Just In Time Inventory

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 23:2–4 NIV

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.

Introduction:

12 - We Want Abundance.

13 - Pictures of Psalm 23 with Green Grass...

14 - Picture of Abundance

We often think of this Psalm as the Prosperity Gospel. God will give us an abundance - Will lead us to everything we could hope and ask for, so we no longer need to ask.

In order to see what Abundance Thinking really means in this Psalm we need to look at the terrain, and existence of Shepherding and the Sheep as David knew it.

15 - God Provides Just What We Need, Just When We Need it.

16 - Psalm 23 Video by My Daily Bread

1. Restoration of the whole person is intertwined in David’s thoughts (Psalm 23:3–4) as he celebrates God’s attentiveness to David’s needs. Kidner says, “The green pastures, or grassy meadows, and the ‘waters to rest by’ (cf. the ‘resting place’ which the ark sought out for Israel in Num. 10:33) are mentioned first because they show how the shepherd, unlike the hireling, thinks and observes in terms of his flock. He would be poor at the job if he did not; as inadequate as the father who has not learnt to think and feel as a family man. God would not have taken on a flock, a family, if he had not intended that he and they should be bound up with one another” (Derek Kidner, Psalms 1–72: An Introduction and Commentary, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries 15 [Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973], 127–28, Logos).

17 - He Provides our Needs.

George Mueller’s Story

18 - He Provides Life

Charles and Emilie Briggs explain the references to water: “These waters are not merely drinking water, but choice water; not only satisfying thirst, but giving refreshment, implying the same kind of rich provision for the sheep as the grassy pastures.—He leadeth me]”(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).

19 - He Provides a Way

20 - He Provides Protection.

21 - Picture of the Darkest Valley

22 - Two over-lapping structures.

The Shepherding Imagry - 1-4

The Banquet Imagry - 5 - 6 - Next week.

Second Structure

Third Person Reference of God - 1-3

2nd Person Reference of God in reference to Evil/enemies - 4-5

Third Person Reference of God - 6

Conclude - David’s Primary Need was met by God, by his salvation from His enemies

Picture of Pharoah with Rod and Staff

1. God’s all-around provision is both unwavering and without equal. Verse 4 describes God’s care for all his sheep as a rod and staff wielded by the shepherd. VanGemeren explains, “The shepherd’s care is symbolized by the ‘rod’ and the ‘staff’ (v. 4c). A shepherd carried a ‘rod’ to club down wild animals (cf. 1 Sam 17:43; 2 Sam 23:21) and a ‘staff’ to keep the sheep in control. The rod and staff represent God’s constant vigilance over his own and bring ‘comfort’ because of his personal presence and involvement with his sheep” (Willem A. VanGemeren, “Psalms,” in Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary 5 [Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991], 216, Logos).

Conclusion:

1. We don’t always appreciate God’s timing, yet we proclaim his time to be perfect. When David speaks of God’s intentionality in leading him beside still waters, resting in green pastures, and setting us on the path that will lead us to glorify his name, it’s because God knows what we need in life so that we’ll have it to the full, as he desires for us.