Jesus in the Psalms Part 4
SUMMER Psalms (2025) • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 9 viewsWhether we walk through green pastures or dark valleys, God, the divine King, rules as a good shepherd over his people, and he promises to be with us and to bless us for his name’s sake.
Notes
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NPICTURES OF GOD IN THE BIBLE:
BIG / ABSTRACT:
LION
EAGLE
LAMB
FIRE
CLOSER / INTIMATE:
BRIDEGROOM
PHYSICIAN
FATHER
COMFORTER
This Psalm is SO memorable because it paints the picture of A SHEPHERD.
When most of us HEAR Psalm 23…
It’s at a funeral
Praise the LORD - this is a Psalm for the living to take comfort / for those in Christ TO KNOW THE NEARNESS of their Shepherd
For a godly person being celebrated at a funeral or memorial service - it’s a great reminder.
When most of us HEAR Psalm 23…
It stands alone
But it is really part of a TRILOGY
Psalm 22 - The Suffering King (“My God, why have you forsaken me?”)
Psalm 24 - The Sovereign King (“The Earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof”)
NESTLED BETWEEN a wounded King crying out…and the whole earth bowing before Him…
…WE CATCH A GLIMPSE OF THE SHEPHERD.
A SHEPHERD…KING!
Look at verse 1 with me…
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
David is the author
It’s intensely personal / (even though God is calling us into a family…He still deals with us as individuals (AND a peopl)
BEFORE YOU WRITE YOURSELF INTO THIS PSALM,
Remember, the “MY” there is David singing about His Shepherd.
The Bible DOES tell us that GOD’S PEOPLE are the SHEEP OF HIS PASTURE.
But here, David says...”MY”…
SO WHAT? CAN’ T I JUST APPLY IT TO ME?
REMEMBER:
OBSERVATION (WHAT DOES IT SAY)
INTERPRETATION (WHO IS IT FROM / TO; LANGUAGE, ETC.; TIMES)
APPLICATION (WHAT DO I DO WITH THIS?)
Why does this matter so much that God inspired David to write this down?
In the ancient world a king was called the shepherd of his people.
Israel knew David was their shepherd.
2 In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the Lord said to you, ‘You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel.’ ”
70 He chose David his servant and took him from the sheepfolds; 71 from following the nursing ewes he brought him to shepherd Jacob his people, Israel his inheritance.
David himself was the shepherd of Israel.
BUT HERE, DAVID IS REMINDING US THAT HE IS ALSO A SHEEP!
THE Lord is his Shepherd.
A greater Shepherd cares for him.
(REMEMBER PS 110? THE LORD SAID UNTO MY LORD…)
DAVID KNOWS something about the care of THIS Shepherd…
Since the LORD is my Shepherd…I shall not want / I have what I need / I lack nothing /
ONE THING TO KNOW ABOUT THIS SHEPHERD KING…
1. HE PROVIDES MORE THAN ENOUGH
1. HE PROVIDES MORE THAN ENOUGH
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
More than enough to SUSTAIN US!
Peace enough to LIE DOWN -
not because the danger is GONE…but because the Shepherd is NEAR
Green pastures - to satisfy my hungry soul
Still waters
Sheep (like humans) NEED good water.
If not led to a good water source, they will drink from mudholes.
In his Shepherd trilogy, Philip Keller writes,
“they remind me of a bunch of sheep I watched one day which were being led down to a magnificent mountain string.
The snow fed waters were flowing, pure and clear and crystal clean between lovely banks of trees.
But on the way, several stubborn ewes and their lambs stopped to drink from a small, dirty muddy pool beside the trail.
The water was filthy and polluted, not only with the churned up mud from the passing sheep, but even with the manure and urine of previous flocks that passed that way.
Still, these stubborn sheep were quite sure it was the best drink obtainable.
The water itself was filthy and unfit for them. Much more, it contained parasites and larva that would eventually riddle these sheep’s internal organs with destructive disease.”
The Shepherd King leads his sheep to the still waters of rest.
David, the King, knows conflict and war and strife and all the other pictures you want
RESTORES MY SOUL
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
If what you’re following isn’t leading you to lasting peace WITH God and FROM God; you might be hitched to the wrong wagon.
Marcia Hornok captured the endless frustration and disappointment so many experience:
“Psalm 23, Antithesis”
The clock is my dictator, I shall not rest.
It makes me lie down only when exhausted.
It leads me to deep depression.
It hounds my soul.
It leads me in circles of frenzy for activity’s sake.
Even though I run frantically from task to task,
I will never get it all done.
For my “ideal” is with me.
Deadlines and my need for approval, they drive me.
They demand performance from me, beyond the limits of my schedule.
They anoint my head with migraines.
My in-basket overflows.
Surely fatigue and time pressure shall follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the bonds of frustration forever.
THIS SHEPHERD IS Leading His sheep TOWARD RIGHTEOUSNESS
and EVERYTHING HE PROVIDES, He does FOR HIS NAME’S SAKE!
David knows this…Israel has experienced this…we just read a snapshot of this in Nehemiah this week in our reading plan:
2. HE COMFORTS HIS SHEEP - WHEN WE NEED IT MOST
2. HE COMFORTS HIS SHEEP - WHEN WE NEED IT MOST
4 Even 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.
Shepherding was actually an INTIMATE occupation.
The Palestinian shepherd did not drive his sheep—he went before them, he led his sheep.
And while sheep were indeed raised by some for food and sacrifices, MOST sheep were raised for wool.
That means that a shepherd would typically tend his sheep for years.
He would call each of his flock by name.
The very existence of a sheep depended on the shepherd and his twenty-four-hour-a-day care.
Remember when Jesus used the picture of sheep without a shepherd, in Matthew 9:36?
36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
That was such a tragedy for the ancient mind to think of…that’s why Jesus said it. It was tragic for him to think of too.
(Sometimes I get asked, even by family...”Do you really need to be a part of a local church family to be a Christian?”)
Jesus never thought lone sheep were a good thing…then; and he still doesn’t today.
The rod and the staff are there to convey THE COMFORT OF A CAPABLE PROTECTOR!
David, no doubt, has this on his mind when he points the rod & staff of His Shepherd-King - knowing that He is about the business of protecting his people from threats from more than wolves and big cats, including the biggest threat of all: death.
Pay close attention here…
We are NOT IN GREEN PASTURES by STILL WATERS now.
I know of no greater truth to be a NORTH STAR for you when your world is falling apart.
We are going through DEEP AND DARK VALLEYS…
…BECAUSE OUR PERFECT AND GOOD SHEPHERD KING IS LEADING US!
THIS IS A PART OF your path of righteousness.
THIS IS A PART OF HIS PROVIDING MORE THAN ENOUGH
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.
You may lack for many things this world treasures…but you will never lack anything that is TRULY GOOD for you, if YOU’RE FOLLOWING HIM!
The ROD protects us and provide safety. It guards us.
The STAFF comforts us and supports us. It guides us.
Even in DEATH VALLEY DAYS, do not fear - DON’T BE AFRAID!
The ONE YOU NEED, has EVERYTHING YOU NEED
and He will LEAD YOU,
and be PRESENT WITH YOU
and HE IS GREATER THAN THE FEAR, BIGGER THAN THE PROBLEM, NO MATTER HOW BAD IT SEEMS - HE IS GREATER THAN THE NEED!
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
DAVID IS WRITING THIS…
He knows that God has led him through some deep valleys…
He knows that God has lovingly corrected him in the midst of great triumph
He knows that God has taken him through DEATH VALLEY itself on countless times…
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. 8 They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.
DAVID KNOWS…AND SO DO WE…THAT GOD LONGS TO BE WITH HIS PEOPLE IN SUCH A WAY THAT HE IS CLEARLY IN THE MIDST
NT - Paul writes to the Corinthian Church, that God longs to be so visible in our gatherings as His people worship, that unbelievers will REALIZE THAT HE IS REALLY AMONG US! (1 Cor 14)
Look at the text for our last thought this morning.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
3. HE ABIDES WITH US - now and forever
3. HE ABIDES WITH US - now and forever
Some scholars contend that the imagery changes away from a SHEPHERD here to a leader/host/King...
because sheep don’t sit at a table…
Jesus is certainly OUR KING & HOST…But could “FRIEND” be better here?
The shepherd imagery has served its purpose.
There is a GREATER INTIMACY here than a Shepherd with sheep. (NOT LESS)
(TABLE)
This is SO MUCH better than a feast.
OT WORLD: to eat and drink at someone’s table created a bond of mutual loyalty, and could be the culminating token of a covenant.
(Exodus 24:8–12, when the elders of Israel ‘beheld God‚ and ate and drank’)
(1 Cor 11:25 / at the Last Supper‚ when Jesus announced ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood’)
DAVID KIDNER WRITES:
So to be God’s guest is to be more than an acquaintance, invited for a day.
It is to live with him.
There is a suggestion of pilgrimage in the picture of a progress that ends at the house of the Lord; but it is also a journey home, for it was not only the Levites who considered the courts of the Lord their true home (as in Pss 42 and 84) but also, in heart and mind, David the man of affairs: cf. 27:4; 65:4.
Just at note here:
(OIL)
In ancient Near Eastern culture, at a feast it was customary to anoint a person with fragrant oil.
(ENEMIES)
Hosts were also expected to protect their guests at all costs.
God offers the protection of a host and the intimacy of a friend who is closesr than a brother...even when enemies surround us.
Your enemies are NOT people who make your life difficult.
Your enemy is the one who steals, kills, and destroys…and all his legions.
Your enemies are the UNTAMED weapons of MASS DISTRACTION that rob you of time with your Shepherd and Friend.
Your enemies are the ones out to STEAL YOUR TIME FROM YOUR GOD, CHURCH FAMILY, AND FAMILY
KILL YOUR TESTIMONY
AND DESTROY YOUR EFFECTIVE WITNESS FOR CHRIST!
These were literal earthly enemies for David - and God was blessing Him right in the midst of hostility.
God IS blessing you TOO!
even now (to hear His Word / to be WITH His people / to assemble freely)
I am blessed / I am blessed / Every day that I live / I am blessed
When I wake up in the morning; till I lay my head to rest / I am blessed / I am blessed
In the final scene of this psalm, we see that believers will dwell with the Lord.
God, the PERFECT SHEPHERD, PERFECT HOST, nad PERFECT FRIEND will bring us into his house forever so that He might abide with us and we with HIM!
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
14 “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. 15 When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. 16 With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”
It is easy to be attracted to such a Shepherd, such a King, such a Friend…but the test is ABIDING. Genuine disciples ABIDE WITH THE LORD.
Heaven is for those who have been transformed and LONG TO SPEND ETERNITY WITH THE LOVER OF THEIR SOULS!
NOT just get out of Hell.
This PSALM points us directly to Jesus Christ.
THE GOOD SHEPHERD
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
THE GREAT SHEPHERD OF THE SHEEP
20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,
THE CHIEF SHEPHERD
4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
THE FRIEND OF SINNERS
13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
THE BLESSING OF BEING IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD…IS BEING WITH THE LORD of the HOUSE!
