Psalm 23: I Shall Not Want

Introduction

Psalm 23:1 ESV

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

In Job it says that, as sparks fly upward, so man is born to trouble. Trouble was present even BEFORE the fall. After all, what was a dragon doing in the Garden in the first place? Trouble is part of our story. And then with the fall, our trouble intensified. At first our trouble was BECAUSE we were righteous, that the dragon targeted Adam and Eve. But then AFTER the fall, a second kind of trouble was introduced - the trouble that results from sin. And with trouble there is always then LACK. We WANT. Which is difficult to process, given what we heard last week, about WHO is our shepherd - Yahweh, the Creator and Possessor of all. It has always been this way - the Psalms are full of David expressing his lack, his need. After him the great prophet Elijah suffered great want. So did Jeremiah. Paul speaks of shipwreck, exposure, hunger and being literally stoned. And Fox’s Book of Martyrs records story after story of depredations suffered by God’s beloved servants. And yet, and yet, David says, with THIS Shepherd, I shall NOT WANT. This is the great challenge of faith - if Yahweh is this God, why do we suffer as we do? And what do I do about it? Three parts this morning: first we will consider the problem of WANT. Then sec- ondly we will consider a key principle behind David’s statement. And then lastly, we will consider what we should DO about it, in our lives. 1

1. The Nature of Want

As I have already mentioned, we can see in David’s life the two sources of trouble - be- cause we are RIGHTEOUS, and because we SIN. Because David was righteous, God prospered him, and Saul became jealous and enraged and tried to kill him. This trouble was appointed by God. And because David sinned with Bathsheba, his own son Absolom became en- raged and tried to kill him. This too was appointed by God. In essence the same trou- ble, and yet from diametrically opposite sources. As heat rises, so man is appointed by God, by Yahweh, for trouble. We can’t es- cape it. And when the trouble comes, then so often can come a fear, that looks into the fu- ture, and forecasts how I will be in want. We do the math, and we forecast how we SHALL come up short. This then leads to a despair in us, in how we cannot deal with that future WANT, with today’s resources. We then are prone to deal with this despair in one of three ways. And interestingly enough, in his famous book on Psalm 23, Philip Keller notes the three reasons that sheep get stuck and need rescue, and it’s these same three reasons:

Pleasure

Keller first describes how sheep seek the SMOOTH places, and then lay down, only to roll over. And we do the same, seeking the smooth places of PLEASURE, to as- suage our despair. It’s out there - with porn or weed, or video games that give a fake 2

feeling of fake accomplishment in a fake world. And then we look around and wonder with amazement at why a generation of young men are disillusioned, disinterested, and don’t want to achieve anything. So strange, but hey, as long as we get to keep shopping and having abortions, it’s OK.

Stuff

Or we deal with our despair with stuff. Keller tells of how, when the sheep’s wool grows so heavy and full, they get stuck in brambles and can’t escape. So we fill our barns full, call ourselves secure, because nothing has befallen us for some time. But as someone else has put it, we are like billiard balls that think they’re secure only be- cause they haven’t been hit by a cue ball . . . Yet.

Power

And lastly, we seek to cure our despair with POWER. Keller’s last reason is the sheep simply get too fat. Then their center of gravity simply rolls them. And we do the same thing - we get happy, fat and sassy, acquiring power to ourselves, thinking that will make us secure. But in reality, the more our center of gravity rests on ourselves, the more wobbly we become. Note how, in our tendency toward despair, we’re ALWAYS being SHEPHERDED, by someone or some thing. It’s not a question of WHETHER we are - we’re SHEEP, after all, who think we’re not. No, it’s a question rather of WHO or WHAT is shepherding us, and to what end. We should not immediately read this Psalm and assume that the LORD is our shepherd. The reason why Jesus told the scribes and Pharisees that their REAL father was the old dragon is that THEY DIDN’T KNOW THAT. And yet DAVID can confidently, exultantly brag to us and say, with THIS Shepherd, I shall not want. David has found the way OUT of despair. He knows what it’s like to have threats looming. But he sees past his trouble and despair, to something else - to Someone else. 3

The Lord. David sees that his Yahweh, His Lord, will not leave Him in the future without resources. He WILL supply Him. This is remarkable, when we consider David’s life, and Saul’s life. Saul, who came before David, made one error, and he was out; God set him aside. But David took Bathsheba and killed her honorable husband. And yet here he is - the LORD is my shepherd; I shall NOT want. Or, as he says later in

Psalm 34:8–10 ESV

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Psalm 34, v. 8-10: Psalm 34:8–10 (ESV): Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! 9 Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! 10 The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. The LORD Yahweh dismissed Saul but so cares for David, such that David can confi- dently EXPECT that Yahweh WILL provide Him all the resources he needs. REGARDLESS of whether His WANT is due to trouble for righteousness’ sake OR from unrighteousness - whether from UNJUST PERSECUTION, or from JUST PROSE- CUTION. David is privileged, and confidently rests in the promise that if he seeks this LORD, he will suffer NO lack, regardless. Though he is weary and heavy laden, in this Yahweh, he will find provision. Thus in the previous Psalm, Psalm 22, though David begins with the famous cry in v. 1, My God, My God, why have you forsaken me, it is a bold, confident cry, that ends with v. 26: The afflicted SHALL eat and be satisfied; 4

those who seek him shall praise the LORD! 5

2. The Principle of Provision and Plenty

I desire this confident privilege. I know you do too. So the question before us is, how do we get INTO this Psalm? How can we occupy the place of David? Is there a way that YOU and I can experience this confidence, this exultation? Is TRUE victory over despair really possible, for US? The answer begins in the Garden. Our first mother Eve took and ate of the fruit, because, with the dragon’s help, she despaired of her future. She believed that she would lack, that God would hold out on her. And so she and Adam fell. But God broke their fall, with a promise - that an off- spring of Eve that would one day come and crush the dragon’s head. And more than that - He would restore Eden. He will lead us back through the door guarded by the angels. And the comes Psalm 22. David, it turns out, serves as a picture in advance of this offspring of Eve. Thus it is no coincidence that Jesus quoted Psalm 22:1,

Psalm 22:1 ESV

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?

as he hung on his cross. When he died, he broke OUR fall. He fell where we were supposed to go, into the grave. We were supposed to be alienated us from holy Yahweh, kept us at a distance, with no hope of experiencing the privilege that David had. But Jesus went there instead. And three days later, v. 1 of Psalm 22 would lead to v. 24:

Psalm 22:24 ESV

For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.

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He - God - has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted. And he has not hidden his face from him, though he did on the cross. He he HAS heard, when he cried to to him. God raised Jesus from the dead. Now Jesus stands before God perfectly approved, perfectly privileged and pleased by God, even more than David was. And then Jesus ascended to heaven, and poured out His Spirit on people, giving us faith. And that faith in that Spirit connects us with Jesus, such that we stand WITH him, in that privileged place.

John 6:29–35 ESV

Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

Thus Jesus could say in John 6:31-35: John 6:29–35 (ESV): This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” 30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heav- en. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. Jesus is the manna from heaven, sent from God to reconcile us to God, and place us in HIS privileged place with God. And the way we receive this bread and eat it is not by our OWN works - but by HIS. Thus the work of God is FAITH. Faith in Jesus places us in David’s privileged place - where by God’s sovereign grace alone we can say, “The LORD Yahweh is my shepherd; I shall not want.” 7

Then the promise of victory over despair is for us, too:

Matthew 6:33–34 ESV

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Matthew 6:33–34 (ESV): 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his right- eousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anx- ious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Today there is trouble. And tomorrow, there WILL be trouble. Yet God promises to give us provision TODAY for today’s troubles, and TOMORROW, he promises to give sufficient provision for THOSE troubles. In Christ, we no longer need to despairingly count up TODAY’s resources against our ledger of TOMORROW’s troubles. Just as Yahweh provided manna in the wilderness, and they were not to store up today’s man- na for tomorrow, so our Lord promises to provide for us, today’s grace today, and to- morrow’s grace tomorrow. We experienced this firsthand recently. When we lost our car, we wondered how we might find another. Yet the Lord provided us a new one, through the generosity of some of you. And as we drove around in it for the first time, the first song that came on the radio sang about JEHOVAH-JIREH, the name Abraham called God, when God provided the ram in substitute for Isaac (Gen. 22:14)

Genesis 22:14 ESV

So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

. Jehovah Jireh - Yahweh PROVI- DES. 8

Applying the Promise to Ourselves

So how do we apply the reality of Yahweh, our Provider, to ourselves? Because the fight against despair is not a one-and-done deal. Seven steps.

1) Sovereign Salvation.

Remember that Yahweh is sovereign, over all things. He appoints trouble, and has so from the beginning. And he appoints provision, in just the right time. And all of it, whether the trouble or the provision, is PERFECTLY appointed, by Him. Therefore, preach the gospel to yourself. Day by day, remind yourself of what Je- sus did for you, to place YOU in the privilege of David - privileged with God’s eye of blessing upon you. Faith in the gospel is how we see past our despair.

2) Summing Up in the Son.

But then we must remind ourselves, “Why all the drama?” Why all the trouble in the first place? Why the just-in-time grace? And the reason is that God is writing a sto- ry. Has so from the very beginning. And He is the hero of His story, summing up all things in His Son, the bread from heaven. You don’t need to ask how to glorify God - He is seeing to that. He is getting glory from your life. Your job and mine is to believe.

3) Secure in the Spirit.

Do the work of God, which is to believe His promise of provision, today for today, tomorrow for tomorrow. Even if tomorrow requires us to be persecuted for Christ, Pe- ter tells us in 1 Peter 4:14: 9

If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. Our Ascended King promises to commission His Spirit of glory to come and rest on us, in our time of need. God did it for Stephen. And He will do it for you.

4) Shovels and Sweat.

Sometimes we don’t have because we don’t get up early enough. We’re afraid of hard work. Yet the work of faith begets hard work. And yet, because of His salvation, in the Son, secure in the Spirit, our work no longer attempts to REPLACE faith - it’s no longer itchy and agitated with insecurity. If our work is from faith, then it’s now opti- mistic that God WILL provide THROUGH our labor. The Protestant work ethic came from FAITH - faith that tomorrow, Yahweh WILL fulfill His promise - He WILL provide. I shall NOT want. Faith that hopes in His promise hits the pillow at night and goes to sleep quickly, unhindered by despair for tomorrow. Sweet is the sleep of the laborer (Eccl. 5:12).

Ecclesiastes 5:12 ESV

Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.

5) Sheep: Smooth, Sheared and Svelte.

To paraphrase Keller in the words of John, we are sheep, and we don’t realize how much we are shepherded by the unholy trinity of the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). But our Good Shepherd does. He loves us enough to not leave us stuck, so he comes near, and sets us aright. On the one hand, it doesn’t feel good to have to be set up right again, to have your coat sheared, or to be put through a season of WANT to lose spiritual weight. But our shepherd knows what he’s doing. And He is gentle at heart (Matt. 11:29).

Matthew 11:29 ESV

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

All discipline is painful at the time, Heb. 12:11 tells us, but the Shepherd has the best goal: 10

Hebrews 12:11 ESV

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

. . . but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. He is leading us to pastures of peace, where we can graze happily, and full of life. The life you and I have always wanted, but are unable to acquire for ourselves. Cuz, you know, sheep.

6) Surrender and Soldier On.

Surrender yourself to ALL that the Word of the Lord says. The reason why God is taking our own society through its own shearing and weaning is that we have wan- dered so far from His royal law. But judgment begins with the household of God. Surrender yourself first to ALL His Word, not just the points that agree with your preexisting predilections. But at the same time, a surrendered man is an activated man. Jeremiah 29:7

Jeremiah 29:7 ESV

But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

com- mands us to seek the prosperity of our own city, for in its prosperity, we will find our own. But the only way a people prosper is if they align themselves with their Creator. So pray for the conversion of this town. And then, believing in the LORD who pro- vides, bang on doors, and tell them that we’re at the dawn, and the light is coming. This need not be the end. It can be the beginning. Eternal bliss and blessing is found only in Him. And more than that, daily bread, morning mercies, from here to there, from East of Eden to the New Jerusalem.

7) Seek the Son.

Pray. We do not have, because we do not have the simplest, most basic faith to simply ASK him for it. But He is Yahweh. He created it all; He owns it all. And you are just a sheep, but a sheep that by grace has become the apple of his eye. And then we may join David and the writer of Lamentations in their confidence (Lam. 3:22-24) : 11

Lamentations 3:22–24 ESV

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”

(ESV): 22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” 12