Psalm 23
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Sermon Tone Analysis
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The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
The LORD
The LORD
This is the same title we saw in and that we see throughout the OT
Jahweh...
Personal
Transcendent
Redeemer
They saw a personal God that needed to be approached by way of a Priest
In spite of that they knew that He transcends to them in that they cry out to them in their need
He is their redeemer. Not in the sense of the Gospel but in the sense of providing a covering for their sins in light of the coming messiah
“my”
“my”
These personal pronouns are often overlooked.
Here we see that David in fact views Jahweh as his
Not in a national sense
Not in the sense of being king
Not in a covenant with a group idea
Jahweh is David’s personal personal redeemer.
Jahweh is David’s shepherd
Jahweh is David’s shepherd
Shepherd here is not a noun, it is a verbal adjective…it is describing Jahweh
In other-words, Jahweh is the one shepherding on David’s behalf.
Quite literally translated…”Jahweh is shepherding me”
As we have been studying the Sermon on the Mount I continue to remind us to understand the images that Scripture uses in light of the culture they are set in.
I don’t know about all of you but that’s all I have to go on, I have no personal understanding or interaction with shepherding
One of the first places in Scripture where Jahweh is referred to as a shepherd is in …here Moses is appealing to Jaheweh for a successor
He is told to appoint Joshua as his successor so that the people would not be like sheep without a shepherd.
One could think of Joshua as the shepherd and to some extent he is Jahweh is the one guiding and directing who this shepherd will be.
The prophet Isaiah is probably the writer that uses shepherd the most to picture Jahweh
So as we look at this, what was the priority of a shepherd.
I have relied on others that understand shepherding and have experience in it
The priority of a shepherd is summarized in the next phrase
“I shall not want”
Warren Weirsbe ascribes the names of Jahweh throughout this psalm and in this verse we see Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord will provide ( Abraham offering Issac)
The essential tasks of a shepherd are:
1- To provide
2- To protect
They provide for the needs of the sheep
-Food
-Water
-Shelter when necessary
-Care
-Medical help
To protect
-Provide shelter that is for protection from:
-Weather
-Wolves and bears and such
-Thieves
All of these things the psalmist ascribes to Jahweh
So what do we take away form this verse?
1- ought to be a great encouragement when we come to the Lord our Shepherd
-He is there to provide and to protect…to give us whats best for us
-
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
This can be true because He is our Shepherd
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
2- When we come to the Lord as Shepherd we are coming to one who has the ability to provide and protect.
We are not like sheep looking to another sheep for protection, they cannot protect one another. They need something greater than themselves
He is Jehovah-Jireh
But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
We are not looking among ourselves
For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.
In the same way it is unwise to think that we can find safety in our numbers
We need someone greater than us…we need a shepherd and that Shepherd is Jahweh
I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings. And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him? Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind?
This is our Shepherd
One with the power over sin and death
The one who has the power to lay down his life and take it back up again
This is the one who is greater than us
This is the one we cast our burdens to
This is the one who provides for us and protects us