He Makes Me Lie Down in Green Pastures

Introduction

What are the shepherds of North Korea and other totalitarian regimes most afraid of? Why is it a capital offense in North Korea to watch Western television, besides the fact that it will burn out your soul? Why did the old Soviet Union have to build a wall, to keep its people in EAST Berlin from getting too close to the people of WEST Berlin? Because they MOST afraid of the sheep of THEIR flock, getting too close to the fence, and seeing over the fence to a much, much greener pasture. The most powerful thing in the world is desire, and they did not want their people to see just how pathet- ic and emaciated their lives had become under THEIR shepherds, and then DESIRE another shepherd. And David, writing Psalm 23, thousands of years ago, says, “Yeah, that’s why I’m writing this. Except I’m not boasting across the fence to one nation, but to ALL the na- tions.” Come to the fence and see - The LORD, Yahweh, Maker of heaven and earth, and Savior of all - that’s MY shepherd. With Yahweh as my LORD, v. 1,

Psalm 23:1 ESV

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

I shall not want. Why? Because, in His shepherding, He makes me lie down in GREEN pastures.

Psalm 23:2 ESV

He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.

In free, true prosperity. MY Shepherd, He freely GIVES me ALL of this. Can you believe it? So today we’ll look more closely at David’s boast. Then we’ll look at the central theme of his boast. And then lastly we will apply it to our lives. 1

The Passage: Made to Lie Down in Green Pastures

Made to Lie Down

David says that He, Yahweh, MAKES me lie down. The reason we use the word LORD to describe the one true God Yahweh is that, well, He IS Lord. He is not a suggestion; He is not David’s bro; He’s not someone who flits in and out of David’s life. He is LORD. Lord of what? Of everything, in David’s life. David, the KING of Israel, is a sheep. And Yahweh is His LORD Shepherd, who has utter and sovereign authority of His flock. And thus there’s a note of FORCE here. As the Shepherd of His pasture, Yahweh MAKES His sheep do this, and not this. He applies His power and His authority to COMPEL them to DO certain things, and to STOP them from doing other things. Which we immediately recoil from, cuz we’re modern Americans, writers of our own destinies, determiners of our own identities, producers of our own prosperities. And we recoil because you and I, on the horizontal plane of human existence, have never known any authority that is not tainted by sin, and therefore is faulty in some way. And we recoil because, since the 1960’s, we’ve been taught to QUESTION all au- thority. But David says, Question all you want. Look real close. Look past the fact that this shepherd MAKES me do things, to see just WHAT he makes me do. We are all sheep. We are all shepherded by someone or some thing. It’s not a question of WHETHER we are shepherded; we’re sheep. The question is by what or whom are we shepherded, and to WHAT END. MY Lord, MY Shepherd? He makes me LIE DOWN. 2

Sheep are not athletic animals. No one gets a sheep to join him on his daily five- mile runs. Sheep are made to rest. They’re not made to be always on their feet. They’re made to LIE DOWN, in PEACE.

In his book on Psalm 23, Phillip Keller notes four conditions that MUST be met for sheep to be able to literally lie down in PEACE.

Fear, Friction, Flies and Food

First, they must be free of fear. Even a small yapping dog can send part of a flock into panic, causing a stampede and injuries. Secondly, they must be free of FRICTION between the sheep. Third, they must be free of FLIES, and other flying pests. Little gnats can torment sheep. And fourthly, they need to be able to find food. Like us, sheep sleep best with a full belly. Fear, friction, flies and food. And David boasts, MY Shepherd knows just how to deal with all of those. He eases my fears, eliminates friction, enables me to deal with the flies that torment me, and al- lows me eat the riches food. He gives me PEACE, the peace that all the nations are looking for. He freely GIVES it.

In Green Pastures of Prosperity

In GREEN pastures. What does David mean by this? He means PROSPERITY. Yah- weh exercises His power and authority to MAKE me lie down in PEACE, so that I can enjoy real, authentic PROSPERITY. Where there’s always twelve basketfuls left over, af- ter every meal. But again, what then is meant by PROSPERITY? David does mean that the way the big teeth televangelists mean it. But it’s true PROSPERITY all the same. David must mean it in two ways - on the vertical plane, and then the horizontal. On the vertical plane, he means SHALOM - peace with God. To be welcomed into the privileged place that David occupies. To be the recipient God’s FAVOR, as if you are God’s OWN child. And that status freely given by Yahweh, all unmerited by us. In others words, to be welcomed into all the pleasures of God Himself. 3

But then there is the horizontal plane. And you can see this by simply looking at a world map. All the nations that have prospered the most have been the places where God’s free grace has been proclaimed. One of the glories of God’s free grace, is that it produces FREE peoples. And one of the glories of that glory is that free peoples oper- ate in FREE markets. And then one of the glories of the glory of that glory is the PROS- PERITY that truly FREE people, operating in free markets, produces. But all of this prosperity does not just happen. I recently replaced some sod in my yard, and was reminded that green pastures do not just appear. The verdant fields of the Midwest and the Central Valley had to be cleared first by our forefathers, and they have to be maintained, at the cost of great toil and sacrifice. And David says, MY Shep- herd is willing to PAY that cost for His sheep. He will do whatever it takes to protect the pasture and to produce that LUSHNESS that His sheep will enjoy. 4

The Theme: Who Is Your Shepherd?

So then, WHO or WHAT is YOUR shepherd? This is the question of your life, and mine. Israel had shepherds. David the Good Shepherd would give way to Solomon, who was the wisest of all men, but not wise enough to become domineering and lustful with his people. And so Israel was split and ripped apart by poor shepherds. By the time of the prophet Ezekiel, the prosperity of David and Solomon had given way to widespread depravity and oppression. Israel’s shepherds used their position not to feed the sheep, but only to feed themselves on the sheep. Imagine that. So God promised he would take away those brutal, evil shepherds. But with God, even in judgment, there is always the hope of redemption and renewal. And so in Ezekiel 34, beginning in v. 11, God promises His sheep: Ezekiel 34:11–16

Ezekiel 34:11–16 ESV

“For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

(ESV): 11 “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scat- tered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself 5

will make them lie down, declares the LORD God (Yahweh). 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice. ‘ And then a few verses later: Ezekiel 34:23

Ezekiel 34:23 ESV

And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.

(ESV): 23 And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. Yahweh is the Shepherd. And so HE HIMSELF will lead, and provide and protect His sheep. And more than that - the fat and the strong - i.e., those who feed THEMSELVES on the sheep - they’ll be the first ones to the slaughterhouse. And so in the course of time, young Mary would bear a son, who would descend from David’s line. His name would be Immanuel, meaning, God with us, God Himself, in the flesh. And this made the shepherds of the day quake in their boots. Herod asked his wise men what this meant, and they quoted to him Ezekiel 34:23 - the impli- cation being, your days are numbered, buddy. So Herod killed children, like a good little despot. But as promised, he died. And Jesus the King came, teaching with AUTHORITY (Matt. 7:29

Matthew 7:29 ESV

for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

), as if he owned the pas- ture, not like one of the false shepherds. And he fed his sheep liberally, out of almost nothing, twelve basketfuls left over, as if He is the Creator of all (Matt. 14:17-21

Matthew 14:17–21 ESV

They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

). He is the one that the Father sent to leave the 99 and seek out the lost sheep, for it is not the Father’s will that ANY of His sheep should perish. And so Jesus went to the cross. There he made the sacrifice, to give us forgiveness FROM God, paying our punishment in our place. By this sacrifice he produced that 6

vertical PEACE with God for us. And then once this peace was secured, the floodgates of God’s grace opened upon us, as it did when God raised Jesus from the dead. Us, being those of us who have TRUSTED in Christ. So trust in Him, if you have not. Receive the PEACE with God, because THIS peace is the key to every other peace. You cannot be made to lie down in green pastures, until you have secured this vertical peace with God. Because this vertical peace then transforms us. Without this transformation, we all walk around in our free will. But it’s the same kind of free will that an alcoholic exercises, as they peruse the hard liquor aisle, trying to choose between gin, bourbon or whiskey. They exercise their free will as a SLAVE. But when someone is truly CONVERTED, and has this peace with God, they are given a NEW heart, that’s FREE - free to bow our knee to this new Shepherd, and to fi- nally be made to lie down in peace, in green pastures of amazing grace. 7

Application: Following This Good Shepherd

And then having done this, we are called to WALK by FAITH, in this shepherd. Which we would all nod our heads to. But we must consider HOW this Good Shepherd MAKES us lie down. He COMPELS us, by His Word - my sheep hear my voice, Jesus said, and I know THEM, and they follow me (John 10:27

John 10:27 ESV

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

), to green pas- tures. So it’s not a question of whether Yahweh has green pastures, but whether we the sheep will be made to lie down in them, to enjoy them. To put this another way: to experience these greens pastures means submission to ALL that God says, in ALL of life. When we segment the Bible or our lives, we starve. This is why Paul, talking about the Corinthians, said that some of them had literally fall- en ill and some had died. Because they were segmenting their life. They thought they could get drunk BEFORE church, and then show up take to Communion however they wanted, in a pig-headed way. Thus God judged their pigheadedness. Pigheadedness is not a character trait. It’s a sin. A big one. So we must decide, right now, that there are NO problem passages in Scripture. There are no Scriptures where we can’t go and let God speak to our lives through. In every word King Jesus is making us lie down in peace and feeding us with grace. This is why Paul begins his letters by saying grace and peace TO you, and ends them with grace and peace be WITH you. The peace we lied down in and the grace we are fed by are found by submitting ourselves to every word in between. 8

And so, yes, read your Bible. Every day. But then, every time, ask yourself, what is the next best thing to DO, from what I’ve read? And then do that ONE thing that best next. Because once you take that ONE step, that second step is already on its way, and now your whole trajectory is different. To simply load yourself up with more knowledge - that’s not Christianity. The demons do that. Jesus’s sheep LISTEN and then FOLLOW. By FAITH - believing that Jesus only exercises His utter authority over us for our GOOD, as proved to us on the cross. He’s invested, completely, in OUR satisfaction under HIS shepherding care. This laying all our lives under all His Word, and receiving His rich feast of grace - this is THE key to fighting the FEAR, the FLIES and the FRICTION that so easily plague us. First, the great irony of the Christian faith is that as we grow in submission to Him, we become more FEARLESS people. Proverbs 28:1

Proverbs 28:1 ESV

The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.

says Proverbs 28:1 (ESV): The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion. No wonder our culture was so afraid during COVID. Our preexisting wickedness was showing. But the more you become a slave of Christ, ironically, the more you be- come as bold as a lion. Secondly, as we submit ourselves to His Word, the more wisdom and clarity we have in dealing with the flies of lust and temptation that torment us. The more we re- flect on Him, the more come to know ourselves, the root causes underlying our sins and temptations, and then can take constructive next steps. And lastly, the more we humbly lay out ourselves before Him, in HIS presence, be- fore HIS face, in ALL of life, the more the friction between us burns away. Keller speaks of how every flock has an old ewe that struts about and pushes herself into position, 9

especially in the presence of younger ewes. But think about how much of our petty jealousies and striving and one-upping each other and arrogance around each other would instantly cease if Jesus were to walk into this room. And yet He IS here. The per- son to your left and you right IS the body of Christ. It is no coincidence that Paul ties together keeping in step with the Spirit, and liv- ing humbly and friction-free with each other: Galatians 5:25–26

Galatians 5:25–26 ESV

If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

(ESV): 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. We are all born making sidelong glances at each other, envying and hating one anoth- er. But when the Shepherd walks up, in HIS presence, the sheep suddenly stop; the friction ceases. Whether we are truly Spirit-filled is demonstrated as much by our park- ing lot conversations as by our times of worship. We fight our fears, our flies of torment, and our friction with each other by FAITH that walks in the WORD of Christ, before HIS face, in ALL of life. And all of this WILL, on the whole, lead to flourishing. Now, the world HATES you for that flourishing. Note only does the world want to CHECK OUT of God’s plan of blessing, but they envy you for having it, and they want to take it away from you. So what should WE do, in response? ENJOY the green pastures, all the more. En- joy it so much that their envy turns into strong desire, to have what you have. Make love to your wife, a lot. Have lots of babies. Have the home in the burbs that hard work creates. And play with those babies. Enjoy a good drink and a steak in that backyard. 10

Set your mind and heart to ENJOY the blessed prosperity of living under this Good Shepherd. And the blood-pumping heart of that enjoyment is what we’re doing right now. Our worship together on Sunday, and then our rest afterwards. Determine, with all your might, to enjoy your Shepherd, here on the other side of the fence. And let the world lean over and watch. 11