Psalm 23
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
In the second half of the 1930s there were riots going on in Palestine. In one of the villages, the government decided to punish everyone by seizing all their sheep and cattle. However, you could redeem your livestock at a fixed price. And so an orphan shepherd boy had his sheep taken, but he managed to scramble to money to buy them back. After paying the money, the person let him through, but laughed at the idea that he could pick out his 6-8 sheep from among the lot. But the little shepherd boy took out his shepherd’s pipe and sounded his shepherd’s call, and his sheep came out and followed him.
Is the Lord our shepherd? Do we know His voice? David knew the voice of his shepherd. As part of becoming king he did what the kings of Israel had to do. He wrote out his own copy of the law (Deut. 17:18). And so he declares in this psalm, the Lord is my shepherd.
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (v1)
Several decades ago, many Singaporeans took a special pride in saying, “Lee Kwan Yew is my prime minister!” It gave them hope for the country, and a peace of mind.
Moses and David, being the political leaders of Israel, were called the shepherds of Israel (Is. 63:11; Psalm 78:70-71).
But how much greater would it be if we truly believe the words of this psalm: ‘The Lord is my shepherd.’ And not just any god in the picture book of religions. The God of gods, the Lord of lords, Yahweh Himself. God most powerful. God most loving. God most kind.
And response to this, David declares: “I shall not want.” He’s not saying “The Lord is my shepherd, I don’t want.” He’s saying that he will not lack anything.
Back in David’s time, life was more medieval. They didn’t have greenhouses or any canned food. A change in the weather pattern could spell disaster for the entire nation. But David confesses that because the Lord is his shepherd, all his needs will be provided. How does he know this? Because the Lord provided for His people in the wilderness.
But He led forth His own people like sheep
And guided them in the wilderness like a flock;
So David’s saying this. If God can make manna fall from the heavens, water flow from a rock, a pillar of cloud to shelter in the day and a pillar of fire to keep warm at night, He can water my crops no problem.
And the rest of this psalm spells out for us what it means to say “I shall not want.” It’s a checklist of things we need: food, water, security, healing, and shelter in the house of the Lord. I shall not want. Or as the NIV translates, I lack nothing.
“He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters” (v2)
One big difference between a dog and a sheep is that you can train a dog to sit down, but not a sheep. There’s a famous saying, “You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink.” Sheep will only lie down when they feel safe, when they’ve had enough food, water, when there’re no wild predators insight.
Israel and Singapore have something in common. The rains begin in November. But the rains in Israel conclude by the end of February, and that’s how you get green pastures. But those green pastures only last for about 3 months in the entire year. The rest of the year is all brown pastures. But if the Lord is our shepherd, He will lead us to green pastures.
And more than that, the Lord will lead us to quiet or still waters.
Sheep are afraid to drink from moving water. It doesn’t matter if it’s deep or shallow, they won’t drink. So what ancient shepherds would do is they would create a nook or a small recess from a fast moving stream of water, so that some of that water would pile up at the side, and only then would the sheep drink.
The Bible says that God is the One who leads His people to quiet waters. But the Israelites in the OT rejected the gentle waters.
Isaiah 8:5–8 “Again the Lord spoke to me further, saying, “Inasmuch as these people have rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah And rejoice in Rezin and the son of Remaliah; “Now therefore, behold, the Lord is about to bring on them the strong and abundant waters of the Euphrates, Even the king of Assyria and all his glory; And it will rise up over all its channels and go over all its banks. “Then it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass through, It will reach even to the neck; And the spread of its wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.”
“He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” (v3)
When a sheep realizes that it’s lost, it tries to hide under a bush or a rock, and it begins quivering and bleating. And when the shepherd finds it, it’s usually to traumatized to walk. And so the shepherd has to carry it back to the flock.
When David sinned with Bathsheba, God sent the prophet Nathan to confront him, to bring him to repentance.
The word ‘restore’ here is shuv, which means to turn back, or to return. So as a shepherd, God finds the lost soul and to bring it to repentance.
But what about the sheep that have not left the flock? God still restores the soul. How? By guiding us in the paths of righteousness.
For whose sake? It says here, for His own name’s sake.
Isaiah 43:5–7 ““Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, And gather you from the west. “I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring My sons from afar And My daughters from the ends of the earth, Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”
If you found a flock of sheep, and you find blemishes all over. You see some sheep limping here and there, sheep that are blind, sheep that are sick. You’re going to ask, ‘Who’s the shepherd, and why is he doing such a poor job?’ The condition of the sheep reflects on the quality of the shepherd. And God takes good care of His flock. For whose sake? His name’s sake. And because we bear His name, God’s going to take care of us. Amen?
Psalm 121:3–8 “He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day, Nor the moon by night. The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in From this time forth and forever.”
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” (v4)
Sheep have no self-defence tools. Cats have their claws. Dogs have their teeth. Other animals can run fast. But the sheep’s only security is their shepherd. Sheep can’t defend themselves.
David’s life was full of darkness. Murder, incest, betrayal, adultery, treachery, civil war, even the killing of his son. David knows what it’s like to walk in the valley of the shadow of death. And yet he says, “I fear no evil.” Why? “For You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”
Shepherds used a rod as a weapon against predators or thieves. The staff, on the other hand, was for caring for the sheep.
And so what this means is that we’re still going to walk through the valley. The problems, the hardships, the darkness, it’s all there ahead of us. But the presence of our shepherd delivers us from fear.
That’s true peace. I once heard a pastor say, “True peace is not the absence of something, but the presence of someone.” We can have peace like this knowing that our shepherd is with us. The winds may blow and the waves may crash, but if Jesus is in the boat with us, we don’t need to fear, we don’t need to worry.
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; my cup overflows.” (v5)
Koreans have this insult. Bab madeobseo. It means ‘I’ve lost my appetite.’ So if you’re having a meal at a restaurant and you see an enemy walk in, you’ll say ‘ah, bab madeobseo,’ leave your food and and walk out. We can’t eat in the presence of our enemies. But the peace that God gives us surpasses all understanding.
To prepare a table means to prepare a meal. In traditional Middle Eastern society, when a man hosts a meal, the food is prepared by his servants and the women. The master of the house provides the meal, but he doesn’t prepare it. We see this also when Abraham meets the angels in Gen. 18. He selects a calf, but it is Sarah and the servants who prepare the meal.
But David confesses here that God’s hospitality and care is intensely personal. God stoops to the level of a servant for the sake of sharing a table with David.
And the host of a meal would anoint his guest with oil that is perfumed. Think about the alabaster jar of perfume that the woman poured on Jesus. It’s a sign of honoring the guest.
And David’s cup overflows. Who’s the one pouring but God Himself? When you’re at dinner with your parents in law, your eyes must be on their tea cups. If it hits the halfway mark, you stand up and pour from oldest to youngest. God is so attentive to us that He treats us like precious, honored, distinguished guests at His table.
“Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (v6)
This psalm ends with a personification of goodness and lovingkindness. Tov and hesed. It’s as if they grew feet and are able to follow David wherever he goes. But when something follows you, it’s behind and not in front. David’s life wasn’t always full of good things. He had terrible sins and darkness surrounding him. But when he turned back, there it is. Goodness and lovingkindness, Tov and Hesed.
What about us? I’d like to argue that Tov and Hesed have grown more than just two feet. He has a full body with holes in his hands, and whenever we turn around in repentance from our sin, He’s never not going to be there. For all the days of our lives. And when our days come to an end, He’s going to take us into His house. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.