Psalm 23. A few weeks ago, I brought a
message, another message from this psalm, from verse 6. The title of that message was
A Blessed Life and a Blessed End. Surely, verse 6, surely
goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and
I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. I want to take
another look at this sweet song of grace. And this time, verse
five. Look at it there in verse five.
Thou, thou, preparest a table before me. In the presence of
mine enemies, thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth
over. The title of this message is,
A Table Prepared. A Table Prepared. This past week,
I did just about every morning, I think, very early every morning,
what I've been doing ever since we moved in, moved in, in the
back. I get my coffee. I know you wouldn't
do that, Terry. You don't like coffee. I drink
enough for both of us. But I get my coffee and I sit
at back sometimes before the sun even comes up and just enjoy
that quiet time. And then soon the birds begin
to chirp and I know the routine of some of them. And I just enjoy
that, enjoying God's creation. And I remember the story that
Martin Luther told and I was able to find it. Martin Luther
said that there was a little bird that was the best preacher
he ever heard. The best preacher he ever heard
was a little robin. He said it sat outside his window
every morning and sang God's praises. This is what he said.
I have one preacher that I love better than any other on earth.
It is my little robin who preaches to me daily. I put some crumbs
up on my windowsill, especially at night. He hops onto the windowsill
when he wants his supply, and takes as much as he desires to
satisfy his need. From there, he always hops to
a little tree close by, lifts up his voice to God, and sings
his carol of praise and gratitude, then tucks his little head under
his wings, goes fast to sleep, and leaves tomorrow to care for
itself. Yes, he is the best preacher
that I have on earth." And of course, I thought of the verse,
and you probably did, too. Our Lord, in His Sermon on the
Mount, said, Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not,
neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, yet your Heavenly
Father feedeth them. And He asked this question, Are
you not of more value than many sparrows? Are ye not much better
than many sparrows? And according to God's Word,
yes, we are. Yes, we are. God tells his people
in Isaiah 43, since thou was precious in my sight. Oh, Billy,
you could pitch the tent there for a long time, couldn't you? God's people precious in his
sight? In our own sight, we look at
ourselves. All we see is sin. Sin within,
in the heart. That's the root of the problem.
But God says in his sight, we're precious. We're worth something
to him. We're worth something to God. You were precious in
my sight. Thou has been honorable. I've
made you so. And I've loved thee. Therefore,
he says, I love thee. Therefore, I'll just let you
go your way, because I don't want to interfere with your mighty
free will. No, I love you. Therefore, therefore, because
I love you, I will give people for thee. people for thy life. Yes, you are of more value than
many sparrows. The psalmist here expresses his
entire confidence in the Lord, doesn't he? Throughout this psalm
and all the psalms. Full of confidence in his God.
He considers him under the beautiful character of a shepherd, doesn't
he? The Lord is my shepherd. When
we consider the many places in scripture that the Lord Jesus
has described under that office, that character of a shepherd,
every part of the psalm becomes more precious, doesn't it? Everything
flows from that. Here's the head. Here's the head.
This is the starting place. The Lord is my shepherd and everything
drops down under that and because of that. Every word, every verse
of these dear six verses. In Isaiah chapter 40 verse 11,
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd. He shall feed his
flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with
his arm. Isn't that a beautiful picture of the care of our great
shepherd? And carry them in his bosom. And shall greatly lead
them, gently, I'm sorry. And shall gently lead those that
are with young. Isn't that a beautiful picture
of the Lord Jesus Christ? He said, I've come to seek and
to save that which is lost. I'll seek my sheep until I find
them. I'll seek them until I find them. When I find them, I'm going
to pick them up, put them on my shoulders, and I'm going to
take them all the way home. The Lord's my shepherd. Ezekiel
chapter 34, verse 11. For thus saith the Lord God,
behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep and seek them
out. And of course, the Lord Jesus
himself applied this title to himself many times, didn't he?
John 10 and 11. I am the good shepherd. Christ
was talking to the Pharisees. He was talking to those who claimed
to be the shepherd, claimed to be God's shepherd of his people. And Christ said, no, you're not.
No, you're not. You're hirelings. You're hirelings. You're disfleecing the sheep.
That's all you're good for. I'm the true shepherd. I am the
good shepherd, the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
You won't do that. You'll see the wolf coming, you'll
run, you'll get out of dodge. I'm the good shepherd, and the
good shepherd will give his life for the sheep. Again, in John
10, verse 14. I am the good shepherd and know
my sheep. I know my sheep. And he doesn't
mean by a casual acquaintance. He knows his sheep intimately. He knows you better than you
know yourself. He knows your needs. He knows
your character. He knows your heart. He knows all about you. And he
still loves you. There's nothing can change, nothing
you do, nothing you ever do can change one iota of how he feels
about you. You're precious in his sight.
Pharisee will hear that and say, oh, you're giving men license
to sin. Well, that's something that they
don't need anyway. But oh no, a true child of God
will bow down in adoring wonder when he hears that God loves
him. And nothing can change that. I am the good shepherd and I
know my sheep. And they know me. They know me. It's not possible to be a believer
and not know the shepherd. I mean, there's much we don't
know. I mean, we look through a glass darkly, now there's much
we don't understand, but I know Jesus Christ. I know Jesus Christ
died for my sin. I know Jesus Christ saved me
by his mighty grace. I know Jesus Christ keeps me
every hour, every day, and I believe by his grace that what he wants
for me will be fulfilled, it'll be realized. He wants to be with
him in glory. Nothing's going to stop that.
Nothing's going to stop that. I'm going to be with Jesus Christ
in heaven because he's my great God and Savior. And that's what
the great shepherd wills, his sheep to be with him where he
is. And even in the epistles, the
writers repeat this sweet thought of Christ as the shepherd of
his people. Hebrews 13 and 20, jot these
down. Now the God of peace that brought
again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, that great shepherd
of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working
in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ,
to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Roger and I were
talking about this just the other night about how God overrules
everything for his glory and the good of his people. Peter
learned that, didn't he? Peter learned. Peter, I think,
was like me in a lot of ways. My daddy always told me, son,
if you can't listen, you're going to have to feel. And he was very
good at making me feel. But Peter was like that. Oh,
I'll never deny you, Lord. I'm not like these other fellas.
I'm a better believer than them. I've got more faith in them.
And then a few hours after that, he's cursing down from heaven,
curses from God, trying to convince the enemies of our Lord, before
whose campfire he was warming himself, that he never heard
of Jesus Christ. He wouldn't even mention his
name. He had fallen so bad, so quickly. So Peter knew something
about it, didn't he? When he wrote, for ye were a
sheep going astray, 1 Peter 2 and 25, ye were a sheep going astray,
but are now, now returned unto the shepherd and the bishop of
your souls, just like Peter did. David, who was once, at one time,
the shepherd in his father Jesse's home and tending the flocks,
finds great delight, doesn't he? It's just evident in this
psalm, he finds great delight in comparing that fact that he
was a shepherd to this fact that the Lord is my shepherd. The
Lord is my shepherd. Isn't that sweet? This is why David expresses such
confidence, such comfort, such hope, such certainty. It's all because of this. The
Lord is my shepherd. That's the source of his competence.
That's the cause of his comfort. That's the fountain of his joy
and peace. For David and for every child of God, all those
things, those needed things, those necessary things, they
all flow from the same fountain, the shepherd. The Lord, my shepherd,
gives them the milk. That explains David's attitude
of his outlook. his comfort, his hope, his confidence. The reason for every one of those
things is because he has Jesus Christ as his shepherd, the Lord. Did you see it there? Now, I
know what I said my text was, but we're looking at the foundation
on which those things are built. He says, the Lord is my shepherd,
the Lord. Look at that now. It's a capital
L. or capital D, Jehovah, God Almighty,
Lord over all, that has his way in the whirlwind, that does whatever
he pleases, none can resist his will or say unto him, what doest
thou? The Lord, the Lord, the Lord over all, the Lord that
had no beginning and shall have no end, the Lord that simply
willed all that we see into existence, the Lord, The Lord, none greater
than He. The Lord, the mighty God. The
everlasting Father. The Prince of Peace. The Lord,
He's my shepherd. He's my shepherd. Everything
He is. Everything He is. He does so
as the shepherd of His people. This is not so much David's story,
is it? Then it is the story of His great
shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord, when he appeared to
his disciples for the last time, we read in Luke 24, he told them,
these are the words which I spake unto you when I was yet with
you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written
in the Law of Moses, that's the first five books, and in the
Prophets, that's all the rest of them, and in the Psalms, that
makes it complete, and in the Psalms concerning me. Then opened
he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures. Yes, this story, God's Word,
is a history. It's His story. It's all about
Him. I love the scene of Christ my
King, don't you? And hail Him, blessed Jesus.
The psalmist says He is the Lord. not was the Lord, is trying to
be the Lord, needs my permission to be the Lord. The Lord is my
shepherd. In another place, the 121st Psalm,
David writes this, I will lift up my eyes unto the hills from
whence cometh my help. My help comes from the Lord,
which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer my foot to
be moved. He that keeps thee will not slumber.
Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
Larry, just lay down and rest easy. You great shepherds, keep
and watch. You don't have to worry. You
don't have to keep watch. You don't have to fret. He's
taking care of everything. The Lord is thy keeper. The Lord
is thy shade upon thy right hand. The Lord shall preserve thee
from all evil. He shall preserve thy soul. The
Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this
time forth and even forever. When we consider that, that the
Lord Jesus Christ is our shepherd, that that's the case, we can
sing with David, can we not? As he does in psalm after psalm,
Psalm 135. Praise ye the Lord, praise ye
the Lord, capital L-O-R-D. Praise him, O ye servants of
the Lord. Ye that stand in the house of
the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God, praise the
Lord, for he is good. Sing praises unto his name, for
it is pleasant. For the Lord hath chosen Jacob
unto himself, who to God be the glory, and Israel for his peculiar
treasure. For I know that the Lord is great. I don't act like I believe that
very often. I was, several weeks ago, we
went down and picked up Miss Pete for service. And it wasn't
long, I guess, after the flood and the house and everything.
And she asked about it, and I said, well, Pete, to be honest, it's
been kind of overwhelming. She said, Larry, I remember Don
saying it don't take much to overwhelm us. Oh, if I would
just remember that God is great. and that our Lord is above all
gods. Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he in heaven, and in
earth, and in the seas, and in all deep places. In another place,
Psalm 145, verse 3. Great is the Lord, and great
thee to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. Unsearchable. One generation shall praise thy
works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts, I will speak
of the glorious honor of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous
works, and men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts,
and I will declare thy greatness. A consideration of the greatness
of our great shepherd of the sheep will lead us to do what
the songwriters did. O Lord my God, when I in awesome
wonder considered all the worlds thy hand had made, I see the
stars, I hear the rolling thunder, thy power throughout the universe
displayed. Then, after thinking about that,
after observing that, then, sings my soul, my Savior God to thee,
how great thou art, how great thou art. That's the one David
says is his shepherd. In everything I repeat myself
deliberately. Everything, David says, after
this is the sure and certain consequence of the Lord Jesus
Christ being his shepherd. Here's the root. The Lord's my
shepherd. And here's the flowers flowing
from that. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leadeth
me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He leads
me in the paths of righteousness. Though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death, I won't be afraid. Why, David? Are you
on a higher plateau than me? Are you some kind of super spiritual
Christian? How can you face death so calmly,
so contently? He says, because the Lord, my
shepherd, is going to be with me. He's gone this way before. I'm just following in his footsteps. These are they which follow the
man wherever he goes. They follow him through the grave,
they follow him to glory, and so shall they ever be with the
Lord. Thou prepares the table before me in the presence of
my enemies. The very first flower branch
from this vine we find growing is this, I shall not want If the Lord's my shepherd, David
concludes rightly, I shall not want, I shall not like. What do I need with such a shepherd
as the Lord Jesus Christ? Do I need something that he won't
supply? Do I need something to stand
before God Almighty in addition to the Lord Jesus Christ? If
he's my shepherd, David said, I'm not gonna like anything.
Better translation, perhaps, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall
not lack. Will a saved sinner, a believing
sinner, a redeemed, chosen sinner lack anything that God Almighty
requires? My shepherd takes care of all
that. He takes care of all that. My good shepherd answers every
demand. He already has. And he is yet
doing so, making intercession for me. The good shepherd answers
every demand, every requirement that a holy God has. He answers
it. He answers it. Paul says, what
shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who shall be
against us? He spared not his own son, but
delivery must up for us all. How shall he not also with his
son freely give us everything? The Lord's my shepherd. Who's
going to separate me from the love of God that's in Christ
Jesus? Shall persecution? Shall distress? Shall famine?
Shall nakedness? Shall peril? Shall sword? Paul
had experienced all those things and he said, let me tell you
what, no. The answer is no. None of those things can separate
us from the love of God. Why? Because it's in Christ Jesus,
my good shepherd. Trust in the Lord with all thine
heart, the wise man said, and lean not unto thine own understanding. Ouch! In all thy ways acknowledge
him, and he shall direct thy paths. Briefly now, look at verse 5. Just look at the first few words,
the first phrase of verse 5. Are you looking at it? Thou preparest
the table before me. Thou prepares the table before
me." Again, if the capital word, capital letters, L-O-R-D, prepares
the table, then it must be prepared, John. It must be prepared. I mean, who's going to stop him
from preparing this table? This is his table. He prepares
it. The Lord, who always does exactly as he pleases, is pleased
to do this. Psalm 115 verse 2. Wherefore
should the heathen say, where is now their God? Don't think
this is something that went on in David's time and that it has
ceased. It still goes on. People say
so because they're ignorant. They're arrogant and ignorant.
That's why they mock God. That's why they say, where is
your God? They don't have good sense. That's what my father
would often say to me when I was going out. Now, boy, don't go
out there and show your ignorance. Your parents ever say, my dad
was a man of few words, but he often said that, now when you
go out, boy, when you go out tonight, don't show your ignorance. People who prefer a God who can't
do as he pleases, a God whose will is stymied by man's will,
who would rather wait for a dead Lazarus to take the first step
to Jesus Christ, instead of Jesus Christ by the power of his grace
speaking, Life, the dead sinner, St. Lazarus come forth. People
that prefer that so-called God to the Lord Jesus Christ, they're
ignorant. They're blind. That's why they
say, where is now your God? A child of God, a worshiper of
King Jesus, thankfully answers such ignorant questions with
this, just like David did. But our God is in the heavens.
He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. Now, how do you like
them apples? How do you like them apples?
And notice what David goes on and writes. Thou preparest a
table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Wow. Wow. It's as if God rubs their nose
in it. Is that not so? It's as though
God rubs their nose in it. They hate this, but they can't
do anything about it. They can't stop it. Can they? God prepares, makes provision,
takes care of every need of all his people right in the face
of his enemies who despise God's people and would do everything
they can to stop it, but God uses them to bring it to pass.
How about that? Like he did for Joseph. Joseph,
who said before his treacherous brothers, you meant it for evil,
you meant it for evil, but God That changes everything, doesn't
it? But God meant it for good. And all the good, the good that
came from that, how God overruled it. Paul was thrown in prison
on trumped-up charges. He's bound, but Paul's God is
not bound. They can bind Paul, but they
can't bind God. because God is only bound and
determined to send his word to one of his sheep in that same
prison with Paul, and make them believe that message, cry out,
what must I do to be saved? And a little later that night,
that jailer and his whole household sitting around the table, that
God's prepared, saying that God will do all the great things
he has done. Oh, yes. I wonder, I think Paul
was so accustomed to that. You read the epistles. In one
epistle, I think the epistle to the Philippians, Paul said,
those of Caesar's household greet you. He's in prison. He closes
his epistle and says, those of Caesar's household greet you.
God even snatched trophies of his mighty grace out of the very
household of Caesar. I imagine that Paul had experienced
that so often that every time he landed in prison he would
think to himself, hmm, I wonder who God's going to save this
time? Who's he going to bring to the footstool of the great
shepherd of the sheep this time? Salute every saint, he said in
Christ Jesus, even those of Caesar's household. An old Puritan said
when he found himself in the cellar of a fiction that he remembered
that God kept his best wine there So he would start looking around
and find it and drink of the wine on the leaves well refined. The very demonstration of God
preparing a table in the very presence of his enemies, oh,
is in the death of his son. We read it just a moment ago.
The stone which the builders refused is to become the headstone
of the corner. This is the Lord's doing and
it's marvelous in our eyes. Here's a second thought. Here's
another thing to remember. If the Lord prepares a table,
if the Lord prepares my table, it's going to be some good breakfast.
It's going to be well prepared, isn't it? Exodus chapter 23, ye shall serve
the Lord your God and he shall bless thy bread and thy water. Even our common things are blessed
when the Lord prepares the table. This table is blessed three times. We ask the blessing. The table's
blessing is not of debt but of grace. Triple grace. He grants us grace to serve him.
His grace feeds us with bread. And then his grace blesses the
bread that he supplies us with. Just two more thoughts and I'll
be done. We'll conclude as we usually do this time of the month.
our worship service by observing the Lord's table. As you know, the night the Lord
instituted this ordinance was the same night of the very last
Passover. In Luke's account of it, we read
this in chapter 22. Then came the day of unleavened
bread when the Passover must be killed. The Passover must
be killed. Otherwise, there would be no
blood for God to see and then pass over you. Christ our Passover
is sacrificed to us. And when the hour was come, he
sat down. I'm trying to find how to say
this. The Lord Jesus Christ looked
at that Passover and he knew. Oh, how he knew. That was a picture
of what he was about to endure. That lamb slain, that blood sprinkled,
that wine pressed that he would trod alone, looking out and seeing
none that would help. I looked for help, Isaiah said,
and there was none to help. There was none to help. Father,
Father, my God, why is thou forsaking me? There was none to help. He
trod the wine pressed alone. He by himself attained eternal
redemption for us. And he sat down that night and
he knew all that. Before the world was ever created,
he knew all that. He knew all that. And now he
had come down to an hour. You remember what he told Peter?
Peter, put up your sword, the cup which my father has given
me, shall I not drink it? When the Passover must be killed,
And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles
with him, and he said to them, with desire, with desire of desire
to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, I say unto you,
I will not any more eat thereof until it be fulfilled in the
kingdom of God. And he took the cup, he took
the cup, the cup of God's unmitigated wrath, and he drank it down. And now he hands the cup of blessing
to you and I. As David says, our cup runs over
because he drank that cup of God's wrath. And now for you
and I, our cup is filled with mercy and grace and blessings
and glory from the great shepherd of the sheep. He took the cup
and he gave thanks and said, take this and divide it among
yourselves. For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit
of the vine until the kingdom of God shall come. And he took
bread and gave thanks and break it. and gave unto them, saying,
This is my body, which is given for you, this do in remembrance
of me." When you do this, when you do this, remember me, the
Mars Memorial Day. People are remembered. Those
who gave the ultimate sacrifice are remembered and honored. They
should be. Oh, how much more should he be
remembered and honored by everyone for whom he shed his precious
blood. to wash their sins away. The
Lord Jesus Christ prepared the table and he says to every hungry,
thirsty sinner, everything's ready. Coming down. Don't bring anything with you.
This table is prepared. Don't bring anything of your
own. I prepared this table. It's free to every starving sinner. Every thirsty sinner, come and
welcome. The bride says, come. The church
says, come. The bridegroom says, come. The
spirit says, come. Come and dine. It's prepared.
It's all free. Ho, everyone that thirsteth,
come ye to the waters. And he that had no money, come
ye buy and eat. Yea, come buy wine and milk without
money and without price. Listen to this now. Ask yourself
this. Why do you spend money for that which is not bread?
You've been doing this your whole life. You're still hungry. and
your labor for that which satisfyeth not, hearken diligently unto
me, and eat that which is good from this table that the Lord
has prepared, and let your soul delight itself in fatness." I
almost chose this hymn to be sung this morning on that CD
player. Satisfied, feeding on the husk
around me, till my strength was almost gone, longed my soul for
something better, only still to hunger on. Remember that? Poor I was and sought for riches,
something that would satisfy, but the dust I gathered round
me only mocked my soul's sad cry. I remember that. Well of water ever springing,
bread of life so rich and free, untold wealth that never faileth,
my Redeemer is to me, hallelujah, I have found. Whom my soul so
long has craved, Jesus satisfies my longings through his blood,
I now am saved. You remember in John chapter
2, at the marriage feast in Cana of Galilee, our Lord turned the
water into wine, and the governor of the feast said, oh, my soul,
this is strange. Most of the time, being set forth
the good wine, and after folks have drunk enough they can't
tell the difference, they slip into bad wine. But you've saved
the very best wine for last. This is so unusual. And so it
is with God's grace. He saves the best wine for last. Blessed are those servants whom
the Lord, when he cometh, shall find watching. Verily I say unto
you, that he shall gird himself and make them to sit down to
meet and he will come forth and serve them." Wow. Wow, that's in Luke 12. When
he calls us home to heaven, at his table we'll sit down. Christ
will gird himself in service with sweet manna all around. Meshivah. Remember Meshivah,
Meshivah's shelf. That's a topic. So Mephibosheth. dwelt in Jerusalem,
for he did eat continually at the king's table and was lame
in both feet." But you couldn't tell that with his feet under
the king's table, could you? He raises up the lowly, the poor,
the banished, and allows them to sit at his table and feast
on the good things. I want to read you a text and
I'm done. I received this from the young man who Missy put me
in touch with that's been doing the flooring at the house, him
and a couple other men. And I went in there a few times
pretending that I knew more than I did, John, after it showing
my ignorance. My daddy would have something
to say about that. And I proved that I didn't know much about
it. And after I'd left there Thursday morning, Brandon, this
young man's name, sent me this text. I had texted him first
and said, I'd like to buy y'all's lunch. It was my way of apologizing
for acting stupid. And he said, lunch tomorrow sounds
good, Pastor Larry. I was about to message you myself.
If I offend you this morning, I apologize. It was the other
way around. I understand you guys have a lot of money invested
in us and materials. I know things are kind of kind
of scattered right now, and it's probably hard for you to see
the finished results, but we always clean up afterward, we
complete the job, and do our best to make everything look
professional. It doesn't look like it during the process, but
we like for our customers to be satisfied one way or another. When I read that, and I went
back that evening, I saw the finished product. And I apologize to him again. During the process, it doesn't
look like it will when we're done. And I thought of this. Behold what manner of love that
the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called
the sons of God. It doth not yet appear what we
shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be
like him, for we shall see him as he is. Pray that God will
allow us to remember him. right now. God bless you, thank
you for your teaching. John's going to lead us in one
of Don's hymns in the Song of Grace book, page 135, I think
the first three verses, and then Billy and Terry will pass out
the bread in the while.