Introduction To Psalm 23 - Pastor Kyle Kearbey

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He

makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads

me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul.

He guides me in the paths of righteousness for

his namesake. Even though I walk through the

valley of the shadow of death, I 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, goodness

and loving kindness will follow me all the days

of my life, and I will dwell in the house of

the Lord forever. Let's go to the Lord in prayer.

Father, we come to you this Lord's Day. Father,

we thank you that we can gather together and

worship you, and we thank you that we can gather

together and hear from your word. Lord, we ask

at this time that you would bless the ministry

of your word. Lord, we know that if you don't

bless your word, if you don't accompany your

word, if the influence of your spirit is not

present within our hearts and our minds, if He

does not bear witness to the truth of the Scriptures,

then everything that is preached and everything

that is said is useless and vain. So, Lord, we

ask that Your Spirit would bless the ministry

of Your ordained Word to our edification, strengthening,

encouragement, contentment, and courage, Lord.

Father, we ask that you would use your word to

pierce the hearts of unbelieving men, to draw

them to yourself, that the Spirit of God would

give them new life in their souls. Lord, we ask

these things not in any right or authority that

we possess in and of ourselves, but Father, we

ask all of these things on the basis and in the

name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray these

things in his name. Amen. You may be seated.

Today we're going to consider Psalm 23. If you

remember, a couple summers ago I preached through

Psalm 51. And we just hunkered down there for

a bit and studied the psalm. Sought to be faithful

and exposit it and apply it in our lives. So

several months ago I started prepping and thinking

about and feeling led to do Psalm 23. I think

it will be edifying and encouraging and strengthening

for us as a church and us as individuals in the

body. Psalm 23 pictures the Lord as... a great

shepherd of his sheep, his people. It's an individual

psalm of thanksgiving. Some may consider it as

a part of a triplet of psalms, Psalm 22, 23,

and 24. I'm not sure exactly where I lie on that.

But the psalm does encourage comfort, peace,

courage, strength, And security in the knowledge

that God providentially cares and watches over

his people. That he strengthens them. That he

guards them. That he keeps them. That he protects

them. That he blesses them. That he is full of

lavish and abundant favor toward his people.

So we're going to consider... Today, we're going

to consider the reality that God is called a

shepherd. We're going to consider the fact that

God acts as a shepherd toward his people. And

then we're going to consider the fact that the

Lord, who is called a shepherd, is also recognized

as a king in the second half of the psalm. So

we're going to do an overview of the psalm today,

and then we'll pull some applications at the

end. Consider a few other things. And then for

the next several weeks, next couple of months

most likely, we're going to break the psalm down

more precisely and spend time on each theme and

part of the verse and portion of the scripture.

So first this morning, let's consider that God

is called a shepherd. We think about the Bible.

and the word of God, and think about all the

various ways that the scriptures use language

to convey who God is, and how he treats and how

he relates to his people. There's all kinds of

different images that probably come to mind.

One of the most prominent metaphors are... uses

of language in the Bible to describe God and

his relation to his people is that of a shepherd

and sheep. So today, we're going to begin considering

this theme throughout the scriptures. We're going

to consider the reality that David here sees.

Yahweh, his covenant God. As a shepherd to him.

As his shepherd in his life. Who watches over

him, guides him, directs him, protects him, preserves

him, and blesses him in his life. Now, in the

context of ancient Israel, shepherding was a

big thing. Because of the nature of that culture,

their region, the agriculture. So this was something

that the people knew very, very well. They understood

the nature of a shepherd and his sheep. They

understood the unique interactions and the unique

intricacies and the dynamics of that relationship.

They were always around it. It was... It was

something that was close to home for them. They

could understand this language very, very well.

And what about David himself? King David. King

David was what, brothers and sisters? He was

a shepherd before God called him and while God

called him and anointed him to be the future

king of Israel. We can turn to Psalm 78, 70.

And we'll see this. In Psalm 78. Starting in

verse 70. Listen to this. Speaking of King David.

He also chose David his servant and took him

from the sheepfolds. So God. calls David to be

king, and he calls him from the business of shepherding.

From the care of the ewes with the suckling lambs,

he brought him to shepherd Jacob, his people,

and Israel, his inheritance. So he shepherded

them according to the integrity of his heart

and guided them. with his skillful hands. So,

in some ways, David is in a uniquely specific

place where he can write this psalm because he

understands a shepherd and a shepherd's outlook,

what is required of a shepherd, a shepherd's

heart, in a sense. And so we find... That David

was a shepherd. He knew the ins and outs of that

work. He knew the ins and outs of sheep. He knew

the ins and outs of the shepherd's heart. But

we also find in scripture that God himself willingly

takes upon himself the role of shepherd. Or the

title of shepherd. We could look at Ezekiel chapter

Ezekiel 34 · chapter mention

34. Starting in verse 11, where the Lord calls

himself a shepherd to his people. For thus says

the Lord God, Behold, I myself will search for

my sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd cares

for his herd in the day when he is among his

scattered sheep, so I, speaking of the Lord,

so I will care for my sheep. and will deliver

them from all the places to which they were scattered

on a cloudy and gloomy day. I will bring them

out from the peoples and gather them from the

country and bring them to their own land, and

I will feed them on the mountains of Israel by

the streams and in the inhabited places of the

land. I will feed them in a good pasture, and

their grazing ground will be on the mountain

heights of Israel. There they will lie down on...

Good grazing ground and feed in rich pasture

and mountains of Israel. That's God himself saying,

I am a shepherd to my people. I will watch over

my people. I will shepherd them. They are my

sheep. Nobody else's. I take care of them. That's

God willingly identifying himself. As a shepherd.

Now think about that for a moment brothers and

sisters. Think about the condescending love.

And grace of God. That he would willingly identify

himself. As the one who rounds up those wayward

sheep. Think about the reality of God's condescending

mercy. And his condescending care. to stoop to

the place of a shepherd to watch over his people.

It wasn't the most glorious of tasks that a person

could have in their life. Yet the Lord, in his

grace, in his mercy, in his loving kindness,

willingly chooses to identify himself as a shepherd

to his people. And we find that David's most

likely emulating. And he's learning from Jacob,

his forefather, as well. When at the end of Jacob's

life, he calls God the shepherd of his life all

his days. Because he sees God's providential

hand and God's guidance and his care at work

so clearly throughout his life. So we find that

God is called a shepherd. But consider also,

secondly, that God acts as a shepherd towards

his people. He treats his people as a shepherd.

It would be one thing if a person says, I'm a

shepherd. I will call myself a shepherd. But

they're unwilling to actually treat the people

like a shepherd. It's like a person who would

say, yes, I'll be a pastor. I would love the

name and the title of pastor, but I refuse to

love the people. I refuse to shepherd the people,

to treat them as in accordance with the title

or the rule. We don't find that with God. God

says, yes, I am a shepherd. But then we find

that God treats his people like a shepherd. That

he acts like a shepherd towards them. We see

this in verses 2 -3 and verse 4 of this text.

We find that he provides for his people. Notice

he says, I shall not want. Meaning, God's going

to provide for me. God has provided for me and

God will provide for me. He takes care of my

needs. I'm not going to need anything. I'm not

going to want anything. He recognized that God

provides for him. And how does God provide for

the psalmist, for David? How does God the Great

Shepherd provide for his lowly, needy people?

We find according to the text that he nourishes

his people. He cares for them. Listen to this.

He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads

me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul.

He guides me in the paths of righteousness. That's

God concerned about the welfare. Of his people.

Their condition. Their well -being. Their safety.

Their peace. Their contentment. We read in Psalm.

19. Just a few chapters before this. Starting

in verses 7 and 8. The law of the Lord. Is perfect.

Restoring the soul. The testimony of the Lord.

Is sure. Making wise the simple. The precepts

of the Lord are right. Rejoicing the heart. The

commandments of the Lord. The commandment of

the Lord. Is pure. Enlightening the eyes. It's

not just that he nourishes his people. That he

cares for his people. But God gives His people

rest and He works in their heart to bring healing

and restoration and strength and joy and contentment

and peace and security and safety in their souls

so that they are conscious and aware of it, brothers

and sisters. This is the work of a shepherd.

He nourishes His people. He gives rest to His

people. But we also see that He leads and guides.

His people. In this text. Consider where the

shepherd. Is leading. The sheep to. And what

he's doing. The shepherd. In Psalm 23. Leads

them beside. Quiet waters. Now sheep. Because

of their. Easily frightened nature. They don't

like fast. moving waters. They don't find rest

near rivers. They can't cross rivers because

they're incapable of it. They would die. The

water would drown them. It frightens them. In

that day and age, I found a chuckle of this when

I was studying for this. Do you know what a shepherd

would carry with them? They had various things

that they would have with them. But one of the

things the shepherd carried with him was a flute.

Now why in the world would a shepherd need to

carry a flute for his sheep? To calm their nerves.

And to keep their spirits up. Think about that,

brothers and sisters. That says something about

the nature of the sheep, the neediness of the

sheep, but also It says something about the heart

and the kindness and the care of the shepherd.

He doesn't lead them to waters that frighten

them. He brings them to green pastures where

they can freely roam in safety, where they can

lie down and rest, and he brings them by waters

that don't frighten them, that don't threaten

them. The shepherd cares for his sheep. And God

cares for his people. And we know that because

he treats his people like a shepherd treats his

sheep. He leads them and he guides them. And

David says that he does all of these things for

his name. For his namesake. Because of who he

is. He doesn't so much do it because the sheep

are so pretty, because the sheep are so cute.

He does it because of who he is, because of his

good name, because of his goodness, because of

his character. So in that, brothers and sisters,

there's great encouragement because there is

promise in the reality that God performs the

role and function of a shepherd in the life of

his people. for His good name and not for our

name. Will God mar His name? Will God bring disrepute

upon His name? Absolutely not. There is promise

found in those words. We can gain assurance and

confidence that God will perform His role as

provider, providential caretaker for his people.

As sovereign over their lives. As a sovereign

shepherd in the lives of his people because of

his name. Because of who he is and what he is

like. He provides for his people. So we know

that he treats his people in accordance with

this metaphor and the language that David uses

as a shepherd to sheep. But we also see that

it's not just that he provides for his people.

He guards and keeps his people as well. Look

at verse 4. Even though I walk through the valley

of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you

are with me. And here it is. You're wrong. and

your staff, they comfort me. The rod and the

staff of the shepherd. Two other items that a

shepherd of that day would carry with him. The

rod was a shorter piece of wood with a large,

almost bulky, round knob on the end. Now, we

can imagine what the rod was used for. When bears

or lions or predators would come at the sheep,

the shepherd sheep, he would take out his rod

and he'd beat them back. He'd take out the rod

and he'd whack them in the head. He'd take out

the rod and he'd strike them hard and he'd run

them off. He would defend the sheep. He'd protect

the sheep. He'd keep the sheep that were his.

But what about his staff? The staff was a longer

stick and most likely had a hook or what would

be called a crook on the end. We probably heard

the shepherd's crook. This wasn't used so much

for protection against outside forces, we could

say. The shepherd's crook or the shepherd's staff

was used more to keep the sheep. in line. If

a sheep started veering to the right and getting

wayward and going this way and say there's a

cliff or there's danger over there, we would

take his shepherd's crook and he'd reach out

with that loop on the end and he'd grab him by

the leg and yank him back. He'd pull him back

in close to the flock. He wouldn't let him get

too far. Or, if he's in the middle of the sheep

and they start getting nervous, maybe thinking

that he's not present and in their midst, he

tapped them lightly. Letting them know that he's

present and that he's with them, that he's in

their midst, that they are close to him and that

he is close to his flock. So the author of Psalm

23, King David, who was a shepherd, he knows,

brothers and sisters, that God is not just with

him in the green pastures of his life. He knows

that God is not just with him by the still waters.

He knows that God is with him in the deep, dark

valleys of his life as well. And he looks to

the rod and the staff, the protection and the

keeping power of his king. of his God, of his

shepherd, to protect him and preserve him in

the midst of this valley of the shadow of darkness,

this trial, this hardship, whatever it might

be in his life. He looks and he finds comfort

in the rod and staff of God. The protection and

preservation and security of the Lord is the

source of great comfort, encouragement, and courage

for the psalmist, for David. Why do I say encourage?

Because, listen, he says, even though I walk

through the valley of the shadow of death. The

psalmist... Still says he walks through the valley

of the shadow of death. He's not running like

a frightened boy. He's calmly walking through

the darkness. He's calmly and steadily taking

one step after another, even though he doesn't

know what's in front of him, even though he doesn't

know what's around the corner. He's looking to

the rod and staff of the shepherd for his peace,

but also for his courage to walk through the

darkness in his life, whatever it might be. David

had a really balanced view. This is one of the

things I appreciate about the psalm so much.

David had a really, really balanced view of himself

and God's providence and God's care. in his life.

Why do I say that? Well, here's what I mean by

that. David knew that God would provide for him.

He knew that the Lord would care for him, that

he would nourish him, lead him, guide him, and

he knew that the Lord would be with him. But

he had no expectation that he was exempt From

those dark valleys. He had no expectation that

he was exempt from the reality that all men endure

and experience. The valley of the shadow of death.

Trial. Hardship. Suffering. Difficulty. Pain.

Sickness. Loss. Hopelessness. Trial, brothers

and sisters, David knew because he's a man living

in a fallen world that was full of sin. He knew

that he would go through trials in his life.

He knew that he would go through hardships in

his life. But he knew that his God would be with

him in and through those trials. And he found

great, strong encouragement and comfort in that

reality. But he also knew that the shepherd would

bring him through the valley. The shepherd wouldn't

exempt him from these trials either. The shepherd

knew what was best for the sheep. And so David

had a very well -balanced view of himself. and

a very well -balanced view of providence and

God's care in his life. There's an idea oftentimes,

I think, and it's not even associated with the

prosperity gospel and modern Christianity. I

think there's the idea, at times, that people

think, well, I'm going to become a member of

the church. I've been saved. The Lord has given

me a new life. He's regenerated my heart. I love

the Lord. I desire to seek the Lord. God is so

good. God is so faithful. And I think there's

the idea sometimes that because that has taken

place, because God has saved you and brought

you into the flock, that all of a sudden our

problems are going to disappear. The hardships

are going to go away. The trials and the struggles

are going to gradually dissipate in life. But

brothers and sisters, that's not how Christianity

works. The reality is that God saves us in a

fallen world. God rescues us from our sins and

the penalty of our sins as a result of Christ's

work. But listen, brothers and sisters, He does

not deliver us from the presence of sin in this

life. We are still surrounded by sinful men.

We are still surrounded by sinful people. We

are still surrounded by a sinful culture. And

we still have a remnant of sin within us. Christianity

doesn't fix all the problems in the world. Brothers

and sisters, Christianity saves us while we're

in the world. And Christ keeps us in the world.

This is why he prays in John 17 to protect them

from the evil one while they're in the world.

Do we respond to things differently as believers?

Yes. Do we solve a great deal of issues in our

life? Because we've been awakened and our faculties

have been alive and we start being who God made

us to be in life? Yes. But that does not deal

with the presence and reality of sin in our lives

and in our world. David knew this very well.

But he knew that no matter what came his way,

no matter what came at him, God, his great shepherd,

would be with him. And he could find great comfort

in that reality. So God acts like a shepherd

toward his people. Now, we find that the imagery

and the tone of the psalm changes now. When we

get to verse 5, the pictures start to change.

He's been playing off of this image of a shepherd

and sheep, and now we find in verse 5, you prepare

a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You have anointed my head with oil. My cup overflows.

This leads us to the third thing. We have to

consider that the Lord, who is a shepherd to

his people, as a king who abundantly blesses

his people as well. So there's still continuity

in the psalm between verses 1 -4 and 5 -6. But

there's also some discontinuity in the text as

well. But we can't tear these two things apart,

and I don't think David wants us to tear these

two things apart. Shepherd? And king who's hosting

his subjects for a banquet. So what do we find

in Psalm 23? We don't just find a shepherd who

cares for his people. But brothers and sisters,

we find a sovereign. A king who blesses his people.

So we have, when we bring those two things together,

the shepherd king of Israel. The one who rules

over his people. as a kind, loving, caring shepherd

in their lives. As a shepherd king, God serves

his people. We see this in verse 5. You prepare

a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

What's he doing? He's hosting his subjects. He's

feasting with his subjects. He's welcoming them

in to his home, to his palace maybe. He's welcoming

them to the table. And he's feeding them food.

He's serving them. And he anoints their head

with oil. He shows favor and honor to them. And

then David says, my cup overflows. Speaking about

the abundant. lavish nature of the king's blessing,

of the king's grace and his mercy that he's bestowed

upon him. Now this is amplified in a sense because

it's juxtaposed and it's taking place in the

presence of enemies. Think about that. David

is saying God favors me. God blesses me. God

is with me. God anoints my head with oil. God

gives me blessing in the presence of enemies

who hate me. It's amplifying the character and

the nature of God's grace and his mercy and the

life of his people. Because, he says, there's

those around him who despise him, who oppose

him, who are enemies to him. As a result of David

considering the Lord's faithful provision, his

leading, his guiding, his direction, his nourishment,

his preservation, his protection, as a result

of these things, we find that David comes to

this point of crescendo in verse 6, where he

says, Surely, Goodness and loving kindness will

follow me all the days of my life. And I will

dwell in the house of the Lord forever. What

we find here is that David, as a result of contemplating

and dwelling on the glorious character of God

and how he relates to his people, the abundant

blessing of God upon his people, of being a sheep,

in his flock, what it does is it persuades him,

it convinces him that God's loving kindness and

his goodness will pursue him and will continue

with him all his days. He's been so faithful

to me in the past. He's been with me through

the darkness. He was there when I fought the

giant. He was present with me. He was there when

I was in the caves of Adullam. And the military

warriors served me and brought me water because

I was thirsty. And brothers and sisters, David

is confident and he's persuaded that God was

not just with him in the past, that God was not

just with him in the dark days, but that God

would be with him in the future. That God would

be with him all the days of his life. He's convinced

of it because he's been dwelling on these realities.

He's persuaded of it. Now, there's a progression

in this psalm, if you've noticed that. It starts

out with him saying, I'm not lacking anything.

And it ends with him almost in jubilation where

he says, surely goodness and loving kindness

will follow me all the days of my life. It's

progressing. It's building. Why? Because he's

considering the benefits and the blessings of

being in a covenantal relationship with the living

God who is a covenant -keeping God. He's been

considering who God is and how God treats him,

just as a shepherd treats sheep. So consider

with me, lastly, the presuppositions, the relevance

and the applications of these things. Just a

few things that are really important as we consider

this psalm. There's a few necessary presuppositions

that we have to grasp when we think about this

text. The first is the psalm presupposes. A benevolent,

covenantal relationship between God and his people.

Think about a shepherd and sheep. The shepherd

doesn't do what he does for the sheep because

he hates the sheep. The shepherd doesn't do what

he does for the sheep. He doesn't treat the sheep

as he does because he dislikes the sheep. Because

he doesn't care for the sheep. No, he does it

because... There's benevolence in that relationship.

He cares for them. He loves them. He has their

best interest in mind. And the same is true of

God and his people. God loves his people. God

cares about his people. He has their best interest

in mind. But you have to be in that benevolent

covenant -keeping relationship if you are to

be the benefactor of that relationship. Meaning,

God's not benevolent toward all men, is he? God

doesn't love all men with a saving love. Otherwise

all men would be saved. Is that not correct,

brothers and sisters? An effective saving love?

A particular, benevolent, good, kind, merciful,

saving, effectual love which delivers them from

sin. God does not love all men like that, but

he does love some men like that undeservedly.

So this... begs the question, are you in a benevolent

covenant relationship with God? Because Psalm

23 is only for those in this benevolent relationship.

Or are you one of the enemies spoken of in Psalm

23? One of the threats and the dangers to the

flock of the living God. You see, in John chapter

John 10 · chapter mention

10, Jesus is called the good shepherd that lays

down his life for the sheep. And if you don't

know the good shepherd by faith and repentance,

and if the good shepherd has not laid his life

down for you, if the good shepherd has not known

your name, if he does not know your name and

call you by name, and you hear his voice and

respond and come to him, then you are not in

a benevolent, loving relationship or a covenantal

relationship in that sense with God. Everybody

is in a covenantal relationship with the living

God. Every single person. But not every single

person is in a benevolent relationship with Him.

God either relates to you in Adam with condemnation

and wrath Or he relates to you through Christ.

In Christ. With Christ as your head. With love.

And mercy. And grace. And benevolence. Psalm

23 is for those in Christ. Psalm 23 benefits

and blesses and edifies and strengthens those

in Christ. Those who are a sheep, and he is their

shepherd, they can say, he is my shepherd. And

he can say that they are my sheep. But this psalm

doesn't just presume or presuppose a benevolent

relationship. It also, if we are to benefit from

it, as believers, it presupposes That we as the

people of God are what? Where do we fall at in

the metaphor? We are the sheep. Now some of you

hear that and you think and you say, I don't

want to be a sheep. I would much rather be a

bear. A big, strong, mighty bear. Some of you

hear that and you say, no, I want to be a roaring,

powerful, bold lion. But, And the analogy that

David uses here, you are a sheep. And you have

to be a sheep. And you must see yourself as a

sheep if you are to be blessed and to benefit

from this psalm. Why? What good does this psalm

do you if you're the shepherd in your own store?

What good does this do you if you're the one

in charge of your own life? What good does this

psalm do, brothers and sisters, for you if you're

not wayward like a sheep? What good does this

psalm do you if you are not weak and frightful

and fearful like a sheep? What good does this

psalm do you, brothers and sisters, if you are

not weak and helpless and needy in need of God

who is your shepherd? You have to think about

yourself rightly if you are to be benefited and

blessed and strengthened and edified and encouraged

and comforted by this psalm. Listen. Recognize

your weakness and give yourself to it. Look at

your inadequacies and say, Lord, I am not in

control of my life. I am not the captain of my

own ship. I don't know what's going to come tomorrow.

But Lord, your rod and your staff. Give in to

the weakness and let it drive you and compel

you to him and his mighty strength. Him and his

mighty power. to sustain you and strengthen you

and preserve you. You must see yourself as a

weak, needy, frightened, wayward sheep with all

those tendencies that you might recognize and

see him rightly as the one with the rod and the

staff and the one who leads and guides, the one

who nourishes. Now, understanding these presuppositions,

we can see how relevant this text is. Because

of the universality of pain, suffering, hardship,

trial, and need in the life of every believer.

Every single one. Do you know why a person Is

saved. Do you know why salvation is by grace.

And not by works of the law. Do you know why

God saves you according to his loving kindness.

And his mercy. And not according to your deeds

and your works. It's because you are incapable

of saving yourself. It must be by grace. It must

be according to his works. The works of Christ

and his righteousness. It must be according to

him. Every single believer can benefit from Psalm

23. Every single one. Because every single believer

will go through times of darkness. And every

single believer will walk through green pastures.

All of them. Now I think that younger believers

will struggle more with Psalm 23. Why? Because

many times younger people haven't walked through

the valley of the shadow of death as those who

have more experience have. They won't necessarily

see the beauty and the grandeur of Psalm 23,

but you will need it, young person. The day will

come when hardship will come upon you. The day

will come when trial is your time. The day will

come when testing is in your life. And you'll

look to Psalm 23 for hope and strength. Now,

there's two simple, straightforward applications

of this text. The first is that the knowledge

of God as our shepherd king keeps us from waywardness

in our life. It keeps us from excesses in our

life. It keeps us from presumptuousness in our

lives. It reminds us where our help comes from.

It reminds us where our comfort comes from. Not

in here. And it keeps us from presumptuousness

in that we provide for ourselves. We care for

ourselves. We take care of ourselves. No, brothers

and sisters, that's the job of the shepherd.

That's the job of our great shepherd king. But

it also, if we... Take this knowledge from Psalm

23. When we meditate on it and we dwell upon

it, when the Spirit of God applies it to our

hearts, just as the psalm has a progression,

this truth can bring us to great comfort, strength,

security, peace, joy, and courage in our lives

as believers.