Psalm 23 (2)
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Song 1
Intro
Intro
This is a psalm many are familiar with
even non christians
its often said at funerals,
its in movies,
its on signs
for its beauty
and picture of God’s presence
in the life of His sheep.
This verse is a well known Psalm for a reason!
and I think many miss out on its power
because they are familiar with the words!
The person who hold the Guinnes world record for the longest
novel
is MARCEL PROUST a french writer
he said something very good
about familiarity
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes."
Psalm 23 is probably not a new landscape for us
but I hope we can approach this chapter with new eyes!
lets pray then we will read PS 23
Rest is an important part of life
in fact God instituted Sabbath as
a day of rest.
Sometimes in life
we need to lay down
take a breath
we been racing around
chasing problems
chasing the duties of the day.
Life can makes us
easily mentally
and physically exhausted
My hope that in this time we
slow down, wait on the Lord,
allow Him to speak to us.
Lets read it
A Psalm of David. 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. 4 Yea, 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. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.
This is a psalm about God being our shepherd
I want us to ponder that ...
The Lord is MY shepherd
Is he truly the shepherd in our lives?
is He the one that cares for us?
Maybe for some its my phone is my shepherd
for its where you go to seek comfort
or its tv, or some good or bad habit
can we truly say the Lord is my shepherd?
which as we get to the next song
as we ponder if the Lord truly is our shepherd
I also want us to give thanks in the fact that our God
acts to us as like a shepherd
Psalm 23 is not
the Lord is my enemy
the Lord is my punisher
the Lord is my bully
the Lord is a distant God
our God has the greatest bond
with His people
He is exactly what we need!
This show His humility:
In Israel, as in other ancient societies, a shepherd’s work was considered the lowest of all works.
If a family needed a shepherd, it was always the youngest son, like David”
Lets sing and give thanks for the Lord is MY shepherd:
Song 2.
Song 3.
In life ...
we may be chasing goals or tasks
or feeling burdened by them
maybe we are brought into circumstances that
got you surrounded like massive waves
crashing all around you
you want the still calm peaceful waters
but your getting tossed around
waves of trials are crashing all around you.
its easy for us then to wander away
to get lost
sin can creep in and
find a place in your life that
it should not be in
we may feel that
the worst possible thing is about to get us
its hanging right over you
and … or
Maybe people have been doing wrong to you
Maybe your facing.. situations that are evil
and a result of this sinful world, and the sinful people
and its easy to fear, be worried, or anxious, and upset about
going through these its easy to feel in life
anxiety, depression, pain, heart aches.
there may be people wanting to see you
fail, wanting to see you suffer,
wanting you to struggle
some people just dont care
If you relate to some or all of these
this Psalm is for you.
because from here we see a wandering soul
go to a cup running over.
as the result of our God
a good good shepherd to us.
which no matter what is what we all need!
To be tended to by the good shepherd!
Jesus said in John 10:11
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
Here see the actions of the good shepherd in Ps. 23
What the Shepherd does:
Lies His sheep down
Leads His sheep to still water
Leads His sheep to paths of righteousness
Restores their soul
With His sheep
Preparing a table for His sheep
Anoints His sheep’s heads with oil.
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Look at Psalm 23:1-2
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.
Here we see the Shepherd
tells us anxious, worried, sheep
to Lie down
what this saying is that He gives his people rest
as he brings us to green pastures
and still waters
I learned that
Sheep do not lie down easily
unless four conditions are met.
1. Because they are timid, they will not lie down if they are afraid.
2. Because they are social animals, they will not lie down if there is discord among the sheep.
3. If flies or parasites trouble them, they will not lie down.
4. Finally, if sheep are anxious about food or hungry, they will not lie down.
So Rest comes for the sheep because the shepherd has dealt
with fear, friction, flies, and famine.
Similar its hard for us to rest
when we have fears and worries
or if something is wrong in our relationships with others
or if were facing external challenges
or if our provisional needs are not met
Here we see andthought out scipture we see
how He cares for us in these areas.
often as sheep we tell our shepherd
about our fear, worries,
problems, our needs....
Most likely our prayers revolve around these...
which is good
we are telling God about the storms in our lifes
which is great He wants us to
but do we ever allow God to bring us to lay down
beside still waters?
to green pastures?
I have many times been in that place of a storm and telling God all about the waves… and He says I hear you.... but listen to me… and then their is a pause
and I am brought into a place of waiting on the Lord.
a place much more calming then my shouts and cries
a place that takes me from me trying to satisfy my needs
to looking to the One who can lead me to what I need
to green pastures and still waters
As sheep when we try to lead ourselves
we often wonder off.
and we tend to wonder into problems
into circumstances
and often we lead ourselves in sin
or wander into sin
In verses 2 and 3
we see
He tells His sheep where to go
verse 2:.... He leads me beside still waters,
verse 3: ....He leads me in the paths of righteousness
In Scripture water is symbolic of
cleansing, of life,
So we get here a picture of God leading us
to cleansing, to life,
but also to righteousness
He leads us on how we act
a kind of picture of our salvation and sanctification
which is His work in our lifes!
6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
So our shepherd leads us to life
and the way of life
he leads us where we need to go
because we can end up in some crazy places
But the Shepherd doesnt just
bark the commands at his sheep
He doesnt just just say go here go there....
in verse 4 it says “you are with me”
a good shepherd doesn't leave, or abandon His sheep
A good shepherd stays with His sheep
He is present with them
Our God doesn't leave us
He is with us..
His rod and staff
provide protection
and discipline
He is leading us where we need to go
he puts us in our palce
but also that rod and staff can provide protection
from the attacks of the ememy.
the roaring lion
seeking whom he can devour.
Just stay close to the shepherd
his rod and staff gives us protection
and keep us where we need to be.
because
We are His sheep.
which means that even though we may walk through the valley of the shadow of Death
we dont need to fear evil
the valley of the shadow can be a scary place.
its like death is right about to get you!
Have you ever been startled by someone maybe walking behind you
then you feel their shadow over you and you turn and around someone is there
Its like death is right over us
you feel its shadow
in the valley
your in the low places
its not mountain highs
its valley lows
He is with us
thats to me one thing I am grateful for
He is with us!
You will reach low valleys
Death can get get as close as possible
I dont fear
because God is with me
Thats all you need to know when you’re in those hard time...
And I love that this here...
our shepherd isnt giving us heaven on earth
we will face hard times
we will enter valleys
but with God we will eat in pastures!
in fact it says in verse 5
but He cares for us He prepares a table
before us.
and it adds that he does this in the presence of my enemies
because while my enemies want to see me suffer
while they want to see me fail
while they are hoping I am treated harshly
I picture that enemy as a roaring lion
and instead of God hiding me away to protect me
Even in the presence of the enemies
He prepares a table for us to feast.
It also speaks toward Him giving us nourishment:
11 He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young.
what a beautiful picture
here we see a table
a table suggests a place of communion and fellowship.
showing us His closeness with His sheep
He isnt just with His sheep
He is close to His sheep
Enemies want us to suffer
but we are closely love and cared for by God!
but it gets better with the last part of
verse 5: “You anoint my head with oil
anoints with oil .
now this clearly is a picture of anointing oil and symbolism of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our life
and in adding to the theme of the text we
can see the Holy Spirit’s work more detailed
because the anointing oil would:
protect the sheep from external elements -
it would help keep away pests, and parasites …
maybe this speaks of sin here.
it would heal and sooth any wounds the sheep would have
it also showed ownership....
if you saw a sheep with oil in its hair …
it obviously wasn't a wild loose sheep… it is a sheep
that belongs to someone who cares for it.
And its important for us to remember here
that it is the Shepherd who anoints our head with oil
He protects, He heals, He owns, and He cares for us!
You belong to Him
He nourshes, and cares for you!
He sees you hurting
he sees the wounds
go to Your shepherd
For this as verse 5 and 6 say
“my cup runs over, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever”
what great confidence we can have in knowing
Who our Shepherd is!
Megan comes up
He cares for us!
Its true!
I shall not want
Can we truely say
the Lord is my shepherd?
7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
So Maybe your souls have wondered away
25 For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Ps 23:3… he restores my soul
which that Hebrew word means to turn back
If you have wondering away
the Shepherd calls for you
Jesus said in
27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
Because of or good Shepherd we have confidence to not only be cared for
but that we
The voice of the Shepherd is calling
will you turn and answer?
Song 4, & song 5