Turn with me, if you would, to
Psalm 23. Psalm 23. Isaac asked me earlier what the
title of the message was, and I told him it's this, it's the
Lord is my shepherd. I believe I could just as easily
said, a message for me. A message for me. Now our text will come from the
23rd Psalm, but I want to start by reading a few verses from
Psalm 51. If you turn over just a few pages
to Psalm 51. We're all familiar with the 23rd
Psalm, but the same man that wrote the 23rd Psalm wrote Psalm
51. Listen to just a few of these
verses here, beginning with verse one. David said, have mercy upon
me, O God. According to thy loving kindness,
according to the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out
my transgressions, wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse
me from my sin. I acknowledge my transgressions
and my sin is ever before me. Against thee and thee only have
I sinned and done this evil in thy sight, that thou mightest
be justified when thou speakest, and clear when thou judgest."
Now, in my Bible, right below where it says Psalm 51, it's
titled, to the chief musician, a Psalm of David. When Nathan came to him after
he had gone into Bathsheba. David, David who was anointed
king, as a young man he was anointed to be king. David who, listen
to these words from Acts chapter 13, Acts 13. Let me just read
these to you. Acts 13.22, it says, When he, that's God, when God
removed him, when he removed Saul, God raised up Saul and
he removed Saul. And then he raised up David to
be the king. God raised up David to be the
king. To whom also he gave testimony
and said this, I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after
my own heart, who shall fulfill all of my will." It was David
as a shepherd that went out and slew that lion and bear and rescued
that lost sheep. It was David who God used to
slay Goliath. You could just go on and on and
on of David's success, of David's accomplishments. But that was just one part of
David, wasn't it? It was David that sinned against
the Lord in numbering Israel. It was David who committed adultery
with Bathsheba and then tried to cover it up by murdering Her
husband, he had Uriah murdered. He told his servant, he said,
you put him out in the hottest part of the battle and withdraw
from him. It was David whose sin brought
reproach on the name of the Lord. And though we don't read much
about David as a young man, we do read this in Psalm 25. David
prayed this, he said, remember not the sins of my youth. Now if you knew nothing about
David, if just these last few things is all we knew about David,
what would we say about him? Would we ever imagine that this
man could be one of God's sheep? An adulterer? A murderer? What would we say? I can't speak for you, I can
speak for me. I'd say, this man's awful. Is there hope for a man like
that? David said this about himself.
He asked that same question of himself. Again, he brought reproach
on himself. He brought reproach on the name
of God. And he knew this about himself.
He said, have mercy on me. He went to the Lord. He said,
have mercy on me according to thy loving kindness. According to the multitude of
thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me. Oh, I need washed. Wash me thoroughly. Cleanse me. Cleanse me from my
sin. I acknowledge my transgressions."
David knew that he was a sinner. He said, my sin is ever before
me. Against thee and thee only have
I sinned and done this evil in thy sight. that thou mightest
be justified when thou speakest, and clear when thou judgest. Against thee, against Almighty
God, have I sinned and done this evil in my sight. And if we go back to David's
sin, that occasion with Bathsheba, with Uriah, afterwards God sent
Nathan the prophet, And he confronted David with his sin. And David didn't do what we typically
do. He didn't make excuse. He didn't
try to come up with something to cover it. What did he do? In 2 Samuel 12, David said unto
Nathan, I've sinned against the Lord. But listen, listen. Listen to what Nathan said unto
David. The Lord also hath put away thy
sin. Thou shalt not die. In spite
of David's fall, in spite of David's sin, in spite of the
fact that he brought reproach on the name of his God, God was
merciful to him. Listen to those words. The Lord
also hath put away thy sin. I can't help but thinking if
there's hope for David, there's hope for me. The Lord hath," listen to some
of these verses, we read inscription, the Lord hath appeared to put
away thy sin by the sacrifice of himself. That sin being, David's sin being
put away had nothing to do with what David had done. He didn't
say, since you slew Goliath, I'll put away thy sin. No, no,
the Lord hath put away thy sin. We read this, he will turn again,
he will have compassion on us, he will subdue our iniquities,
and thou will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Imagine how much of this globe
is covered with water. And there's depths that we can't
even begin, we don't even have the equipment to go down and
explore. Can't get there, can't find it,
can't see it. It says God's put our sins, he's cast our sins
into the depths of the sea. Never, never to be seen. Again, they've been put away.
He said this, God's, their sins and their iniquities shall I
remember no more. I know we struggle to not remember
them. I know we struggle to know that,
but that's God's word speaking. That's Almighty God speaking.
Their sins and iniquities shall I remember no more. This man
who the Lord blessed so richly, this same man who was such a
great sinner and greatly aware of his sin,
he knew his sin. The Lord used him to pin this
23rd Psalm. Turn with me, would you, and
just listen to these words. Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall
not want. He maketh me 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'll 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. There's only one 23rd Psalm. And it's often been a sweet song
to those who mourn. It's often read in a time of
weeping. And for the believer, it's a
source of great comfort, of great hope, and of great joy. David says, the Lord is my shepherd. And I pray the Lord would enable
us this evening not to just see him. And what a blessing it would
be to see him as the shepherd. But I want to know him as my
shepherd, my shepherd. To know him and to be known of
him. The Lord Jesus Christ, my Savior,
my Redeemer, He that loved me and gave Himself for me, all
to see His great love and care for His sheep. Look at verse
1 again. It says, The Lord is my shepherd. Can I say that with confidence? Can I say that with hope? Can
I say that with assurance? The first thing we see here is
the shepherd. And how often in God's Word do
we see our Lord described as a shepherd? Truly, of all things, what condescension
that Almighty God would be seen as a shepherd. In Ezekiel, God
promised to raise up a shepherd. In Zechariah, we read of God's
shepherd. In John 10, he's declared to
be the great shepherd. I want to know him in every one
of those offices, but again, I want to know him above all,
as David did, as my shepherd. The Great Shepherd, he's all-knowing. As the Shepherd, he knows his
sheep. He knows our needs. He knows
our trials. He knows our troubles. He knows
where every one of his sheep are. As the Great Shepherd, he's
all-powerful. He provides everything that's
needed for his sheep. He has all power in heaven and
in earth. He can protect us from the enemy.
He can defend us from every foe. He is mighty to save. That's
what Scripture says. He is mighty to save. And He guides and He directs
and He carries His sheep. Turn to John chapter 10. Hold
your place there in Psalm 23. Turn to John chapter 10. John 10, look at verse 11. John 10, verse 11. It's our Lord
speaking. He says, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep. He was appointed by God the Father. by God's calling, by God's sending. And as the great shepherd of
the sheep, the salvation and care of every one of his people
is committed to him. God's word says this, behold,
the Lord God will come with strong hand and his arm shall rule for
him. Behold, his reward is with him
and his work is before him. Turn to Isaiah 40, verse 10. Listen to the rest. It says,
Behold, the Lord God, verse 10 of Isaiah 40, Behold, the Lord
God will come with strong hand and His arms shall rule for Him.
Behold, His reward is with Him, His work before Him. He shall
feed his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with
his arm and carry them in his bosom. He shall gently lead those
that are with young. They're his flock, given him
by the father, purchased by his own blood. The good shepherd
giveth his life. He lays down his life for the
sheep. That's what he did at Calvary.
He laid down his life for the sheep. In the garden, there in
the garden, he sweat great drops of blood as he prayed to the
Father. And he said this, he said, Father,
if Thou be willing, remove this cup from me, this cup of suffering. Nevertheless, not my will, but
Thy will be done. And after He was betrayed, after
He was beaten and mocked, after He was scourged, after all this,
He hung on the tree. He hung on the cross and bore
my punishment. The punishment that was due me. The punishment that was due His
people. He bore my punishment. He bore
the wrath of a holy God, His Father. Isaiah 53.8 says this,
he was taken from prison and from judgment and who shall declare
his generation? For he was cut off out of the
land of the living for the transgression of my people. Why was he stricken? For the transgression of my people
was he stricken. He laid down his life for the
sheep. delivering them from the curse
of the law, delivering them from the sin, and not one, not one
for whom he died will ever perish. He said, this is the Father's
will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me,
I will lose nothing, not one, but raise it up again in the
last day. He feeds his flock, he leads
his flock, and he gathers them in his arms. Ezekiel 34, 16,
I will seek that which was lost. I will bring again that which
was driven away. I will bind up that which was
broken. I'll strengthen that which was
sick, but I'll destroy the fat and the strong. I will feed them
with judgment. He's the Lord. He's the Lord,
my shepherd. Now, if He's the shepherd, what
does that make us? What are we? Sheep. Sheep. Now, consider some of
the things we know about sheep. One thing is this for sure. They
are prone to wander. Sheep are prone to... Remember
that one lost sheep? He leaves the ninety and nine
and he goes into the wilderness and he seeks that which is lost
until he finds it. I read this and then I actually
talked to a fellow that raised some sheep and he says that one
of the most difficult animals to keep fenced in is a sheep. They'll find just the smallest
little opening in a fence and they'll find a way to get their
nose in there and the next thing they're out. That's us. That's us. But the good shepherd, he goes after that sheep until
he finds it. And when he finds it, he lays
it on his shoulder and he brings it home. He's not going to lose
one, not one. Sheep are full of wants. They
are powerless to defend themselves. They're unable to escape the
enemy. They have no power to take care
of themselves. What's a sheep to do? Rest in
the shepherd. They must have a shepherd to
take care of them or else they'll perish. Listen, sheep are also not animals
that carry a burden. Anybody ever seen a sheep with
a saddle on it or carrying a load? That's not what sheep do. In
fact, sometimes they get out in the rain or out in the water
and they get full of water and they're so weighed down they
can't even move. They can't bear a burden. Does
that sound familiar? We can't bear a burden. But the
shepherd can. The great shepherd can. God's sheep, they're timid, they're
weak, they're defenseless, they're unable to provide for themselves,
unable to bear a burden, and compelled to depend for everything
upon Him whose name is the Lord my Shepherd. Now, not all of
them are His sheep. Turn to John 10. Not all are
God's sheep. John chapter 10, look at verse
24. Then came the Jews round about
him. John 10 verse 24. The Jews came
round about him and they said unto him, how long do you make
us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us
plainly. And Jesus answered them, and
he said, I told you. I told you, and you believe not.
The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.
But ye believe not, because you're not my sheep. As I said unto
you, my sheep, hear my voice, I know them. and they follow
me, and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." What was he
saying to them? You're not my sheep. You're not
my elect. But what about his sheep? What's
scripture say about his sheep? It says this, they hear his voice. They hear my voice. The Lord
says, I know them and they follow me. And I give them eternal life
and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. His sheep hear him. His sheep
follow him. And listen to this, John 10,
27, they hear my voice, I know them and they follow me. Did
you hear that? He says, I know them. He knows his sheep, the shepherd,
he knows his sheep. Well, the shepherd, the sheep,
and listen, the sheep's confidence. The sheep's assurance. Look back
at Psalm 23 verse 1. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. You know to be in want is to
be found lacking. It's to come up short. Nebuchadnezzar was told that.
Remember that? He said, Nebuchadnezzar, you've
been weighed into balance and you've been found wanting. The
prodigal son, that story of the prodigal son, he went out and he spent everything
And you know, all that he had was what his father had given
him. He took his inheritance and he squandered it away. And in time, God's Word says,
he began to be in want. What did he do? What did he do
when he found himself in that position? When he found himself
to be in want? Scripture says this, he returned
to his father. That's us. That's every one of
us. Ye were as sheep going astray,
but are now returned. Who did the returning there?
He did. You've been returned unto the
shepherd and bishop of your souls. The Lord is my shepherd. My shepherd. And listen, if he's
my shepherd and I'm his sheep, that being true, I shall not
want. I may be the weakest sheep. I
may be the dumbest sheep. I may be prone to wander and
stray. I might be old and feeble. But
what's the promise? I shall not want. I may experience sickness and
sorrow and ultimately death. But what's God's word say? I
shall not want. Listen, He is able to save. He is able to present me as sinful and awful as I am.
He is able to present me faultless before His throne. Listen, with
exceeding joy. He's able to raise my vile body. I shall not want. I shall not want for rest. What
do we read there in verse 2? He makes me to lie down in green
pastures. I'm not smart enough to do that
on my own. It doesn't say He asked me to lay down. He makes
me to lay down in green pastures. I shall not want for peace. He
leads me beside the still waters. Verse 3, I shall not want for
redemption, I shall not want for forgiveness, for He restoreth
my soul. In Adam, we died. In Christ, we are restored to
life. He leadeth me in paths of righteousness
for His namesake. You know it's not our nature
to take the path of righteousness. not our nature to know the path
of righteousness, not our nature to even desire the path of righteousness. But He leads us there, every
one of His sheep. He leads me to love it, He leads
me to walk in it for His namesake, for His glory, for His grace. Verse 4, I shall not want for
companionship or comfort, What if this whole world forsakes
us? He won't. He said, I'll never
leave thee or forsake thee. What's David say here? I shall
not want for companionship or comfort. Why? For thou art with
me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort
me. Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death. That sounds like a pretty scary
place, doesn't it? David said, I'll fear no evil.
You know a shadow, a shadow can be pretty frightening. Shadow can't hurt you. And you know for there to be
a shadow, light has to be present. You can't have a, I don't believe
you can have shadow without light. The Lord's always with his people. Our Lord has conquered death,
and only a shadow of it remains. I'll fear no evil, for thou art
with me. Christ is with me. Christ is
with his people. Where the sheep are, the shepherd
is always nearby. He said that. Lo, I'm with you
always, even to the end of the world. Verse 5, I shall not want
for provision, listen, not even in the presence of mine enemies.
He supplies every need. He's prepared a table for me
in the very presence of mine enemies. He's anointed my head
with oil, my cup runneth over. The Lord provides for His people. Verse six, I shall not want for anything
in this world or in the world to come. For His goodness and
mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. and I'll dwell
in the house of the Lord forever." Nothing earned, nothing merited,
our hope, our confidence, our assurance, the Lord Jesus Christ,
the Good Shepherd, the Chief Shepherd, the Great Shepherd. Oh, I pray that I'm his and I
can say, it's David. The Lord is my shepherd. All right.