Latest / United Baptist Church / Psalm 23
Transcript
- Psalm 23, was written by Israel's King David, someone who was experienced with the themes of shepherding and hosting. It is written from the perspective of a beneficiary the sheep who enjoys the excellent care of a great shepherd, the guest who is blessed by the fair in preparation of the consummate host. Aside from John 316, some 23 is probably the best known, most widely known passage of Scripture from the Bible. It is read, I'm sure you are aware most often at funerals, which really is just a testimony to the comfort that it brings. But it's not simply a funeral text. Psalm 23 is what scholars call a sum of confidence. It is a song of praise. It is a poem of celebration, of gratitude and trust. In this Psalm, David Extolls over and over and over again, the amazing goodness of God repeating with various and different images. How fortunate are the sheep of his hand? How blessed the guests at his table? Through this Psalm, David wants the world to know the best, safest, most fulfilling place. A person can be is in a relationship with God, a God who is both great and good. Our Father, we thank you and praise you for your wonderful word. We ask now that you would help us to grasp it, not simply to hear it, but to receive it. Let it do what you intend. We pray in Christ. Powerful name. Amen. Psalm 23 is the Scripture this year at Baptist Youth Camp for the camping season. And this past week we were down there for the senior week, and every day we explored the verses of this Psalm and we explored them in a decent amount of detail to chapel services a day, one on Sunday, one on Friday. That equals ten sermons, ten messages on the 23rd Psalm. So I thought I'd just start at the beginning and work my way through all ten of those messages. And will then, yeah, then we'll break for dinner. Now, we're not going to do that. But what I want to do this morning is just sort of break down this song in a different way. I want to talk about four great truths that come out of this song, four great truths about God that this Psalm emphasizes. And those are God's provision, God's protection, God's presence and God's preparation. And everybody said, Note this one, Scott, you never use alliteration. What is happening? And just look at fell that way. That's just the way I didn't even have to struggle to find another P word there, right there. God's provision, God's protection, God's presence in God's preparation. First, we note in this Psalm that God provides right out of the gate. David expresses supreme confidence in His Lord, The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want in the message. Paraphrase gets this right. I think it's a good one. I don't need a thing. God is my shepherd. I don't need a thing. The reality is that not all shepherds take good care of their sheep, but God takes good care of his sheep. That's the point. That's why Jesus encourages us in the Sermon on the Mount, not to be anxious about our life, about what we will eat or what we will drink or what we will wear, he says. Our Heavenly Father knows what we need and our Heavenly Father will supply our needs. That doesn't mean that he's going to supply all of our wants. There's a difference between a want and a need. I encourage people to pray for anything you want to pray for. If you need it, you'll get it. If you don't get it, you don't need it. That's just the way God is. God is good. He will supply your needs. And that's what David's message is here. The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. And then He goes on to talk about how God supplies His needs. He makes me lie down in green pastures. See, the Good Shepherd knows the limitations of his sheep. The Good Shepherd knows that if left to themselves, sometimes sheep will overdo or they will get themselves into trouble. So every once in a while he makes them lie down. He makes them rest, eat. Which isn't actually as easy as it sounds for sheep to rest. And it's not as easy it sounds as it sounds right for some of us to rest so we can relate right away with this. Some for sheep to truly rest for requirements must be met. One of them is Freedom from Hunger. The sheep don't like to go to bed hungry. Philip Keller has written a book. A Shepherd looks at some 23 in which he says there's a hungry, ill fed sheep is ever on its feet on the move, searching for another scanty mouthful of forage to try and satisfy is knowing hunger. Such sheep are not contented, they do not thrive. They are of no use to themselves or to their owners. They languish and lack vigor and vitality. So God makes his sheep lie down in green pastures in places where the food is abundant, which means that he has not only planned and chosen where those sheep should go the pasture for them, he oftentimes has gone ahead and made preparation, clearing the rocks, clearing the debris, telling the ground where it's needed, removing the poison plants at times, even irrigating the land. You see green pastures in some places are natural, and yet in other places they are made. So for a sheep to lie down in green pastures may very well mean that sheep or resting benefiting from the completed work of their good shepherd he leads me beside still is now does anybody in this room own a sheep? I'll be shy. No shame on anybody. Anybody here? You used to own sheep. You're closer than the rest of us to knowing anything about sheep. Anybody here? Shepherds. Sheep? Negative. I didn't think so. Just checking. So we might benefit from a little bit of knowledge about sheep. Knowing this, for instance, is cheaper, skittish that they are easily frightened, that they don't like loud noises, that they lack depth perception that they're not great swimmers, and if they tumble into a swift moving stream with their thick coats, there's a good chance that they could get waterlogged even and drown. So we come to these little verses in the Bible and think he leaves me behind. Still. What does we have that pastoral scene about? Isn't that nice? And there's a very practical reason for the shepherd leading the sheep beside the still waters when it's time to drink. They prefer that quiet, calm water. And once again, what David is getting at is that the shepherd provides his for his flock by leading them to something that they can benefit from and something that they can safely and comfortably access. Cool still water. Another way of saying he provides for their needs and a reminder to us he'll provide for yours. That's what David's bragging about. My God. Supplies, my needs. Later in the Psalm, David changes the imagery from sheep and shepherd to host and guest, and we see God's provision there in the anointing of oil and the filling of his cup, David's Cup to overflowing anointing the head of a guest with often expensive luxurious oil was a sign of honor, of respect and love. Filling a cup to overflowing was similarly a sign to the invitees. Catch this as long as they remain with the host, they would have an abundance of everything. That's what that means. That's not it wasn't is not a klutzy host overflowing the cup. It was done on purpose to say you stay with me right here in this banquet and you will have an abundance, you will have an abundance. One commentator summarizes the teaching of the 23rd Psalm this way, saying God is with under, beside, after, before, and ahead of all his trusting children, they shall not want for food, for drink, strength, guidance, comfort, satisfaction or life. That pretty much sums up the song. Psalm 23 speaks glowingly of God's provision, and it speaks just as confidently of God's protection. It is the Good Shepherd who leads his sheep on the right paths. He leads me in paths of righteousness. He leads me on the right path because God protects the Good Shepherd, does what He can to protect his flock. At the same time, we should recognize that some sheep stubbornly refuse to accept this protection as good for them. The shepherd leads his sheep to green pastures where the food is abundant and plentiful. And yet sometimes there are sheep who who gaze in the other fields and who do really believe that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. And shepherds call these sorts of sheep fence crawlers. Fence crawlers because they're always crawling along the fence and they're looking for a hole, they're looking for a loophole, they're looking for a way to get out and a way to get around the confines that the shepherd has established. Does that sound familiar to anybody? This is not just a sheep phenomena, is it? It is all too common for sheep to seek to come out from under the provision, the good, gracious, faithful provision of the shepherd. That's what sheep do, and that's what we rebellious people sometimes do. And that's why the prophet Isaiah is exactly right when he says all we like sheep have gone astray, each of us turns to his own way. So we go astray. We wander, Isaiah says. And oftentimes that wandering does not end well for the sheep. So sheep do get a bad rap. They are intelligent animals, they have intelligence, they can recognize faces, they can recognize voices, they can even solve problems. But sometimes even intelligent sheep do stupid things and don't usually like to show videos in worship. But we saw this video down at camp and it might help you understand a little bit. It might help you empathize a little bit about what God, what God is up against when he deals with us. Oh, finally, free. Yeah, You see, like he had a strap. I'm like, he does that a lot. They have tools for this. That's how stupid the sheep and sometimes even intelligent beings do stupid things. Even though the shepherd wants to lead. Sometimes we crawl the fence and scoot out and find ourselves in trouble. Even though the Good Shepherd brings us to still water, some will sip from the muddy puddles along the way, and these muddy puddles are polluted by urine and feces and full of parasites. And the sheep will eat and drink things that make them sick might even kill. The Proverbs tells us there is a way that seems right to a man. The end thereof is death is interesting and kind of sad to think the way that we humans most naturally choose leads us to death. But it only speaks to the power of sin in us, which distorts our understanding and distorts our perspective. It only tells us this is why we so desperately need to lean into God and to lean on God and to trust His word and his word alone, for He is the one who has the wisdom we need. He is the one who sees it all. He is the one who knows it all. And if the sheep will stay with the shepherd, they will be cared for. No doubt about it. If the sheep will stay with the shepherd, they will be cared for. He will protect them. And when they traverse even life's most difficult terrain, the scariest pass. The sheep of the Good Shepherd will not have to fear a thing. You know some of the valleys in old Israel were treacherous places. We think about walking through a valley and we may again have this picture of a lovely and serene sort of flat bottom place that. So this is not the picture that we should have in mind. We should have in mind the picture of these very steep trails and these rock outcroppings of rock and these these slim paths that we find around them. And in these blind turns, great places for ambush, ambush of the enemies of the people who are traveling these paths and predators and scary going down, down into this valley is a scary, scary journey. And yet some 23 reminds us that if we are with God, we don't need to fear because why they roared in thy staff, they comfort me. The shepherd. My shepherd has a rod, and the rod is basically a club. It's what he's carrying. He's got a club and he's going to fend off whoever whatever is coming after you, he's going to protect you. And I thought about this a little bit and I thought, my goodness, a bit of an argument from silence here. But I wonder just how many times God has actually protected me and I didn't know it, how many times he showed up to fend something off. And I have no idea this is what he does. This is why he carries his rod, his club to help you. This is who he is, a protector. And he has a staff which is really just a shepherd's crook. That idea where he's using that to prod a little bit, to poke a little bit, to reach out and pull somebody back into line, if that's if that's what needs be. But he protects his sheep all along the journey, even into the scariest places. The rod and the staff of the shepherd are a comfort to the sheep. Signs of both his ability and his willingness to keep them from harm. Fast forward in the sun, verse five, we find another expression of confidence in God's protection. You prepare table before me in the presence of my enemies. Another one of these little sayings that may escape us. What is the big deal about preparing a table before me in the presence of my enemies? If you interpret that wrongly, you might get the idea of Here's King David sort of of flaunting where he when he's got the good table, he's got the window seat. Ha ha ha. Look at me. I'm sitting at the table of the king and you guys are outside. That's not what this means. This is a reference to a custom of Eastern hospitality that we're not usually familiar with, but it's a simple concept. Eastern hospitality guarantees the security of the guest, guarantees the security of the guest, even if the guests enemies are outside the door and knocking on that door, one is guaranteed secure when under the roof of the host. This is what David is getting at. What he's saying is that God holds fast. Those who hold to him, God holds fast, those who hold to him. And if you're in his house, if you're if you're a part of his house, he will protect you. Even in the midst of your enemies. Assault. So I'm 23, celebrates God's protection. And thirdly, Psalm 23 rejoices in God's presence. So, so far, provision and protection and presence. Because the Good Shepherd is with his sheep, the Good Shepherd is among his sheep. I told a story down there in Baptist youth camp of a real event that happened in Turkey, I think in 2005, where some of the shepherds decided to take a break and walk away from the flock to have a little bit of breakfast. And then they looked on in horror, as in there were like, I think there were 1100 sheep, I think, or there were there were a lot of sheep, a lot of them. They there was and they were the sheep belonging to many families. And so they were all mixed in there together. And as they're having their tea, they look up and with horror, watch one sheep after another, one sheep tried to jump over a big ravine and only managed to jump into it and the rest of them one after another, while they're at breakfast, fell in. 450 of them died and a lot more of them were injured. The Good Shepherd is with his sheep. God is the good Shepherd who's with you? Who won't leave you? Who doesn't take a break? Who doesn't step out for tea so that you can jump into a ravine? Who is with you? Always The God of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. He doesn't need a day off. He doesn't take the day off because he needs it. Okay. The good Shepherd is with his sheep. His presence is important. His presence is important. I mentioned a little while ago that for sheep to rest, there are four requirements. A second one of those requirement is the absence of friction with other sheep. So sheep are a lot like humans in that they can get testy, they can get agency, they can be aggressive on occasion. And within that flock there can be competition, there can be jockeying, there can be little power plays and sheep can actually be mean to each other and they can agitate each other and they can get the whole group riled up. And again, Phil Keller says, whenever I came into view in my presence attracted their attention. The sheep quickly forgot their foolish rivalries and stopped their fighting. The shepherds presence made all the difference in their behavior. And I. I read that and I thought about being a kid and and fighting with my sister and, you know, squabbling. But if mom or dad come around the corner, just stop, because whatever you're fighting over isn't going to be worth what's going to happen if you don't stop the presence. Right. Of a parent. The presence of a shepherd settles the sheep down. It is the shepherds presence that ultimately calms him, calms them in the valley of the shadow of death. So how is it This is a poem and it's a bunch of imagery, but it s it poses a good questions for thinking through how will we live without fearing evil? Good question. For today's age, right? David gives the answer for thou art with me, I will fear no evil because you're with me. That's a third require meant for the sheep. To rest is the absence of fear. Fear is abated when the shepherd is present. According to this psalm, enemies are mere onlookers. When the host is serving his guest, they can't hurt you. And so David says in another song, Song 56, verse 11 In God I Trust I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? What can man do to me? And you might be thinking, Well, I can think a lot of awful things that somebody could do to me. The history of humanity is full of atrocities and perpetration, and yet there is. And we must understand there really is a limit on what our as to what our enemies can ever do to us. They cannot harm our soul. They cannot separate us from the love of God. And David enjoys this relationship with God, a relationship that is eternal. Which brings us to one last consideration from some 23 one last point. That is God's preparation. God prepares provision and protection, presence and preparation. So we've already noted how the Good Shepherd goes ahead to prepare the pasture. We know as well you think it through. He actually prepares the whole trip for his sheep because he leads them to where they must go. He's the one who keeps them on the move. He's the one who puts together the itinerary. He's the one who does the work. He makes the way for the sheep. And as we come to the end of the some of the imagery shifted. We see God, the good host preparing as well. A table. He's setting a table for David. Now, listen, when you think of God, do you envision him setting a table? Do you, in your mind, is God a waiter? But I'm putting the forks and the knives and the napkins and getting everything ready. Can you conceive of God as one who whose joy it is to serve us? Or do you think? Well, he's God and and he's big and he probably has better things to do. And he he should have people to do that. He shouldn't have to do that. But these are some of the ways that we think when we think about power and authority and what not. And yet, listen, it is entirely consistent with what the Bible teaches about God, that he should prepare a table for us. This is who he is, that he would prepare a table for David to sit at, which means to arrange and to put in order. This is who God is. Our God is hospitable hospitality. Biblical hospitality is the welcoming of the stranger. And every one of us, because of sin, is estranged from God. But God has mercy on sinners. He welcomes us. He prepares for us to come to Him to sit at his table. This sort of imagery ought to put us in mind of a scene from our Lord's life where he again assumes the role of the host and kneels to wash the feet of his disciples. This is this is our Lord, he said in Mark's Gospel Chapter ten, I believe, is verse 45. I didn't come to be served, but to serve. This is and God, Jesus came to this world to give us a true sense of what God is like because He God knows we can come up with all sorts of ideas about what God is like. Jesus came to set that record straight. He is a God who prepares for us, a God who is hospitable and dotes on us, a God who cares for us. He welcomes as he prepares us to come to Him to sit at this table, a table of God. He He invites us to know what the gift of eternal life is, to dwell in the house of the Lord forever. So it was last week in and it is true today. It was our joy to look at some 23. We'll close with this and see how it reflects and how it is fulfilled in Jesus. Jesus, by his own admission, is the Good Shepherd. He is good in contrast to the hired hands who tend to flock because in the face of threat, he doesn't back down, he doesn't flee. But he laid down his life for his sheep. He sacrificed himself so they could live. He sacrificed himself so we could live Jesus like that. Good Shepherd has gone before us to prepare a place for us. Our Lord has been to death and back. Let that sink in, please. He's been to death. And that. And come back and say I'm alive and you're going to live. I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me, even though he dies, will live. Jesus has gone ahead of us, prepared the way for us, shown us, shown us. He told his disciples when he was getting ready to leave this world. Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me, in my father's house and many rooms. If it were not so what I have told you and I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself. That where I am. You may be also like the good Shepherd of some 23. Jesus makes it possible for us to find rest. The Prophet Ezekiel spoke of him in chapter 34 of the book that bears his name as a shepherd seeks out his flock when he's among his sheep that have been scattered. So will I seek out my sheep and I will rescue them. I will feed them with good pasture. There they shall lie down in good grazing land. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord. He provides for our needs. He not only leads us past the muddy puddles of this life to the still water he is the living water, and he issues an invitation. If anyone thirsty, let him come to me and drink our good shepherd. Jesus graciously leads us to himself. He provides our greatest need. Forgiveness of our trespass Is reconciliation to God, the restoration of our souls, souls that are ruined by sin. He took our sins to the cross, and he paid for it there so that we could have a seat at the Lord's table, so that we could dwell in the House of the Lord forever. Like the Blessed Chief of Psalm 23. We really do rest in the finished work of our Shepherd Jesus. He jealously protects us. He said, My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of my hand. No one, No one, he promises, never leave us. He says he'll always be with us. He receives us as we are to make us what we were meant to be. He is the greatest host. He invites us from the highways and byways of life. He invites us not to be too busy to come to his banquet. He says, Come to me all you who are weak and heavy laden and I will give you rest like the lavish host of Psalm 23. Jesus welcomes us. He anoints us with his spirit. He fills the cups of our lives with blessings that just overflow. He said he came, that we might have life and have it abundantly. And that is exactly what he gives. How good is our God? How great is our God? And He invites us to a table that He has prepared not just any table, but the table of the King. Maybe some of you here have sat at some head tables, some pretty important tables filled with pretty important people. I wouldn't dare say that there's no one more important to sit at a table with than Jesus. And there's nothing going to be more impressive than that. And you know what? He promises to eat and drink with his disciples in the Kingdom of God. So this isn't just some sort of pie in the sky thing that might maybe happen. No, this is what Jesus is going to do eat and drink with his disciples. And beyond that, the Book of Revelation and promises The Church is going to gather at the Marriage Supper of the LAMB. Revelation 19 nine said, Blessed are those who are invited to the Marriage Supper of the lamb. Blessed are you to be invited to the Marriage Supper. In the meantime, he leaves a banquet table for us. The Lord's table. In that space. At that table we remember him. The bread that we eat symbolizes the body of Christ. It was crucified for us. The contents of the cup, his blood that was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. This morning, we're going to celebrate the Lord's table Communion, and we invite you to join us. If you are a follower of Jesus, if you know Jesus as your Savior, we invite you to join us as we remember him. If you're here today and you can honestly say, Well, I don't know. I don't really know if Jesus is my savior, I haven't really accepted him. Then I invite you not to partake, but just to watch. It's okay. There's no pressure for you to partake. But there is a warning in Scripture about taking in an unworthy man that we shouldn't just approach this glibly, which is why I fence the table this way. If you are a believer, this is for you. If you are a follower of Jesus, if you are not, then I simply invite you to watch the family of God as it performs what may seem to some to be a strange ritual, but to many of us is a very, very sweet thing. The Apostle Paul tells us to do this, remembering him proclaiming his death until he comes now.