Faith Presbyterian Church - Birmingham
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Faith Presbyterian Church - Birmingham
Psalm 23:1-6; The Lord is My Shepherd Part II
Jason Sterling May 18, 2025 Faith Presbyterian Church Birmingham, AL Bulletin
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If you have a copy of God's Word, turn with me to the book of Psalms this morning. So go to the center of your Bible, open it, turn to Psalm 23. And I would encourage you this morning, if you do have a copy of God's Word, keep that open. I will be referring to some footnotes that I think draw out the richness of this passage. And so keep your Bible open, if you've got one this morning.
Speaker 1:Last week we started our summer series through the book of Psalms, or selected Psalms this summer that we'll be looking at and I mentioned that we have an optional project for everyone. Notice, I said optional. It's not required to get in the door or anything like that, not required to get in the door or anything like that. But we put one of these cards in your bulletin this morning so you can find that and you'll see, on one side is Psalm 23. And we're going to memorize that together as a church body this summer and we will recite it much like we did a couple of years ago, a couple summers ago, with Psalm 121. So you can keep this handy in your car on your kitchen table. Do this as a family. We want to do that together. We'll recite that during one of our services at the end of the summer and then on the other side of that card you'll see a reading plan. If you're interested in reading through the whole book of Psalms this summer, you can see on the other side of the card a 12-week reading plan, monday through Friday. So please take advantage of those ways of hiding God's Word in our heart and getting into the Scriptures this summer.
Speaker 1:Last week we looked at Psalm 23 and we looked at the first half. We're going to look at the second half this morning and I will read the entire Psalm for context. So follow along with me. This is God's Word, psalm 23. 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. This is God's Word. Let's pray together and let's ask the Holy Spirit to come and be with us as we hear the Word, but also as the Word's preached. Let's pray. Father, do come, and may the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be good and pleasing to you. O Lord, my rock and my redeemer, I pray that you would speak powerfully through this psalm, that you would show us and that we would encounter Jesus, and that you would remind us it's no accident that we're here this morning, that you've brought us here. Give us a word. We are listening In Jesus' name, amen.
Speaker 1:I mentioned this last week. I want to mention it again, but a big help to me in the last couple of weeks on this psalm has been a book called the Lord is my Shepherd by David Gibson. I read that at the end of 2024, and it was water to my soul, and it has had a huge impact on me in the last few months, but also in the way that I have looked at this psalm. It's helped me to see Psalm 23 in new and fresh ways, and so it has been a great assistance to me in preparing this morning for this sermon.
Speaker 1:This psalm, as we talked about last week. It's a popular psalm. Maybe you've memorized this, as a kid even, but you often hear this psalm at funerals. You hear it recited on deathbeds. It's often clung to in moments of very deep darkness. However, again last week, we said and learned that this is actually not as much about grief and sorrow and suffering and death. It's much more, this psalm, about security in life. Only one verse verse 4, speaks about death.
Speaker 1:This psalm is meant to help us as we journey through all of life and the anchor and the comfort comes from really the first couple of words of the psalm the Lord is my shepherd. Anchor and the comfort comes from really the first couple of words of the psalm the Lord is my shepherd. Everything else in the psalm flows out of those few words. Everything else flows from that phrase and last week we did a lot of focusing on who it is that's doing the shepherding. It is the Lord.
Speaker 1:This morning, our focus is going to be on how the Lord shepherds us and we're going to see that in this psalm, that the Lord shepherds us through, number one, his presence. Number two, his protection and then, lastly, his promises. So, his presence, his protection, his promises. Let's look at those in turn this morning, starting with our first heading his presence. Look at verse 4. We're going to do a lot of just walking through the second part of the psalm, phrase by phrase, up until this point of Psalm 23,.
Speaker 1:It has been passive. The sheep have been made to lie down, they have been restored, they are being led, but now the sheep are going somewhere. Where are they going? They're walking through the valley of the shadow of death. A couple of comments. Notice again follow the footnote.
Speaker 1:As you read and study your Bibles, always follow the footnote. And if you follow the footnote, you'll see that shadow of death can actually be translated deep darkness. And we don't know exactly what David had in mind here by deep darkness, and I think that's intentional, obviously, and I think it's very helpful that it's left open. In David's day, it most certainly meant predators and animals who were waiting in the shadows to attack the vulnerable sheep. In our day, however, deep darkness can mean a lot of things, can't it? It can most certainly mean danger, it means illness, it means loss and grief and depression and anxiety and suffering and difficult circumstances that come into our lives and, of course, it means approaching death. And don't miss the connection between the path of righteousness look at verse 3, and the valley of the shadow of death in verse 4. Do you see the connection?
Speaker 1:The good shepherd's path of righteousness sometimes includes the valley of the shadow of death. Valley of the shadow of death. Sometimes it includes leading us into deep darkness. In other words, if you are in a valley this morning and you are in deep darkness, it is because the Lord, your shepherd, has led you there. And I know that's very strong. But our temptation is to think when we're in the valley of deep darkness, it's because God doesn't love us or because we're getting what we deserved or we've done something to deserve this. We tend to think God's only loving and caring when we're not in the valley, when things are going really well for us and we're getting everything we want, when things are going really well for us and we're getting everything we want. However, we see that it is the good shepherd that sometimes leads us into the valley of the shadow of death, into deep darkness. And yes, it's very painful, but it's what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches that all things, all things, come to us not by chance, but by God's fatherly. That's important God's fatherly hand.
Speaker 1:Elizabeth Elliot has this story about a time when she was visiting North Wales and she watches a shepherd who is tending to his sheep. And this shepherd would take the sheep and dip them into this pool of disinfectant in order to kill the insects and the parasites and the other diseases. And she said she would watch this. And she said the sheep absolutely hated it and they would struggle and they would make all sorts of noises and horrible sounds. But the shepherd would take them and shove them all the way under the disinfectant and they would struggle to get back up. And she was like, just when you thought it was over, the shepherd would take them once more and put them under the disinfectant. And then then she says but the thing is, it is the very best thing that could be done for the sheep, because it's actually saving the sheep's life. And then she says this quote I wonder what it feels like to think that your shepherd is trying to kill you.
Speaker 1:You ever been there? Maybe you feel like you're there now. You ever felt like the good shepherd was trying to kill you? But you see, rather than thinking that the Good Shepherd, the Lord, is trying to kill us, is it not possible that the Lord Yahweh all caps in this verse, in this passage all knowing, all wisdom, all love, all power. Is it not possible that he leads us through the valley in order to teach us and to give us things that we couldn't have gotten any other way? Notice here that it says we're passing through the valley, you're not in the valley. In other words, whatever your valley is in the moment, it's not a permanent dwelling. You are not staying there. You are passing through to a further, greater destination, when you will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. So why don't we fear in the valley?
Speaker 1:Well, it tells us in the text, because you, david says, are with me. And notice here, you replaces he at this point in the psalm, and I think that's significant. Before it was. He makes me lie down, he restores, he leads me now. Notice how personal and intimate it is. The intimacy and personal nature of this takes center stage. David is saying this is between me and you, god.
Speaker 1:The comfort, david says, is that you are with me. Who is the you? Again, spent a whole point last week on it. I won't do it again, but it's so significant. Everything flows out of the fact that this is the Lord. We walk through these valleys of deep darkness and the comfort is not that God's going to take all the evil away from us, or darkness, or suffering. The comfort is in the fact that he, the Lord, is with us in the valley.
Speaker 1:I don't know all the stories in this room this morning, but I know in a room this size there are lots and lots of valleys that people are in dark valleys, deep darkness, and I say this because it is true. But every single week in this room, someone is in the middle of the worst week of their life, of their life Marriage, struggles, addictions, sickness, sadness, grief, loss, cancer, a sudden diagnosis, a loss of a child, people who are facing death. I don't know why those things are happening to you and I don't know what it is that's going on. But I do know this that even though you do not feel this and even though it seems like you cannot see your way out, I do know that God is with you, that he promises to be with you, and that is why we walk by faith as Christians. Even when we don't feel it, we lock on and we anchor down in the fact that God is with us.
Speaker 1:In deep darkness, the Lord, our shepherd, is with us and he will never leave us nor forsake us. Now, does that make everything suddenly go away and pull you out of the valley. Forsake us Now. Does that make everything suddenly go away and pull you out of the valley? I wish no, it does not. But you know what it does do it reframes it. You're not alone. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Why? Because you, lord, are with me. Secondly, his protection. Look at verse 4. We don't fear in deep darkness because the Lord is with us, but we also don't fear because of what our shepherd is holding. He is holding a rod and a staff. Let's look at each of those this morning. The rod and a staff. Let's look at each of those this morning.
Speaker 1:The rod it is a weapon of protection against protecting the flock from enemies, wild animals and human thieves. It was this. The rod was a huge club-like weapon that was a symbol and represented for the shepherd power and authority and protection. But the rod also was used for keeping count of the sheep. At the end of the day, the shepherd would hold it over the sheep pen as the sheep would enter and he would count off the sheep one by one, making sure every single one of them were accounted for. It was his way of personally checking that everyone was present. All the sheep were present and accounted for. So the rod protection a club on the one hand, but also it was used as a symbol of possession.
Speaker 1:It was counting the sheep and the one walking through the darkness that is with you is not some weak well-wisher, a powerful shepherd with a club who is guarding you every step of the way and making sure that you are accounted for. Think about that with me. Is there anything more frightening than feeling lost and feeling like no one is looking for you, that you're not accounted for? Is there anything more frightening than someone not knowing where you are? Friends, jesus, the Good Shepherd, holds a rod and it means when you're in that valley and some of you, you're there now and you feel lost and you feel like there's no way I need to be seen. Jesus sees you, you are accounted for, he's got his eye on you at all times and he knows you by name and that means that even when you discover that it is his hand that brought you into the valley, you can find comfort because you know he is with you and he's protecting you. But he's also looking out for you in that valley of deep darkness.
Speaker 1:So the shepherd, the Lord, holds in his hand a rod, but he also holds something else and this is a little tougher he holds a staff, and the staff is not used for defending, the staff is used for carrying. So we think this is the way we tend to think of a shepherd the long staff with the hook on the end. That's what this is, that's what the staff is. And so when the sheep would get going down a path, they would start to wander off, maybe to a cliff or to danger or to a thorn. Bush and the shepherd would take his shepherd's staff and he would pull them back onto the right path.
Speaker 1:You notice the comprehensive nature of the care. The rod defends, the staff, disciplines and corrects, and both are needed, are they not? And we tend to think and love, the shepherd's got a club part and he's accounting for me and yes, lord, we're all in. But we tend to not like the staff, the fact that God is caring for us and protecting us from ourselves and from sin. My greatest enemy this morning, and your greatest enemy this morning, is not outside these walls. It's actually beating inside your chest. Your greatest enemy and my greatest enemy is our sinful hearts, and our hearts do all sorts of crazy things, don't they? Sorts of crazy things, don't they? And they deceive us to thinking life is found in following after sin and starting down that path. And we start to believe that and we start to travel down that path and we even, at times, get comfortable in that path. And the shepherd comes along and he takes his staff and he begins to pull us back.
Speaker 1:What does that look like for you when it's actually played out? Well, it looks a lot of different ways. Here are a few. The shepherd's staff might look like conviction, the Holy Spirit convicting you during preaching or during a kingdom community lesson or during your personal Bible study, or whatever. It might look like confrontation from a friend or from your spouse who's trying to tell you something. Or it might look like hard circumstances, or it might look like rock bottom or the wheels completely coming off in your life. And in that moment, the staff it feels painful and it hurts and it feels horrible. It feels like the shepherd is intentionally trying to punish you or shame you. But what if those things are actually the shepherd's staff, the Lord, pulling you back in, trying to save your life. What if that is God actually loving you and caring for you in that moment? What if it is God trying to rescue you through that hard conversation with your spouse or your friend, or through getting caught or getting exposed? Friends, those things are not God trying to be mean to you. Those are God's grace to you, and sometimes grace has teeth. Those things are God's severe mercy and it's God trying to get your attention in order to bring you back in, in order to save your life.
Speaker 1:Have you wandered this morning from the shepherd's path of righteousness? Maybe this morning you are in, or you're thinking about getting in, a relationship that you know is wrong and you know is unhealthy. Maybe God is trying to tell you something through the word or through a friend or through a situation, and you are refusing to listen. You are keeping yourself just beyond the shepherd's hook. It's not an accident that you're hearing this this morning. It's the shepherd trying to bring you back in. And remember he's not trying to hurt you. God loves you and is trying to save your soul and protect you. The rod and the staff are tools in the shepherd's hand to protect you, but also to care and to correct you. Lastly, his promises.
Speaker 1:We see a shift here from green pastures and waters and rods and staffs to oil on the head and cup overflowing, and the picture here is a lavished host treating a special guest. That's the picture. Look at verse 5. Again, you, lord, prepare a table for me. Think about if you've been at a nice event or a nice function. You most likely don't meet the host. They don't come and greet you. You don't know them or speak to them. They are perhaps way too busy and too important. That's not the way it is. When you're at God's table and he is the host, it's like you're the only person at the table and you're the only person in the room because God is hosting us personally.
Speaker 1:And in the ancient Near East, the master of the house, they would provide the food and they would pay for the food, but they would not prepare the food. And so how amazing is it that the Lord, the shepherd, prepares the meal for you as a lavished host? He provides us a feast. And then look at the phrase you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. In our culture, when somebody comes to your home or whatever, you greet them. You might shake their hand, you might take their coat, you might offer them an appetizer or a drink of water or whatever it is. And in this culture, in Psalm 23, when someone come, it was customary that you would wash feet and if they were really special you would bring out the oil and you would pour it on their head because they were such an honorable guest. You see that, see how honorable a guest we are at the Lord's table. And then, likewise, you know when a good host, never let someone glass their glass get empty. When God's the host, your cup is always full to overflowing.
Speaker 1:Here's the point. God is not a cheapskate. God is generous. He's not tight-fisted and stingy. He is a God of abundance, of abundant kindness, love and generosity. Is that what your God is like this morning? Is your God stingy and beautiful? Is your God stingy and beautiful, or is your God tight-fisted and a burden to you this morning? Do you have a view of God to where you are walking on eggshells, like he's always waiting for you to make a mistake so that he can write it down in His book Friends? God is a God that longs to be generous and kind. He is a God of abundant kindness. I love David. Gibson says yes, god has a rod and a staff in his hands, but he also has perfume oil and wine.
Speaker 1:Verse 6, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. Listen to this, commentators. This last section here was the part that put me on the floor this week. Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. Commentators, get this point out. That follow is way too weak a rendering that instead the meaning is pursue, and so goodness and mercy shall not merely follow, but pursue you all the days of your life. In Exodus 34, 6 and 7, the Lord all caps is merciful, gracious and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. In other words, mercy and goodness are words that describe God, and so the point is that mercy and goodness, it's as if the Lord himself is pursuing you with mercy and goodness and grace. Then notice verse 1. And at the end of verse 6, you have the Lord, verse 1. The Lord again, all caps.
Speaker 1:Verse 6. This is a psalm of life who encompasses your entire life. The Lord does Verses 1 through 3, look at this. The Lord does Verses 1 through 3, look at this. The shepherd leads, so he goes ahead of you. Verse 4, the shepherd is with you, beside you. And then look at verse 6. Who's behind you, pursuing you with mercy and goodness? The Lord.
Speaker 1:I love this illustration in the book. The Lord is my Shepherd. Think about a police escort of a very important person. You have police ahead, police on both sides, police behind. Is there any safer way to travel? There is not a safer way to travel through your life than having the Lord go ahead of you, the Lord beside you and the Lord pursuing you from behind. Complete security, perfect protection, full provision, ahead, besides and behind.
Speaker 1:And then look, this might be the greatest part of the whole thing Verse 6, surely follow the footnote. What do you see at the footnote? It can be translated. Only, is that not the most unbelievable thing in the world? Only, only Goodness and mercy will pursue me all the days of my life. Please don't miss this. Please don't miss this.
Speaker 1:Every single time you look behind you, mercy and goodness are pursuing you. You blow it, you fall, you fail More times than you care to count. You look back and you think there's no way. God is there. He's there, pursuing you with mercy and goodness all the days of your life, and you think how in the world is that possible? That seems too good to be true, because that's who God is.
Speaker 1:David, he didn't have a clue how good God really was and how kind and generous God was. Because centuries later, god would take on flesh in the person of Jesus Christ and he would come down into this world John 3.16,. For God so loved the world that he gave. God is a giver and he gives of Himself so that you can have eternal life. And if you believe in him you will not perish. You will have everlasting life. And on the cross, jesus walked headfirst, not into the shadow of death, but into death itself, and God poured out his wrath on His Son. You know why? So that you and I would only get mercy and we would only get goodness all the days of our life, and so that we could dwell in the house of the Lord forever. That's Psalm 23.
Speaker 1:Now, do you see why Psalm 23 is really about life? It's a psalm that begins the Lord is my shepherd and it ends with our destination in the house of the Lord forever. And everything in between in this psalm is the human experience. Is it not? Green pastures, moment of peace, times of dark valleys, still waters and enemies, and paths of righteousness and shadows of death and through all of life. Who is right there with you, ahead of you, beside you and behind you?
Speaker 1:The Lord, your shepherd. He has his rod, he has his staff to care for you. He gives in abundance, he pursues you with mercy and goodness and he is waiting for you to come home to dwell in His house forever and ever. Amen, let's pray. Lord, thank you for being our shepherd. This is such a wonderful psalm. Thank you for your presence with us in the dark valleys. Thank you for your rod and your staff, that comfort and also correct. Thank you for pursuing us with good things, kindness and mercy. Holy Spirit, I pray that you would make this psalm come alive, all of these truths, make them come alive to our hearts. This morning, we pray this in the name of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. Amen.