a long time,

and Steve is looking at me.

Let's pray together.

Amen.

And so we acknowledge the fresh Lord that you are our rock and our redeemer.

And so we come to you now and we ask that you would indeed speak to us through your word,

your living word, your eternal truth.

Help us to hear.

Help us to understand.

Give us a heart that are obedient to you.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

I suspect this evening as you come and look at this psalm,

as you keep your Bibles open,

it is one of the most popular psalms in all of the collection of the 150 psalms.

It is so popular that I've heard it read out in weddings,

in funerals, anniversaries, birthdays,

and children's dedications.

It's a psalm of great beauty,

describing the peace, calm, and delight

which dwells with the person

whose trust is wholly in God.

David is the most likely author of this psalm,

but he cannot be placed in the poem

in a period of his lifetime.

When David wrote this psalm,

he appears to be experiencing a period of rest and refreshment

in verse 1 to 3.

Prosperity and abundance in verse 5.

His thoughts seem to be happy thoughts,

and he lacks nothing.

He has no fear.

God's mercy and goodness are with him.

And David feels assured that they will continue

to be with him all the days of his life

in verse 6a.

Moreover, David has one desire for the future,

and that desire is to dwell

in the house of the Lord forever,

verse 6b.

But in verse 4,

there's a sift in the psalm,

and David is confronted

with the dark and dismal inevitability of death.

But you notice in the psalm,

even in this dark place,

in his life experience,

David is resolute.

He is confident.

He will fear no evil.

I draw your attention to the fact

that the Lord is mentioned

at least 10 times in this psalm,

direct or indirectly,

to emphasize and point to the fact

that the psalm is not about David.

It is about the Lord.

And so some commentators have suggested,

and I quote,

no amount of Hebrew scholarship

can possibly let anyone

into the deep meaning of the psalm.

No attainment in English literature

will ever initiate any student

into the mysteries

of a mother's love.

And no attainment in oriental learning

will help anyone to learn

the secret of the Lord,

which is here disclosed

in this psalm.

There's nothing to equal in it

in sacred books of the East,

for none but the Hebrews

has ever had such disclosure of God

as that which is written

by the psalm

and which he rejoices in.

He went on to say

that every clause in the psalm

is suggestive

enough to be

at the basis

of a separate disclosure

in speech or in writing.

Unquote.

This psalm is also famous

among God's people

because it has been identified

as a messianic psalm

that speaks about Jesus Christ

as the Messiah,

the anointed one,

the one who is to come

to be the Savior of the world.

It portrays Jesus

as a good shepherd

in John 10, 11.

He gave his life for the sheep

and he knows the sheep

and his sheep follows him.

He's portrayed as a chief shepherd

in 1 Peter 5, 4.

And in Hebrews 13 and verse 20,

he is the great shepherd

of the sheep.

And of course,

in Revelation chapter 16

Revelation 16 · chapter mention

and verse 17,

in Revelation chapter 7

Revelation 7 · chapter mention

and verse 16 to 17,

he is portrayed

as the divine shepherd.

In verse 1,

David said,

the Lord is my shepherd.

To have been able

to write this psalm

is one of the greatest honors

given to David.

The content of the psalm

comes fresh to us

as though it was written yesterday.

They make their home

in every language.

The psalm touches,

inspire and comfort us

not as an echo

or repeat of someone's opinion

from 3,000 years ago,

but as the voice

of a living friend.

The child repeats the psalm

as she sits

on the mother's knees.

The ordinary Christian

loves the psalm

for its simplicity

as for as much

as its beauty.

The psalm for Am

falls like music

on the six-man air

and warms his heart

as he's alone in his room.

And as you reflect

on his life,

he's able to say,

like the psalmist,

the Lord is my shepherd.

The dying Christian

says,

this is my psalm

and change themselves up

with the words of faith

and courage

as he enters

the dark valley

of the shadow of death.

And he says,

the Lord

is my shepherd.

These words of the psalm

is not written

because of poetic license.

These opening words

of the psalm

bears the stamp

of deep,

intimate,

personal,

lived experience

of a person

who has a relationship

with his Lord.

David,

the young shepherd boy,

might have sung this psalm

about his famous

past experience

for his years

in the open fields

with the sheep

into the glorious future.

with the mature veteran

looking back

to his youth,

sees in the psalm

the true meaning.

He could not have seen

a light shining

along

the path

that leads

not to Jerusalem

but leads to heaven

and his Lord.

And something has gone wrong.

I've missed the page.

Sorry.

Sorry.

And so the background

and context

of this psalm

we must remember

that before David

became a king

in Israel

he was a shepherd.

He spent many years

in the open field

with his sheep

protecting them

from lions,

wolves,

bears

and caring for them.

So when David

asserts that the Lord

is my shepherd

he's not using

a random metaphor.

he's speaking

from a deep personal

and lived experience.

David knew

from his first

hand experience

what it meant

to be a shepherd.

My brothers and sisters

and visiting friends

to be a shepherd

in ancient Israel

was a big deal.

Owning sheep

was a valuable business

providing milk,

wool,

mostly certainly

providing for the means

of sacrifice

for the worship

of God's people

at the temple

in Jerusalem.

But David

was also

the spiritual shepherd

of his people

being the king.

And as it's true

this personal

intimate relationship

with God

he was able to say

the Lord Jehovah

is my shepherd.

Jehovah

is my pastor,

my shepherd.

He is my Lord.

My brothers and sisters

if we are able

to see the truth

that experience

what all this means

and if we know

the significance

and the glory

of this statement

and all of us

could embrace

this truth

this evening

and apply it all

to our hearts

and lives

there is a sense

in which

that all

that is all we need

for our lives

to know that the Lord

is our shepherd.

We can leave here

this evening

with the clarity

and conviction

and certainty

that David had

when he said

the Lord

is my shepherd.

I lack nothing

says David.

The reason that

the fact that

the Lord

is his shepherd

his ideal shepherd

he's the one

who's the one

most perfect

he's ideal

and suitable

to meet David's needs

in every

department

of his life.

it seems to me

that the shepherd

of his people

the nation

and the church

of Israel

in Ezekiel

brings this out

the Lord

Jehovah

compares himself

with the under

shepherd

who were feeding

themselves

instead

of feeding the

people

they were meant

to.

But Jehovah

the good shepherd

says that

he would come

himself

and seek out

the sheep

rescue

and gather

them

and he says

I will be

the shepherd

to my people.

So Jehovah

he is the

ideal shepherd

because he is

unlimited

he is

in his

omnipotence

all the people

will be fed.

He is the

ideal shepherd

because he is

unchanging

in his love

for his people.

he is

unlimited

in his

faithfulness

he is

unlimited

in his

mercy

he is

unlimited

in his

goodness

towards his

people

his grace

towards his

people

is so

unlimited

that

Peter

called Jesus

the chief

shepherd

who not

only gave

himself

his life

for the

sheep

he is

also

employed

on the

shepherd

to feed

the sheep

in John

21.

in 1 Peter

2 and 4

he says

be the

shepherd

of God's

flock

that is

under your

care

watching over

them

not because

you must

but because

you are

willing

as God

wants you

to be

not pursuing

this honest

game

but eager to

serve

not lording

over

God's

people

but being

examples

to the

flock

when the

chief

shepherd

appears

he will

receive

a crown

of glory

that will

never

fade

away

Lord's

my shepherd

I shall

not want

but what

does that

mean I

shall not

want

surely

David is

not saying

that he

will get

everything

that he

sets his

heart on

and ask

God for

because the

Lord

is his

shepherd

no he's

not saying

that

but what

he is

saying I

believe

is that

because the

Lord is

his shepherd

he's

saying I

have

everything

that I

need

in

the

Lord

I

will

not

knock

nothing

will

decrease

I

would

not

go

without

David

is

saying

because

God

is my

shepherd

I

will

never

be

without

what

is

truly

necessary

for

me

or

he

is

my

provider

he

provides

all

that

I

need

not

all

that

I

want

this

means

if

he

need

peace

he

will

provide

it

if

he

needs

strength

he

will

provide

it

if

he

need

wisdom

he

gets

it

from

the

Lord

the

Lord

is

not

just

a

provider

he

is

the

provider

in

his

person

in

his

being

in

his

presence

he

provides

well

the Bible

is full

of

story

of

God

showing

up

and

providing

for

his

people

at

the

point

of

their

need

and

very

often

in

the

most

unexpected

ways

you

remember

the

Lord

providing

the

manna

for

the

people

in

the

wilderness

!

Exodus

16

when

the

Israelites

had

no

food

in

a

barren

wasted

land

the

Lord

shows

up

and

he

provided

in

1

1 Kings 17 · chapter mention

Kings

chapter

17

and

verse

1

when

the

prophet

Elijah

had

no

food

to

eat

God

instructed

a

raven

to

bring

him

bread

and

meat

in

the

morning

and

in

the

evening

breakfast

and

supper

in

Matthew

5

and

4

Jesus

feeding

the

5,000

with

5

loaves

of

bread

and

2

fish

were

not

a

problem

for

him

because

he

is

the

good

shepherd

and

he

is

able

to

meet

us

at

the

point

of

our

knee

the

God

of

the

Bible

never

failed

to

provide

for

his

people

this

is

the

message

from

the

Bible

from

Genesis

to

Revelation

God

is

able

to

meet

you

at

the

point

of

your

knee

the

problem

that

we

stress

about

needs

instead

of

us

believing

that

he

will

provide

I

can

tell

you

many

instances

that

God

had

provided

for

us

especially

when I

was

at

my

first

Bible

college

I

share

with

a

brother

here

I'm

not

going

to

call

his

name

because

I'm

going

to

embarrass

him

that

I

was

at

Bible

college

and

I

was

calling

to

the

secretary

office

and

asked

why

I

haven't

paid

my

fees

and I

said

to

him

well

look

I

have

been

here

two

years

and

God

hasn't

failed

me

and

he

will

provide

and

he

said

well

he

better

hurry

up

the

next

day

God

provided

me

amen

God

will

provide

you

see

we

worry

and

say

about

the

future

!

instead

of

trusting

God

we

chase

after

different

things

in

the

belief

that

and

hope

that

he

will

fulfill

us

instead

of

resting

and trusting

in what

God has

already

given

to us

to

us

to

be

to

the

shepherd

thinking

and

believing

that

it

will

find

better

food

on

its

own

but

what

happens

that

instead

it

gets

lost

it

gets

hungry

and

it

puts

itself

in

danger

and

becomes

vulnerable

to

various

predators

when

in fact

the best

place

the

sheep

can

be

is

close

to

the

shepherd

and

the

place

you

and

I

can

be

this

evening

is

being

in

the

presence

of

the

Lord

the

psalmist

said

in

his

presence

is

fullness

of

joy

and

delight

forevermore

blessed

be

is

in

his

presence

there's

no

better

place

to

be

you

see

by

recognizing

that

God

knows

what

you

need

before

you

ask

him

says

Jesus

Matthew

6

Paul

encourages

us

to

pray

with

expectation

in

Philippians

4

and

6

he

says

that

we

should

not

be

anxious

about

anything

but

in

every

situation

by

prayer

and

petition

with

thanksgiving

present

our

requests

to

God

and

the

peace

of

God

which

transcends

all

understanding

will

guard

our

hearts

and

that's

the

emphasis

the

peace

of

God

that

transcends

all

will

guard

our

hearts

excuse me

from

anxiety

undue

concerns

we

need

to

trust

God

we

need

to

learn

to

trust

God

I

need

to

learn

to

trust

God

a

little

more

see

Jesus

wrote

ring out

to us

this evening

from

Matthew

6

22

32

to

33

he

says

do

not

worry

for

your

heavenly

father

knows

the

emphasis

do

not

worry

for

who

knows

your

heavenly

father

knows

what

your

needs

are

don't

want

to

be

some

patronizing

but

we're

not

talking

about

transient

truth

we're

talking

about

eternal

truth

God

knows

your

needs

he

knows

my

he

knows

it

even

before

you

think

about

it

kind

of

make

you

feel

uncomfortable

I

feel

uncomfortable

when

I'm

in my

study

and

I'm

thinking

about

this

and

I'm

thinking

that I

have

to

share

this

with

you

I

am

learning

and

you're

learning

that

he

knows

your

name

and

my

name

even

before

you

think

about

it

and

you

see

the

point

that

I

think

that

is

being

made

here

because

God

of the

Bible

has

never

failed

to

provide

for

his

people

we

all

of us

without

fail

need

to

rest

on

his

promises

and

his

timing

I

was

sharing

with

the

brother

the

same

brother

again

about

God's

timing

and

God

has

never

led

me

up

at

cul-de-sac

and

I

became

a

Christian

on

the

20th

of

January

1973

and

I

can

tell

you

without

any

embarrassment

or

not

boasting

God

has

never

led

me

up

a

cul-de-sac

yet

and

I

think

this

is

what

the

psalmist

is

trying

to

convey

in

the

psalm

when

you

first

read

the

psalm

if

you

were

standing

at

a

bus

stop

or

in

a

train

or

a

bus

and

someone

said

the

Lord

is

my

shepherd

you

would

look

at

him

this

day

the

psalmist

is

trying

to

convey

something

that I

feel

is

very

pertinent

he's

trying

to

convey

that

he

has

an

assurance

of

a

relationship

with

the

Lord

and

the

question

that

comes

to

my

mind

as

I

share

with

you

have

you

got

that

assurance

you

see

the

writer

picks

up

this

doesn't

he

blessed

assurance

Jesus

is

mine

oh

what

a

foretaste

of

glory

divine

heirs

of

salvation

purchased

of

God

born

of

his

spirit

washed

in

his

blood

these

are

not

throwaway

comments

my

brothers

and sisters

these

are

profound

words

and

these

words

that

you

see

in

this

time

is

serious

words

the

psalmist

is

saying

something

that

God

by his

spirit

and his

wisdom

has brought

you here

to hear

and

Jesus

said

he

that has

the

ears

to hear

let him

hear

see

the

God

of the

Bible

is

never

late

he's

always

on

time

you

need

to

remember

that

God

delay

in

answering

your

prayer

is

not

his

denial

of

prayer

sometimes

we

get

frustrated

because

we

believe

that

God

deals

with

us

like

McDonald's

instant

and

it

doesn't

work

like

that

not

the

God

of

the

Bible

he's

a

God

of

your

making

God

doesn't

work

like

that

and

so

when

David

said

the

Lord

is

my

shepherd

I

shall

not

what

what

I

believe

he's

saying

and

I

stand

to

be

corrected

that

as long

as

God

he

has

God

he

doesn't

lack

anything

as long

as he

has

God

doesn't

mean

that

he

wouldn't

want

breakfast

tomorrow

morning

or

he

wouldn't

want

to

go

to

work

but

he's

saying

in

his

heart

his

mind

his

relationship

he

lacks

nothing

you see

the

psalmist

is not

writing

about

material

need

he's

not

writing

about

his

spiritual

need

so

my

brothers

and

sisters

and

friends

we

do

not

have

to

chase

after

the

things

of

the

world

to

look

and

feel

secure

we

most

certainly

do

not

have

to

worry

about

tomorrow

and

what

it

holds

for

us

you

see

what

David

is

saying

is

our

shepherd

is

already

ahead

of

us

and

we

have

everything

we

need

in

him

and

so

let

us

take

a

deep

breath

and

know

that

we

are

never

without

we

lack

nothing

because

our

shepherd

is

always

with

us

and

he

provides

for

me

verse

two

he

makes

me

lie

down

and

rest

in

green

pastures

if

we

are

honest

with

ourselves

this

evening

not

many

of

us

know

how

to

rest

if

the

truth

is

told

we

are

more

comfortable

with

our

busy

business

and

restlessness

and

when

we

are

at

rest

but

if

we

are

if

we

if

we

serve

an

all

powerful

shepherd

why

are

we

so

restless

why

am

I

so

restless

why

do

I

get

agitated

sometimes

see

when

David

wrote

these

words

he

makes

me

lie

down

in

green

past

they

sound

so

peaceful

and

so

tranquil

do

they

not

there

may

be

more

deeper

truth

in

these

words

than

we

ought

to

miss

this

evening

and

I'm

able

to

expand

because

Steve

has

told

me

that

I

am

limited

in

my

time

if

we

know

anything

about

sheep

we

will

be

aware

that

they

do

not

lie

down

easily

in

fact

a sheep

will

only

lie

down