The Shepherd King

Well, as Steve has said, we come to this psalm that we all know so well.

It has thousands of articles written about it.

It has thousands of images on Google.

If you want to look at Google for the 23rd Psalm,

beautiful pictures with all the words of the psalm that you can download.

Actually, you can buy them.

But in any case, you can see that there's many songs that are written about the 23rd Psalm.

And it is the number one psalm that is preached at funerals.

It is the most popular psalm, as Steve has mentioned.

And so it is because of that, and it is because it is so familiar,

I'm going to plead with you today that you put everything you know about this psalm aside.

I want you to put it aside so that you can allow God to speak to you and to speak afresh to you.

A psalm that has great richness in it.

And let's ask the Lord to tell us something new.

Okay, so let's pray with me.

Or please pray with me.

Our Father, we ask that by your Spirit, you will indeed speak to us.

We thank you for this particular psalm.

And Father, we ask that each and every one of us, including myself,

will see new and fresh things about the Great Shepherd.

Father, open our eyes and our hearts so that we would see you and be changed by you in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Okay, so it is a psalm that is written by David, as Steve has already said.

It's in actual fact a song.

I suspect David may have sung it, sitting under a tree.

And David, as we know, knew a lot about shepherding because of his history as a shepherd boy.

David knows that the shepherd is the one who watches over the sheep.

He's the one who takes care of them.

He's the one who protects them.

He feeds them.

He gives them water.

And he gives every provision that is necessary for those sheep.

And so with the majestic Lord of all that we've been listening to some fabulous sermons these last few weeks,

this majestic one that we hold high, this one is given the character of a shepherd.

I personally find that remarkable.

I don't find it so remarkable that we are called sheep,

but I find it pretty remarkable that the majestic one who is lifted high,

that he is called a shepherd.

Now, David compares himself with a sheep.

As Steve has said, he's a creature who is weak.

He's foolish.

He's defenseless.

He takes, but in this, he takes God as his provider.

He takes God as his preserver, his director.

And indeed, he takes God as his everything.

But here's the thing.

You see, I think that many, many people,

and I think it's why 23rd Psalm is used in funerals so often,

I actually think that everyone thinks that everyone is one of these sheep in this precious paddock

where the Lord is the good shepherd.

And we all know that there's many, many different paddocks out in the farming rural area,

and not all the sheep belong to all the same shepherds.

But I think people do think that.

I think that we make the mistake of thinking we're all one of these sheep.

But only those who can call the shepherd their full,

to give the shepherd their ownership,

that the shepherd owns them,

that there is a total dependence upon this shepherd,

only those sheep are the ones that we're talking about today.

And David had this dependence,

because he didn't say,

I hope that the Lord will be my shepherd one day.

He didn't say,

the Lord is my shepherd only on a Sunday,

and all the rest of the days,

I can do it all by myself.

He didn't say that.

The Lord is my shepherd.

He watches over me.

And the word is in the present tense.

That meaning that whatever a believer's position is right now,

the great Jehovah,

even now,

is watching over each and every one of us.

And it is because he knows that the great Jehovah

is watching over him at all times,

he can say,

I shall not want.

The Lord is my shepherd.

I shall not want.

When the Lord is over me and caring for me,

there is nothing that I want except him alone.

And he will provide all that is needed

because his heart is full of love,

and therefore,

I shall not want.

It means that I don't need to be wanting

to match the money and the possessions

of every other person that I look out and see.

It means that if famine was to strike our land,

and certainly in rural country areas,

they have had it hard,

and we have had a blessed time here in the city,

or calamity was to strike our city,

or when old age and the limitations

that come with old age,

when they strike,

or the position of a great job is not forthcoming,

or the life partner that I dream of

doesn't seem to appear,

I can even say in every one of those situations

very confidently,

I shall not want.

And it is because the Lord is my shepherd.

And it is only if the Lord is my shepherd.

Those who do not know this shepherd,

those who do not know the Lord,

will always be left wanting.

Always.

And yet with this great shepherd,

I shall not want.

Because everything I need is found in him.

He will care,

he will provide for those he loves

in ways that we cannot even dream of.

So how dare we even think

that something over there

is going to be even better.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside still waters.

Now Charles Spurgeon,

the great theologian,

points out that the Christian life

has two elements to it,

the contemplative and the active.

Now first the contemplative.

He says is in this psalm,

he makes me lie down in green pastures.

Now what are the green pastures exactly?

Well Spurgeon says that the green pastures

are the scriptures of truth.

It's God's word.

Always fresh,

always rich,

never exhausted.

sweet and full doctrines of the gospel.

It's food for souls,

just like the green pastures

are nutrients for the sheep.

When by faith we can rest

in the promises of God,

we are like the sheep

who can rest in the pastures,

finding peace,

finding refreshment,

safety,

security

and deep satisfaction.

You see,

a sheep will not lie down,

my sheep owning friend told me this,

I know nothing about sheep,

but apparently,

sheep will not lie down

if they believe that they are in danger

or they suspect that there's potential danger.

They need to be on all fours

so that they can quickly make haste

and get away when the danger comes.

But in confidence,

these sheep,

they're resting in complete security and comfort

for they know and understand

that the shepherd is nearby

and the shepherd is actually going to protect them

from every angle.

David has been nourished

by God's word

and it is that that sustains him.

He rests in the comfort

that only God himself can satisfy.

Now,

spending time in God's word

will nourish

all of our souls.

It will grow you

in wisdom

and discernment.

It will correct

and rebuke you

where needed.

It will constantly

show you

the glory

and the majesty

that we've been learning about

all these weeks

and it will cause you

to surrender

to him

because all

is already his.

That's what happens

when we spend time

in God's word.

Now,

some of you may be

distracted

from the truth

and so remain restless

and find it impossible

to lie down

in those green pastures

and if that is you today,

I need to say to you,

you need

to seek

the shepherd.

You need

to spend time

in God's word.

You need

to be fed

and you need

to be nourished

for that

is what

will be lacking

in your life.

I know

personally

that when

my life

goes

off

on the wrong track,

I can immediately

look and see

how much time

I am spending

in God's word

and I know

that there is

an absolute

direct correlation

between the two

and I know

there is many

of you out

there who

think the same

too.

The second

element of the

Christian life

that Spurgeon

talks about

is gracious

activity.

Now,

we are not

only to

think

but we are

to act.

We are not

only to talk

but we are

to walk

the talk.

You know

what I mean.

You see,

we have a real

danger

of just

gathering

heaps

and heaps

of head

knowledge

of the

Bible

and we

do not

walk

the talk.

Now,

what is

the point

if we

can find

any verse

at the drop

of a hat,

find all

those little

letters

that we

find in

the Bible?

We can

go to

them

because we

know our

Bible so

well.

What is

the point

of being

able to

do that?

What is

the point

of being

able to

discuss

every

theological

debate

and feel

that you

have come

out a

winner?

What is

the point

of that

if in

fact you

are not

loving

people as

Christ wishes

for you

to love

them?

What is

the point?

See,

the life

we live

needs to

reflect the

truths

that we

know.

Otherwise,

we run

the risk

of being

in the

pasture

not as

a sheep

but as

a wolf

dressed as

a sheep.

And as

you might

know,

scripture

tells us

that Jesus

will be

coming back

and he

will call

his sheep

to himself

and there

will be

many who

say,

Lord,

Lord,

and Jesus

will turn

and say,

I never

knew you.

I do

not want

for any

person in

this building

today to

be one of

them.

I want

you to

be the

sheep that

calls out

and Jesus

welcomes

you with

open arms.

Now,

in our

living

out this

walk,

we are

slowly

being

changed

to reflect

the character

of Jesus.

Not for

our own

sake,

but for

the Lord's

and for

his glory

and for

his majesty.

And we're

all in a

process of

change.

None of

us have

arrived and

none of

us will

until

heaven,

but we're

all in a

process of

change that

the Lord

will give

us.

change.

We are

to expect

change in

ourselves and

we are to

expect change

in others.

The angry

person that

comes to

the shepherd

cannot expect

to continue

to get away

with being

angry.

Sure,

change doesn't

happen overnight,

but it does

happen when we

allow the

Holy Spirit

to touch our

lives, to

minister to

us, to

convict us

of sin,

and then

helps us

to become

the person

God wants

us to

be.

The one

with a

critical spirit

cannot expect

to be allowed

to continue

exercising the

negative traits

if the Lord

is their

shepherd.

That person

would be, on

the other

hand, be

grieved at

the criticism

and be asking

the Lord to

help them see

all that is

right and

pure and

honourable,

all of that

that is around

them every day,

every moment.

The person

who says

that the

Lord is my

shepherd and

yet is

totally self-centred

needs to

actively seek

what the

Lord would

have them

do to be

other person

centred and

to start

serving.

But the

great news

for all of

that, and

we all have

our own

little quirks

that need

changing,

they're just

a couple of

the common

ones, but

we all have

it, me

included.

But the

great news

is that we

are not

alone.

See, the

Holy Spirit

is there

graciously leading

all of us

by those

still waters

to minister

to us, to

change us, to

renew us, but

he will do it

quietly and he

will do it

gently.

And we

cannot change

ourselves and

we cannot be

the one who

takes ourselves

along the

still waters.

But with an

open and

willing heart,

we can be

led, we

can be ministered

to and we

can be

changed.

He restores

my soul.

At some

stage in our

life, we

have all

been in

the place

where our

soul needs

restoring.

The great

news is, when

our soul grows

sorrowful, he

revives it.

When it is

sinful, he

sanctifies it

and makes it

whole.

When it is

weak, he

strengthens it.

he does

it, the

shepherd.

He restores

my soul and

so I need

to stop and

ask you, does

your soul need

restoring today?

Is your

spiritual life

at a low

ebb?

Because if it

is, you need

to ask the

great shepherd

to restore

it.

don't leave

here today

feeling lost

and empty

and downtrodden.

And we can

confidently ask

the great shepherd

because as we

can see, he

is the one who

guides us in

paths of

righteousness for

his name's

sake.

Now it is

the one who

can truly say

the Lord is

my shepherd

that will

follow the

leading that

the Lord

gives.

And we

do that

because we

love the

master, we

love the

shepherd.

We cannot

pick and

choose which

parts of the

commandments we

want to

follow.

We cannot

ask the

Lord to

grow us

into the

people he

desires us

to be but

to say,

but please

don't touch

this part of

my life over

here because

that bit's

for me to

take control

of.

What we

come to the

shepherd and

we ask the

shepherd to

change absolutely

every part of

our life to

his glory.

When the

Lord is our

shepherd we

allow leading

to occur because

it will lead to

righteous living

because of

God's love for

each and every

one of us.

And we need

changing, we

need to be

made new, we

need a saviour to

deal with our

sin and we

have one and

the leading

occurs for his

name's sake,

not for our

own.

Even though I

walk through the

valley of the

shadow of

death, I

will fear no

evil for thy

rod and thy

staff, they

comfort me.

This verse has

always challenged

me because it

does not say

if you go

through the

valley of the

shadow of

death.

It actually

says when.

There is an

expectation that

there are tough

times and that

we're going to

go through

that valley.

That's a

given.

That's not a

surprise.

We should never

be surprised when

tough times come.

It's a given.

Now many of

you actually

know, have

known fear and

many choose to

live with fear of

going through the

tough times,

whatever they may

be.

But might I

say I actually

do not believe

that for

somebody who

is saying that

they follow the

Lord as their

shepherd, that

indeed living with

fear is possible

or that it is

allowed or that

it is correct.

It's not okay

because it

reflects a

lack of trust in

the shepherd for

all things.

Now there's a

word in this

particular verse

that excited

me and that

word is the

word shadow.

This is a new

revelation for

me.

You see, what

dawned on me is

that a shadow

cannot harm you.

It says that we

go through the

valley of the

shadow of death

and what I also

learned is that

where there is a

shadow, there is

always light.

light.

There is light to

cast the shadow

and I love

that.

I love knowing

that there is

light because it

is the light of

the shepherd that

is being cast.

See, a shadow

of a dog cannot

bite you, a

shadow of a

sword cannot

kill you, and

the shadow of

death cannot

destroy us.

So let us

not be afraid.

There is light

and the light is

the one who is

with me.

That is, I have

a perfect comfort

and security because

the Lord is with

me in any and

every situation

if he is my

shepherd.

And now finally

we come to the

last two verses

and we change

from a pastoral

scene and we go

to a banqueting

scene.

You prepare a

table before me

in the presence

of my enemies.

You anoint my

head with oil.

My cup overflows.

Now many of us

would like to

think that we

have no enemies.

I'd like to

think I have no

enemies.

But if we are

aligned with

Jesus, we have

many enemies

for the world

hates God

and the world

will hate

those who

belong to God.

But there is a

calmness in front

of the enemies

here.

Nothing is

hurried.

There is no

confusion, no

disturbance.

The enemy is

at the door

and yet God

is preparing a

table and the

psalmist sits

down and eats

as if everything

is at perfect

peace.

Is this your

life?

It's a

picture of

peace.

Is your

life a

picture of

peace at

this moment

in time?

Have you

ever tried to

eat when

you're worried

or you're

sick at heart

or you're

feeling heavy

at heart

or you're

afraid?

For some

reason, food

loses its

attraction when

we're worried

and when we're

afraid.

Our stomachs

are taut,

our adrenaline

sort of goes

sky high and

the last thing

our bodies

want to do

when we're

afraid is to

sit down and

eat something.

That's why

people lose

their appetite

when danger

is present.

But the one

who has the

Lord as their

shepherd is at

peace in all

things.

You anoint my

head with oil

and my cup

overflows.

If only we all

lived in this

daily enjoyment

of this

blessing,

receiving a

fresh anointing

for our

everyday duties,

day by day

we all need

to go to

God to be

refreshed by

his spirit,

to live the

day under

the Lordship

of Jesus,

to be refreshed,

to be renewed

by God alone

for we cannot

do this in

our own

strength.

But we are

not left

alone.

we have

God's

spirit to

daily empower

us to be

who God

wants us

to be.

So can

you say

your cup

overflows,

that you

are abundantly

and lavishly

filled with

the love,

the mercy,

the protection,

the forgiveness,

the renewal

of the Lord

that the Lord

offers you?

Can you say

that?

Or are you

quietly grumbling

to yourself

on the side

that you

deserve more,

that you

deserve things

to go your

way?

For whoever

is discontented

in anything

whatsoever

cannot say,

my cup

overflows.

I'll say it

again for you.

Whoever

is discontented

in anything

at all

in life

cannot say,

my cup

overflows.

Surely

goodness and

love will

follow me

all the days

of my life

and I will

dwell in the

house of the

Lord forever.

Goodness and

love here are

like guardian

angels that

follow every

believer

everywhere they

go,

through the

dark times

and through

the bright

days.

God is

more than

a God

who provides,

he is more

than a God

who protects,

he is a God

that makes

all of our

life,

both present

and future,

a wonderful

thing.

He is a God

of promise.

And Jesus

spoke of

having and

giving an

abundant life.

He says,

I have come

so that you

may have life

and have it

more abundantly.

That's what

David is

describing when

he says,

surely goodness

and mercy

shall follow

me all the

days of my

life.

With God

by our

side,

life is

good.

Our lives

are fulfilled

in ways that

we cannot

even begin

to imagine.

Not the

fullness of

possessions,

not the

abundance of

things,

but the

abundance of

God,

God's love,

God's peace,

God's joy,

God's goodness.

And I

can guarantee

you,

if you

have these

things and

nothing else,

you are

infinitely more

rich than if

you had all

the material

prosperity that

the world has

to offer.

But there's

more to this

psalm than

this present

earthly existence.

The shepherd's

psalm reminds

us that God

has prepared

for us a

marvellous

future, an

eternal

security, a

heavenly home.

Now many

people have

an uncertain

hope of

eternity.

I can tell

you for all

the people I

have asked

over the

years, many,

many people

will say, if

I ask, are

you certain of

heaven, they

will say, I

hope so.

Or maybe.

But these

words of

Psalm 23,

they're not a

vague expression

of uncertainty.

They are a

declaration of

certainty, a

confidence that

God has

provided a

glorious future

and an

eternal home

for us.

David doesn't

say, I hope

to be there.

He says, I

will be there.

And in the

New Testament,

the reason for

our confidence

is made clear.

Paul said, it

is not by

works you

are saved.

Lest any

man should

boast, it

is by grace.

What is

this grace

of God?

It is God,

it is the

God who

loved the

world, who

gave his

only son that

whoever believes

in him should

not perish but

have everlasting

life.

It is through

Christ's death on

the cross that

our sins are

forgiven.

It is through

his resurrection

from the grave

that we are

given an

assurance of

eternal life.

And it is

through faith in

what God has

done in

Jesus Christ

that we

receive this

precious promise.

And when we

come to God

in faith,

trusting in

his provision,

depending on

his protection,

we know that

we can rely

upon his

promise.

And with the

assurance of

faith, we

can declare

our confidence

as well.

And with

this, we

can also say

the Lord is

my shepherd,

I shall not

want.

Amen.