Psalm 23

Psalm 20 a Psalm of David. The lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leaves me beside quiet waters.

He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his namesake. 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 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 lords forever. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you for this wonderful Psalm. And we thank you for the way the Holy Spirit has used it to minister to your people for generations.

We thank you that it has brought hope and comfort and encouragement and rebuke even to many, many thousands. Of your people all over history, and we pray that the Holy Spirit would speak to us afresh as we opened it up this morning, and we ask it in Jesus' name. Oh, man. Okay. Here, here is a picture of a chap called Simon Stylitis.

I don't know if you've ever heard of him. He he's a famous saint in some circles, who lived in the fourth century, and, he actually spent most of his life on top of a pillar in modern day Syria. Now why on earth would somebody do that? You might ask? Well, he did it for 2 reasons.

Firstly, because there were so many people coming to him for, advice and for prayers He realized that he had no time for his own devotional life. And so this was his means of escape, to exist from then on on top of a pillar away from people who were coming to see him. But secondly, because he believed deep down that coming away from the world would bring a kind of spiritual peace that couldn't be found in normal life. And so he spent 37 years on top of a pillar. It was only 1 square meter.

It had a little balcony to stop him falling off. 37 years. He lived up there. The first pole he lived on top of was only 9 for high, but he realized that that was actually too close to the ground and people were still able to reach him. And so he decided that he would move to a 50 foot pillar in order to get completely and as far away as possible as he could.

But sadly, even that didn't work. And in the end, his loyal disciple had to build a wall around the pillar to stop people getting closer to him because he wants to live in total isolation. And although it it's it's quite an eccentric, funny life to imagine, in the end, it is actually a it's a strange waste of somebody's life, which was which was built upon a complete misunderstanding. Simon stylites and other people like him believe that to enjoy peace with god You must remove yourself from the world. Now in 1 sense, until all of god's people are with Christ in the new creation away from the sins and the troubles of this life we won't ever truly be at rest.

That is right. But where it goes wrong is that it tries to create heaven on earth without Jesus. Where it goes wrong is that it looks for peace in the wrong place. Spiritual, rest, and wholeness and satisfaction will never be achieved by removing ourselves from the world and the busyness and difficulties of our lives, but it will be found through a knowledge of the lord, who is our shepherd. You see, in this Psalm, verse 1 to 3, I don't know how you feel as you had it read out.

Verse 1 to 3 look like they belong on a plaque at some sort of Christian retreat center, don't they? There we are. It looks like they belong with something like that. I don't know if you ever been to these retreat centers. You go away for a weekend.

There's lots of streams and gardens and you walk around, and there's all kinds of encouraging versus, and and and they are. That's that's where they are. And also if you look up this song on YouTube, the lord is my shepherd, you'll find that most of the videos which accompany the song are set by trickling streams out in the middle of nowhere and freshly mowed meadows and, all kinds of other things. And, again, in 1 sense, it's okay because that's the imagery of the Psalm. But the danger is we start to think that these verses cannot apply every day in our busy difficult, often sinful lives.

They can only really apply when we're at the retreat center. But the real problem with that is that the context of the Psalm teaches the direct opposite This Psalm comes after Psalm 22. And what do we see in Psalm 22? God forsakenness. Verse 1.

We see the hell of god abandonment. Dogs ripping you to pieces. The world gambling over your blood, vultures tearing you apart. That was a song which David wrote when faced by his enemies. It's a Psalm which the lord Jesus Christ took to his lips and shouted as he died on a cross.

God forsakenness is the worst horror that we could imagine. But then Psalm 23 comes in, the lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.

How do those 2 go together? And the answer is because we're meant to see that even in the worst imaginable circumstances, even in the darkest possible valleys like god forsakenness. The lord still walks with his people. The spirit of god was with David as he faced his enemies. The spirit of god sustained Jesus Christ in his agonies on the cross.

This is not a Psalm just for a Christian retreat center. It is a promise that the lord will walk with us even in the dark valleys, even in the hectic, disappointing, frustrating, sinful valleys. Today, we're just gonna look at these first 4 verses, the lord our shepherd, And next week, we're gonna focus on verse 5 to 6, the lord our king. And it's an amazing Psalm, really, because that is the journey that David himself went on, isn't it? From Shepard to King.

Shepard to King, and then he writes Usama about it. The lord is the shepherd, and he is the king of his people. Both of these are very wonderful, very intimate pictures. Which I hope we will enjoy. And today, as I say, I just want to focus on the role of the shepherd.

What does it mean for god to be our shepherd? And how exactly does he shepherd his people. So if we could have the fur the next slide up, this is the first point and it's the role of the shepherd. K? The first point is the role of the shepherd.

Have a look up on the screen here at Genesis 48, in verse 15. Then Jacob blessed Joseph and said, may the gods before whom my fathers, Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully the god who has been my shepherd all my day to this life to this all my life to this day, bless the boys. So you see Jacob knew this old testament saint knew that god had been shepherding him on every single day of his life. He had not lived 1 day when the lord had not been an attentive shepherd to him. The lord had had wholeheartedly committed himself to Jacob as a shepherd commits to his sheep.

Or Psalm 28. The lord is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed 1. Save your people and bless your inheritance, be their shepherd, and carry them forever. And as I said, remember, that David who wrote both Psalm 23 and Psalm 28 would have known this from experience. He himself was once a shepherd.

He devoted his life at 1 time to caring for sheep He knew what was needed, the hard work, the long hours, the commitments, the need to carry the weak sheep when necessary. And when he reflected on his life as a shepherd, he knew just like Jacob knew that that was a wonderful picture of how his lord related to him. John 10, famous verses. Jesus said, I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me just as the father knows me and I know the father and I lay my life down for the sheep.

So here is a shepherd who cared so much for his sheep that he was even willing to throw himself into the valley of death so that they wouldn't have to. He was willing to go into the valley of god forsakenness, Psalm 22. So that we would never have to. But also he knows us by name. And that's so special, isn't it?

So hard to imagine that the lord our shepherd would know us by name, and yet it's true. The lord is the shepherd of the church universal. He knows every single Christian who is on this earth and who has ever lived. And yet, we mustn't let that global job detract from the intimacy of this picture. The lord is not just our shepherd in a general sense.

Every Christian can say The lord our shepherd is the lord my shepherd. He's my shepherd. Every single 1 of his covenant lambs He knows by name, and he loves by name. For us, it's very difficult to imagine because we are unable to give our attention to multiple people at the same time. You must know that.

You know, it happens most Sundays here. You might have 2 or 3 people maybe trying to have a conversation with you and you say, hold on just a second. I can't I can't talk to you both at once. You know, I can't hear you all at the same time. You you first then, then But Jesus doesn't have those restrictions.

He isn't limited in that way. He is the shepherd of the church universal but he knows and cares for every single lamb. And for those reasons, He will be worshiped forever by this name. Let's have a look at Revelation verse chapter 7. For the lamb, at the center of the throne will be their shepherd.

He will lead them to springs of living water and god will wipe away every tear from their eyes. So it's kind of weird 1, isn't it? Jesus Christ is both the lamb and the shepherd He is lamb and shepherd. That is how we will know him for all eternity as the lamb of god who was slain for the sins of the world but also as the shepherd who will for days without end be leading us to the living water. So you can see from Genesis, right the way through to the end of Revelation, this is our god.

He is the shepherd of his flock. And when you think about it, this is a unique blessing to Christianity, isn't it? This is a very unique image Have a look at this quote on the screen from 1 commentator. He says, none, but he who dwells with the humble and contrite ones would allow such titles to be given him. See, in many religions, the idea of god as shepherd would be too undignified, wouldn't it?

You wouldn't find a god who would act in this way, who would get his hands so dirty in the caring of his people. This job is not suitable for 1 so high and holy as god, but our god loves to take the name. He takes the name of relationship, a name of loyalty, a name of hard work, a name of hands dirty salvation, That's what he wants to do. And who does he want to dwell with? It's the humble and the week, the humble and the weak.

Again, that is the opposite of religion. You see, Jesus doesn't just want to know the strong lambs. The the prize winners, the best in show lambs, whoever they are. He dwells with the week and with the humble. The weaker the lambs are, the more they provoke and draw out his compassion.

Religion only has time for the best in show. Luther says this again on this Psalm. The other names of god sound somewhat too glorious and majestic and bring as it were an awe or a fear with them when we hear them uttered. This is the case when the scriptures called god our lord, king creator. This, however, is not the case with that sweet word shepherd.

It brings to the godly when they read it or hear it as it were a confidence, a consolation, or a security like the word father. And this is why Christians, even further back than Luther have always loved the the the tenderness of this image. Here's a painting, from 1 of the the Christian underground burial sites in in Rome called the catacombs. It's a it's a third century painting. And, it was painted by a Christian.

And as you can see, what is it? It's a shepherd with a lamb on his shoulder and he's tending to his little flock from the third century. That's how they viewed and loved their god. And you can imagine in Rome, when they were experiencing some unimaginable persecution under the emperors there. This would have been a wonderful comfort for them.

That the lord was carrying each 1 and tending to his little flock. From the earliest days, Christians have been blessed by this. It's not it's not just, like, an idea for a painting, you know, with a white middle class Jesus on the wall somewhere carrying a little lamb. It's a precious reality for each 1 of his people. The lord is our shepherd.

That's the role of the shepherd. But secondly, second point, I want us to look at the goal of the shepherd. So we've seen what it is, but now what he does. And so we'll move on to this second point. And the first part of his leadership is that he satisfies the flock.

Now as I said in Psalm 22, what we find is this shepherd laying down his life for his sheep, but in Psalm 23, we find out what it's like to know that shepherd. We know what he's done for us, but Psalm 23 is the experience of actually knowing him personally. That's how they kind of link together. And in verse 1, we're told the lord is my shepherd I lack nothing. Literally, nothing I desire.

No thing I desire. I want nothing because the lord is my shepherd. Now if we're honest, how many of us can say that? I know Jesus is my shepherd. I'm not missing out on anything.

I'm not deprived of anything I have everything. Our whole culture is built around the idea that we will believe the opposite. Every week in our house, you know, we get letters trying to to offer us deals. I'm sure you get the same kind of things. If if we will just leave our current provider, and go with a new 1, then we will have everything we want.

We will be satisfied if we become dissatisfied with our old provider and go to our new 1. Come to Sky, leave Virgin Media, leave them behind, look at the offers that we can give you, leave the rac, come to the green flag, look how much we can do for you, be dissatisfied. And of course, if your Virgin media is rubbish and slow, Yeah. It it's silly to say, well, the lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing.

I'm a stick with virgin through thick and thin. What is entertainment after all? I don't need it. I lack nothing. That's not really the point of this Psalm, but we do need to be aware, I think, that we are being drip fed all the time you're lacking.

You're lacking. You're lacking. You are lacking that relationship lacking that product, lacking that family, lacking that image you are lacking. But David says, the lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing.

He didn't say The lord is my shepherd, and also I am a king with a palace and with a lot of land Therefore, I lack nothing. The last thing was enough. The lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing. In the new testament, Ephesians 1, let's have a look at that on the screen.

Says, praise be to the god and father of our lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. It's Christmas morning. God, the father, has wrapped up every spiritual blessing he can think of and he's put it in 1 box. Forgiveness, justification, the Holy Spirit living within us, the righteousness of Jesus Christ counted as ours through faith, a home in glory to look forward to. He's wrapped every spiritual blessing up.

He's put it in a box, and he's handed it to us. And that box is Jesus Christ. He has not withheld any spiritual blessing None has been withheld. All is ours in Jesus. Well, what about this?

Romans 8 32? He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all. How will he not also along with him? Graciously give us all things. If god has given Jesus Christ to us and for us, will he withhold anything else that we need?

Will he not also along with Jesus give us all that is necessary for life and for godliness, of course he will. Every good comfort, every good thing. Every good hardship. Every needed correction. The lord will give.

In him, we lack nothing. Now just imagine what it would be like if we believed and treasured that promise all the time. In my life, it would do away with grumbling, for example, wouldn't it? Grumbling is basically how we respond when I lack something. I lack the free time I'm entitled to, so I grumble.

I lack the food that I want, so I definitely grumble. I lacked the submission of other drivers, and so I grumble. But if I believed in every chamber of my heart that the lord is my shepherd. I would see and I would believe that I lack nothing. I lack nothing.

So the goal of the shepherd is to satisfy his flock with himself. Secondly, the goal of thirdly, rather the goal of the shepherd is to lead. If we can get that on, the goal of the shepherd is to lead. And this again is a very important job for a shepherd, isn't it? He needs to be a leader.

I mean, you imagine having a captain who was always there on the boat, but he couldn't lead you through safe waters. He didn't know where he was going, He didn't know where the rations were found on board, and he had no idea how to operate the defenses. No good. Yeah? Nobody wants a captain like that.

Every sailor wants a captain who can chart a course, who can lead them safely through the dark waters who can fire the canons when called upon, who knows where the rations are. That is the sort of leader that we want an active guiding leader. And that is what our shepherd is like. He doesn't just stand in the field, but in the end is quite distant from us. He leads and he guides.

Verse 2 of the Psalm says, he makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. And again, that doesn't mean that emotionally we are always gonna feel like we're by trickling streams without a care in the world. Remember Psalm 22, we might feel that we've got Storm Michael directly over the top of our house, ripping the guts out of the inside. But even then, this promise is true.

There is good food and there is deep rest for every lamb. Look at these verses that will come up on the screen to help us understand what this is about. Jeremiah 3 verse 15, then I will give you shepherds after my own heart who will feed you on knowledge and understanding. 1 Peter 2, like newborn babies long for the pure milk of the word so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation. John 10, I am the door.

If anyone enters through me, he will be saved and we'll go in and out and find pasture. So what are these pastures and these quiet waters, for every occasion that we might face, they are a knowledge of god. And a knowledge of his salvation. That stuff is like filling our bellies on the richest of food. Our shepherd no matter what we're going through will feed us with the knowledge of god and with the grace of his salvation.

That's how he feeds us. But there's another side of his leadership in verse 3 of the Psalm, He guides me along the right paths for his namesake. He guides me along the right paths for his namesake. Now, obviously, in a time before satnavs and GPS and even maps, I guess, Every good shepherd would need a mental map of the hills and the valleys. He would need to know his territory.

He would need to know where every green pasture and every valley was. He would need to remember everywhere he's seen a wolf and what looks like a den of wolves. He would need to know every nook and cranny of his patch so that he could lead them along the right paths. It's like those in those nature programs, those amazing elephants, isn't it? The, the matriarchs who can remember a waterhole that they drank from 50 years ago that was a thousand miles away in another part of the desert They got the most astonishing memory and knowledge of the areas in which they've lived.

That's what the shepherd would need. He would need to know the ancient ways. He would need to know the good ways so that he could lead us there. Now, traditionally, this verse would read. He leads me in paths of righteousness.

For his namesake, not just the right paths. And I think that that is a good translation because it helps us to understand exactly what these right paths are. The right paths are the righteous paths. Well, to put it another way, god's leads his people into a life that is honoring to Christ. He wants to lead every sheep on a path that is pleasing to Jesus Christ.

And that is a crucial thing to get because yes, it is true that our shepherd leads us in the paths of righteousness for our own good is a blessing not a burden in this psalm to be going that way. But he also does it for his own names sake. It's right, isn't it? Because think about it. If I as a sheep go astray, if I turn away from my shepherd, which I often do, I drag the name of god through the muck in front of the world.

And in the worst case, they will look on and say, god makes no difference to his life. God doesn't seem to weigh heavily upon him at all. God seems to make no practical difference to who he is at all. He leads us in parts of righteousness for his namesake. So that as we walk a according to the law of the lord, we bring glory and honor and attention to our shepherd who is leading us.

So are you seeing the scale of this leadership? He satisfies the soul? He provides for our every need he leads us in the holy ways, but then there's this twist that comes in verse 4 where we find out that a shepherd will also lead us into the dark places. Let's have a look at the next point. There's the fourth point.

The goal of the shepherd is to satisfy, is to guide, but also his goal is to lead us through the dark places. Verse 4, 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. Now again, if you're familiar with this Psalm, you'll know that the NIV has has changed a phrase that Christians have loved for generations. Maybe as you read it, you were thinking, wait, that that doesn't sound right.

That's not what I memorized at school. It says should say, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Now it's interesting because the new King James version and the English standard version of the Bible, they keep that translation, but the NIV and the Christian standard Bible and a few others go go this way. So it seems that both the legitimate translations of the phrase, but if that is the case, you wonder why you wouldn't just side with the beauty and the poetry of the original, that know why why you wouldn't side that way. There we go.

That's translation, not an easy thing. I imagine, and that's what they've done. Now as for the valley itself, how about this for a general description of what it is come up on the screen here? The valley of the shadow of death is a scene of great and uncommon distress. Of such trials as overpower the soul, throw it into amazement, break its purposes.

Fill it with alarm and horror. So it's this kind of catchall phrase, if you like, for uncommon distress of any kind, but if we wanna be more specific, we can turn to our old friend, Psalm 22. Have a look back at Psalm 22, and here's verse 7. It will also be on the screen. In verse 7, we see that the valley of the shadow of death could mean mocking enemies.

All who see me mock me, David, says. They hurl insults shaking their heads. He trusts the lord, they say, let the lord rescue him. It's a pretty dark valley when people are mocking you in that way. Or it could mean sufferings.

Have a look at 22 verse 14. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. It could be a physical suffering of some kind. It could be spiritual loneliness, 22 verse 1. My god, my god, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me? It might be the sense that that god is far from his people that he might have forsaken his people. It could be a sense of unanswered prayer like it was for David. In 22 verse 2. My god, I cry out by day, but you do not answer by night, but I find no So you see it could be all kinds of things, this dark valley.

It could be long, or it could be short. It could be physical, it could be mental, it could be spiritual, it could be sufferings of any kind, and it could even be death itself. And the question then is, why would the lord lead us into places like that? It doesn't seem like very good leadership, does it? It doesn't seem very comforting to know that those are the kinds of places he might lead us.

But actually, it is. You see, if he is not the 1 who takes us there, We end up with a god who either doesn't know these valleys are coming and is therefore surprised by them. Or he does know that they're coming but is unable to help. Both of those visions of god would be a disaster. I mean, you think of somebody with a life limiting or life ending disease.

Is it comforting to know that the shepherd is with you But, actually, he had no idea this was coming, and he's unable to do anything about it. Is that comforting? Isn't it sweeter to know that the all loving, all wise, all powerful shepherd takes us into the dark valleys. For his namesake. Isn't it more comforting to know that he takes us into the darkness, even though we can't see why for our ultimate good.

Isn't it more comforting to know that he takes us into the valley of shadow because there he's going to reveal something more of his sweetness and grace. Isn't that what people say who have been through different types of suffering? When I was in the dark valley, I knew more of the sweetness and closeness of Jesus Christ than I knew when I was on the hilltops. That is what they say. Derek Kidner, 1 commentator says this.

The Dark Valley or ravine is as truly 1 of his right paths as are the green pastures. A fact which takes much of the sting out of the ordeal. Doesn't mean that there isn't a sting. It's not called the value of the shadow of death for nothing, but to know that this is as much 1 of the right paths as the green pastures takes a great sting out of the ordeal. Jesus, our loving shepherd, is always leading us, even when it gets dark.

But more than that, he is always with us in the dark. I love how the language changes in verse 4. It is very interesting, isn't it? In verse 1 to 3, David talks about god as he. He leads me in parts of righteousness.

He makes me lie down but then he changes in verse 4 and starts saying you. Why does he do that? Because in the valley, Theology becomes relationship. The shepherd is no longer leading from the front He is escorting side by side. In the worst moments imaginable, the he becomes a you.

He becomes you in the valleys. And best of all, this shepherd knows what it's like to be there. When Jesus Christ left the glory of heaven He came to earth to the valley of darkness. He saw with his own eyes the devastation of evil the pains of sickness. The corruption of sin.

He wept. He was hungry. He was thirsty. He was grieved, he was lonely, he has been through every dark valley imaginable, and even on into the grave itself. He can sympathize with us because he has been there.

He knows what it's like. And he knows what we need. That's what the rod and the staff were about. The staff was actually it would it was a beautiful thing. The staff was necessary for Shepard so that when they came to swamps and marshes and the sheep started to sing, The shepherd would actually place the staff under the body of the sheep as it was sinking so that it wouldn't drown in that in that mug.

What a beautiful image that is in the swamp that we feel like we might be in The shepherd has his staff underneath us to stop us drowning. It's always there. But also the rod. Now the rod was for protection from enemies, but it was also to stop us wandering from his side. The rod was there to give the sheep a whack when they went off course so that they would come back onto the right paths.

It's interesting that we hear about that rod in the valley, isn't it? Now why is that? Well, because not many sheep will forsake the shepherd in green pastures, will they? When life is good and the food is coming and there's plenty to drink, and the sun is shining. Who would forsake the shepherd?

Nobody. It's better to have him around. But when it gets dark, when disappointments and hardships and temptations and sufferings come, That's when we might be tempted to wander. And so praise god, the shepherd has a stick to drive us back the right way. So do you see in every situation this shepherd is with us?

He has what we need. And as we're gonna see next week, if we are 1 of his covenant lambs The night may be long, and the valley may seem never ending. But every single sheep who is known by name will make it to the king's table in the end. They all will. And so as we close and think a bit about application, I think for Christians, we should just praise god for these things.

There is a reason why this Psalm has been cherished ever since the word of god has been in print. It has been used by more ministers to those who are on their deathbeds, I would say than any other Psalm. It has been used to comfort more suffering people perhaps in any other portion of scripture. It has been used to show the tenderness and the holiness of god, perhaps more than any other portion of scripture. There is a reason for that.

The lord Jesus, our shepherd, he's satisfied, he feeds, he restores, he guides, he never ever for sakes. Let us rejoice and be glad that this is true. Let all of us who are Christians pray that we would know and experience these truths. Let those of us here who are in the green pastures rejoice that the lord is with you. To satisfy you.

He's given you rest, enjoy your rest in him. Let those of us here who feel like we're in the darkest valleys not despair. I hope you can see, please, that this is not it's not just theology for an abstract world. That only exists in the sort of theological world. This this is a promise that in the darkness, the he becomes a you.

He is leading you still, and he is by your side. And lastly, if you're not a believer, I just want to put the simple question to you. Who is there like Jesus Christ? Who is like this? 1 so holy and yet so tender, 1 so powerful and yet so relational.

1 who laid his life down for your sins at the cross and 1 who can guide you through death. This is where it really rubs home, I think. Because when it comes to death, every other guide must turn back, and you will face it alone. Even if they're with you right at the end, right at the end, No family member can take you through with without Christ, you must go alone. Money and comforts will have turned back an awful long time ago, by this point.

Without Christ, you must go alone. Atheism will leave you alone. You will approach a black decaying nothingness all by yourself. That guide will fail you in the moment you need it most. But if Christ is yours, he will never turn back.

If he is yours through faith, he will lead you through to the green pastures of heaven itself. And so if you're not a believer, I want to encourage you not just to know this as Christian poetry, but to make sure that he is yours, your shepherd. Let's take a moment of quiet. Perhaps we'd like to use this opportunity to pray, maybe just to praise god for the things that we've learned or to ask for his help to rejoice that he is with you no matter what, and then I'll lead us in a final prayer.