Life in the Psalms: Life with the Shepherd

Scripture

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.

Pray.

Introduction

There is a story of a famous actor, a friend of a priest celebrating 50 years in ministry. The priest invited the actor friend to the celebration and to read for the occasion.

When it came time the actor stood up and gave a wonderful rendition of the psalm. Delivered it with theatrical presentation and oratory excitement. When he finished there was applause throughout the crowd. It was a spectacle. The actor turned to his friend and said you are the priest, you lead us in the psalm. The humble priest stepped forward unassumingly and began to recite the psalm from heart and something deep within him. The presentation was simple, not flashy, but emotional. Some even moved to tears and the last words hung in the quiet room following the last verse. At the close a friend leans over to the actor and says, “what just happened?” The actor said, I know the Psalm, but it is clear he knows the shepherd.

Not sure to the veracity of this story, it is beautiful and communicates an important distinction for us. It brings us close and asks us to once again consider if we know the shepherd. I too have heard this psalm communicated this way. It is famous, perhaps the most famous of scripture. Funerals of believers and non believers always share this psalm. When I asked people to say it aloud the majority begin in unison, even in the KJV “thou art with me” version....

I wonder if you know what it is like to know more than the psalm and to know the shepherd it speaks about?

Relationship

Something remarkable is happening even in the first line…in the first words. The Lord is my Shepherd. The psalmist is communicating intimacy and relationship.

As a matter of fact this is the most personal and intimate metaphor used to speak of God in the Psalms to this point. The other usages have been King and Lord, Deliverer, or the impersonal rock or shield. This is something more isn’t it.

It might be lost on us as we stand on the other side of Jesus but know the power of his statement

John 10:11 NIV

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

John 10

the power of this statement would be in the internal knowledge of this prayer from psalm 23.

Again, how many of us have distant metaphors but do not know the intimacy of the shepherd?

We know this intellectual assent of God or we enjoy this framework of Christian values or we see a need for some of this for our family, we are here this morning for some reason but how many of us can claim with intimacy....you are my shepherd.

This Psalm and the intimacy of knowing the Shepherd is found within the movement of the song, or poetry. I hope you might see the movement this morning and experience it in your own life as well. We could spend time looking at every line and verse but I want you to grasp the faith development in these lines....

There are two primary movements I see in :

Movement of Intimacy

Movement of Faith

Movement of Intimacy

Starts with prayer about God and moves to praying with God

Look at the pronouns

(3rd person language to 2nd or prays about God to prayers to God).

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.

The Lord is MY shepherd

A couple of things I want you to see here and maybe this might help you in your prayer life....

If you do not know where to start, what do you know about God?

When you are praying, begin by reminding yourself what you know about God. I meet with people often that ask me, how do I pray. I am sure there are more than a few in here that would ask but they are ashamed to....listen, I think we overcomplicate it. What do you know about God? Meditate on that. Put Him in your mind. Intimacy does not come without investing time in the relationship. You know that in other relationships, why not with this one.

John Henry Newman when asked why Christians seem to have so little hope....

But why is this? why do you so little understand the Gospel of your salvation? why are your eyes so dim, and your ears so hard of hearing? why have you so little faith? so little of heaven in your hearts? For this one reason, my brethren, if I must express my meaning in one word, because you so little meditate. You do not meditate, and therefore you are not impressed.

What is meditating on Christ? it is simply this, thinking habitually and constantly of Him and of His deeds and sufferings. It is to have Him before our minds as One whom we may contemplate, worship, and address when we rise up, when we lie down, when we eat and drink, when we are at home and abroad, when we are working, or walking, or at rest, when we are alone, and again when we are in company; this is meditating. And by this, and nothing short of this, will our hearts come to feel as they ought.

Survey the Island

A couple of years into this whole parenting thing and we are quickly learning that there are a lot of desperate moments. I think that is one of the biggest growths in my life is learning what its like to live without control. In the middle of some of our more trying moments Lauren and I have this practice where we survey the island. You are shipped wrecked, it looks like you are stuck there, what do you do? Survey the Island, see what you have to survive.

I don’t know what the Psalmist is going through but if you think this song or prayer was written while he was vacationing in Maui, then you are mistaken. This prayer has been born out of the trials of life that include failure, disappointment, and desperation.

In crisis, in the valley of the shadow of death, you have to stop and pull your head out of the circumstances your in and get a bigger perspective.

In crisis, in the valley of the shadow of death,

That is what is happening when the prayer talks about God and moves to talking with God.

Think about this in practice:

Rant rant rant....The Lord is my shepherd.

Psalm 23:1–4 NIV

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.

Psalm 23:

Ok the second movement....

Movement of Faith

I want you to see the movement of faith in this psalm. I wonder if this prayer is the product of seasons of life of difficulty. Like a artist who has written their lifesong.

Movement of Faith: you can break the psalm into three sections

Green pastures

Shadow of death

Dinner table

Green pastures:

The psalmist knows what it is like to experience the joy of salvation. To know the shepherd personally. To find peace and restoration. This is not about getting away for a spa day this is the great thirst of the soul being quenched in the intimacy of knowing the shepherd.

If you are here in this place today and do not know the shepherd… there is no better time. What you have been carrying, what you are trying to do all by yourself, all of the hustle in your life, lay it down today to find restoration of your soul.

Shadow of death:

The psalmist knows the joy of salvation, and also knows the presence of God in the shadow of death. The movement of faith is that in our difficult times we begin to know the depth of God’s love, of his credibility, of His strength.

God’s love never fails, God’s credibility is proven in the cross of Jesus Christ where he walked through the darkest valley and in your moments of darkness He will not leave you. The movement of faith is to see God in the middle of it all.

Dinner table:

Check out this movement of faith. There is knowing God’s presence in the middle of the trial....then there is a faith to chill and have dinner in the presence of enemies. By the end of the song, David or the psalmist has gotten to the point of his journey that even as enemies, foes, trials crash in around him he is only focused on the hospitality of God. Not held captive to the things around him anymore.

This is not naive or just choosing to be oblivious, show the picture. Oh yeah, I am fine.

No, the psalmist is clear that there are enemies, but God is no longer a shepherd but now he is the host. Every need, every want, is found in the house of the Lord.

For all that are gathered here today I want you to know this movement of faith. I want you to know what its like to go deep into the house of God. Listen God does not waste anything. That trial you are walking through, that difficulty, kids, marriage, work, God does not waste anything. He is producing a faith in you.

Romans 5:1–5 NIV

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Romans 5:

I want to have a faith that is victorious....not because my enemies or foes or difficulties are erradicated....but because I know the shepherd and I know the host and my victories are defined by the intimacy of that relationship.

As you come to the table today…know that it is Christ who has prepared this table for you.

(joy of faith and salvation in knowing God is our shepherd —> hope even in difficulty —> victory, not in the absence of enemies, but in the presence of them)

Think of eating a nice dinner or being in the company of someone special in the middle of everything around you.