We have been, for the last several
weeks, studying the names of God, the names by which our Lord
Jesus Christ, our God and Savior, has been pleased to reveal himself.
In Genesis 22, in verse 14, he revealed himself to Abraham as
Jehovah Jireh, the Lord who will provide. In Exodus 15, he revealed
himself to Moses as Jehovah Rapha, the Lord who heals. In Exodus
17 in verse 15, again he reveals himself to Moses as Jehovah Nissi,
the Lord our banner. In Judges 6 in verse 24, we saw
how that he spoke to Gideon and made himself known as Jehovah
Shalom, the Lord is peace. Now tonight I want you to look
with me in Psalm 23. Psalm 23. Here David gives us
another name for our dear Savior. It is Jehovah Ra'ah. If you're taking notes, that's
Jehovah dash R-A-A-H. Jehovah Ra'ah, the Lord my shepherd. Now throughout the Word of God,
the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Savior, is revealed
to us as a shepherd. Blessed is that man and that
woman who can, with a sincere, honest heart of true faith, speak
as David does in this psalm. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. The Lord is
my shepherd. I shall not want. In Genesis
chapter 49, you don't need to turn to these references I've
written down Some notes, I want you to get them, and I think
it'll do you good to look them up later. In Genesis 49, in verse
24, it was promised that the shepherd, the stone of Israel,
would come from the mighty God of Jacob. Indeed, he is the mighty
God of Jacob. The prophet Isaiah, in chapter
40, in verse 11, tells us what Christ would do for his sheep
when he revealed himself as the shepherd. The prophet says, he
shall feed his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with
his arm and carry them in his bosom and shall gently lead those
that are with young. In Ezekiel 34 in verse 23, God
promised that in the gospel age, this age in which we live, he
would gather his elect from the four corners of the earth, both
Jews and Gentiles under one great shepherd. He said, I will set
up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant
David. He shall feed them, and he shall
be their shepherd. Then in chapter 37 of Ezekiel,
in verse 24, the prophet tells us plainly that God's elect shall
have one shepherd. And we read in Zechariah 13 in
verse 7 of the prophecy concerning the slaying of Christ as our
shepherd in our state. God himself cries out, awake,
O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my
fellow. Smite the shepherd, and the sheep
shall be scattered, and I will turn mine hand upon the little
one. You know, of course, that passage
we read in John chapter 10, where our Lord Jesus describes himself
as the shepherd. He says, I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. I am the
good shepherd and know my sheep and am known of mine. The Apostle
Paul describes Christ as the Lord Jesus, that great shepherd
of the sheep. And he calls his blood the blood
of the everlasting covenant in Hebrews 13 and verse 20. And
then the Apostle Peter tells us that ye are his sheep, or
ye were his sheep going astray, but now are returned unto the
shepherd and bishop of your souls. And he assures us that when the
chief shepherd shall appear, then shall ye receive a crown
of glory that fadeth not away. Now this is our Savior's name
as he's described here in Psalm 23 and verse 1, Jehovah-rah-ah,
the Lord my shepherd. The Lord Jesus Christ was called
and anointed, appointed and ordained by God his Father to be our shepherd
in the covenant of grace before the world began. By an act of
great condescending love, by an act of great infinite mercy
and grace, he freely, voluntarily agreed to be our shepherd. Now I want you to understand
this. If we can understand this one thing, Just understand this
one thing. It'll give comfort and peace
to your heart in the midst of all your earthly trials. Jesus
Christ, our Lord Jesus Christ, voluntarily, willingly, deliberately,
before the world was, entered into a covenant arrangement with
the triune God as our shepherd. And as our shepherd, We were
entrusted into his hands by God the Holy One, our Father, yes,
even the triune God. We were entrusted into the hands
of Christ as our mediator and our shepherd. And he, by that
covenant agreement, became responsible He became responsible by his
own oath, by his own word, by his own decree. He became responsible
for all his sheep. He became responsible to redeem. He became responsible to justify. He became responsible to call. He became responsible to save. He became responsible to preserve. He became responsible to sanctify. He became responsible to bring
his sheep at last into the presence of God himself and to present
them faultless before the presence of his glory. He didn't leave
anything in your hands or mine. The Lord Jesus Christ as the
shepherd is responsible under his own decree and oath, by his
own voluntary will, to bring every one of his sheep safe into
the heavenly fold. Our Lord Jesus Christ describes
this for us in John chapter 6. I want you to turn there. John
the 6th chapter. He says in John 6 and verse 37, All that the Father giveth me,
that's in the present tense, that is, all that the Father
now, by His grace, by the power of the Spirit through the Word,
is in the process of giving me, all that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. And him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven not
to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me." Now,
that has something to do with the Father giving his sheep to
the shepherd. It has something to do with the
Father giving his elect people to Christ and Christ saving them. He says, I came to do this. I
came to do this. He says in verse 39, and this
is the Father's will, the Father's will which hath sent me, that
of all, look at it now, that of all which he hath, do you
see it, at one time in the past, in that everlasting covenant
of grace, this is the Father's will, that all which He hath
given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again
at the last day. And this is the will of Him that
sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son, they're the same
people, everyone which seeth the Son, and believeth on him,
may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last
day." What our Lord is saying is this. Number one, every sinner
who comes to me, I'll not cast out. Those who come to me, come
to me because they're given to me by God my Father, and I'll
not cast them out. He's telling us that those who
do come, were given to Him before the world was, and they became
His responsibility. He tells us that they shall see
Him and believe Him, and that all who see and believe Him,
He will raise them up at the last day. None of His sheep shall
perish. The Father gave Him a commandment.
It was not a matter of the Son being subjected to the Father
by nature. He is not in one wit less than
God. He is in every way equal to God,
for He is God. But our Lord Jesus, by covenant
relationship, by His own will, purpose, and design, voluntarily
subjected Himself to the will and the decree of God in covenant
grace for this purpose, that He might save those sheep. Now,
either he saves those sheep, or he fails in his mission, he
fails in his work, the purpose of God, the will of God, the
decree of God, the plan of God, the covenant of God, the honor
of God, everything falls to the ground. That's how important
it is that we insist upon the success of our Savior. Now, Jesus
Christ was appointed of God to be the shepherd, and he is abundantly
qualified. He is Himself the omniscient
God. He knows all His sheep, all our
maladies and all our needs. He knows where His sheep are,
what their case is, and what must be done for them. Christ
our Shepherd is the Omnipotent One. He is the Almighty God. He has all power in heaven and
in earth. He can do all things for us,
so none of His sheep are in danger. This shepherd can and will provide
for his sheep, protect his sheep, defend his sheep, and save his
sheep. In him are hid all the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge. He will guide and direct his
sheep in the best path, and he will bring them all at last to
the heavenly fold. O Spirit of God, teach us to
trust Jesus Christ as Jehovah-rah-ah, the Lord, my shepherd, my shepherd. Because Christ is Jehovah Ra'ah,
the Lord my Shepherd. I have nothing to fear. I have
nothing to fear. Nothing within me and nothing
without me. Nothing to fear, either temporal
or eternal. Nothing to fear, either of evil
or of God himself. I have nothing to fear. and everything
to give me comfort, hope, peace, and joy." Now here in Psalm 23,
David declares the blessed fact which he perceived and rejoiced
in by faith. He says, the Lord is my shepherd. As his heart meditated upon this
fact, he began to realize the blessings that would surely flow
to him because the Lord Jehovah, the one true and living God was
and is his shepherd. We will look at these six verses
line by line. I pray that God, the Holy Spirit,
will be our teacher, that he'll give me your heart's attention
and that he'll speak through me to your hearts. Oh, that we
may find in these words, words that express not only David's
faith, but our faith, not only David's affection, but our affection.
Not only David's confidence, but our confidence. Number one,
the Lord is my shepherd. What a word of faith. What a
word of faith. David does not say the Lord is
our shepherd. That'd be great. He says the
Lord is my shepherd. He does not say the Lord was
or the Lord shall be, but rather the Lord is my shepherd. He does
not say, I hope or I think, but rather David speaks with confidence
and assurance. He says, the Lord is. No question about it. The Lord
is my shepherd. How could he possibly speak so?
How could he say so? Is it possible for any of you
or for all of you? Is it possible for you and me
to speak with this kind of confidence, with this kind of assurance,
with no doubt, with no hesitancy, with no question whatsoever,
and say concerning Him who is seated on the throne of glory,
He is my shepherd? Is it? Or is that just presumption? Is it possible to speak so, or
is that just a man whistling in the dark? I'm telling you,
David knew the Lord was his shepherd because David had one reason
for knowing it. He trusted him, Lindsay. That
was it. He trusted the Lord as his shepherd. There was nothing else. He acknowledged
his entire dependence upon Christ as sheep upon their shepherd.
And trusting Christ as his shepherd, David could not doubt his interest
in his shepherd. Now this is the one thing that
our hearts must settle now. Is he or is he not our shepherd?
If he is, we have everything to rejoice in, nothing to fear. Everything to make us glad, nothing
to make us sad. It's one thing for the shepherd
to say, this is my sheep. But here is a sheep looking to
the shepherd and saying, the Lord is my shepherd. The possession
of faith. The possession of faith. I've laid hold on Him. He's my
shepherd. He's my shepherd. That expresses
David's faith in Christ. He trusted him. It expresses
his affection for Christ. He loved him. It expresses his
joy because of Christ. Looking upon Christ, he found
everything to make his heart rejoice. Now, my friend, if you
trust Christ, whoever you are, if you trust Christ, the Lord
is your shepherd. West Roseboom, if you trust him,
he's your shepherd. Now, that's just all there is
to it. That's just all there is to it. Do you or do you not
trust Him? If the Good Shepherd has called
you and called you to hear His voice, if you follow Him, that
is to say, if you trust Him, you're one of His sheep. He's
your shepherd. He's the one who calls His sheep
to hear His voice. Nobody else does. Do you hear
His voice? His sheep follow Him. No one
else does. Do you follow Him? His sheep
are led out by him. Are you led out from religious
custom and tradition and the bondage and the curse of the
law and the bondage and the guilt of sin? Has he led you out? Do
you follow him? If so, he's your shepherd. You
can speak just as David does. Settle it then. And this question
will settle all others. Do you trust the Lord Jesus Christ? If you do, Merle, you're one
of his saved sheep, and Charlotte is too. That's right. He that believeth on the Lord
Jesus Christ is saved. He has everlasting life. He that believeth not is damned. He has no life. Now, if the Lord
is my shepherd, and I cannot doubt that He is, I cannot doubt
that He is, I belong to Him. I'm His property. He owns me. And the fact that I belong to
the Son of God gives me utmost confidence and security and inspires
my heart to daily consecrate myself to Him. I've been chosen
of God. I've been given to Christ as
one of His elect sheep from the foundation of the world. And
the shepherd is responsible for his sheep. This shepherd takes
such high value of his property that he would sooner lose his
life than lose his sheep. And indeed, he lost his life
to keep from losing his sheep. Christ Jesus redeemed me. He
purchased me with his own precious blood. He laid down his life
for this sheep. He laid down his life in the
room, in the place, in the stead of this poor, helpless, defiled,
worthless sheep. I'm His. I was given to Him before
the world began. Christ, my shepherd, has sought
me. He's found me. He saved me by
His grace. And Christ Jesus protects me.
He keeps me. He preserves me. And He promises,
I give unto Him, this man. He makes this promise to me.
I give unto Him eternal life. And He shall never perish. Never. Is it possible then for
Don Fortner to perish? Is it possible for Don Fortner
to cease to have eternal life? No. A thousand times, no. He's my shepherd. He's my shepherd. Christ Jesus has given life which
cannot be taken away. The Lord who is my shepherd will
bring me safe to heaven at last. Let's look at that text in Luke
15. Luke chapter 15. It'll do you good. Verse 3. He spake this parable unto them,
the self-righteous Pharisees. This is what he said. What man
of you having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth
not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after
that which is lost? The hundred sheep in the parable
refer to all mankind falling in at him. The one lost sheep
refers to all of God's elect given to Christ in the covenant
of grace. And the Lord Jesus Christ leaves
the ninety and nine self-righteous Pharisees in the wilderness of
the fall, helpless, doomed and damned, though they know it not.
He's got his heart on the one lost sheep, the object of his
love and care. And he goes after that lost sheep,
look at it, until he find it, and when he hath found it, he
lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. O my soul, when he came to where
I was, and found me and snatched me from the pit of damnation,
darkness. Hell itself snatched me as a
bran from the burning and laid me on his shoulders. I rejoiced,
but hear me. He rejoiced too. He lays it on
his shoulders rejoicing. And he says here, And when he
cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying,
Rejoice with me, for I found my sheep which was lost. I say
unto you likewise that there shall be joy in heaven over one
sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons
which need no repentance. When I die, my shepherd will
carry me home with joy, and at the appointed hour my shepherd
will appear and raise my body to everlasting glory, and what
he does for me He'll do for all his sheep, every one of them.
Now then, Lindsay, if I belong to Christ, if he's my shepherd,
let me ever consecrate myself to him. I'm his sheep. There's not one piece of wool
on my back but what belongs to him. Everything, lock, stock,
and barrel. All time, all talents, all money,
all gifts, all possessions, all relationships, everything belongs
to Him. And I come willingly and I say,
Lord, take possession of what's rightfully Yours. Take me, take
me, take all that I am and make use of everything for Your glory. Oh, what a blessed hope that
He might be pleased to use you. the likes of Bob Ponser and Don
Fortner for his glory in this generation. Let's give it all
to him. Let's give it all to him. Do
you see the meaning of these words then? The Lord is my shepherd. Our Savior's name is Jehovah
Ra. Meditate on this fact. Oh, what
a blessed fact. What may faith deduce from it?
The Lord is my shepherd. of what can I reasonably, according
to the word of God, according to the character of my shepherd,
what can I deduce from this fact? David tells us. Because the Lord
is my shepherd, and this is my second point, I shall not want. That just makes good sense, doesn't
it, Darwin? The Lord's my shepherd. I shall not want. Faith must
draw this conclusion. If the Lord's my shepherd, I
don't want anything, and I shall not want anything, because he's
everything. And having him, I possess all
things. I shall not want for any temporal
good, none of Christ's sheep, like anything in this world that's
good, needful, and useful for them. I know what this religious age
of nuts, fools, and con men say, Bobby, if you believe on Jesus,
pray for a Cadillac to give it to you. That's greedy, it's covetous,
it's idolatrous, it's blasphemous. But I want to tell you something.
Trusting Him, He gives you everything you need. Everything. Ask Him,
He'll give it. Ask Him. Whatever I need, that's
good for me. and good for his kingdom. Whatever
I need that I can and will use for his glory and his people,
David, he gives it. Whatever it is. If I need a little
strength to get the work done, he gives it. If I need a little
extra energy to get the labor of the day done, he gives it.
If I need money to get me from one place to another to preach
the gospel, He gives it. If I need something to give to
my neighbor, He gives it. Whatever it is that I can and
will use for His glory, He gives it. I've been young and now I'm
old, David said. But I'll tell you something I've
never seen. I've never seen the righteous
forsaken, nor his seed baking bread. Never. How does he give? One day at
a time. One day at a time. The manna
falls from heaven, and they that gather little lack nothing, and
they that gather much have nothing left over. That's just all there
is to it. That's just all there is to it.
The Lord provides our daily bread as we need it, as we'll use it
for the glory of his name. God teach us to be faithful,
to whom there is a willingness, or in
whom there is a willingness, a real willingness, to use what's
put in their hands for the glory of Christ, to them it's given. Rex, you don't mind me using
you for an illustration, do you? I don't have any idea what goes
on here, so I presume this is the way things are. For years, Rex struggled working just what you could get around
here as a carpenter. Worked hard, but struggling to
make ends meet. God opens up a way for you. Make
sure you use it. You follow what I'm saying? Make
sure you use it for His glory. Where there's a willing heart
to use it, He'll provide the means. I don't have any question
about it. If we as a congregation truly have a heart to do more
with what God puts in our hands, we can't possibly run out of
means. We can't possibly run out of
means. If I as an individual truly have a heart to use what
God puts in my hands for His glory, it's not possible for
me to run out of the means of using it for His glory. It's
not possible. It's not possible. I shall not
want. Well, the practical application
is this. In Matthew chapter 6, take no fault. Don't fret. Don't worry about it. saying
what shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or wherewithal shall
we be clothed? Don't fret about tomorrow, and
sure don't fret about ten tomorrows, and surely don't fret about thirty
years of tomorrows, what you're going to eat, or what you're
going to drink, or what you're going to wear. For after all
these things do the pagan, heathen, Gentiles who believe not God
seek. Mark, that's what men live. Those
men you work for over there, I work with over there. They
live for what they can eat, what they can drink, what they can
wear. Don't you do it. Don't you do it. Don't you do it. That's
what ungodly unbelievers live for. Your heavenly Father knows
you have need of these things. So seek ye first the kingdom
of God and His righteousness and all these things. Everything
you need to eat, drink or wear shall be added unto you. Take
therefore no thought for the morrow. For the moral shall take
thought for the things of itself. Sufficient to the day is the
evil thereof. More importantly, I shall not
want any spiritual thing. In him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. And Oscar Bailey, you're complete
in him. Complete in him. Perfect in him. in him blessed
with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. What is it
that we have need of? We have it in Christ Jesus. Christ
is the one in whom all fullness dwells, and we have all our needs
supplied from his fullness with a superabundance. Our soul shall
never want for spiritual food, for by Him we go in and out and
find pasture. He is the bread of life. In Him
we have bread enough and to spare. He is the fountain of living
water. Those who drink at this fountain will never thirst for
another. We shall never want for clothing,
for He is the Lord our righteousness, and we wear the robe of His righteousness.
Our heart shall never want for rest, for He is our resting place,
our Sabbath in whom we find rest for our soul. And these words,
according to Dr. Gill, could be translated, I
shall not fail, or I shall not come short. And so the meaning
would be, because the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not fail
to attain eternal glory and eternal happiness. I give unto them eternal
life. They shall never perish. Thirdly,
he maketh me. to lie down in green pastures.
The word pastures is in the plural. These green pastures are all
found in the Word of God. Christ graciously, tenderly makes
his sheep lie down in the green pastures of his Word where we
find rest, safety, satisfaction, and peace. Did you ever notice
how that as you get along in the world, you get so busy, so
busy. If you belong to God, this is
true. If you don't belong to God, it doesn't work this way.
I've seen young couples struggle and pray that God give them some
children. God gives them a child. And when that child's born, they
give thanks and they rejoice. And after a while, that child
begins to take their attention and all their time and all their
care. But if they belong to God, God will do something by one
means or another, either by his spirit in their hearts or by
his providence in their lives, to make them lie down in here. He'll do it. He'll do it. I've
seen others, when they begin to stray, they just go on straying. They just go on straight. That's because they're not His
sheep. They're not His sheep. You notice how that in your business,
in your daily life, in your trials and difficulties, you begin to
neglect the green pastures of His Word. You neglect the very
thing that you most desperately need. We're such fools. We're just such fools. We know
what we need and we neglect it. We know where all comfort, soul,
strength and food is found and we go somewhere else. Just neglect
it. David, if you belong to God,
he won't let you. He graciously, tenderly, effectually makes his
sheep lie down in these green pastures. Aren't you glad? Aren't
you glad? Those green pastures, what are
they? The covenant of His grace. Oh, my soul. When this sheep finds himself
most in danger, most downcast, most in trouble, when everything
around me seems to be crumbling, nothing gives my soul comfort
and peace like this blessed knowledge. although my house be not so with
God. Yet he hath made with me an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things, and sure, and that's all I want,
that's all my desire, even if I don't see it growing." He made
the covenant. The person and work of Christ,
there's a place for you to find rest for your soul. What Christ
has done, who He is, where He is now, and the blessed doctrines
of the gospel. When you're all blackened with
sin and defilement and corruption, your heart and your mind is so
polluted that you dare not look upon yourself. And everything
in you spells corruption. ungodliness and filth. Come here to the blessed doctrines
of the gospel. There's nothing like it. I hear
people say, I don't want to hear any doctrine. Give me some doctrine.
That's the meat upon which my soul thrives. Give me some doctrine. That's the blessed assurance
of my soul. I have before God an imputed righteousness and
an imparted righteousness, a righteousness that God will not take away. I have before God this word of
assurance. He will not impute sin to me. Now, Darwin, when I am full of
sin, there's nothing that speaks to me comfort like that. God
won't charge me with sin. God won't charge me with sin.
That's good doctrine. That's sweet, tender grass for
the sheep to feed upon. He makes you to lie down in the
green pastures, that is, the ordinances of the gospel. He
brings you again, some way or another, if he is, he'll bring
you again to find your place in the house of God, in the public
worship of God's saints, to hear the preaching of the gospel.
So is that important? You can't live without it. You
can't live without it. He'll cause you to read his word.
He'll cause you to call upon him in prayer. He'll cause you
to join his saints in singing his praise. He'll bring you again
to the Lord's table, and oh, what feasting your soul shall
have. Fourthly, the Lord, who is my
shepherd, leadeth me beside the still waters. What a gentle word,
leadeth. Thoughtfully, tenderly, Christ
leads his sheep like Jacob of old. He leads us to the soft,
deep, quiet waters as we're able to bear it. Just as we're able
to bear it. Now notice, when the Lord leads,
he leads me beside the still waters. Waters of quietness. not along the rough waters of
strife and turmoil. That's for the ungodly. That's
for the debating men and children of the flesh. He leads me beside
the still waters, not the loud, babbling, shallow waters of emotionalism. Now you guard against it, and
you guard against it well. I hear people talk about coming
into the church service and, oh, can't you feel the Spirit
moving? Isn't it great to feel this and to feel that? Now don't
misunderstand me. Feeling is great. I'm thankful
that God allows us to feel life and to feel rest and to feel
pardon. It's something that we rejoice
in. But now you listen to me. If all you're after when you
come through those doors is a little emotional uplift, a little emotional
stirring. It's not hard to give it. It's
sure to deceive, and it won't last long. It won't last long. I don't stir people to emotionalism,
just emotionalism. Our still waters of peace is
the real substance of divine truth. And as he leads us, he
leads us as we're able to bear it, to understand it, into the
still waters of God's everlasting love. That's like a river, the
streams whereof make glad the hearts of God's elect. Christ
himself is a pure river of the water of life from which all
his sheep drink freely and constantly. The Lord our shepherd leads his
sheep into the pleasant waters of spiritual communion with the
eternal God. Now there's some waters to swim
in. Jesus Christ, the good shepherd,
brings his sheep into union with God himself,
so that they who pant after the living God shall have their thirst
quenched. Jehovah-rah-ah, the Lord who
is our shepherd, leads all of his sheep into the deep still
waters of Holy Scripture. and causes them to wade through,
to drink from, and to swim in the refreshing truths of the
gospel. All who are athirst are invited to come to the waters,
the waters of this book, the gospel of His grace, and to buy
without money and without price, and to find that which is real,
substantial, and lasting. And in heaven's eternal glory,
you know what? When this life is over, the Son
of God, our Shepherd, is still going to be leading us to the
still waters of peace where there's no sorrow and no tears. I'll
show you. Revelation chapter 7. Revelation
chapter 7. These are the men and women who
came out of great tribulation, who washed their robes and made
them white in the blood of the Lamb. Verse 15, Therefore are
they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in
his temple, And he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among
them, and they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more,
neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb
which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall
lead them unto living fountains of water, and God shall wipe
away all tears from their eyes. Fifthly, he restoreth my soul. how often he comes. He comes to me when I cannot and will not go to him. When my soul is downcast, fainting
and disconsolate, day by day Jehovah my shepherd restoreth
my soul. When I stray he fetches me back.
When I seem to be dying within, he relieves, he refreshes, he
revives, he comforts me. He restores my soul with some
fresh discovery of his love. He restores my soul with some
blessed promise of the gospel, or some sweet memory of his sacrifice, or with the loving rod of his
correction. I kiss the rod. It's my father's rod. He sends
out the black dog of affliction to nip at the heels of his sheep
to restore their souls, to keep them in line, to keep them where
they ought to be at his feet. He restores my soul with the
renewing grace of his spirit. He leadeth me in the paths of
righteousness for his namesake. Jehovah leads his sheep, all
of them in the same paths. Sometimes the paths chosen for
us are rough and rugged, but they're his paths. They're paths
of righteousness, and they are paths which lead us home. These
paths of righteousness are the paths of faith, paths of self-denial,
obedience, and of love. And our Shepherd leads us in
these paths, not with a whip of the law driving us in the
direction we ought to go, but leading us by His example, leading
us by His Word, leading us by His Spirit. He leads us in the
path of faith. He leads us in the path of self-denial. He leads us in the path of obedience.
He leads us in the path of love, commitment, and consecration
to Him. And commenting on this passage,
John Gill said, Christ leads his sheep by faith to walk on
in him and in his righteousness, looking through his righteousness
and on account of it for eternal life. And he so leads us for
his namesake, for his own glory, for the praise of his own grace,
that no flesh should glory in his presence, but as it is written,
he that glorieth must glory in the Lord. Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Now this
I know. If Christ leads me in his path,
I must, as long as I live in this world, walk through the
valley of the shadow of death. As long as I live in this world.
Now let me help you here. Believers must, through much
tribulation, enter into the kingdom of God. And these trials and
tribulations and afflictions of life are what David here describes
as the valley of the shadow of death. That's the deep valley
over which there is the shadow of death, telling us that death
is certain to come. Now, I'll give you some scriptures.
I can't look them up. Time is running too fast. You
can look these up, Psalm 44, verses 18 and 19. Psalm 107,
verses 10 and 14. Jeremiah 13, verses 15 through
17. All of those passages speak of
afflictions and trials and heartaches, tribulations and troubles as
being the valley of the shadow of death. Now though I must walk
through this valley, this valley of the shadow of the foreboding
of death, I will fear no evil. David, you're talking above yourself
now. Well, yeah, but not above faith. Not above faith. I will fear
no evil. Why? Because the Lord is my shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. He who
leads me into the valley will lead me through the valley and
out of the valley. How can I fear when my shepherd
walks before me? I will fear no evil. I will not
fear Satan, the evil one, who walks about as a roaring lion,
seeking whom he may devour. I will fear no evil man, for
the Lord is my strength. I will not fear any evil thing,
though the foundations of the earth should be removed. The
Lord is my shepherd. He's my strength. He's my help.
He's my deliverer. There's no reason for me to fear.
And child of God, Men and women, young and old,
hear me, hear me. There's never a reason for you
who trust the Savior to fear anything or anybody. Never. Aren't you afraid when you get
on that plane and take off? Why, no. My soul, my God rules
in heaven too. Aren't you afraid when you leave
your wife and daughter and you're gone for days and weeks at a
time? No, no. My God can protect my family
heaps of better than I can. He always has. Aren't you afraid
when you can't see how you're going to get your next, next
meal for your family, put it on the table? No, no. The Lord's
my shepherd. The Lord's my shepherd. Aren't
you afraid when you go under the surgeon's knife that you
may never wake up again? Oh, no. That's sure nothing to
fear. That's nothing to fear. Well,
why? How is it that you can have such
confidence? I have every reason to. He's
my shepherd. He's my shepherd. I've got nothing
to fear. For thou art with me. Oh, Shepherd of Israel, make
me ever to know that you're by my side, with me, with me. If I can, with the eye of faith,
hold his hand. No. If I can, with the eye of
faith, know that he holds my hand. If I can, with the eye
of faith, know that he's with me, with me. It matters not what
comes to pass or where I go. It matters not. Thy rod and thy
staff, they comfort me. The allusion here is to the shepherd's
staff by which he both counted his sheep and directed his sheep.
There are many, many references to this in the Old Testament.
The shepherd's staff, you know, that long staff with a crook
on the end of it. His word is the rod of his strength. His promises are the staff of
consolation. By these, we're sustained and
comforted in the midst of all our trials. Now, the shepherd's
rod or the shepherd's staff has many uses. When his sheep stray
from him, the shepherd watches them. And he takes that long
crook on that staff and pulls them back in line. He draws them
back to himself. He fetches them back. Aren't
you glad? The rod is used to direct the
sheep. They get out of line, he slaps
them on the butt with that rod, they get back in line. Aren't
you glad? Well, the rod stings a little.
That's a sting of love. The rod was also used to protect
the sheep. They're going along and Some
animal comes out of the woods or from behind a rock, and we
catch them quickly, and the shepherd takes that rod and slays the
ferocious beast. The rod is used for the numbering
of the sheep as well. A shepherd numbers his sheep
when he brings them into his fold. Over at Ezekiel, he tells
us how he made them to pass under the rod. When the sheep come
into the fold at night, The shepherd would stand there at the gate
going into the fold, and before the sheep would go in, he'd touch
everyone up with his rod. And by that means, he would count
his sheep. And he knew, and then he took
out in the morning, and he makes certain he's got exactly that
many when he comes in to eat. That's what he does in conversion.
He makes you to pass under his rod. He touched you with his
rod that you're mine. And in the last day when he brings
us up before the throne of glory, he'll cause us to pass under
his rod. In David he'll say, Lo, I and the children, all the
sheep which the Father hath given me. Soon we must pass through
the last of our trials We must go down to the grave, but remember,
when you go down to the jaws of death, it is but the valley
of the shadow of death, not really death. God's elect will never
die, never! We simply fall asleep in the
arms of Christ our Savior, and we shall pass through the valley
and through the shadow of death up into everlasting life and
glory. There's no cause to fear. Thou
preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.
I've got to quit. A Jew said, can God prepare a
table in the wilderness? Yes, sir, brother, he can. But
I don't see anything. I don't see. Look up to the heaven. Watch God open his hand and the
manna fall down. He prepares a table before us,
right here in the presence of our enemies. He prepares a spiritual
feast for us. While we live in this world,
He allows us, His children, to feast upon Him, to join the banqueting
at His table like Mephibosheth ever all the days of our lives,
to sit at the King's table and to feed upon Him. And in heaven,
He'll prepare a table before us in the presence of our enemies.
The rich man lifted up his eyes in hell and he saw Lazarus. Well, who's that? That old Lazarus. Look at him now. Look at him
now. Thou preparest a table before
me in the presence of thine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil. That's the ninth point, verse
5. The allusion here is to the custom in those ancient Eastern
countries. They anointed the heads of guests
at any feast or great celebration. And David is saying Christ pours
out the oil of gladness upon all of his people. He gives his
spirit to all of his own. He's talking about the anointing
of the Spirit which every believer has. It is that anointing which
seals and preserves us as His. It is that anointing which teaches
us all things. It is that anointing which gives
us access to the Father as high priests before Him. It is that
anointing which fills us with comfort and joy. My cup runneth
over. That's number ten. My cup runneth
over. Realizing that Christ is my shepherd.
Realizing something. of what He has done, is doing,
and shall do for me, realizing some little measure of the infinite
bounty of His grace, of the infinite fullness of His mercy and goodness
to me, that which He bestows upon me, I must confess my cup's
just running over, just running over, sloshing out on every side. Why? Why? for the thirsty ones
down below, for folks around whose cups seem to be empty,
for my joy and goodness, for my happiness and His glory. All the blessings of His grace
in the covenant are mine. All things in time are mine.
All the bounty of heaven is mine. All things in eternity are mine.
Christ is mine, my covenant. If my cup runs over, Lord God,
let the overflow refresh another. And if I am so abundantly blessed
of God, I ought always to be a man of contentment with God. Eleven, because Christ my Savior
is Jehovah-rah-ah, the Lord my shepherd. I must make this conclusion
too. Surely, goodness and mercy, goodness
and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. It means
two things. It means from the cradle to the
throne. Goodness pursues me. The goodness
of God is on my feet. I can't wait to see what happens
tomorrow. Goodness pursues me. It's been pursuing me for 37
years. Means this too. Goodness follows
me wherever I go. Now that's a point of testing. If goodness pursues me and I'm
one of his sheep, wherever my feet land, goodness follows me. goodness to you, to you and to
you. Mercy pursues me. Long before the world was made,
God set his goodness and mercy upon me. And before the world
was made, mercy began to pursue me. And it pursued me right down
to the time when I was born. and all the days of my rebellion
to the time when he called me by his grace, and it pursues
me still until it brings me up to his throne. And wherever mercy
is, mercy follows. I too will be merciful to men.
One last thing. And I shall dwell in the house
of the Lord forever. Let me give you three things
here. This is my resolution. This is it. I shall, because
the Lord is my shepherd, I shall constantly attend the public
worship of my God. You come looking for me, you
can find me in the house of God. That's where you can find me.
But I've got other concerns. I'm sorry, I don't. I don't have
any other concerns. The pastor does so many things
in this world. This is my resolution. I shall
dwell in the house of the Lord. This is where you can find me.
This is where you can find me. I'll not neglect it. Secondly,
this is my assurance. I shall dwell, that is, I shall
forever abide in the church, which is the temple of the living
God, as a pillar in his house. By His grace, this is where I
am. And by His grace, this is where
I shall be to eternity. And this is my hope. I shall
dwell in that house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Because Jehovah-rah-ah is the
Lord who is my shepherd. Amen.