Amen. You may be seated. Children, you're dismissed to your King's Kids class.
! And if you would open up your Bibles while I tie my left shoe.
! I don't want to trip while I'm preaching.
Psalm 23 is on page 541 of your pew Bible.
Psalm 23. I'm going to read it.
May God bless the hearing of His Word.
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.
May God bless the hearing of His Word.
Psalm 23 is likely the most familiar and beloved passage of the entire Bible.
These six verses are very familiar to many.
And we got to ask the question, why is that?
Well, a quick answer to why Psalm 23 is so special to so many is it's so personal, so comforting.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me.
You know, your rod, your staff, they comfort me.
You know, we all know what it's like to be in dark places.
We all know what it's like to long for a leader, to be present with us, to guide us through dark times.
But Psalm 23 is far more than comforting.
Psalm 23 begins with a confession, with a declaration.
It's a declaration where David, who wrote it, says,
The Lord is my shepherd.
There's no ifs to that.
There's no maybes in that.
He's not, I hope the Lord is my shepherd.
It's declarative.
It's a confident claim.
It's an assertion of fact.
Do you know what David is claiming?
The God of the universe is for him.
The God of the universe is his leader.
And it's as though David is saying,
The Lord Yahweh is my shepherd.
Lead on.
Over the next three Sundays, we'll be lingering in Psalm 23.
I got a little cracker still in my throat.
This morning, we're going to look at our shepherd goes before us in verses 1 and 2.
So we get to say, I lack nothing.
Next Sunday, we'll see our shepherd is with us in verses 3 and 4.
So we can say, I shall fear not.
And then the following Sunday, we'll see how our shepherd comes after us in 5 and 6.
And how we are promised to dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Lead on.
Lead on, good shepherd.
Lead on the great shepherd of the sheep.
Lead on the chief shepherd.
Lord, we fear not.
We lack not.
We will dwell with him for other brothers and sisters.
The God of the universe is for us in the person of Jesus Christ.
He's our leader.
He's our shepherd.
And so we follow him.
And so this morning, I want to help you see how he goes before us.
And so as we look through chapter 23, verses 1 and 2, I want to make this case.
With God as our shepherd, we lack nothing.
And that should put confidence in you.
So three points.
Our shepherd's name.
Our shepherd's care.
And our claim on this shepherd.
So let's look at our shepherd's name.
Chapter 23.
The first five words.
The Lord is my shepherd.
What we have here is a bit of a job title.
Shepherd.
And a name.
Lord.
Throughout the Psalms, God is described as a king enthroned in heaven.
Psalm 2.
He's described as the judge of the whole earth.
Psalm 96.
And in Psalm 18, we have this series of descriptions.
My rock.
My fortress.
My deliverer.
My shield.
The horn of my salvation.
My stronghold.
And here in Psalm 23, David confesses God as his shepherd.
Now, David himself was a shepherd.
1 Samuel 16.
He's a shepherd of the sheep.
But he was also a shepherd of people.
A shepherd king.
Psalm 78, 74.
Shepherds of the ancient Near East would go out before their flocks by day, leading them out to grassy pasture in fresh water.
And they would leave them out with their voice or with a little pipe.
And the shepherd would recognize the voice.
The sheep would recognize the voice of their shepherd and would follow.
Shepherds would provide for their sheep.
Shepherds would protect their sheep from danger.
Shepherds tracked down lost sheep of theirs.
Shepherds brought sick and injured sheep back to health.
To shepherd sheep is to lead sheep.
And to shepherd people is to lead people.
God is our shepherd leader.
The shepherd leader of his people.
Shepherds know their sheep.
And sheep know their shepherds.
Now, sheep are not the most intimidating creatures of the animal kingdom.
Sheep do not have claws.
They do not have fangs.
Sharp teeth.
They're not bloodthirsty.
They're rather vulnerable and defenseless.
Has anybody felt vulnerable and defenseless?
Felt exposed?
Yes.
Sheep aren't the brightest of the animal kingdom.
They're easily disoriented.
They're more on the dull side of things.
And aren't we too?
Doesn't take much to disorient us.
Doesn't take much to realize we have knowledge of only a limited amount of things.
Sheep are nervous.
They're nervous.
Sheep are nervous.
They're jumpy.
They're skittish.
They're anxious.
We all know what it is like to be anxious.
If God is the shepherd, then we are the sheep.
And we need a shepherd to lead us.
Do you know in John 10, how Jesus refers to himself?
I am the good shepherd who lays his life down for the sheep.
Jesus isn't speaking about animals.
He's speaking about people.
A whole new flock with one shepherd that would become his through the blood he sheds for them.
A blood and a body which we celebrate at communion.
A new covenant.
And that's why this shepherd's name is so important.
The Lord is my shepherd.
We've looked at the title, shepherd.
Now let's look at the name, Lord.
Now you may be thinking, huh, Lord, that sounds like another job title, not a name.
But did you notice in 23.1 that the word Lord is all in caps, every letter?
L-O-R-D.
Now that is because that English translation of the Hebrew word under it is signaling something.
It's signaling that the name is the personal name of God.
Yahweh.
Or Jehovah.
And it comes from something that happened in Exodus chapter 3.
In Exodus 3, Moses is shepherding his father-in-law's flock, Jethro's flock.
And he's on Mount Horeb, also known as Mount Sinai.
And lo and behold, God speaks to Moses from a burning bush.
And what was striking about this whole situation is that this bush was burning,
but the bush was not being consumed.
The flames, the burning was self-perpetuating without consuming the bush.
It was a sight to behold.
And out of that burning bush, God speaks to Moses and he commissions Moses to go to Egypt and lead his people out of bondage.
And so Moses says, okay, I'll do that.
What if I go and the people ask who sent me?
By what name do I tell them is sending me?
And then God says to him, tell them I am who I am is sending you.
Tell them I am is sending you to them.
It's almost like God is saying, tell them the I is is sending you.
And what that name that's translated Yahweh, because it means I am, it's a Hebrew verb.
It's getting at something about God's nature.
His self-existence.
His self-sufficiency that he is uncreated.
The I am.
He is the creator of all, the sustainer of all, the savior of all, the judge of all, all-knowing, all-powerful, all-present, all-wise.
This is the great I am.
And if you're hearing it right, this is what David is saying.
In these first five words.
The great I am is my shepherd.
No ifs, maybes, or hopesos about it.
It's confessional.
It's declarative.
What's interesting about Psalm 23 is that Psalm 23 1 starts with the Lord Yahweh.
And if you look down to verse 6,
And I shall dwell in the house of Yahweh forever.
It bookends the psalm.
Now, when you know that your shepherd is the God of the universe, it puts confidence in your heart.
In John 8, Jesus is interacting with some Jews.
If you want to turn there, it's on page 1064 of your Pew Bible.
He's interacting with a group of Jews.
And Jesus starts talking about Abraham in the most interesting of ways.
He says in verse 56,
Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day.
He saw it and was glad.
Now, what's interesting about that is he's not talking about Abraham as a historical figure.
He's talking about Abraham as if he knew Abraham.
So the Jews said to him,
You're not yet 50 years old.
And have you seen Abraham?
He lived hundreds of years ago.
Jesus said to them,
Truly, truly, I say to you,
Before Abraham was,
I am.
The Greek is ego ami.
The Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible translates the I am of Exodus 3.14 as ego ami.
What Jesus is claiming here is to be Yahweh incarnate.
This good shepherd of John 10, here in John 8, is claiming to be Yahweh incarnate.
This is striking.
So when we read,
The Lord is my shepherd.
David is saying,
The great I am is my shepherd.
We get to say,
Yahweh incarnate is my shepherd.
We confess him.
The great incarnate I am is my shepherd.
That's his name.
Jesus.
And now we move from our shepherd's name to our shepherd's care.
At the second half of verse 1 into verse 2, we read,
I shall not want.
Yahweh is my shepherd.
The great I am is my shepherd.
I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
To English speaking Americans living in the 21st century.
It would be very tempting to interpret,
I shall not want as,
He gives me everything I desire.
He gives me all the health that I want.
We know that's not true.
He gives me all the wealth that I want.
We know that's not true.
David's not saying that.
What David is saying is that,
The great I am is my shepherd.
I lack nothing.
It's the old way of thinking about the word want.
I lack nothing.
And the reason why David lacks nothing
is because his God is his everything.
The great I am is his shepherd.
And he knows that he will provide everything that he needs.
In Psalm 16,
David speaks of his God
as my portion.
My everything.
Because the great I am is David's shepherd,
he knows that all of his needs
will be met.
And so what you have in the rest of Psalm 23,
if you think of the Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want,
as kind of the governing sentence
of this whole Psalm,
the rest of the Psalm
kind of lays out
how we need not worry.
He goes before us.
He is with us.
He comes after us.
Green Pastures.
Name that movie.
The Hills Are Alive.
Yes.
Do you remember the opening scene?
Some kind of flying vehicle
kind of zooms in on Julie Andrews.
She's twirling in a pasture,
a mountain pasture of the Austrian Alps,
surrounded by lush forest.
It is just vibrant.
The hills are alive.
Or maybe you've driven up north
and you've driven through the pasture lands
of Wisconsin.
And you've seen these fenced stretches
of rich green grass
where animals roam in gray.
You just need to let them out of the barn.
Because it's fenced.
You don't need a shepherd.
These are not the green pastures
of David's time.
In David's day,
he lived in a dry, arid, rocky, hilly place
with dangerous ravines.
Green pastures were spread out
among this dry and rocky countryside.
And it was somewhat dependent too
upon the season that you were living in.
A shepherd knew where
to find green pasture
so that his sheep could eat,
survive and live,
to thrive.
The grass in these green pastures
provided the nutrients
for the sheep to live.
But God doesn't lead sheep.
He leads people.
God doesn't feed us with grass.
He feeds us
with the spiritual nutrients
that come from this book.
This is the green pasture.
Our good shepherd leads us here
for our souls to feast,
to find strength.
We find rich pasture in God's word.
Still water.
Did you notice that the phrase is,
he leads me besides,
not just water,
still water.
Remember,
we sheep are nervous,
jumpy,
and anxious.
And so,
it turns out that sheep
are reluctant to drink
from running water,
apparently because it moves.
And so back in the day,
these shepherds would dig out
little troughs next to streams.
And what would happen is,
the running water
would trickle into this trough
and it would fill up
into a serene pool of water
that was very inviting to sheep.
Still waters.
Just as sheep need water to live,
we need spiritual refreshment,
and God leads us
to the still,
deep,
gentle waters
of this book
for refreshment.
We need the food
and the drink
that our good shepherd provides
and he provides us
again and again
and again.
He leads us to the book
so that we find strength,
that we thrive,
we eat our fill
and drink deep
on a daily basis.
This book,
the Apostle Paul
describes it as
every word,
all Scripture
is breathed out
by God.
Every word
originates
in God's mind.
And when you
consume it,
it gives life.
Remember what Jesus said
when he was tempted
in Matthew 4,
for man cannot live
by bread alone
but by every word
that proceeds
from the mouth of God.
Hey sheep,
you want to thrive?
You want to live
in this dry
and rocky place
called life?
Your good shepherd
brings you to
this grain pasture
and this
still water
of Scriptures.
It's
to give you nutrients
and refreshment
to live.
I mean,
September
is the season
of start-ups.
School starting up,
extracurricular
starting up,
work seems to
take up notches.
I mean,
just our life
together as a church
ramps up.
One could
start neglecting
the green pastures
and the still waters
because it's so busy.
I would say
it's all the more
reason to
eat your fill
and drink deep
from God's word
on a daily basis.
Man cannot live
by bread alone
but by every word
that proceeds
from the mouth
of God.
and Jesus
himself,
our good shepherd
wants you
to eat your fill
and drink deep.
There's this expression,
you can lead
a horse to water
but you can't
make a drink.
Your shepherd
can lead you
to the green pastures
and still waters
of this divine book
but he can't force you
to eat and drink.
What are the obstacles
that get in the way
of you
consuming
daily
from this
good book?
Have you ever wondered
why God
would want you
to
daily
consume
his words?
Do you have
a daily time,
a daily place,
a daily plan
to consume
the richness
and fullness
of God's word?
If you don't,
I got a plan
for you.
You ready?
Just carve out
five to ten minutes
a day to start
and just start
reading Psalm 23.
That's all.
Just start reading
Psalm 23
and then
if you think
of it,
start confessing
verse one
by way of prayer.
The Lord,
Lord Jesus,
you are my shepherd.
I lack
nothing.
There's this
other piece
of verse two
that's very
interesting.
You see
in it,
in verses two
and three,
he makes me
lie down,
he leads me,
he restores my soul,
he leads me
in paths of righteousness.
This is God
leading us.
This is our
good shepherd
leading us.
But what's
interesting about
verse two,
that he makes me
lie down in green
pastures,
this one commentator
said,
it's more like
he settles me
down.
He doesn't
force us
down.
He doesn't
force us
to lie down.
He settles us
down.
He knows the
sheep are
jumping.
And the way
that he settles
us down is
by saying,
hey,
eat your fill,
drink,
drink deep.
And when we
eat our fill
of scripture
and we drink
deep from
scripture,
we are renewed,
we remember
that our God
is our shepherd,
we remember
that all things
are in his hands,
we remember
that he goes
before us,
he's with us,
he comes after
us,
and that we
can settle.
He settles us
down.
He calms our
anxious hearts.
It's a picture
of peace,
safety,
security,
of rest.
Remember what
Jesus said,
come to me
all you
who labor
and are heavy
laden
and I will
give you
rest.
With God
as our shepherd,
we lack
nothing.
We lack
nothing.
It's
his care
for us.
This book
gives us
everything that
we need
for life
and godliness.
Isn't he
good?
We've looked
at his name,
we've looked
at his care,
now let's
look at
our claim
on him.
Back in
verse 23,
1,
we read,
the Lord
is
my shepherd.
I'm not
sure if
there's a little
question in the
back of your
mind,
but maybe it
goes something
like this.
how can
David say
that,
like that?
How can
he be so
confident
that the
great I
am is
his shepherd,
no ifs,
maybes,
or hopesos?
How can
David,
with such
seeming
confidence,
say,
I lack
nothing?
How can
David say
that he
knows that
God is
with him,
so he
will not
fear in
these deep,
dark ravines?
How does
he know
that?
How does
he know
that he
will dwell
in the
house of
the Lord
forever?
How does
he know
that God's
goodness and
mercy shall
follow all
the days of
his life?
How does
he know
that?
Because I
want to
know that.
Don't
you want
to know
that?
Don't
you want
to go
day in
and day
out knowing
that your
God goes
before you
and with
you and
comes after
you?
How do
you do
that?
Is that
something I
need to work
myself up
for every
day?
I want
that kind
of confidence.
Charles
Spurgeon,
the prince
of preachers,
who called
Psalm 23
the pearl
of the
Psalms,
he wrote
this,
the sweetest
word of the
whole of
Psalm 23,
the sweetest
word of
the whole
is the
monosyllable
my.
The Lord
is my
shepherd.
That my
is a
covenantal
my.
That my
is a
my
of
promise.
David
can say
of God
my
shepherd
because of
God's
promises
to David.
It's a
covenantal
confidence.
It's a
confidence based
on who God
is and what
God promises.
David was
living under
the old
covenant when
he wrote
Psalm 23.
It was
established
by Moses
on Mount
Sinai.
It's where
God said
I will
be your
God and
you will
be my
people.
God
committed
himself to
Israel's
welfare so
long as
they were
faithful to
him and
out of that
divine promise
to Israel
David is
able to
call Yahweh
my shepherd.
And if
David wrote
Psalm 23
after becoming
king that
would also
mean that
he had this
confidence to
say my
shepherd based
on a covenant
God had made
with him in
particular.
In 2 Samuel
7 God
promises to
David to
set one of
his descendants
upon his
throne forever.
So it's on
the basis of
these promises
these covenants
God makes to
David that
he can
confidently
claim the
Lord is
my shepherd.
He's not
confident in
himself.
He's confident
in his
God.
In his
God's promise
to him.
And of course
we know that
the descendant
of David
who now sits
upon his
throne over
a forever
kingdom is
none other
than Jesus
Christ.
David's
greater son
who's established
a better
covenant.
Thank you
Hebrews.
A better
covenant
through his
blood.
Each of
us on
this basis
this blood
covenant
established
at the
last supper
we can
say each
of us with
confidence the
Lord Jesus
is my
shepherd.
The great
I am
incarnate
Yahweh in
the flesh
is my
shepherd
because of
his
covenant
to me.
You see
when our
good shepherd
laid down
his life
for us
his sheep
he bound
himself to
us.
He is our
God and we
are his
people the
sheep of
his pasture
and his
church
is the
new
covenant
flock
and he
is
he's the
good shepherd.
The new
covenant
established
by the
laying down
of the life
of the good
shepherd
is the
basis by
which we
can claim
him as
our shepherd.
There's no
ifs about
that.
There's no
maybes about
that.
There's no
hopes
about that.
This my
with which
we say
my shepherd
is a
blood
sealed
my.
You belong
to him
and he is
your shepherd
your leader
to be fully
trusted.
He laid
down his
life so
that you
could call
him
my shepherd.
That's our
claim on
him.
It's a
blood bought
claim.
And in
the words
of Romans
8.32
He who
did not
spare his
own son
but gave
him up
for us
all.
How will
he not
also
with him
graciously
give us
all things?
With God
as our
shepherd
we
we lack
nothing.
would you
finish this
sentence for
me?
Here's how
you're going
to finish
it.
Two words
my shepherd
the Lord
Jesus
Yahweh
incarnate
is
my shepherd.
The Lord
Jesus
Yahweh
incarnate
is
my shepherd.
You wake
up tomorrow
morning
what
what did
you think
about this
morning when
you woke
up?
Feet hit
the floor?
Who are you
looking to
to lead you
today?
My guess is
you're looking
to you.
How about
tomorrow
you bounce
out of bed
because I know
it's you're
bright and happy
on a Monday
morning.
You spring
out of bed
with a smile
on your face
like Julie
Andrews.
the Lord
is my
shepherd
I shall
not want
he is
our good
shepherd.
This
shepherd's
name is
Yahweh
and we
call out
to him
as Yahweh
incarnate
Jesus.
He's your
confidence.
He is the
great I
am.
The creator
of all
the sustainer
of all
the savior
of all
the judge
of all
that's
our shepherd.
He goes
with you
he goes
before you
to supply
everything
you need
and the
shepherd's
care is
that we
lack
nothing
I lack
nothing.
He leads
us to
green pastures
and still
waters
of this
book.
We
feast
on his
word
we
eat our
fill
we
drink
deep
from this
on a daily
basis
and
that's
how he
settles
us down.
How we
trust in
him.
And our
claim on
the shepherd
is that
sweet
monosyllable
word
my.
A blood
bought
my.
A covenant
my.
A God
promised
my.
You claim
him because
he has
first claimed
you.
With
God as
our
shepherd
we lack
nothing.
So we
say to
him
lead on.
Oh we're
in a busy
season?
Lead on.
We lack
nothing.
The great
I am is
our shepherd.
It's this
shepherd that
goes before
us.
And so
how about
this tomorrow
morning when
you wake
up.
Feet hit
the ground.
you say
this.
The Lord
Jesus is
my shepherd
and today
I lack
nothing.
Let's pray
together.
Lord
Jesus
thank you
for all
that you
have done
in order
to claim
us as
our own
so that
we can
claim you
as our
own.
We trust
you.
You are
good.
You are
holy.
You care
for your
own.
Would
you
Lord
Jesus
would
you
Lord
Jesus
draw
near
to
us?
Would
you be
our
confidence
for the
balance
of this
day?
Lead
on.
And if
you give
us tomorrow
if you
give us
breath
we will
say to
you Lord
Jesus
you are
our
shepherd.
Today
we lack
nothing.
Lead on.
In your
name we
pray.
Amen.