He Restores My Soul
Notes
Transcript
What the Shepherd Does
What the Shepherd Does
Ps. 23:3 “He restores my soul…”
When we think of sheep, we think of animals that are vulnerable and prone to distress.
Something that happens often is the scenario of a “cast sheep”
This is a sheep that ends up turned over on its side and cannot get up because it is top heavy…
Sheep end up in this scenario for several reasons…The sheep wanders off and puts himself in a predicament/tumbles over or the sheep gets too comfortable under shepherds care and rolls over
No matter the scenario that the sheep may find himself this way because of… one thing is certain: the only way to be restored is if the shepherd comes by and fixes the situation.
In this way, The Lord is our shepherd, and He restores us in so many ways.
This is what Jesus does for us: John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep."
David would be all too familiar with this.
David probably restored many sheep as a shepherd himself.
David was a great leader and shepherded Israel wisely as their king
- He was the shepherd king of Israel
- The one that fought and killed a bear and lion
- He killed Goliath
- He had the greatest kingdom of Israels history
- God promised the Christ would come from his family
However, David not only knew what it meant to assume the role of a shepherd, he had ample experience of what it meant to be a sheep in need of restoring.
- He was ran from king Saul for years
- He fought depression and hid in a cave
- He committed adultery and murder
- His infant son died
- His daughter was raped
- His son was murdered
Turn to Psalm 41 (Written after Absalom’s Rebellion)
His Family Fought Him…v.7-8
Absalom campaigned against David for the heart of the people of Israel
He slandered David to the people, and formed an army against David.
Then, He Had To Bury His Own Son
2 Samuel 18:33 “33 And the king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And as he went, he said, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!””
His Friends Forsook Him…v.9
Ahithophel, one of David’s close counselors, joined Absalom against David.
His Flesh Failed Him…v.4
David begins to blame himself…Why? Didn’t Absalom try to kill him, Ahithophel rebelled against him??
Ultimately, it wasn’t David’s family’s fault. It wasn’t David’s friends fault.
David, rightly, traces the blame of all of the calamity in his life back to his adfultery with Bathsheba.
2 Samuel 12:10–13 “10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ 11 Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’ ” 13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.”
• It was all his fault…
- Ahithophel was Bathsheba’s grandfather
- The adultery that he committed…was his fault
- The murder he committed…was his fault
- His infant son dying…was his fault
- His daughter being raped by her brother…was his fault
- That brother being murdered…was his fault
- Absalom being killed…was his fault
- It was more than he could bear…the weight of it all collapsed him!!
So, then how? Given what we see, the tragedy of David’s life…how can God restore such a terrible situation??
How the Shepherd Does It
How the Shepherd Does It
Ps. 23:3 “…He leads me in paths of righteousness…”
The Shepherd restores our souls BY leading us in paths of righteousness
“Path” is not just a pretty picture word, it is actually referring to a real path that sheep would walk in.
The path was cut by a “wagon” that shepherds would carve into the hillside to make a trail for the sheep to be able to be guided in.
In the most literal rendering of this verse, we could say, “He leads me in the wagon trails of righteousness…”
Why do those wagon trails exist? If they weren’t there, the sheep would always be lost. They can’t navigate it on their own.
In the same way that the shepherd must cut wagon trails of guidance in the hills of pasture for the sheep, so too must our Good Shepherd cut wagon trails of righteousness into the hills of our life to guide us into the right places to go.
Illustration: Cutting trails to go deer hunting, getting lost in the dark if the trail is not there.
How does The Lord restore our soul? By leading us in paths of righteousness. So here’s the question we must ask then: “What are the paths of righteousness?”
Two-fold.
1. The Holy Spirit
In the OT, the Spirit of God dwelled in the tabernacle and temple. Now that Christ has come, and given us that better and more effectual covenant… The Spirit of God dwells in you and I when we are saved.
Therefore, the Holy Spirit leads, guides, and directs us in all things in our life.
Now, David will expand on this more in v. 4, so I’ll save that for next week.
The more obvious “path of righteousness” is 2. God’s Word
Psalm 1:1–2 “1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”
Psalm 119:11 “11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”
Psalm 119:105 “105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
Psalm 19:8 “8 the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;”
Why has God given us His Word?
It is to be the wagon trail of righteousness for us.
“But I can’t understand.” - Notice it says, “HE leads…”
Meaning this: The Holy Spirit will help enlighten you to the understanding of His Word. Whether that be privately, or He may place people in your path to help walk you through things, bottom line, He will guide.
Why The Shepherd Does It
Why The Shepherd Does It
Ps. 23:3 “…for His name’s sake.”
Why does He care so much about where I’m walking, if my soul is restored, and whether or not I am doing what I ought to do?
Philip Keller, a real-life shepherd, commented that you can always tell the quality of the shepherd by the condition of the sheep.
Sheep are dirty, rough, sickly, the they have a lazy, poor, bad shepherd.
On the other hand, if the sheep are clean, full, active, they can only be that way if they have a caring, attentive, and loving shepherd.
Turn to 1 Kings 10
1 Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions. 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. 3 And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her. 4 And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5 the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more breath in her. 6 And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, 7 but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard. 8 Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 9 Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because the Lord loved Israel forever, he has made you king, that you may execute justice and righteousness.”
I look at your servants and they are happy…content…satisfied!
- They are happy that you Solomon are their king!!
- God must love Israel a lot to give them such a good king
Why does our shepherd take such good care of us? Why does He restore us in such a way, and provide paths for us to walk in?
Because the condition of the sheep reflect the quality of the shepherd
Ephesians 2:8–10 “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Paul is saying here, we are His workmanship… We are a reflection of God’s handiwork. His craftsmanship. Therefore, good craftsmanship marks a good craftsman.
When the world looks at us, it should see grace, peace, goodness, sheep walking in paths of righteousness.
Why? So we can boast? No. So that we can reflect God’s grace toward us in Christ Jesus.
Now, return to Psalm 23:3
When someone sees a sheep that has been wounded back in the fold, it tells a story, a testimony.
It tells them a great deal about the shepherd.
It says, his shepherd didn't leave him alone
His shepherd, didn't forsake him
His shepherd restored him, and was gracious to him.
He’s not that great of a sheep, but he sure does have a Good Shepherd.
That should be our testimony to the world.
