Psalm 23 "The Great Shepherd" Kevin Rine

Well, it is pure joy to be here today with you all.

We were eagerly anticipating our family to to join you, to see the smiling faces at Proclamation Church.

And um yeah, just to uh feel the love and excitement, and uh there's truly a buzz in this church when you come, and you can just feel the energy.

So we're very um thankful to be with you all.

Um let us pray.

Father, we are just so thankful for you and your word that we get to uh hear today.

We bring so much um in these doors uh that is going on in life, and I just pray that uh each one of us can hear your word clearly and let it penetrate our hearts and let our souls be refreshed by your holy word.

And uh we just give you all the praise and thank you for your word in Jesus' name, amen.

So often the life of a believer can seem up and down.

We at times let life's circumstances control us, whether it be emotionally, physically, or spiritually, we can be up and down in these um circumstances in our life.

Our focus, if we're not careful, can become spiritually blurry.

And if our focus is blurry, then our minds become forgetful of the Lord.

And if you're like me, you can easily spiral down into a self-focused state of mind and dwelling in self-pity and anxiety.

But thankfully, God doesn't leave us there.

All throughout the Bible, God's people have faced trials of many kinds.

They've been enslaved, in war, imprisoned, persecuted, and with every trial, God's steadfast love and faithfulness has been there.

Just take a look at the Psalms, and you'll read of David and his times of despair and distress during the storms of life.

But David also knew of God's provision and grace during these times, which we find in our text today in Psalm 23.

Spurgeon referred to Psalm 23 as the pearl of the Psalms.

Its words are often sought after by believers for encouragement during the storms of life and for comfort when faced with death.

David beautifully, in just six short verses, gives us a rich text on God's sustaining grace and provision in his life and his assurance in God's promises.

And this will be the focus for our text today, this morning.

The assurance of God's sustaining power and grace for our lives.

So let's dig in.

So, Psalm 23, we're reading all of it.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters, he restores my soul, he leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 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 goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

David wrote this psalm more than likely during his time as king.

And David uses this analogy of a shepherd and a sheep, which would be very familiar to David, since he was a shepherd in his youth.

He describes God as a shepherd, and he describes himself or God's people as the sheep.

David's um David starts the song with a statement, the psalm with a statement.

He says, The Lord is my shepherd.

In order for the Lord to be his shepherd, he has to be a sheep.

David humbly takes on the role of a sheep, a weak, defenseless, and foolish creature, and he takes God to be his shepherd, a provider, preserver, director, and everything in his life.

David knows his place in this relationship.

He is the sheep, and God is the shepherd.

The shepherd doesn't watch over wolves or lions or wild animals, because they won't listen to the shepherd.

Jesus says in John 10, 27, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

This relationship between the shepherd and the sheep is personal and present.

God's people know of the sacrifice given to have a relationship with the shepherd.

They know blood was shed for them to be reconciled to God, so they know how great a love it took to be in this family.

And he says, The Lord is my shepherd, which shows the confidence and assurance of his relationship with the shepherd.

He's not wondering or worried about his place with the shepherd.

There is no maybe here.

It's definitive, is my shepherd.

Then he says, The Lord is my shepherd, not the shepherd of the world or many other sheep, but my shepherd.

So this wording is present tense and confident in the Lord as the shepherd and overseer of his life.

The relationship between the shepherd and the sheep looks like this.

The shepherd rules, guides, feeds, and protects the sheep, and the sheep follow, obey, and trust the shepherd.

So then David, the second half of verse one, David doubles up with this statement when he says, I shall not want.

This isn't language we use a lot today, but the term shall in this verse is used to indicate a promise or a command.

And the word want would mean to lack what one needs.

So it's like saying, I will not lack what I need.

And why?

Because the Lord is my shepherd.

If the Lord is the shepherd of your life, then you have all you need.

David knows that as sheep of the shepherd, he will be given all he needs.

As the shepherd, God is fully aware of David's needs.

In Psalm 139, 13, David says of God, For you formed my inward parts, you knitted me together in my mother's womb.

And then in verse 16 he says, Your eyes saw my unformed substance.

In your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

If God made you, knitted you together in the womb, and he has all the days of your life written in his book, don't you think he knows and has given you everything you need?

God is always thinking about you, and I don't mean that in a self-centered way.

I mean he is always looking over us as a shepherd would his sheep.

We are never out of his watch.

We never get farther than his eyes can see.

Every detail of our lives he knows about.

Our joy, our weariness.

If he didn't, then he wouldn't be omniscient.

He knows all things and he sustains all things.

Some might ask, do we really have all we need?

Because it doesn't feel like it.

And I get it, I can feel like that too.

But the answer is, I shall not want.

But I'm out of a job right now and no one is hiring.

You shall not want.

I have a chronic illness, and I see no end in sight.

You shall not want.

Life is full, and I'm overwhelmed and weary.

You shall not want.

Old age, death, these things will not leave us destitute.

And it's not because we have plenty of money or physical strength or a great mind.

It's because we have all we need, because the Lord is my shepherd.

In Ephesians 1.3, it says, God has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

In Christ, God has given us all we need.

Charles Spurgeon had a great perspective on this in one of his devotionals I was reading the other day.

He said, It is so well with him that he could not imagine it to be better.

For he, referring to us as believers, is well fed.

He feeds upon the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ.

He is well clothed, he wears the imputed righteousness of Christ.

He is well housed, he dwells in God.

He is well married, his soul is knit in bonds of marriage with Christ.

He is well provided for, for the Lord is his shepherd.

He is well endowed, for heaven is his inheritance.

As sheep of the shepherd, we are given all we need.

Nothing is missing in our lives, nothing is unnoticed.

We lack nothing of necessity.

We have all we need.

David does well to state this truth and not question the fullness of these words, and that should be our heart as well.

This statement is showing the state of David's heart right now, his solid foundation and contentment in the Lord as his shepherd, and the solid truth of God's steadfast love.

If we're all honest with ourselves right now, we often take inventory of our own lives.

Without realizing it, we think that our lives are out of place.

Our jobs, our health, our wealth, even our marriages.

Very easily, the thinking is we don't have what we need.

And I'll be the first one to admit, I do that.

But I shall not want.

If we don't have something we want, it's because God knows it's better for us not to have it.

Our lives are perfectly held and guided and provided for by the shepherd of our souls.

So what does the shepherd provide for the sheep?

Verse 2, David says, He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters.

I don't know about you, but anytime I see sheep, uh, a flock of sheep, they're eating.

Even in the cartoons with the wily coyote, the when he's trying to get the sheep, the sheep are eating.

So the sheep, they need food and nourishment for their daily lives.

And as a shepherd, God has given the sheep green pastures to feed on in his inspired word.

His perfect word of truth.

God has given his people his word to feed on.

And David was well acquainted with the word, and he knew and saw the benefit of God's inspired word.

If you would, just look at Psalm 119.

Let's go read that together.

All 176 verses.

Just kidding, we're not going to do that.

Um, just kidding.

Um yeah, but if if we do, if you go read it, I encourage you to go read all of Psalm 119.

And what David is seeing here, he speaks about God's law, commandments, precepts, statutes, rules, God's ways.

And then in chapter 1, verse 47, David says, For I find my delight in your commands, commandments, which I love.

How would David find delight in all these things?

He was feeding on the word of God, and he was finding nourishment for his soul.

And notice the pastures are green, not dried out, brown, or thin, but lush green grass, um, pretty much like our yards right now.

And so it is with God's word.

It is always fresh, rich, never dull.

We never get to the bottom of it and chew into the dirt.

It's always abundantly more than we can ask or need for.

There's always more depth to God's holiness that we can find.

There's always more depth to know of our sinful nature.

There's always more depth to know of Jesus' sacrifice and the life we now live in Him.

We will never get to the bottom of our spiritual food this side of heaven.

How else would we know of a holy God?

How else would we know of our sin towards a holy God?

And how else would we know of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, if it wasn't for his word?

By reading his word, we can know our shepherd.

We find our identity in him as the sheep.

We can rest and have assurance in his promises.

And it's by hearing the word that we are able to believe in him for salvation.

Romans 10, 17 says, So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

We have so much provided for in the word of God.

And notice David says, He makes me lie down in green pastures.

If it weren't for God's Spirit to enlighten our souls to his word, we would never understand it for salvation.

God is the one who enables us to perceive the meaning of his truth and to feed on it for nourishment to the sheep.

A wolf will come along and eat the same grass, but never be filled.

He will quickly move on to another place to eat and never get full.

Unbelievers can hear the word, read the word, memorize the word, but they never will know the word for salvation, for faith in Jesus Christ.

They weren't made to lie down in green pastures like the sheep.

We should be so thankful for the grace to know God's written word.

Listen to this reminder from Paul about the word and its purpose in our lives.

Paul says in 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17, all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for proof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Knowing this, that God has given us his word for our benefit, to complete us and make us holy, to equip us with everything we need, why would we neglect this gift?

Knowing that God is the one by his Holy Spirit that gives us the graces to understand his word and know it for salvation, why would we neglect to feed on it?

This is our spiritual food.

This is for our enjoyment and to learn from God.

Brothers and sisters, if you're here today, you are here today.

Thank you.

Good.

Brothers and sisters, sitting here today and you're thinking, well, my devotional time has uh become stagnant, and I'm struggling to stay disciplined in my time with the Lord.

I get it.

We all struggle with that.

But don't be okay with it.

If you need a kickstart back in the Word, we have 150 chapters in the Psalms that you can go read and be find refreshment for your soul.

That's my encouragement to you.

Go read the Psalms.

Now, what does God use to move us in that direction?

To give us affection for his word?

To move us towards him and his ways?

The prompting of the Holy Spirit, which we read in the latter part of verse 2.

He leads me beside still waters.

The Holy Spirit is often referred to in the Bible as water.

And David is using the same analogy here.

God moves the sheep and leads the sheep by his spirit.

They lie down and feed on the word and meditate on it day and night, and God uses the Holy Spirit to actively walk out his commands, his ways, his good works that heep made for the sheep.

Notice these are still waters, not rushing waters, not a turbulent wave in the ocean, still waters where sheep are at peace, knowing that the shepherd is leading the way.

Romans 8 26 says, Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know what to pray for as we ought.

But the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words, and he who searches our hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

What a gift we have been given in the Holy Spirit.

Our thoughts, our speech, our actions are shaped and guided by the prompting of the Holy Spirit according to the will of God.

If ever there is a time for the Holy Spirit to lead us beside still waters, is when our souls are weak and weary and worn down by sin.

Verse 3 reads, He restores my soul.

If you have read the Psalms, then you would know David was oftentimes in needs of rest in need of restoring.

His soul was oftentimes weary of his circumstance.

The storms of life were bringing him down.

We can look back one chapter to chapter 22 of the Psalms, where David says, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me from the words of my groaning?

O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.

But then in verse 23 of that same chapter, David says, You who fear the Lord, praise him.

So now his shift is gone off himself, off his circumstances, onto the Lord.

And his eyes have been moved from this present circumstance to his powerful God.

And he goes on to say, All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel.

God used the Holy Spirit to restore David's soul to bring him out of despair.

The reason David could say, Praise him and glorify him and stand in awe of him is because he had lived through it.

He had seen God's faithfulness in his life, and the Holy Spirit led him out of despair.

He remembered God's promises and his steadfast love.

We can't bring our souls out of despair.

God does that.

He restores my soul.

How many times have you wanted to give up?

This sickness is too much to bear.

The sleepless nights.

This family member is breaking my spirit.

The sin is bringing me so much shame and guilt.

God, in his perfect timing, and in the purpose of his will, gives us what we need for every situation.

He may use a spouse to give an encouraging word.

He may send a friend with a listening ear.

Or the Spirit may lead us to the Word, where we will eat and find nourishment and get your focus off this situation and on him.

And this really should be a good reminder for all of us to not neglect the spiritual gifts God has given us.

Because without knowing it, he may be using us or you as he restores another soul.

So serve one another, encourage one another, teach one another, share with one another, and above all, love one another.

He created created it created us in Christ Jesus for good works, that we should walk in them.

Then verse 3 follows with, He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

Sheep easily stray from the path and need to be herded back to the flock, and the shepherd always has a watchful eye and perfect touch to keep them on the path.

God wants his people to live holy lives, and God's people want to live in obedience to God's commandments.

We don't want to go on living in sin.

He changed our hearts, and sin is no longer our desire.

And even though it may hurt at times, God does what is needed to keep his people on the path of righteousness.

God gives his word to live by, commands to follow, Jesus' example to emulate, and he sets us apart for good works.

We are led to his word to know his ways, and led by the Spirit to walk them out.

Our daily lives.

God knows each one of us intimately.

He knows when pride creeps in.

He knows the cracks we have.

He knows our sins.

And he knows what is needed to work these out of our lives and keep us on the narrow path of righteousness.

And why does he do this?

Not for our glory, but for his.

It says, for his namesake, to bring him glory, to bring him praise.

If it were not for him, we would not be on the path of righteousness.

If it were not for God, we would not know Christ.

As sheep, we are weak and feeble-minded and without strength to stay on the right path.

So all the praise and glory belongs to the shepherd, and so we honor him and him only.

As I was writing this, I thought of a hymn that we have on our refrigerator.

Jess wrote it on the little fridge magnet whiteboard that we have, and she wrote it while we were attending here at proclamation.

I think it parallels very well with verse three.

Here it goes.

Not reading the whole hymn, but this part.

Hope in him who saves you.

When the fires have all grown cold, cause this heart to praise you.

O my soul, put your hope in God.

My help, my rock, I will praise him.

Sing, O sing, through the raging storm, you're still my God, my salvation.

When our souls are weary, when we need restoring, God faithfully keeps us in his loving care, and he receives all the praise and honor and glory.

So up to this point, God has been building us up in his word, leading us with his spirit, and without realizing it, as painful as it may be, he has been making us holy, shaping us to be more Christ-like, leading us on the paths of righteousness.

As God is building us up for future glory, he is also building us up to take on life's storms, as we read in verse 4.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

David was hunted down by Saul.

His life was in danger many times.

Death was knocking at his door, so to speak.

But God was there the whole time.

David says, Even though death felt imminent, you were there.

Notice the words used during this troublesome time.

Even though I walk, do not rush or running through the valley of the shadow of death.

And he says, and it says, I'm not staying there, I'm going through the valley.

So with the word and the spirit that we read in verse 2, God is preparing his people for times ahead.

Times that he knew they would encounter, and times they would need his solid truth, the solid foundation to stand on.

God knows what is ahead.

He knows the curvy road that we are going to encounter.

And with the truth and help of the Spirit, God's people walk through the valley of the shadow of death with confidence in the Lord.

This is how I've seen this part of the verse explained.

Death stands by the side of the highway in which we have to travel through the valley.

And the light of heaven shines upon us, throws a shadow across the path, the shadow of death.

And notice this isn't final death, the end.

This is the shadow of death.

The fullness of death has been removed from those in Christ.

Jesus conquered death, and God's people no longer have to fear it.

I mean, think about it.

Can a shadow do anything to you?

Can a dog's shadow bite you?

No.

Can the shadow of a bullet kill you?

No.

And the shadow of death cannot destroy you.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, death is swallowed up in victory, the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Then he says, O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?

To a child of God, death is not to be feared, because death cannot separate us from the love of God.

It kills the body, but not the soul.

And we fear no evil, for he is with us.

No matter the circumstance, no matter the challenge, no matter the people involved.

We do not have to fear because the shepherd is with us, for you are with me.

We know he goes before us, and we know he fights our battles.

That's what the rod and the staff are used for.

The shepherd uses the staff to fight off predators, and he uses the rod to guide the sheep and keep them on the intended path.

So God is always guiding and protecting the sheep.

He has shown us his faithfulness in times past, and with that confidence we can walk through the valley of the shadow of death with him.

We can look to what Paul said in Philippians while he was imprisoned, and surely he was walking through the valley of the shadow of death.

He says in Philippians 1, 21 and 20 through 23, for to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

For if I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me.

Yet which I shall choose, I cannot tell.

I am hard pressed between the two.

My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

Brothers and sisters, for us to die is gain.

To be with Christ is far better.

Paul was confident in the Lord's saving grace.

Then verse 5 goes on to say, You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.

David had many enemies during his lifetime.

To name a few, uh you have, you remember Goliath the giant, uh, David's own son Absalom, who betrayed him by taking the throne, Saul, the first king of Israel, who was jealous of David and hunted him down, just to name a few.

David was very familiar with enemies in his life.

But I'll say it again.

David has been feeding on God's word, and he is assured of God's promises.

And now, in the presence of his enemies, the Holy Spirit helps calm his soul, and he finds rest and strength in God's provision and steadfast love.

And that's why he can say, You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

If we stand in the name of Jesus, we will have enemies.

We will encounter evil people who hate the name of Jesus.

Jesus said in John 15, 18 and 19, If the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you.

If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own.

Because but because you are not of the world, but I choose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

Yet knowing this, God brings peace and rest to our souls in the presence of our enemies.

If we shall not want from verse one, then we know God provides all we need in good times and in bad times in the presence of our enemies.

In David's day, a guest of honor at a banquet was anointed with oil.

This in David's overflowing cup suggests elaborate hospitality.

And with each day, God, by the power of his Holy Spirit, gives each believer the graces, or here mentioned, the anointed oil they need for each day.

And not just enough, not just a cupful, but more than enough, a cup that overflowed.

We can look at all we have.

We're well taken care of.

God has shown his faithfulness in our lives time and time again.

And we can look to the cross and say, He has given us even more.

My cup overflows now that I have Jesus.

To know Christ, that surely makes the cup overflow.

Now, if we pan back from our text a little ways, we can see that God has been with David this entire time.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters, he restores my soul, he leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 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.

If you circle all the times, God is with David, and chat in Psalm 23, you will see that he is always there.

And therefore, David can confidently say in verse 6, Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

David now, through all of life's troubles and challenges, has seen God's faithfulness.

His faith has been strengthened, and his confidence is in the Lord.

In God's goodness, all of David's needs will be met.

Surely, in this verse, can be read as verily or truly, meaning this is a fact, this will surely happen.

And he will enjoy an endless supply of God's mercy that blots out our sins.

In good days and in bad days, in times of plenty and in times of need, in dark days of winter and bright days of summer, goodness and mercy shall follow God's people all the days of their lives.

Lastly, David was assured that he would dwell in the house of the Lord forever, because God is the one that keeps him in.

Ephesians 2, 4 and 5 says, But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even we were when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.

By grace you've been saved, and raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

From the moment of our salvation, we have been seated in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

We are living eternal life right now, and we shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Church, with Psalm 23, we are assured of God as our sustainer, our comforter, our all-in-all.

God has given us the food and water, his word and spirit to guide and direct our lives to him.

He restores us, he leads us, he protects us, he provides for us, and we will dwell with him forever.

In Christ, God has given us all we need.

Remember his body given for you and his blood poured out for you.

Jesus set the perfect example of obedience to the Father, and he always found his comfort and provision in the Father.

When the storms of life come in, may they drive us away from ourselves and drive us to rely on Jesus, our focus on him and his saving grace and power.

Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, the great shepherd of the sheep.

Let us pray.