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 namesake.
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.
Well, it's a real privilege to open Psalm 23 with you all this morning.
It is a really precious passage, isn't it?
It's one of the most instantly recognisable passages and familiar in all of Scripture.
It's a passage that has been adopted by society by and large.
It's the most commonly read Bible passage at funerals of believers and, interestingly, of non-believers too.
In an era when Christianity's claim to truth is increasingly on the nose,
people who may never have been to church like the imagery of security found in Psalm 23.
And let's face it, beautiful images of prosperity and protection are hard to find offensive.
But this widespread acceptance suggests to me that it's very commonly misunderstood.
Martin Luther described the Psalter as a little Bible and a summary of the whole Old Testament.
Indeed, today as we walk through this psalm, we're going to be encouraged by God's redemptive sweep right across history.
As is progressively revealed throughout Scripture, in our privileged position, this side of Christ,
we understand elements of this psalm more clearly than even David did himself.
We're not going to have time to explore every aspect that's taught through this psalm,
but rather, as we sweep across it, we're going to see the great hope it offers to all who submit themselves to Christ.
It's interesting.
I hadn't spoken to Catherine about the reading this morning,
but in reading from the message, she's nailed a very important point.
Now, I think the ESV's done a fantastic job in translating this familiar psalm to us
and keeping a balance to making it accessible in English for us,
but also keeping some of those words and phrases from which we're familiar.
Many people have memorised this psalm in older versions,
and the ESV's kept some of those along.
It's actually an older phrasing of the passage than most of the ESV translation.
Now, if you're thinking,
oh, it's not so bad, I don't think it's really...
What's he going on about?
Think of the word shall.
So it's a bit of a frivolous example.
Shall pops up three times in the six verses of this psalm in the ESV.
About six years ago, I swapped across to the dark side,
and so my phone messages go back for six years.
In that time, I've sent tens of thousands of texts.
I've used the word shall once.
People have used the word shall to me in a text.
Never.
So there's something here to unlock.
We just have to be a little bit careful.
We're not imposing our own meaning on these terms
because we're not as familiar with what was intended by the author.
So as we open it up, we'll reflect on what David was teaching here,
first to the people of Israel, but then through Christ, for us.
There is such a richness here
that we will be left with a bigger view of our great God
and comfort in our dependence upon him.
The opening phrase,
the Lord is my shepherd.
Immediately, there is a personal relationship on display here
between David and the Lord.
He uses God's name given to Israel.
Yahweh is my shepherd.
Now, the shepherd imagery is very personal for David.
He himself was a shepherd when he was chosen by the Lord to be king.
It's no coincidence that Nathan uses a story of a lamb
to confront David over his sin with Bathsheba in 2 Samuel.
David can relate to this imagery.
It's a claim to intimacy.
The use of a personally revealed name
along with the claim of my personal ownership.
Not in a general sense.
And it's important because the shepherd imagery
is also precious to all of Israel.
It is used of God as he leads the Israelites out of Egypt
and into the land flowing with milk and honey.
It is because of this personal relationship with the Lord
that the second half of verse 1 can exist.
I shall not want.
Or a more modern term,
I have all that I need.
This personal relationship with our God
is all it takes to have all we need.
It's quite a bold claim.
It's a profound truth that we slip past
in our familiarity all too easily.
It's not the first time that this exact phrase
is used in the biblical text.
Moses, writing in Deuteronomy 2,
speaking to the assembled Israelites in the desert, said,
For the Lord your God has blessed you
in all the work of your hands.
He has watched over your journey
through this immense wilderness.
The Lord your God has been with you
these past 40 years
and you have lacked nothing.
You have lacked nothing.
I have all I need.
It's a statement of God's provision.
I call back to the bigger picture,
putting David's relationship with his shepherd
in the context of Israel's.
As Israel was able to depend on the Lord for deliverance,
here too, David affirms
that the Lord as a shepherd is good.
He expresses assurance
that he has what he needs purely
because it is Yahweh that is his shepherd.
David is writing an Exodus song in Psalm 23
and it's our song too
because he is our ancestor in the faith.
Every time we sing the psalm,
as we're going to a bit later this morning,
we're looking back and celebrating
the ultimate rescue that God provided for us,
not just for the Israelites from Egypt,
but for us in the Lord Jesus Christ,
the good shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep.
In Christ we are assured that we have all we need.
Then goes on in verse 2 and 3,
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.
Just as for Israel, milk and honey
was an image of bounty and security,
here too, the green field and still waters
are a symbol of ample provision and security
under the Lord's guide.
But the metaphor is a bit dangerous for us.
Grass and quiet streams are obviously bounty for sheep.
But what does your mind go to?
What does your heart go to
when thinking of bountiful provision?
Is it a family feast?
Or a big house?
A fast car or a putable job?
A large super balance?
We are all really good
at defining what our prosperity should look like.
Perhaps
we're not so overtly worldly,
but we too easily put good things
into this ultimate category as well.
Perhaps we're aspiring to a conflict-free
and loving marriage.
Perhaps our hope is in healthy children.
Or a good, even a godly reputation
amongst our friends.
None of these things are the good things
promised in these verses.
The Israelites, too,
thought that God should deliver prosperity
on their terms.
And the Lord's provision
chafed at them in the wilderness.
They grumbled first against Moses,
but also against God himself.
When God had brought them out of Egypt,
that they might worship him.
After the ten plagues,
the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea,
after receiving water from the stone,
manna,
and then quail for their food,
as soon as the scouts came back
from the Promised Land,
the people of Israel declare,
why is the Lord bringing us
into this land to die by the sword?
Our wives and children
will become plunder.
Wouldn't it be better
for us to go back to Egypt?
So they said to one another,
let's appoint a leader
and go back to Egypt.
That's in Numbers 14.
Now it's often easier
to see when someone else
is being petty
and seeking God only
for what they can get from him.
But this is far more
of a mirror for ourselves
than we can be truly comfortable with.
The truth that the Israelites
missed in the desert,
that David nails here
in Psalm 23,
and that we continue
to struggle with,
is that the greatest thing
we can ever have
is God himself.
The most bountiful provision
is to be given
more access to God.
Again and again
before Pharaoh,
Moses asked for release
that they might worship
their God.
The whole point
of shepherding Israel
out of Egypt
was that he might be
their God
and they might be
his people.
How easily
we think the point
was to obtain a land
flowing with milk and honey.
In 2 Corinthians,
a persecuted
and suffering
Paul writes
of being
as having nothing
and yet
possessing
everything.
All he had
was the Lord.
The Lord
was his shepherd.
What more
does he need?
This is a profound
point of the opening
clause of the psalm.
It is not up to us
to define
what prosperity is.
Nothing other
than our God himself
will restore
our souls
as we deeply crave.
Now 3 verses
2 and 3,
it becomes clear
just how central
the shepherd is
to David's life.
It is the shepherd
that makes him lie down.
The shepherd
that leads
to still waters.
The shepherd
restores his soul,
giving him meaning.
Like a central hub,
all the aspects
of David's life
raiding out
as the spokes
of the whale.
The Lord is central
to this generous
prosperity.
Indeed,
it is the Lord
that defines
what prosperity is.
Are we ready
to surrender
our inclinations
to define
what our good
ought to be
and truly
to surrender
to the Lord
as our shepherd?
Now the mechanism
through this,
which this is achieved,
is through God's
leading in right paths.
And the motivation
for this
is the sake
of the name
of the Lord.
In Psalm 106,
David returns
to the metaphor
to spell out
again in more detail
what God's
faithful shepherding
through Exodus
looked like.
In verses 7 and 8,
Isaiah also reflects
on the crossing
of the Red Sea
in chapter 63.
So you led your people
to make for yourself
a glorious name.
God's right paths
are best for us.
But first and foremost,
they are about
his glory,
not our own.
And as we arrive
at verse 4,
the tense
of the psalm changes.
We move
from reflection
into the present.
Even though I walk
through the valley
of the shadow
of death.
Walking
through the wilderness
in Jeremiah
is referred to
as walking
through the valley
of shadow.
But here it's been
amped up a notch.
What is going on?
What happens
to the promised
green pastures
and still waters?
It jars,
doesn't it?
We don't know
when this psalm
was written by David,
but a lot of commentators
point to a period
when David
was being hunted down
by his son Absalom.
A son he loved,
but a son
who wanted him dead
so that he could
be king instead.
David certainly
knew what it was
to walk surrounded
by the shadow
of death.
But the apparent
clash here
in verse 4
is largely one
for our western eyes.
We've been drawn
into this psalm
as a story.
At first glance
it has this
classical story format.
Begins with order
and balance
that is then removed.
The order is
restored by the hero
and everyone lives
happily ever after.
But this is not a story.
This is a song.
It's poetic prose.
There are three scenes
in this psalm
and all three
are true concurrently
at the same time,
not sequentially
one after the other.
When we view
it like a story
we end up
with the conclusion
that the only point
of all of this
is to get to heaven.
We miss the true richness
of what David
is saying
we are offered
in the Lord
both here and now
while living
in this broken world
and then ultimately
realised in heaven
as well.
Unlike our regular
Western formula
Hebrew thought
often works
by building
to a main point
in the middle
and then filling
out the idea
by working back
outward from the peak
again.
And that's what
I've tried to allude
to as a structure
for the sermon outline
on the back
of your bulletin
if you're wondering
what's going on there.
It's the practice
that the conclusion
is right in the middle
seated between
two work examples
in verse 1 to 3
and then 5 and 6.
The whole psalm
emphasises the phrase
for you
are with me.
The dark valley
is the self-same
right path
as the green fields
and still waters.
The intimate relationship
with the Lord
transforms
how we view
even the darkest
worldly circumstances.
We remain
on the right path.
Our access
to green grass
and pure water
remains secure
in our shepherd.
shepherd.
The entire psalm
centers this stunning
idea
that the greatest
strongest
the most gentle
and generous shepherd
is with us.
That was the confidence
of David to say
that he shall not want.
What more could he have
than to be
with the shepherd
himself?
This is the confidence
of a boy
standing before
a fully armed
Goliath
with nothing but a sling
and a few stones.
The crescendo
of Psalm 23
that God is with us
his chosen people
is a biblical theme
that's not limited
to just this psalm.
God was with Adam
and Eve
in the garden
before the fall.
The fall resulted
in separation
for all of Adam's
children.
God promises
to Abraham
to make a people
for himself.
God promises
to be with Moses
as he goes
before Pharaoh.
God is symbolically
with Israel
through the ark
and the temple.
Jesus himself
is known as Emmanuel
God with us.
When Jesus
is preparing
his disciples
for his departure
he sends the Holy Spirit
that he could be
within us
and with us
and Jesus' famous promise
is the Great Commission.
Behold
I am with you
always
to the end
of the age.
Indeed
at the conclusion
of Revelation
again
it is an image
of being
with God.
Behold
the dwelling place
of God
is with man
he will dwell
with them
and they will
be his people
and God himself
will be with them
as their God.
Revelation chapter 21.
Why don't we see
this
as the answer
to life's ills
as David does?
Why are we so inclined
to see God's blessing
to us
exclusively
in material terms?
yet we find
it hard
to notice
the extravagance
of his offer
to be with us
for us
to be with him.
How would our lives
be different
if we saw this
as clearly
as David does?
Now David's confidence
in the valley
of the death
is not an idle fancy.
We have seen
how it's been built
on a foundation
of God's past faithfulness
but here he expands it
to God's present faithfulness.
Two images
are used
to focus
on specific aspects
of our God's character.
Both demonstrate
he is more than capable
to deliver
on his promises.
Firstly
the rod
or the club
the weapon of choice
for shepherds
as they protect
their flock.
A simple
yet effective weapon
in the skilled hands
of a shepherd
it was a capable
provider
of protection
for the flock
under his care.
The second item
is the staff
which we might
also call a crook.
It's a tool
of direction
or guidance.
God's presence
is not hypothetical
but he's hands on
in correcting his sheep
in guiding them.
He makes his sheep
follow the right paths.
It is not an easy way
but it is secured
by the father's strength
not David's capacity
to boldly follow.
Seeing God's power
knowing his control
brings comfort
to those who are his sheep.
They trust
in his providence
not in their own wisdom.
When we hit
verse 5
we're now done
with the shepherd imagery.
It has served
its purpose.
We move on
to the very human image
of a dinner party
a celebration
by the host
and what a host
we see portrayed here.
You prepare
a table
before me
in the presence
of my enemies.
The realism
of this psalm
should be a great
comfort to us.
This table
is set
while enemies
watch on.
There are dark paths
as well as green fields.
We can see life
as we experience it
reflected in this reality.
Just as Jesus
became a man
and walked the earth
God gets it.
He gets us
and he is enough.
Nothing
is going to stop him
hosting this party
not the presence
of enemies.
Note though
that this party
is not for them.
They can see
but do not
embrace
our God.
There is a warning here.
Although Psalm 23
is widely embraced
by non-Christians
the psalm
itself
does not
embrace them.
Indeed
at each point
the good promises
and comfort
offered
specifically exclude
those
who are not
invited to the party
here
or do not
submit to the Lord
as their shepherd
earlier.
There will be
people here
this morning
in that camp.
Don't allow
yourself to be
fooled into
comfort here.
If you are not
willing to submit
to the shepherd
to take Christ
as your Lord
nor are you
invited to the party.
There is no hope
offered other than
the free invitation
to join.
Jesus' offer
still stands
come to me
all of you
who are weary
and burdened
and I will give you
rest.
Take my yoke
upon you
and learn from me
because I am lowly
and humble in heart
and you will find
rest for your souls
for my yoke is easy
and my burden
is light.
This is exactly
the hope we see
affirmed in Psalm 23.
Don't be left
looking on alone
in the valley
of shadow.
As the party
metaphor continues
you anoint my head
with oil
my cup overflows.
Again
this is a new
image of
bountiful vision.
I'm not sure
about you though
but when I read
about anointing
the head with oil
my mind jumps
straight to Samuel
anointing David
with oil
as God's
chosen king.
But that's
actually not
what's going
on in this verse.
In Hebrew
it's a different
word for a
different purpose.
At that time
it was customary
as host of the day
to provide fragrant
oil for your guests
when they arrived
at your place.
It's more akin
to something like
Mary Mangeline
when she washed
Jesus' feet
and then anointed
them with perfume.
It's an image
of abundant
extravagant generosity
the precious
refreshing oil
provided.
And the cup
is overflowing.
It is an image
of bounty
of generous
welcome.
Remember the
symmetry of the
psalm?
It opened
affirming the
centrality of
God's past
faithfulness to
how David
views the
world.
He does not
want.
Now as we
come down from
the crescendo
of that intimate
relationship in
the spotlight
we wrap up
by looking forward
to God's future
faithfulness
certain and
sure.
Surely
goodness and
mercy shall
follow me
all the days
of my life
and I shall
dwell in the
house of the
Lord forever.
Here again
the old English
doesn't speak
clearly to my
ears.
A more
contemporary
phrasing of
verse 6
is faithful
love will
pursue me
all the days
of my life.
This is the
Lord actively
seeking out
David's good
pursuing him
without stopping
without ultimate
success assured
as David's
place in the
Lord is secured
forever.
It's not based
on David's
actions or
abilities but
entirely on the
Lord's strength.
Just as a
sheep is
dependent on
the shepherd
here again is
an expression of
God's faithful
and reliable
goodness to
David in
Christ to us
as his people
purchased at
grace price.
David looks
to the security
of his
relationship with
the Lord
of the ultimate
success assured
based only on
the Lord's
word.
Remember
David didn't
have the plan
laid out.
He wasn't
aware of the
price that would
be paid to
secure his
salvation on
the cross.
How much
more do we
have to take
confidence in?
Paul in
Romans 8 echoes
David's sentiments
in light of the
cross.
Neither
death nor
life nor
angels nor
rulers nor
things present
nor things to
come nor
powers nor
height nor
depth nor
any other
created thing
will be able to
separate us
from the love
of God that
is in Christ
Jesus our
Lord.
This is our
truth.
That is why
Psalm 23 is
such an enduring
favourite amongst
the faithful.
It's a poetic
embodiment of the
history of the
world and what
it means for how
we should view
ourselves in
six short
succinct verses.
As his adopted
children we are
loved by our
creator in our
weakness and our
brokenness.
He pursues us
and lavishes love
upon us.
Augustine said
you move us to
delight in praising
you.
You have made us
for yourself and
our hearts are
restless until they
rest in you.
We are created
for fellowship
with God.
The whole point
of our existence
is indeed to
dwell with him.
So often we are
praying to feel
that we can't be
present with Jesus
because of
something we've
done, something
we've said or
thought.
So often we are
skewed in our
orientation and
don't even ask or
seek God to
fulfil our need
for him.
But we chase a
myriad of other
pleasures, of
other interests
that inevitably
leave us
disappointed.
Psalm 23 is a
song of praise
and rejoicing.
But we have a
God who pursued
us, lavished
love upon us
and will take
us home.
Psalm 23 is a
song of comfort
and hope in
hard times because
our God is
faithful.
He is with us
through it all
and will remain
with us forever.
a true answer
to our innermost
need and desire.
Remember this
profound truth
that the Lord,
your shepherd,
is with you.
It order a shape
how we view
every aspect of
life.
It reminds us of
the truth of God's
perspective against
the many lies of
this world.
It liberates us to
live our lives on
the right path
following his ways
in confidence.
Not for ourselves
but in our shepherd
who provides all
we need and has
secured us that we
can be with him
forever to the
glory of his
great name.
Amen.