Untitled Sermon
FORGIVENESS AND RENEWAL They do not lack forgiveness and renewal because their souls are restored.
Sheep stray, and so do followers of the Lord Jesus. But his kind shepherdly care covers even that. A straying sheep is still a sheep, and the Lord ever cares for his own. David himself would stray far, but he did not—could not!—stray beyond the long reach of the arm of grace (2 Sam. 11:1–12:15; Ps. 32:1–11).
In the New Testament, we need look no further than Simon Peter to find an example of a straying saint who was pursued, forgiven and restored by his divine shepherd (John 18:15–18, 25–27; 21:15–19).
Every child of God is in the grip of grace—mighty, unrelenting, stubborn, pursuing grace!
DIRECTION AND GUIDANCE They do not lack direction and guidance because they are led in paths of righteousness.
Sheep stray, and so do followers of the Lord Jesus. But his kind shepherdly care covers even that. A straying sheep is still a sheep, and the Lord ever cares for his own. David himself would stray far, but he did not—could not!—stray beyond the long reach of the arm of grace (2 Sam. 11:1–12:15; Ps. 32:1–11).
In the New Testament, we need look no further than Simon Peter to find an example of a straying saint who was pursued, forgiven and restored by his divine shepherd (John 18:15–18, 25–27; 21:15–19).
Every child of God is in the grip of grace—mighty, unrelenting, stubborn, pursuing grace!
DIRECTION AND GUIDANCE They do not lack direction and guidance because they are led in paths of righteousness.
Christians often vex themselves with the question of whether they are ‘finding the Lord’s will’ for their lives. What consolation we have in this part of the Lord’s shepherdly care! The Lord has promised to lead his people. We should not concern ourselves so much, then, with finding the Lord’s will as with walking close to the Lord. Peter Jeffery well says: ‘Our problem is not really one of guidance, it is one of closeness to God.’
It is important to notice that the Lord always leads his people in ‘paths of righteousness’, that is, in conformity with what God has revealed in his Word. This verse will not allow us to claim the Lord’s leadership for any action that is opposed to the Word of God.
The fact that the Lord leads his people ‘For his name’s sake’ means that he guides them according to all that his name represents. His guidance is, then, in keeping with his holiness, his love, his faithfulness, his wisdom and all that he has revealed himself to be.
The Lord’s care in death (v. 4)
It is only natural for us to shrink from physical death, which is the separation of body and soul. Death is an intruder into God’s creation. It came into this world as a result of mankind’s sinful rebellion against God. But, as Matthew Henry notes, the terror of the word ‘death’ quickly gives way to ‘four words which lessen the terror’.
SHADOW A dark shadow may appear to be quite frightening but it has no real power to harm us. And death, unpleasant and forbidding as it may be, cannot finally do any real harm to the child of God. Henry T. Mahan writes: ‘… Christ has removed the substance of death and only a shadow remains. A shadow is there but cannot hurt or destroy.’
VALLEY While admitting that the valley is ‘deep indeed, and dark, and dirty’, Matthew Henry calls it a fruitful place and concludes that death offers ‘fruitful comforts to God’s people’.
WALK David describes his activity in the valley as walking, which is regarded as pleasant and restful.
THROUGH How thankful we should be for this word! The valley of death is not the stopping place for the children of God. It is a travelling place. Matthew Henry notes that the saints of God will not get lost in it but will come out safely.
The Lord himself was the basis of David’s peace about death. As David contemplates his death, he sees himself entering a dark valley. Suddenly he is aware that someone else is there in the shadows. It is the Lord himself. As he gazes upon his Lord, David sees that he is carrying a rod and staff. The rod was a heavy club the shepherd used to kill predators, and the staff, a long pole with a crook in one end, used to round up the sheep and to guide them along.
The sight of those instruments causes David to realize that he has absolutely nothing to fear. His shepherd is there to kill the enemies of fear, doubt and guilt and to guide him safely through. The same Lord who was shepherding him through life would shepherd him through death.
It is important to notice the change in personal pronoun as David reflects on his shepherd. In verses 2 and 3, David speaks about his shepherd (notice the fourfold use of ‘he’). But when he comes to the valley of death, David drops the ‘he’ in favour of ‘you’ and ‘your’. He was able to look upon the prospect of death with peace and tranquillity because he knew that it would mean meeting his glorious shepherd face to face.
If we would have the same peace about death as David, we must have the same shepherd. We must always keep in mind as we deal with this psalm that it is all predicated upon the opening line: ‘The LORD is my shepherd’.
We cannot have what the shepherd produces without having the shepherd. If we want to enjoy the full measure of David’s peace, we must have the full measure of his faith. We must recognize that we desperately need a shepherd. We must recognize that only God can rightly shepherd us. And we must wholeheartedly turn to God, renouncing our reliance on ourselves and on any other shepherds.
On the basis of what David says about death in this psalm, Matthew Henry writes: ‘A child of God may meet the messengers of death and receive its summons with a holy security and serenity of mind.’
Confidence in the Lord’s care as a host (vv. 5–6)
John R. W. Stott writes: ‘The scene changes. I am no longer out of doors, but indoors; no longer a sheep in a flock, but a guest at a banquet.’
We can go even further. God’s children are his guests because they are his friends. They were not always so. They were by nature God’s enemies. But he has reconciled them to himself through the cross of Christ (Eph. 2:14–18; Col. 1:19–22). Think of it! Friends of God! What a privilege!
As the shepherd cares for the needs of his sheep, so the host provides for the needs of his friends. David pictured the shepherd’s care as beginning in this life and ending in death. With this picture of the host, he again starts with this life, but he carries it beyond death into the life to come.
David affirms that God’s provisions for his guests are both constant and abundant.
The constancy of God’s provisions means that God’s people have them in every situation and circumstance. We have already noted that the saints of God have enemies in the hour of death. They have them all through life as well. These enemies are the world, the flesh and the devil.
Knowing about these enemies, David here subjects God’s care to what we might call the ultimate test. He asserts that God’s care cannot be negated or destroyed by these fierce enemies. David sees himself sitting at a banquet table while they gather all around. While they threaten and snarl, he feasts. Such is the care of God!
David emphasizes the abundance of God’s care in these terms:
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
(v. 5b).
It was customary in those days to receive a guest by anointing him with fragrant perfume and with a cup filled with a choice wine. In this way, the host indicated that nothing was to be considered too good for his guest.
David declares that God’s care surpasses even this. His head had been anointed, and his cup was overflowing.
Such care compelled David to say:
Surely goodness and mercy
shall follow me
All the days of my life; …
(v. 6a).
God’s goodness is that disposition which causes him actively to seek the wellbeing of his creature. His mercy is that quality that inclines him to relieve misery. Because he had seen so very much of God’s faithful care in every conceivable situation, David knew he could count on God’s goodness and mercy every step of the way.
God as host in the life to come (v. 6b)
The provisions of God in this life are a small foretaste of what awaits believers. The table of which David has spoken is set in the midst of enemies in the wilderness. A glorious day is coming when all God’s people will be gathered around God’s table in his everlasting house, and there no enemy will be present to offer a single snarl.
So the greatest expression of the goodness and mercy of God awaits us in heaven. The people of God will then be with the Lord who cared for them every step of the way. And they will never be separated from him.
FOR FURTHER STUDY
1. Read John 10:11–18. What do these verses teach about the shepherdly care of the Lord Jesus?
2. Read John 11:25–26, 2 Corinthians 5:1–8 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18. What are some reasons Christians need not fear death?
TO THINK ABOUT AND DISCUSS
1. Discuss with some friends what Psalm 23 means to you. Ask them to do the same with you.
2. Write down some of the expressions of God’s ‘goodness and mercy’ that you have experienced.
In view of the table and the oil David knew that his lot in life (his cup) was abundant blessing from the Lord.
The provisions of God in this life are a small foretaste of what awaits believers. The table of which David has spoken is set in the midst of enemies in the wilderness. A glorious day is coming when all God’s people will be gathered around God’s table in his everlasting house, and there no enemy will be present to offer a single snarl.
So the greatest expression of the goodness and mercy of God awaits us in heaven. The people of God will then be with the Lord who cared for them every step of the way. And they will never be separated from him.