This evening, we'll take a good
look at Psalm 23. Psalm 23 is the Psalm of David,
the Lord, L-O-R-D, capital, Jehovah, God Almighty, the Lord is my
shepherd. God is our savior and God is
our shepherd. And that being so, he says, I
shall not, I shall not want, I shall not want. Now, the title
of the message then is what is said in that first verse, the
Lord is, He's the Shepherd. But I like the way David puts
it in the most personal way, He's my Shepherd. He's my Shepherd. I trust that you can say that
in your heart, He is my Shepherd. Now this psalm is probably the
best known of all 150 psalms. is often read by believers who
are seeking comfort, hope, and assurance in a time of distress
and in trouble. I often find myself meditating
upon this psalm. in prayer and in meditation in
times of heartache and sickness and trouble, this psalm has the
same message as all the psalms in the entire book of psalms,
and that message is Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus
Christ is the only shepherd of the sheep. He is the good shepherd
who laid down his life. He is all and in all in the salvation
of his people. He is the one way. He is the one shepherd. There's just one gospel, one
Lord, one faith. and one way of salvation. The Apostle Peter put it this
way when they questioned him, he said, neither is there salvation
in any other, for there's no other name under heaven given
among men whereby we must be saved. Christ is the way. Now
this Psalm of comfort, Psalm 23, follows the Psalm of the
cross, Psalm 22. where the Lord quotes this Psalm,
Psalm 22 from the cross. Look at verse 1, My God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me? Some people think that the Lord
Jesus Christ on Calvary's tree as he hangs there with our sin
laid upon him quotes this whole 22nd Psalm. And that may be so,
I don't know. But we know for sure that he
did, quote, part of it. And some think he quoted all
of it. This Psalm of Comfort, Psalm 23, follows the Psalm of
the Cross, the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see,
without Christ crucified, we have no comfort. Without the
Lord Jesus Christ crucified for our sin, we have no hope of forgiveness,
do we? except God forsake him as he's
made sin for us, we would have no hope of forgiveness. We'd
have no pardon of sin without the Lord Jesus Christ crucified. That's why the Apostle Paul said,
I'm determined to know nothing among you for righteousness,
salvation, know nothing among you for pardon and redemption,
but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Now, verse 1 declares plainly
that the Lord Jehovah, God Almighty, is the Savior and Shepherd of
His people. And that being so, he said, I
shall not want David's testimony. Now the Lord Jesus Christ is
the faithful shepherd, the shepherd of the sheep that was promised
in all the Old Testament scripture. Ezekiel 34, the Lord said, I'll
set up one shepherd over them and he shall feed them. He feeds us and he's the food. He's the bread of life. Isaiah
40 last week, remember we read, he shall feed his flock like
a shepherd, and he does. And he feeds us a steady diet
of himself. He shall gather the lamb with
his arms and carry them in his bosom. We read again of the shepherd
in Ezekiel, or rather, Zechariah 13, where the Lord speaks from
heaven as the Lord Jesus Christ is bearing the wrath of God,
and the sword of justice says, awake, O sword, against my shepherd. Smite the shepherd, saith the
Lord. And that's what happened at Calvary.
It wasn't what men were doing at the cross. It's what God was
doing. It pleased God to bruise him
in our room and in our state. Thank God for the shepherd who
gave his life for the sheep. Throughout the New Testament,
the Lord Jesus Christ is a fulfillment of that shepherd that was promised. The Old Testament says, someone
is coming. Someone is coming. The New Testament
declares He is here. Behold the Lamb of God. He's
not only a shepherd, but He's a lamb. And He's a sacrifice. And He's the altar. He's all
in all in our salvation. We read in John chapter 10, He's
called the good shepherd of the sheep. that giveth his life for
the sheep. He laid down his life. He said,
no man takes my life from me. I have power to lay it down.
I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received
of my father. We've read many times in the
book of Hebrews chapter 13, he is called the great shepherd
of the sheep. Through the blood of everlasting
covenant, accomplished all of our salvation, the God of peace,
brought again from the dead the Lord Jesus, that great shepherd
of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant.
He's called the good shepherd, the great shepherd, and he's
the chief shepherd that shall appear again and crown his people
with eternal life. Remember he said, I'll go away,
I'll go away and I'll come again to receive you unto myself, that
where I am, there you may be also. He is Jehovah's Shepherd,
the Good Shepherd, the Great Shepherd, the Chief Shepherd,
and he's the only shepherd. He's a shepherd we look unto.
Our Lord said, look unto me and be ye saved. I trust we can all
say with David, the psalmist, The Lord Jesus Christ, He's my
shepherd. He's my shepherd. He's my Lord.
He's my Lord. He's my God and Savior, but He
is my shepherd, who tenderly, lovingly, with great care, He
goes after that lost sheep. Remember Luke 15, He finds that
lost sheep, puts it on His shoulder, and carries it all the way to
glory. And the angels of God rejoice. in the salvation of
a sinner. Now, if you can boldly say and
confidently say by faith, the Lord Jesus Christ is my Savior
and Shepherd, my Lord and my God, then you can also boldly
say, as it says there in the second part of that, I shall
not want. I shall not want. is because
of who he is and what he has done that we can boldly say with
confidence, I shall not want. I shall not want for any good
thing. The Lord provides all things
for us. Although the sheep of Christ,
the elect of God, in and of themselves, they're weak, frail sheep, sinful
sheep, guilty sheep, But yet, although we are weak and sinful
and guilty, because God has given us faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
we can say, because he's my shepherd, I shall not want. He, the Lord
Jesus, is able to perform all that he has promised concerning
the salvation of his people. And we are persuaded, like Abraham,
that all that God promised He's able to perform. He's able to
perform all things for us. Turn over to Psalm 57 just a
moment. Psalm 57, look at verse 1 and
2. Be merciful unto me, O God, be
merciful unto me, for thou, for my soul trusteth in thee. Yea,
in the shadow of thy wings I will make my refuge until these calamities
be overpassed. Now look at verse 2 carefully,
Psalm 57. I will cry unto God most high, unto God that performeth
all things for me, he shall send from heaven." Boy, the highest
resources. He did, didn't he? "...and shall
save me from reproach of him that would swallow me up, God
shall send forth His mercy and His truth. You remember? Mercy
and truth shall follow me all the days of my life. He's able
to save to the uttermost all that God had given to Him. He's able to keep us from falling.
He's able to raise up our bodies and give us a new glorious body
like unto His. We're going to see it. See about
that in our message Sunday morning, where the Lord said, when the
men were afraid, when he appeared to them, remember the apostles? And he said, don't be afraid,
but hold my hands, as I myself, flesh and bones, doesn't have,
do not have a spirit. He said, I'm not spirit, I'm
flesh and bones. Now in verse two, down to verse
six, the Lord gives unto us, Don't want to scare you here,
but nine blessings in Christ. Nine reasons, I'll give them
to you quickly, why we shall not want for any good thing,
for all things are freely given unto us in the Lord Jesus Christ. Can you think of one thing that
we are in need of that he has not fully and eternally and freely
supplied unto us? Do you lack anything? Not one
thing. Not one thing. Now, he mentions
these in verse 2 down through verse 6. I shall not want because
he makes me to lie down in green pastures. I shall not want for
rest. He gives me rest. in the promise
of his word. Green pastures, the green pastures
of his word. The believer finds his word most
sweet and tender like the fresh grass would be to a sheep. Have you ever noticed, you maybe
don't notice it much around here, but when you're traveling out
in the western part of the country, you know, they still have those,
they still have open grazing. No fences. They still have open
grazing and they still have sheep herders out there in the open
range. And you can spot them right away
because they have a peculiar looking sheep wagon that they
live in. And those sheep, when you pass
them and they're out there in the field, they're always doing
one thing. They've got their head to the ground. They're always
finding and looking for something to eat. And those old cattle
ranchers back years ago, they hated those sheep herders because
the sheep eat the grass right down to the roots. I mean, they
don't leave anything. They're right down to the roots.
They're after that tender, sweet grass. And that's like the sheep
of Christ. We feed upon Him through the
green pastures of His Word. His Word is milk, His Word is
bread. Through the Word we have tasted
that the Lord is gracious. How would he know anything about
redemption or salvation apart from thus saith the Lord? In
the Word we find the sweet promises of God that he gives to weary
sinners. All the promises of God in him
are yes, and in him to the glory of God. He said, come unto me
and rest. rest we have in Christ exceeding
great and precious promises all through the word of the Lord.
He's given us warnings lest we presume, promises lest we despair. Through his word we have hope. Now, so we shall not want for
rest, he makes us to lie down in the green pastures of his
sweet precious promises. The second thing he mentions
there, he leadeth me beside still waters. I shall not want for
refreshment. He's a refreshing drink of water. Ever been really thirsty? What
do you crave when you're really thirsty? Water. Give me a drink
of cold, cold water. Our Lord said in Isaiah 55, we're
going to see this in a few weeks. I'm going to try to bring a message
again from Isaiah 55. He said, oh, everyone that is
thirsty, he said, come to me and drink without money and without
price. He has free water. Proverbs 25. declares as cold waters to a
thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country. Cold water
to a thirsty soul. Oh, it's so refreshing, is it
not? I can almost smell it and taste it. Cold water to a thirsty
soul, so is good news. Gospel is good news to the guilty.
Good news, mercy to the miserable. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
fountain of living waters springing up into everlasting life. Listen to this scripture. John
7, 37. If any man thirsts, he says,
let him come unto me and drink. He leads us into the fountains
of living water. He is the water of life. We drink
him up. He's the bread, the light, the
way, the door, the shepherd. He's everything. He's all in
all in salvation. So we shall not want for rest.
We shall not want for refreshment. The third thing he mentioned
in verse 3, I shall not want for redemption and reconciliation,
for He restoreth my soul." Now, who needs the soul restored? Well, ruined sinners. They need
restoration, don't they? They need regeneration. They
need reconciliation. Because of our sin, our guilt,
and fallen Adam, we were lost sheep, gone astray, turning everyone
to our own way, unable, unwilling to restore ourselves back into
the fold, unable to redeem ourselves, unable to put away our sin. The
Lord Jesus Christ came and he sought us out. He restored my
soul. Who did it? Well, he did a part
and I did a part. That doesn't say that, does it? He restored my soul. God was
in Christ reconciling us unto himself. He restored our soul. He bought us with his own blood. He did it all. All of it. All of it. The Good Shepherd
came and laid down His life for the sheep. He redeemed the sheep
with His own blood. We are redeemed with the precious
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He came to reconcile us to God
by the sacrifice of Himself. That's how He restores our soul. Now this is not talking about
Reformation. This is talking about redemption
and regeneration and resurrection from being dead in sin to life
in Christ. He restores as He gives us life
in Him. And then the fourth thing He
gives us here, found in verse 3, He not only restores my soul,
but He leadeth me, knoweth He maketh me, he leadeth me, he
restoreth me, he leadeth me in paths of righteousness for his
name's sake. Ongoing, he feeds, he leads,
in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Now, the sheep
of Christ shall not want for rest, refreshment, or regeneration,
but we shall not want for righteousness, shall we? He leads us in paths
of righteousness for his name's sake. Now, he leads us to himself. He is the Lord, our righteousness. The sheep by nature are guilty,
dirty, ungodly sheep. There's none righteous. Remember
Romans 3? There's none righteous. No, not
one. The sheep, by nature, have no
desire to be righteous. They love darkness rather than
the light. The carnal mind is enmity against
God. The carnal mind receiveth not
the things of God. The sheep, by nature, see no
need for righteousness. They think they're pretty good
people. And they're going about to establish a righteousness
of their own until the Lord shows us we're guilty and that He is
the Lord, our righteousness. Blessed is that man to whom the
Lord imputeth righteousness with outworks. You see, He restores
me and then He gives me His righteousness. He's called the Lord our righteousness. Now sadly, so many people, religious
lost people, are so ignorant. so ignorant of the righteousness
that God gives us in Christ Jesus. It is a perfect righteousness
through His blood and His obedience unto death. He gives us a perfect,
justifying righteousness before God. He leads us in paths of
righteousness for His name's sake, for Christ's sake. The only way we have righteousness
before God. We count everything else lost,
dung, and ruined that we may win Christ and be found in Him
who is the Lord our righteousness. Now the fifth thing he mentions
here, the believer resting in Him I shall not want for fellowship
and companionship. Look what it says, verse four.
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Boy,
that's this life, is it not? Death is all around us. Death
is all around us. He said, I'll fear no evil for
thou art with me. I shall not want for fellowship
with him. Thou art with me. Remember the Lord said, I'll
never leave you. I'll never forsake you. The risen Lord in Matthew
28 told those disciples, I have all power in heaven and earth.
You go and preach the gospel to every creature. And then you
remember this. Lo, I'm with you always, even to the ends of the
earth. We shall not want for fellowship
and communion with the Lord. He will never leave us. He'll
never forsake us. Nothing can separate us from
the love of God in the Lord Jesus Christ, not even death. Although
we walk in the valley of the shadow of death, we have nothing
to fear, for Christ has taken the sting of death away. He has
died for our sins, and He ever lives to intercede for us. He's
changed the character of death for the believer, has He not?
Don't turn. You're familiar with this. Let
me just read it to you. Where He said, I've taken away
the sting of death. Oh, death, where is thy sting?
O grave, where is thy victory? 1 Corinthians 15. The sting of
death is sin. The strength of sin is the law. But thanks be unto God who has
given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. He ever
lives to intercede for us. The Apostle said that death has
been swallowed up in victory. Death to the believer is a shadow. No need to fear a shadow, for
Christ has removed the substance of death and only a shadow remains. I mean by that, death to the
believer is not punishment, it's promotion. It's graduation day. To be absent from the body, and
that's what happens at death, there's a separation of the soul
and spirit from the body. To be absent from the body is
to be present with the Lord. Now think about that. That's
a blessed, blessed thought. For me to live is Christ, to
die is gain. The Lord Jesus has changed the
character of death for us. He said, because I live, you'll
never, you'll never, because I live, you shall live. You shall
live. Now, he says in the sixth place,
we shall not want for comfort. We shall not want for comfort.
Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. You see that? He said when
He was ready to go to the cross. Remember He told His disciples,
when I go away, and if I don't go away, the Comforter will not
come. But when He has come, the Holy Spirit, He will comfort
you. He'll take the things of mine and show them unto you. What does God the Holy Spirit
comfort us with? Christ, His person and His glorious
work. I shall not want for comfort
thy rod. and his staff. The rod and staff
of our shepherd are symbols of his sovereignty, symbols of his
ownership, the wise and righteous dominion over all things, the
great shepherd has over all things, but especially in regard to his
sovereign lordship over his sheep. He is our Lord, our God, and
our Savior. This brings comfort to the believer,
knowing that our Lord, our Great Shepherd, our God and Savior
does all things well. That's why we can say, we know
that all things work together for good to them who love God,
to them who are the called according to His purpose. Our Sovereign
Shepherd rules His flock, He guides His flock, feeds His flock,
defends the flock, which brings us courage and comfort in the
Lord Jesus Christ. Yay, look at verse 4 again. Though
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I'll fear
no evil, for Thou art with me, Thy rod and Your staff, His sovereign
rule and reign, they give us comfort. The light afflictions
we have The trials we have, they don't work against us. He says
they work for us in exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Now look at verse 5. The Lord
is my shepherd, I shall not want for provisions. My cup runneth over. You see that? Thou preparest
a table before me in the presence of my enemies. Thou anointest
my head with oil. My cup, my cup runs over. I quote this verse all the time.
Philippians 4.19, where it said, My God shall supply all your
need, singular need, according to his riches in glory by the
Lord Jesus Christ. The believer is not without enemies
in this world. Our Lord said, If they hated
me, they will hate you. But he's also said, Be of good
cheer, I've overcome. I've overcome. Look over at Psalm
27. Psalm 27 verse 1. David again said, The Lord is
my shepherd. Now he said, The Lord is my light.
The Lord is my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is
the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? When
the wicked, even mine enemies, my foes, came upon me to eat
up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. David had a host of enemies. among his own family. Though
a host should camp against me, my heart shall not fear. Though
war should rise against me in this, I will be confident. One thing have I desired of the
Lord, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house
of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of
the Lord, and to inquire in his temple. I shall not want for
any good things. He shall supply all our needs.
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, His rod
and stamp comfort us. Thou preparest a table before
me in the presence of my enemies. And even in the presence of my
enemies, because the Lord is my light, my salvation, He has
anointed us with the oil of the Holy Spirit. And because of that,
our cup runs over. Our cup runs over. In Him dwells
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and we're complete in
Christ. Even in the face of strong opposition
to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd prepares
a table of grace, spreads the gospel feast for us to feed upon,
and He causes us to be completely satisfied with what He provides
for us. Remember from our study in the
Song of Solomon where it says, He brought me into the banqueting
house and His banner over me is love. He prepares a table
of grace for us. He anoints our head with the
oil of the Spirit of God, enlightens our understanding, He gives us
an understanding, illuminates our minds, by the Spirit of God
to see the Lord Jesus Christ crucified as all God's provision
for us. He is called the Lord Jehovah
Jireh. Remember what that means? He's
not only Jehovah Sidcanu, the Lord our righteousness, but he
is Jehovah Jireh also. That means the Lord will provide. I remember Brother Scott Richardson
said years ago, I never forgot it. Only that which God provides
will God accept. That's pretty good, is it not?
Only that which God provides will God accept. And we're accepted
in the beloved, the Lord Jesus Christ. In whom we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of sin according to the riches
of his grace. Look at verse six. Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life, and I dwell in the house
of the Lord forever. I shall not want for anything
in this life nor in the life to come. Surely goodness The
Lord is good, His goodness to us shall not the judge of all
the earth do right. Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life. For it is His goodness,
His sovereign grace to us will surely provide all things for
us, all the days of our life, good days, bad days, High days,
low days, all our days, we can say, the Lord is good. His goodness
unto us. He's plenteous in mercy, is he
not? Surely, goodness, goodness shall follow me. He is our great
and good shepherd. And then he says, secondly, goodness
and mercy, they go together. Where you find the Lord's goodness,
you find his mercy. They're twins. They're the twins
of God's salvation. Goodness and mercy. Proverbs
16 says, By mercy and truth, iniquity is purged. Lamentations
3 declares, It is of the Lord's mercy that we're not consumed. His goodness. The Lord is good.
He's good to His people. He's a good shepherd who laid
down his life for his sheep. The Lord is good. And because
He is good, He is merciful in giving His life for us. Not by
works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to
His mercy. He said, I shall not want for
any good thing in the life to come. In this life or in the
life to come. Surely goodness and mercy, look
at verse 6, shall follow me all the days of my life. And then
in the life to come, I dwell in the house of the Lord forever. We read a moment ago in Psalm
27, one thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek
after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days
of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, to inquire in His
temple. I shall not want for any good
thing in the life to come. All grace now, and all glory
forever. Now this is not presumption,
is it? This is believing God's Word.
It's not presumption, but rather confidence in our great and good
and chief shepherd, Jehovah's Shepherd, that cannot fail. Isaiah 42, remember? Behold my
servant. He is a servant, but he's a shepherd.
Behold my servant, whom I uphold my elect. And then he says, he
cannot fail. He cannot fail. Well, the Lord
Can you say that in your heart? The Lord is my shepherd. And because He is, by His design,
by His choice, by His grace, therefore we can say with confidence,
I shall not want. He's provided all things for
us. He's our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. And we sing unto Him who loved
us and washed us from our sin in His own blood. To Him be all
the honor, glory, blessing both now and forever. Okay, may the
Lord bless that psalm. Psalm 23.