Lacking Nothing

Psalm 23 NIV

A psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, 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 your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23:1 NIV

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

Introduction: How many of us today could say, “I lack Nothing?”

10-We See Scarcity.

Scarcity in Finances - This is what I saw when God called me to Seminary - “Where is the money coming from?”

Lack of Time - Preparing this Sermon this week - When will I find the time between…Taking Naomi to U of M - Executive Team Meeting, Helping Hannah get a car, travelling to Denver for Alliance Meeting, etc....

Lack of Emotional Strength - “I Can’t, I just Can’t.”

Maybe we see scarcity in a basic need - “Love.” Who is going to love me, or Do I have enough love to spread out?

11-We Can Trust God to Provide.

God is our Shepherd...

1. The line “The LORD is my shepherd” should give us pause. The one who both authored and sustains life is our shepherd. God is not seen as distant or removed from our situation; God is right at the heart of our experiences. This lays a foundation for appreciating where we stand with God. What are the implications of God as our shepherd, and how that might apply to how we view ourselves?

1. In Psalm 23:1, David’s clear identification of the Lord as his shepherd sets both David and the Lord in contrast to the gods of the world and the care given their followers. Charles and Emilie Briggs explain, “Yahweh was conceived as taking the same patient, unwearying care of His people as the shepherd of his flock.—I have no want], because the shepherd has provided for all wants. The imperf. is not future, but a present of habitual experience” (Charles A. Briggs and Emilie Grace Briggs, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Psalms, International Critical Commentary [New York: C. Scribner’s Sons, 1906–7], 208, Logos).

- Share how the different gods - Marduk, Baal, etc. were called shepherds, and how the Kings in the prophetic literature were also called shepherds that led Israel astray.

Quote from Louie Giglio. If the Lord is not Your Shepherd, then you are your own Shepherd.

1. Seeing God as a shepherd should elicit emotions of peace, confidence, and rest. Israel understood that God was her shepherd—a point further solidified in Jesus when he calls himself “the good shepherd” in John 10:11—and therefore his care for her is necessarily connected. Kidner explains, “In the word shepherd, David uses the most comprehensive and intimate metaphor yet encountered in the Psalms, preferring usually the more distant ‘king’ or ‘deliverer,’ or the impersonal ‘rock,’ ‘shield,’ etc.; whereas the shepherd lives with his flock and is everything to it: guide, physician and protector” (Derek Kidner, Psalms 1–72: An Introduction and Commentary, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries 15 [Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973], 127, Logos).

I Shall Lack Nothing

1. Seeing God as a shepherd should elicit emotions of peace, confidence, and rest. Israel understood that God was her shepherd—a point further solidified in Jesus when he calls himself “the good shepherd” in John 10:11—and therefore his care for her is necessarily connected. Kidner explains, “In the word shepherd, David uses the most comprehensive and intimate metaphor yet encountered in the Psalms, preferring usually the more distant ‘king’ or ‘deliverer,’ or the impersonal ‘rock,’ ‘shield,’ etc.; whereas the shepherd lives with his flock and is everything to it: guide, physician and protector” (Derek Kidner, Psalms 1–72: An Introduction and Commentary, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries 15 [Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973], 127, Logos).

Share Psalm 22 and what it is all about. Why the Psalmist says the Lord is his Shepherd and lacks nothing. The Good Shepherd raises the Psalmist in Psalm 22 from the dead when His enemies were killing Him.

The intentionality of God is on display in the whole of Psalm 23. For many, the task of asking God to provide involves knowing what God longs for in our lives. In addition, it raises the question whether God cares enough to act on our behalf. David makes it clear that God does care and moves with direct and specific care for us. Mays explains, “The body of the psalm completes the sentence, ‘I do not lack. …’ It does not leave those who say it to fill it out with what they want out of their own subjective wills. It has its own agenda of what the LORD does to fulfill one’s needs” (James Luther Mays, Psalms, Interpretation [Louisville: John Knox Press, 1994], 117, Logos).

David and Goliath

Mannah in the Deseret

Daily Bread - How many times have we been tight in our budget? Yet we keep going.

Our Renovation Project.

The Resurrection of Jesus.

Conclusion: The Psalm begins with a Statement of Faith. Is the Lord your Shepherd, and are you trusting Him to provide what you need?