You are listening to Radical with David Platt , a weekly podcast with sermons and messages from pastor , author and teacher David Platt . There's so much here and we could spend days together in this psalm , but let's just . Let's move through it together , just word by word , phrase by phrase . So , starting in verse 1 , the Lord is my shepherd . So maybe , if you haven't already , maybe circle Lord there and remember whenever you see the word Lord , capital L , small caps , o or D , like this this is Yahweh in the Old Testament . So that actually takes us all the way back to something else we read in our Bible reading recently in Exodus , chapter 3 . So you can turn there or maybe just make a note Exodus , chapter 3 , verses 14 and 15 . So it all goes back to the moment when God spoke to Moses in a burning bush . And God told Moses he was going to deliver his people out of slavery which they'd been in for 400 years . God was going to bring them into a promised prosperous land . God was sending Moses to lead them . And Moses asked God who will ? I tell this ? People sent me . And this was God's response . Exodus 3 , verse 14 . God said to Moses I am who I am . And he said say this to the people of Israel I am has sent me to you . God also said to Moses say this to the people of Israel , I am has sent me to you . God also said to Moses say this to the people of Israel the Lord . So there it is . The God of your fathers , abraham , the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob has sent me to you . This is my name forever . Thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations . So this is when God revealed himself to Moses and his people as the Lord . So that's Yahweh , right there . Same word we're reading in same name for God . We're reading in Psalm 23 . And it's based on the Hebrew verb for to be , which is what's translated . I am here in Exodus , chapter 3 .
Speaker 1And basically , just to contrast this , you see God mentioned numerous times . That's the Hebrew word Elohim . So that's a more general name for God . But Yahweh is a more personal name for God , referring to how he came to his people to deliver them , to save them , to personally bring them out of slavery into the promised land . And this name for God , yahweh , is used 6,000 different times in the Old Testament . That's over about three times as many as we see Elohim mentioned , which is awesome just to think about .
Speaker 1So now bring this back to Psalm 23 . When David looks at God as his shepherd , he says the Lord , the personal , saving , delivering God , who loves his people and brings his people into good land , he is my shepherd . Now circle my there , isn't it interesting ? I don't know how many of you may have noticed how many times do we see the first person pronoun in Psalm 23 ? Let's just count them .
Speaker 1So go back to Psalm 23 , verse one the Lord is my shepherd . I shall not want . He makes me lie down in green pastures . He leads me beside still waters . He restores my soul . He leads me in paths of righteousness . For his name's sake , even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death , I will fear no evil , for you are with me , your rod and your staff . They comfort me . You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies . You anoint my head with oil . My cup overflows . Surely . Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever .
Speaker 1I think , if I count right , 17 different times . And the point is clear . David is saying the Lord is not just a shepherd , he's my shepherd , like for me personally , which immediately leads me to ask every person in this gathering right now is this Lord your shepherd , like personally where you're sitting right now ? Do you know the Lord Yahweh , the everlasting God , who was and is and is to come , the I am . Do you know him as the personal shepherd of your life ? And the good news of the Bible is that you can know God like this , like God , the Lord wants to be your personal shepherd , and not just like you can know God this way , like he wants you to experience Him every day in this way .
Speaker 1So now , what does that mean for Him to be our shepherd ? Well , one thing it means is I shall not want . Now . That raises all kinds of questions , though . Right , because there's all kinds of things we want all the time , like we want better health , better bodies , better relationships , better jobs , we want good grades , more money , more peace , more rest , we want a vacation , we want an end to war , like . The list of things we want goes on and on .
Speaker 1And when you think about it , this psalm is clearly not saying that every sense of want goes away with the Lord as your shepherd , because the psalmist wants still waters , restored soul , help in the valley of the shadow of death with his enemies . He wants to dwell in the house of the Lord forever . And that's the point . The Psalm's not saying I'll never want anything again . Instead it's saying with the Lord as my shepherd , I have no lack . Some translations actually even say that I have no lack Because I have the Lord who promises to provide for me no matter what I walk through , which obviously doesn't mean God will give you everything you want . We know that would not be good . What parent in this gathering thinks it's good to give their kids every single thing they want ? No parent does , because every parent knows that some things kids want are not good for them .
Speaker 1We're talking about the all-wise Lord of all . It's the everlasting , supernatural , all-powerful , all-wise , perfect source of all . That is good . If he is your personal shepherd , what more do you need ? That's what this verse is saying . If I have him , I have everything I need and want , no matter what this world brings my way . I have the one who made me to provide for me , which leads into all these things he does . He provides food and green pastures , drink and still waters . Keep in mind that for sheep , pastures and waters are not just to look at , they're for provision , and the fact that he makes me lie down there and leads me to walk beside them makes clear that his provision is plentiful . And then so here's one of the things I saw this week that I've never seen before . So we've already seen how the Lord is a reference back to Exodus , chapter 3 , when God promised to lead or shepherd his people out of slavery into the promised land . Well , check this out .
Speaker 1Let me show you some other connections with the rest of the Bible and specifically with that Exodus story . So in Deuteronomy , chapter 2 , verse 7 . So you might just write that down Deuteronomy , chapter 2 , verse 7 . God's people are about to enter the promised land . It's been 40 years since the Exodus because of the disobedience of God's people after they came out . But 40 years later , moses says watch this these 40 years , the Lord Yahweh , your God , has been with you and you have lacked nothing . That's the exact same phrase we read in Psalm 23 , verse 1 , which makes you start to wonder . Okay , wait a second . I shall not want same phrase in Deuteronomy 2.7 .
Speaker 1Is David viewing his life through the lens of the Exodus ? You start to dig a little deeper . Check this out In Exodus , chapter 15 , so there's another one Exodus , chapter 15 , verse 13 . So this was our Bible reading this last week . Once God's people came out of Egypt , god leads them through the Red Sea . They sing a song of praise to God . And look at what they sing in Exodus 15 , verse 13 . They sing you have led in your steadfast love the people you have redeemed . And look at what they sing in Exodus 15 , verse 13 . They sing you have led in your steadfast love the people you have redeemed . You have guided them by your strength to your holy abode . You see any language there that reflects Psalm 23 ? You lead me , you guide me . And then this word abode here is the exact same word that David uses in Psalm 23 , verse 2 , that is translated pastures . It's the exact same word . Exodus , chapter 15 , verse 13 .
Speaker 1So then I start diving in even deeper here , like , wait a minute , what's going on here ? Because the whole Exodus narrative is a part of the law , which is the first five books of the Old Testament Genesis through Deuteronomy , which Moses wrote . The whole Exodus story is a picture , like a microcosm , of God restoring people to himself . When you go all the way back to the very beginning of the Bible , everything was perfect between God and man before sin entered the world . So look at Genesis , chapter 2 , verse 15 . It says the Lord Yahweh , god , took the man , put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it . And the phrase that's translated , put him here , is actually , if you dive in deeper , it basically means put him to rest in the garden , a place where he would experience rest in relationship with God . And that's important because in the very next chapter , genesis , chapter three , man and woman disobey God and they're removed from the garden and the rest they had in relationship with God .
Speaker 1But then you fast forward to the last book in the law , deuteronomy , and you know how God describes the promised land he brings to them , brings them to Look at Deuteronomy , chapter 12 , verse 9 , right before they go into the land . For you have not yet come to the rest and the inheritance that Yahweh , your God , is giving you when you go over the Jordan and live in the land that Yahweh , your God , is giving you to inherit , when he gives you what Rest ? Both of these words rest are the same as we see in Genesis , chapter 2 , verse 15 . So I'll draw it here . It's almost like there's bookends in the Bible . Here and in Genesis , chapter 2 , we see a picture of rest in relationship with God . Then in Deuteronomy , chapter 12 , we see this picture of God restoring his people to rest and the Exodus story is bringing them to that . So you say , well , why are you telling all of this to us now ?
Speaker 1Well , when David writes Psalm 23 , watch this . He talks about how God leads him besides still waters . And you're never gonna guess what word he uses . That's translated still here . It's the same word that's used for rest in Genesis 2.15 and Deuteronomy 12.9 . Same word . And he does all of this for his name's sake , which we see over and over again in the story of the Exodus . How God's doing this for his glory .
Speaker 1And just in case you're not convinced that David's thinking about the Exodus , when he writes Psalm 23 later in Psalm 78 , look at this . It says , starting in verse 52 , talking about the Exodus God led out his people like sheep . He led them like sheep . He guided them in the wilderness like a what ? Like a flock . As a shepherd , he led them in safety so that they were not afraid . I will fear no evil . The sea overwhelmed their enemies , prepared a table for me in the presence of my enemies .
Speaker 1The whole point is , when David's writing Psalm 23 , he's saying what God did for his people way back then . He does for me every single day , and I'm showing you this well for many reasons , one of which is I want to show you , I want you to know right where you're sitting , for all who trust in the Lord as your shepherd , the same God who delivered his people from their enemies out of slavery in Egypt . The same God who split the Red Sea in half . The same God who shepherded them through the wilderness , gave them bread from heaven , water from rock , so that they lacked nothing . The same God who delivered them from fear and brought them to rest . This is the exact same God who , tomorrow morning , when you wake up , will be your shepherd , your shepherd . Same God for you , and this same God , same Lord , your shepherd , promises to lead you and guide you and restore you and satisfy you and provide for you in every moment , in every way you need . The same Lord is your shepherd .
Speaker 1Then , okay , I gotta show you one more thing . So if you have a Bible I wanna turn here . You can go to Mark , chapter six . Otherwise , I got to show you one more thing . So if you have a Bible I want to turn here . You can go to Mark , chapter six , otherwise I'll have it on the screen .
Speaker 1But , and I should add , I realized what I'm showing you is not like just super obvious . Upon reading this Psalm , I'm not guessing most of you were like oh yeah , that's , that's totally Genesis 2.15 and Deuteronomy 12.9 . That's amazing , like I don't think it's like that automatic . Which is why I would encourage you might mention this last week if you don't have a study Bible , I would encourage you to get a study Bible . I would highly recommend the ESV study Bible . It's basically just a Bible with notes at the bottom that helps make some of these connections for you . And then if you notice in your Bible all those little letters and references to the side , those are called cross references . The whole point of them is to kind of lead you to other places to see the connections in the Bible and to see how it all fits together . So you can always go there just kind of on your own and look for stuff and then at the same time you still won't see everything that's there , which is why it's so important to get together with other brothers and sisters in Christ , open the Word , be taught the word , and I hope that in a setting like this , you never come into a setting like this here or anywhere else to hear what some person on a stage thinks about life . Like the last thing you need to do is come on a Sunday morning to hear what David Platt thinks about life . It would be a waste of your time . But you come , you gather together in a setting like this and somebody shows you not what they think , but what God has said . It's gonna bring life Because it's here . So this is the power . This is what I love about preaching . I don't have to make anything up , I just have to open it and tell you what it says , and the word does the work . So , anyway , all that to say , let me show you this In Mark , chapter six , so verse 31,
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Speaker 1In Mark , chapter six , so verse 31 , mark . This is right after Mark tells us a story about King Herod so an evil leader , an evil shepherd , hosting a banquet of death for John the Baptist . So evil shepherd , banquet of death for John the Baptist . Right after that we see these words Jesus says to his disciples come away by yourselves to a desolate place and what ? And rest . Okay , rest a while . So Jesus calls his followers to a place of rest . So they get into a boat , they go to a place of rest , but when they arrive there there's crowds who followed in there .
Speaker 1So Mark tells us this about Jesus in verse 34 . When he went ashore , he saw a great crowd and he had compassion on them because they were like what ? Sheep without a shepherd ? Huh , that's interesting , sheep without a shepherd . So what does Jesus do when these sheep without a shepherd are hungry ? Well , verse 39 says or sorry , verse 39 , where did it go ? Yeah , there we go .
Speaker 1Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the what ? On green pastures , huh . So they sat down in groups by hundreds and by fifties and , taking the five loaves and the two fish , he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people and he divided the two fish among them . All I have . Oh sorry , here we go . And they all ate and were satisfied . And they took up 12 baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish . That's interesting , they had no lack , they were overflowing .
Speaker 1I had not even seen this , like Mark 6 , is pointing us to Psalm 23 and is telling us Jesus is the Lord , he is the shepherd who came to satisfy us to the point of overflowing fullness . It's saying here what John 10 , 10 , 11 makes even more explicit , where Jesus says I have come that they might have life and have it to the what Full . I am the good shepherd , are you serious ? I am One of eight specific times where Jesus intentionally makes an I am statement , meant to identify himself with the I am of Exodus , chapter three , verses 14 and 15, . Who's the good shepherd of Psalm , chapter 23 .
Speaker 1Don't you love how the Bible just fits together . I'm studying this this week and I'm like . This is Psalm 119 , 162 . I rejoice at your word , like one who finds great spoil . There's just spoil , there's treasure , there's goodness . It's waiting for you and me every morning , evening , afternoon , whenever we open up this word . There's spoil here . And just to make the connections . So the Bible is the voice of our Good Shepherd speaking to us .
Speaker 1John 10 , 27 . Jesus says my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me . So how does God lead us and guide us and restore us ? How does he do that ? He does it through his word , through his voice . This is Psalm 19 , which we also read in our Bible reading recently . The law of the Lord is perfect , reviving the soul . What revives restores our soul .
Speaker 1Psalm 23, .
Speaker 1It's the law of Yahweh , the word of God . It's the testimony of Yahweh . It's sure . It makes us wise . Precepts of Yahweh are right , rejoice in the heart . The commandment of the Lord , of Yahweh , is pure , enlightening the eyes . The fear of the Lord is clean , enduring forever . The rules of the Lord are true and righteous . Altogether More to be desired are they than gold , even much fine gold . This word is better than money . It's better than money . We're running after money in this culture , run after this word . It's better . It's better than gold , even a lot of it . Sweeter than honey and drippings of the honeycomb , better than the nicest food you could taste . It's better . Moreover , buy them , as your servant warned , and in keeping them , there is not just reward , there's great reward . Do you see this ? Where is the sweetness and the reward of the Lord ? Is our shepherd found ? It's found in his words . These words are life . This book is life . This is how God , our maker , leads us , guides us , restores us , feeds us , comforts us , protects us from fear , satisfies us , brings us to reward in himself through his word .
Speaker 1There's no way we're getting through all Psalm 23, . Even at this pace , alright , let me just walk through this last part quickly . Even at this pace . So all right , let me just walk through this last part quickly . There's so much here . So verse four , verse four Did anybody notice or make a note how , in the first three verses , david talks about the Lord as his shepherd , but in verse four , there's a shift and David talks to the Lord as
his shepherd .
Speaker 1Did you notice that , instead of he does this , he does that ? For the first time , he uses the word you , for you are with me . Your rod and your staff , they comfort me . Like things just went to a whole other level as far as intimacy with the Lord as shepherd , when what happened when he walked through suffering . This is where we come to the midpoint of this psalm , like , right in the center is this confession of faith no matter what this world brings me , I will fear no evil , for you are with me . What a statement . Because , let's be real , there is a lot to be afraid of in this world People who can hurt you , things that can happen to you darkness that can overwhelm you . This psalm , the Bible , never glosses over those realities . It's not a fairytale world . This is a world of valleys that lead you to wonder am I gonna make it through it all ? And it's so interesting the way this Psalm describes just let this word soak in walking through the valley of the shadow of death . Walking through darkness , because I don't know about you , but I prefer to run through darkness .
Speaker 1I think about when I was a kid I'll draw this up here . We used to visit my aunt and uncle . They lived in one house and there was this big field and then next door to them , across the big field , was my grandparents' house . So they were side by side All day long . When the sun was out , we would run and play in all kinds of ways in that field . So they were side by side All day long . When the sun was out we would run and play and all kinds of ways in that field . So many great memories , no fear . But at night we'd be hanging out having dinner over here , my aunt and uncle's house . My dad would say , hey , would you go over to granddaddy's and get this or that to bring over here ? And my heart would sink as I would slowly walk out this door and look across that dark terrain . During the day was a field of delight , but now , when it was dark , it was a field of danger filled with I don't know what monsters just waiting to get me .
Speaker 1Let me tell you as a kid what I would not do . I would not like walk , just whistle and take a stroll through the darkness . No , as soon as I mustered up enough courage to take the first step , which took a while , from that point on I was Usain Bolt . There is no question in my mind , those moments were the fastest I've ever run in my entire life . That was a all out sprint . But do you know what would make that journey completely different ? If my dad was walking with me . I felt no need to run . If I was right beside my dad . It's the only way I could walk . How do you walk through the valley of the shadow of death ? You know that he is with me , you are with me . That's the difference and that's the encouragement from this psalm for so many of you today who are walking through a dark valley right now , maybe like some people I know and love , who are sitting in hospice at home in the valley of the shadow of death . And they know they're not alone in that hospital hospice bed . We're in a hospital bed .
Speaker 1We were talking in our church group this last week about George who , I've mentioned , had a seizure one night . Seizure one night led to doctors finding a massive brain tumor that led to almost immediate surgery . Before surgery , george was sharing a room with another man facing a similar diagnosis and this man was as scared as he could be . He was shaking , he was crying at the prospect of what this might mean for him , how he might die . Sitting right next to him was George with a piece that was actually leading doctors to say to George do you understand what's happening ? And George is like I'm okay , because when you have the Lord who conquered death with you in a hospital bed , you have no reason to fear and open all kinds of doors to share the gospel with this man over here . I think about Wayne Fajito in the hospital this last week . Doctor , going through his chart , says I think you're gonna be okay . Wayne stops him . Says with a smile on his face Doc , I know I'm gonna be okay , no matter what your chart says . Yes , god , raise up people across this church family who know and who share the good news . You can be free from all fear when the Lord is your shepherd with you . Whose watch this , whose rod and staff comfort you . So what's going on here Like rod and staff ?
Speaker 1This verse makes me think about whenever my family is having that conversation . Like okay , if you were alone on a deserted island , you can only have three things . What would you have ? And I'll tell you what my family always says . Every one of us always says the exact same first thing . You know what it is . First thing everybody says is Todd Peters . Every one of us will say , well , first I'd choose Pastor Todd . So for those of you who don't know , our retired Navy SEAL pastor out at our Prince William location , there is no question , he's the first person we would all say we want , including my wife , and I'm totally fine with that because I know the best chance of my wife getting off that deserted island alive is not with me on that island . We would be stuck and die there . No question , I want Todd there to help her get back to me and my kids . So we all say the whole game just Todd , and then two things . Okay , which two things in addition to Todd . So I joke , but this is what's happening in Psalm 23 . It's the Lord and two things , his rod . So don't think like walking stick . Like look at Psalm chapter 2 . Pretty sure it's verse 9 .
Speaker 1Talks about the Lord wielding a rod of iron to dash the nations in pieces . Like this is a weapon for offense to defend you against enemies , which again is Exodus language . We don't have time to turn there , but go to Exodus , chapter 15 , verses three through seven , and you see the Lord is a man of war who fights for his people . And then so you got a rod to fight for you . And then you have a staff here to steer and keep sheep from going in the wrong direction , which is really interesting when you think about these two together . Like we , as sheep , need God to protect us from enemies and to protect us from ourselves , from the doubts that creep in the temptations we all have to wander . We need both .
Speaker 1One writer , david Gibson , wrote an excellent book called the Lord of Psalm 23 that I would highly recommend . He said some of us want Jesus to protect us from our enemies with his rod , but we don't want Jesus to protect us from ourselves with his staff . We don't realize that our greatest enemy is oftentimes ourselves , our own sinful hearts that are prone to think the grass is greener somewhere else , outside away from our shepherd walking our own path . You know what ? My favorite word , though , is in verse four . Out of all this , I think my favorite word , at least this week , is through . Just let that soak in .
Speaker 1When the Lord is your shepherd , you can know when you come upon dark valleys and even the shadow of death itself . You are just passing through those dark valleys , and death itself will not be the end of your story , because you're with the shepherd who died on the cross for your sin , and the enemy thought he had conquered Jesus , but three days later Jesus looked at the enemy and death itself in the face and said I am just passing through . So , no matter how dark it gets in your life , no matter how dark it gets , with the Lord who conquered death as your shepherd , you can know , no matter what this world brings you this year , you're just passing through valleys , you're just past . They're not the end of your story , which leads to him preparing a feast in the presence of your enemies . Like how frustrating would that be for an enemy to see you like pass the filet , mignon , like what is what ?
Speaker 1An image Anointing my head with oil , my cup overflowing , like it's just pouring out . There's so much here . Maybe one day I can share more , but suffice to say today I personally praise God for how he has used people who have tried to harm me to actually lead me to greater joy in him than I ever would have experienced otherwise . He's prepared for me a table to feast in ways that my cup today feels overflowing and ways it never has before . That's what the shepherd does , which leads to the last verse where we'll close Surely like mark it down , guaranteed , no question , goodness , the goodness of God and the mercy of God .
Speaker 1So we've talked about this word before . This is hesed , hesed , there's no real English word that can capture it . It's like mercy and kindness and goodness and sacrificial love and loyalty and faithfulness all wrapped into one word . And this Psalm says mark it down goodness and mercy from God shall follow me . Now that word follow . Don't get the picture here of just kind of lagging behind us . Now that word follow . Don't get the picture here of just kind of lagging behind us . This word is an active , all-out pursuit , like think when I saw Heather and decided I'm going to pursue her . And there were obstacles in the way , most notably another guy that was not going to stop me from active , all-out pursuit . So whenever she turned around from him she would see me right there .
Speaker 1And this psalm is saying that's what God does with his mercy and goodness for you . They're running after you , they're not lagging behind you , they're pursuing . One translation says to pursue you as if to capture you , overtake you and picture . This is the Bible says over and over every morning there's new mercy just waiting for you , waiting to be poured out every moment when you walk through that trial , know God is there with new mercy for that trial . In that moment , for every single moment , you can't get away from the goodness and has said mercy of God .
Speaker 1I'm assuming there are maybe many of you today who , if you're honest , you've been wandering from God or you feel pretty distant from God right now and I just want you to hear God saying in his word he's pursuing you right now with his goodness and mercy . He's brought you here even to this moment , to hear God saying to your heart right now . You here , even to this moment , to hear God saying to your heart right now , I'm running after you , you say , well , but I've done this . That's the whole point . It's mercy . It doesn't matter what you've done . He's running after you because of who he is , not because of what you've done .
Speaker 1And for all who realize this , for all who receive from the Lord , your shepherd , goodness and mercy , your shepherd , goodness and mercy , you shall dwell . Live in the house of Yahweh forever . Like I just wanna circle it a million like forever . Like . None of us deserve that . All of us have sinned against the Lord . All of us are foolish sheep who just picture it , think we know better than the shepherd what's good for us . We wander into wolves , we wander into isolation . We wander our own way .
Speaker 1And the good news of the Bible is that God is a shepherd who comes running after us In the person of Jesus . Who said John , chapter 10 , verse 11 , I am the good shepherd . The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep . Jesus has laid down his life . He's died on the cross for your sin . He's laid in a tomb and praise God . He was just passing through . He has risen from the dead so that anyone , anywhere , no matter who you are , no matter what you have done , if you will turn from your sin and yourself and trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord of your life . He will restore you to the Lord as your shepherd , now and for all of eternity .
Check this out . One last place . Listen to how the Bible just so happens to describe heaven in Revelation , chapter 7 , verse 17 . For the Lamb in the midst of the throne , for the lamb in the midst of the throne talking about Jesus , the Passover lamb from Exodus , chapter 12, . The lamb will be their what Shepherd and he will guide them to springs of living water and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes .
Speaker 1Yes , do you know Jesus as your shepherd , the Lord as your shepherd ? If not , why not ? Why not ? The Lord wants to guide you to springs of living water , today and tomorrow , and forever . Return from your sin yourself . Trust in Him as your shepherd , today and when you do , and for all who know the Lord as your shepherd today and when you do , and for all who know the Lord as your shepherd , then listen to his voice every day . Why would we nod ? Why would it feel like a chore or a box to check ? To listen to the voice of the shepherd who loves us ? No , this is life . This is guidance to springs of living water on a daily basis . So open it up , meditate on it , soak it in and then walk with the Lord as your shepherd . We hope you've enjoyed this week's episode of Radical with David Platt . For more resources from David Platt , we invite you to visit radicalnet .