Would you turn to the 23rd Psalm? Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green
pastures. He leadeth me beside the still
waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of
righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou
art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort
me. Thou preparest a table before
me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil. My cup runneth over. Surely, goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the
house of the Lord forever. Let's pray. Lord, we ask in Christ's name
that by your grace, you would be our shepherd. And we ask in
Christ's name that we might hear the shepherd's voice this morning
in the preaching of your gospel. Lord, we thank you that you are
our shepherd. And we thank you for all the
glorious benefits we have as you being our shepherd. Bless us with thy presence, be
with all your people wherever they meet together. Forgive us
of our sins for the Lord's sake. In his name we pray, amen. Now I have just read what I would
say is probably the most well-known passage of Scripture in the Bible.
The one that might equal it would be Judge Nod. People love that
verse of Scripture. Well, I don't believe what you're
saying is true. Judge not. Everybody knows that
one. But other than that, I would
say the 23rd Psalm is the most well-known passage of scripture
in all of the word of God. Now, there was once a man who
listened to a famous British stage actor read Psalm 23, and
he was amazed at the majesty and the eloquence of the language,
the way the man read the 23rd Psalm, he was so impressed. The beauty of the language of
this Psalm, and it is beautiful, isn't it? Sometime later, he
heard an old man read the Psalm, and he was moved to tears. Not by the British stage actors,
rendition of the psalm, but this little old man, and he told somebody
about it. He said, my reaction was so different. And the person he was speaking
to replied like this, well, the stage actor knew the psalm. I
believe apparently the old man knew the shepherd. That's the difference. Now is
the Lord my shepherd? That's a good question because
not everybody can say the Lord is my shepherd. Not everybody
can say that. When Judas Iscariot was dying,
could he say the Lord is my shepherd? No, he could not say the Lord
is my shepherd. Now, I need to say this. If Judas
Iscariot would have asked for mercy, He would have been given
it. I don't have any question about
that. There's never been anybody who asked for mercy that the
Lord turned away. But Judas Iscariot could never
say, the Lord is my shepherd. And no unbeliever, I don't care
who they are, no unbeliever can say the Lord is my shepherd. Now, can I say The Lord is my
shepherd. Now, the only prerequisite that
I can think of for someone to say, the Lord is my shepherd,
is they have to be a sheep. That's simple enough, isn't it?
They have to be a sheep. Now, there are only two kinds
of people in this world, sheep and goats. A sheep will never
be a goat and a goat will never be a sheep. Turn with me for
a moment to hold your finger there in Psalm 23 and turn with
me for a moment to Matthew 25. The scripture lays this out so clearly, what
I've just said. There are only two kinds of people,
sheep and goats. Verse 31, When the Son of Man
shall come in His glory, speaking of His second return, and all
the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne
of His glory And before him shall be gathered, what? All nations. Everybody in the universe that's
ever lived is gonna be at this great gathering. Before him will
be gathered all nations and he shall separate them one from
another as a shepherd divided his sheep from the goats And
he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on
his left. Now we see from that passage
of scripture, there are only two kinds of people, sheep and
goats. He is the shepherd of the sheep. That simple. He is the shepherd
of the sheep. Who did Christ die for? I lay
down my life for who? The sheep. The sheep. Now, I think it's interesting. The sheep are the elect. The
goats are everybody else. It is that simple. Let me repeat
that. The sheep are the elect. The
goats are everybody else. And I think it's so interesting
that the Holy Spirit selects the sheep as the animal that
describes a believer. A sheep. Sheep are dirty animals. They're not clean. They contract
so much filth and they are dirty animals. Sheep are amazingly
stupid. Sheep so easily go astray. Sheep have no sense of direction.
When they go astray, they cannot get back. The shepherd must bring
them back. Sheep are defenseless. They don't
have claws. They don't have fangs to protect
themselves. Sheep are defenseless. You know, I've read that when
the wool gets so long and they're so dirty, when they fall over,
they're like a bug or a turtle. They can't get back up. They're
laying there on their back and they cannot get back up. They can't care for themselves. But here's one thing about sheep
that you can't say about any other animal. They know the voice
of the shepherd. And a stranger they will not
follow. Now, sheep, you can see how that
represents you, what I just described of a sheep. Every sheep can say, the Lord
is my shepherd. Every sheep without exception
can say, the Lord is my shepherd. Now, one of the things that I
think is so beautiful about the 23rd Psalm, many things are beautiful
about the 23rd Psalm. But there are eight Jehovas in
the scripture. You've heard of them, Jehovah
Shalom, Jehovah Raha, all these different names of the Lord.
And all of them are implied in this psalm, every one of his
names. For instance, Jehovah Raha means the Lord is my shepherd. The name is right there. Jehovah Shalom, the Lord our
peace. He leads me beside the still
waters, the waters of quietness. Jehovah Rapha, I am the Lord
that healeth thee. Well, he restores my soul. That's
the Lord healing me. He restores my soul. And that
word restore is the word that's generally translated turn. He
turns my soul. I go astray like a lost sheep,
and he turns me to himself. Jehovah tz'kinu, the Lord our
righteousness. He leadeth me in paths of righteousness. for his name's sake. Jehovah Jireh, the Lord shall
provide. Well, isn't that what David meant
when he said, I shall not want? If the Lord's my provider, I
shall not want. Thou preparest a table for me
in the very presence of my enemies. Jehovah Shammah, the Lord is
present. What did David say? Thou art
with me. I have a difficult time pronouncing
this one, but Jehovah Makedishkem, that means I am the Lord that
sanctifies thee. Well, didn't David say, I will
dwell in the house of the Lord forever? That is sanctification. My cup runneth over Jehovah Nisi,
the Lord, our banner, thy rod, that's a scepter, that's a sovereignty,
and thy staff, that which we lean on, that's the person and
work of Christ. They comfort me. What comfort is administered
by the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. So we can see God's character
is resplendent in this glorious psalm. Now let's read it together. David said, the Lord is my shepherd. You know, there are those who
have said that The Lord quoted this from the cross too. Because
of Psalm 22, we have Psalm 23. And because of Psalm 23, we have
Psalm 24, the Great Ascension Psalm. Now, whether that is the
case, I don't know, but I sure wouldn't doubt it. But this is
David speaking. Yes, it's the Lord speaking,
but this is David speaking. And he says, the Lord is my shepherd. And because my shepherd is the
Lord, I shall not want. I know something about feeling
lacking. There's always something lacking
about me. I'm inadequate in my faith, in my love, in my humility,
in my zeal. Just name it. Inadequate is the
word. Lacking. But what does David
say? I shall not lack anything if
my shepherd is the Lord. Whether I feel lacking or not,
I'm not lacking. Because the scripture says, in
him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead body, and you are
what? Complete, plumb, full, nothing
lacking. Because my shepherd is the Lord,
I shall not want. I love the language of verse
two. He maketh me. to lie down in green pastures.
Now, I'm not going to want irresistible grace. He makes me. And that's the kind of grace
I need. I need grace where he makes me lie down. Because I
won't do it unless he makes me. I know myself. I won't do it
unless he makes me. Somebody says, I don't like the
term irresistible grace. I do. I like it a lot. That's
the only kind of grace that will save me is irresistible, invincible
grace. He maketh me to lie down in green
pastures, I'm not going to lack rest. He makes me to lie down
in the green pastures of his word. He leadeth me beside the
still waters. And that word is waters of quietness,
peace. Now, because my shepherd is the
Lord, I'm not going to lack peace. You see, having been justified,
being justified, having been justified, now remember what
justification is? I hope you never, and I hope
I never lose the amazement of this. I stand before God without
sin. That's what justification means,
no sin. Not merely sin forgiven, but
no sin. No sin. That's the only thing.
If the sin question is completely taken care of and I stand before
God having never sinned, that's what justification is. Peace. That's the only thing that gives
me peace. I've never sinned. Verse three, he restores my I
will not lack restoration. He restores my soul. Now this
is the shepherd going after the lost sheep and turning it. That
word, he turns my soul. Same word, he turns my soul.
Now what did David say at the end of Psalm 119? Do you know
what the last verse is? Longest Psalm in the Bible, the
last verse. David says this about himself. He says, I've gone astray. like a lost sheep. Seek thy servant. For I do not forget thy word. Now that is David's assessment
of that glorious psalm. That's the way he ends it. And
every believer knows something about this. Lord, I've gone astray.
It's all my fault. I'm a dumb, stupid, senseless,
straying, dirty, defenseless sheep. And I've gone astray like
a lost sheep. Seek thy servant. He always does. He restoreth my soul. I'm not going to lack restoration.
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake.
I'm not going to lack righteousness. And I've got a reason that I'm
not gonna lack righteousness. He leads me in the paths of righteousness,
His righteousness, not because I deserve it, but for His name's
sake. What peace there is in that. Everything God does, He
does for the sake of His Son. Everything He does for me, He
does for the sake of His Son. Ephesians 4.32 says, Be ye kind,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's
sake hath forgiven you. Why does God forgive you? For
Christ's sake. What if you had to find some
other reason? He forgave you because of how
sorry you were, or how you promised you'd never do it again. I mean,
you put anything else, there's no peace there. But he does it
for Christ's sake. Verse four, yea, though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death. Now that started for
me, September 9th, 1959. And ever since then, I've been
walking through this valley of the shadow of death. You have
too. But even though I do walk through
the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, For thou
art with me. You see, I'm not gonna like his
presence. Thou art with me. You know who's with me right
now? The Lord. You know, there are times that I'm aware of that,
and most of the time, I'm not aware of it. Most of the time.
But at all times, thou art with me. He promised, I will never leave
thee, nor forsake thee. Thou art with me, that's why
I fear no evil, thy rod and thy staff. Now, the word rod is scepter,
scepter. This speaks of his sovereignty. The only God is sovereign. You
know, when we talk about sovereign nations, Only God is sovereign. And this is who he is. He's God. He's God. He's sovereign. Jesus
Christ is God. He's sovereign. His rod, the
scepter of his authority. And the staff is what we lean
on. This represents the person and
work of Christ. I'm leaning on who he is and
what he did. And listen, they comfort me.
Now, understand this about the gospel. I've heard people after
they've heard a sermon, a preacher, I've had people say this to me,
you really stepped on my toes. Really stepped on my toes. There's
no gospel in that kind of thinking. The gospel comforts. Somebody
says, well, my toes have been stepped on. Well, you didn't
hear the gospel then. If you hear the gospel, you're comforted
by the gospel. That all God requires of you,
he looks to his son for, you're comforted by that. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort
me. Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people. The gospel always comforts. And you know, I've said this
before, the only kind of preaching that I like is preaching that
lets me know I'm saved. If I hear preaching that makes
me think, well, maybe I'm not. You know what? I didn't hear
the gospel. Somebody's telling me about what I needed to do
to measure up. And maybe, maybe I'm missing
something. Maybe I'm not saved. That kind
of preaching is, it's not gospel preaching. The gospel, listen
to me, the gospel always comforts. And that doesn't mean the Lord
doesn't chasten his people, I realize that, he does. But the gospel
always comforts. Through thy rod and thy staff,
they comfort me. Verse five. Thou, this is Jehovah
Jireh. Thou preparest a table before
me in the very presence of my enemies. Now, who are my enemies? Now there are people You know
what I'm saying, because you're the same way. There are people
that annoy me. There are people that trouble
me. There's no doubt about that, but those people aren't my deadly
enemies. Who are my enemies? Who are my deadly enemies? My
sins. Those are my enemies. You know, it's, I don't know
how to express this, but when you're, when you have, when you're
a believer, you have two natures and you have that old nature
and everything about that old nature is your deadly enemy.
You see that. And the only way you can understand
that is if you're a believer. An unbeliever has no concept
of this because really an unbeliever doesn't have any concept of sin.
Oh, they know this is wrong and that's wrong, but as far as understanding
something of the deadly enemy of sin, they have no understanding
of it, but a believer does. And David says, you prepare a
table for me. Oh, the table of grace. the table of justification, the
table of complete acceptance, the table of being chosen in
Christ, the streams of mercy never ceasing in the very presence
of my enemies, you prepare that table. You know, I love the scripture
in 1 John 2, verse 1, John says, these things write unto you,
listen, that you sin not. Is sin ever OK? Well, since you're saved, it's
OK. Since salvation is by grace, don't worry. No. These things
have I written unto you that you sin not. When you do. We have an advocate
with the Father. Jesus Christ, the righteous. Now, I'm writing these things
to you that you sin not. But when you do, it's not like
there's any question about whether that's going to take place. When
you do, we have this advocate with the Father. And I love to
think of the advocacy of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, how many
times have you repeated the same sin over and over and over again. Now, with the advocacy of the
Lord Jesus Christ, he doesn't say, well, forgive him again,
forgive him again. No, he just sits before the Father,
stand, and I'm accepted and perfect in Christ Jesus. What a table. Now prepare us the table, the
table of his grace. What provision in the very presence
of my enemies That's why David said, my cup runs over. It runs
over. It's always full. So full. It's always running over because
that's the way his grace is. That's the table of his provision.
My cup runneth over. Verse six. Surely. Surely. I like that word, don't
you? Surely this is for sure. This is no doubt. Surely under
every circumstance, surely, because his grace is sure. David said,
although my house be not so with God, yet have me, have he made
with me an everlasting covenant ordered in all things and sure,
surely goodness and mercy. And these are God's two sheep
dogs. They're gonna follow me. I love
God's two sheepdogs. Surely, goodness, God's goodness. Now, God's always good. He's always good. And this is
his capacity to save somebody like me. Why does God save somebody
like me? Because he's good. He's good. Does that mean he's under some
kind of constraint to save me? No, it doesn't, but God's character,
he delights in mercy. He delights in mercy. Don't miss
that. He delights in mercy. Surely, goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life. Never a day when His goodness
and His mercy is not pursuing me. These sheepdogs keep me in
the fold. His goodness and His mercy. Surely,
Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and
I'm never gonna be homeless. I will dwell in the house of
the Lord forever. I love what David said in Psalm
27. One thing have I desired of the Lord, one thing, that
I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
eternally, to behold the beauty of the Lord. Isn't the Lord beautiful?
All of his glorious attributes, he's beautiful. That I may behold
the beauty of the Lord and inquire into his temple. Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life. And I'll dwell in the house
of the Lord forever. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.