Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction: This Psalm, outside of John 3:16, is probably the most well known passage of Scripture in the Bible.

In just about every funeral I’ve attended or done, it has been quoted or stated in the program.

It has been quoted in pop culture, found even as the first line of the rap song “Gangsta’s Paradise,” and numerous other mediums.

It has a profound impact on culture, but it has even greater meaning for those that know Christ.

The impact of this Psalm on believers is one of great comfort.

But the question is, why does it, and what significance does it have for us as God’s people?

And how does this Psalm point us to Jesus and our lives as His followers, His church?

CTS: Trust Jesus, our good shepherd.

I. Jesus Shepherds Our Lives (1-3)

The LORD is my shepherd: The identity of the LORD is again, Yahweh, the covenant name of God, the Great I Am of Exodus.

This is the self-given name of God, given to Moses to tell the Egyptians and to tell the Israelites.

I am that I am, reminding us of his infinite power and self-existence, his holiness and being set apart from us.

But with that, comes this description by David, no doubt using his own experience and one that is used throughout Scripture.

Shepherding is a common theme throughout Scripture.

Complex yet described of many characters and God himself.

One commentator (James Mays) says:

The primary duties of the shepherd’s vocation were provision and protection for the flock.

The shepherd pastured the flock, led them in the right way when they had to move, fended off predators—pastoral activities described in the psalm.

The sheep were his responsibility, and he was accountable for their welfare

God is described as a shepherd of Israel, God’s people in a number of places.

Kings were called to the task of shepherding as well, highlighting the humble aspect of what it meant to be a true godly king.

Though Israel’s kings often failed in this regard, they were still called to it, and they were judged on that very calling.

Later on, God would intend that certain men in the church would be to the office of elder/pastor.

These men are called undershepherds as they guide they flock, leading them to Christ, the good shepherd, and protect the flock from wolves.

But why is it that the theme of shepherding is used by David and the rest of Scripture?

It’s because God’s people often act like sheep.

And sheep are often described in Scripture in a negative connotation.

Sheep are not only dependent creatures; singularly unintelligent, prone to wandering and unable to find their way to a shepherd even when it is in sight.

- Leland Ryken

We are naturally obstinate and wander.

I am reminded of a video I once watched of a sheep getting its head stuck in a large crack in the ground.

The person/shepherd pulled the sheep out and then not seconds later, he hops and runs and gets himself stuck again in the same crack, just a little further down the path.

Is that not a description sometimes of us?

Is that not showing how much we need a shepherd?

We see the importance of the Shepherd description.

God is the ultimate shepherd of His people.

We see as we read earlier in John 10 that Jesus describes himself as the shepherd.

He is the shepherd, the fulfillment of verse 1. Jesus is the shepherd.

Yahweh, Israel’s shepherd, would come and put on flesh to be lead His people from a greater slavery, to a new Exodus, shepherding them from slavery to sin and death.

The provision of the shepherd: To know Christ is to not want.

Why won’t we lack what we need or what we want?

Because Jesus our Good Shepherd gives everything through his guiding hand and staff.

But remember this:

It does not leave those who say it to fill it out with what they want out of their own subjective wills.

It has its own agenda of what the LORD does to fulfill one’s needs

This all has touching points, no doubt as David is reminding God’s people as he does often of their own exodus journey and through their lives as His people, related through songs and prayers.

I do not lack: Deut 2:7

He makes us lie down in green pastures, water to rest by: Led to the places of provision that God gave His people, relates to us today.

God provides for every need according to his agenda, not our own.

He leads us to rest in His provision.

He restores my soul: Ps 30:3

He leads me in paths of righteousness: Exodus 15:13

All of these point us to Christ, who has delivered us in our own exodus.

It is Christ that leads us, promises to provide and give us rest in Him.

He feeds us, sustains us, quenches us.

He restores our soul from death, for sin has brought that death upon us.

He leads us in righteousness, for He is the completely righteous one.

This righteous one has revived us through His own death and resurrection to give us resurrection life.

He shepherds us throughout our lives, leading us to where we need to be and where to, promising his presence and his provision all along the way.

For his name sake: He does this according to the sake of His own name.

For His ultimate glory does our lives reflect.

The sheep are not in it for the glory of us, ourselves, but the shepherd who guides, leads, protects, and delivers us.

He is the righteous one, we are not, yet he leads us in that righteousness so that His name sake would be declared.

Application: The questions we need to ask ourselves: Are we being led by the shepherd, or are we running and straying to where we want to go? Are we trusting Jesus, His Word, His will for us, or are we trying to go where we want to go?

Does our home reflect a reliance and trust in Jesus as the shepherd of our homes?

Does our church reflect a reliance on Jesus, or on our own ingenuity and our own ideas?

Is our trust seen in the way we do our finances and in the day to day activities of our lives?

Have you ever lacked from what you needed?

Do we trust Jesus as God’s people, or do we trust in someone else, or even ourselves more than we trust Him?

II.

Jesus Crushes the Skull of Death (4)

Walking through the shadow of death: David uses a clear picture of the description of the danger he faces.

What David has in mind here is a path will hills alongside, much like a canyon, where robbers and criminals would camp out and try to steal and hurt people passing through.

There were areas like this throughout, and still are today.

Travelers have to be alert and often go at certain times of the day when many people are traveling through the area so at to have numbers on their side when they travel.

With this picture in mind, we see how David faces death.

Much like this canyon, the sheep of the flock need protection, a guiding hand, one that would lead them through this death valley.

Death is the enemy that surrounds all of us.

Death has entered the world, we all face it.

Sin has brought that death about.

We live in a world, fraught with dangers and death all around us.

Diseases, cancer, health issues, technology, war, riding at high speeds every day…death is a reality that all of humanity faces.

The enemies surrounded David, and David had many threats throughout his life.

Goliath threatened his life.

Saul threatened his life.

Wars threatened his life.

His own Absalom threatened his life.

Yet David recognized that Yahweh, his shepherd, was with him through it.

The guidance of the shepherd: The guidance of that shepherd as we talked about earlier also guides us in our lives through the dangers we face.

God’s people are led by the shepherding hand of God.

We are led by the shepherding hand of Jesus.

The shepherd kept two different tools with him.

A rod, which was used for defense against predators that would attack the sheep, and the staff that would guide the sheep safely.

Those two are important for us to consider.

First, let’s consider the staff.

The staff: The staff was meant as a guiding tool of the shepherd.

Sheep are often stubborn, and need to be led through physical means to keep them out of danger.

The shepherd would use the physical force of the staff to move the sheep where they needed to go.

Jesus, as he shepherds us, sometimes has to use the staff to direct us away from danger to to guide us through the danger to safety on the other end.

Sometimes, the sheep get themselves into danger, and the shepherd lovingly disciplines them so as to get the to safety.