The Twenty-Third Psalm

Q: What does the Bible say about the Lord as my shepherd?

Psalm 23 declares the Lord is our shepherd, providing comfort and guidance throughout life. In Psalm 23, David conveys the intimate relationship between God and His people by affirming that 'The Lord is my shepherd.' This imagery represents God’s role as a loving protector who guides, nurtures, and provides for His flock. The assurance that we shall not want emphasizes the sufficiency of God's provision in every circumstance of our lives. Whether in moments of peace or trial, David experiences God’s unchanging care, illustrating the believer's confidence in God’s promise to lead us beside still waters and restore our souls.

Q: How do we know that God's love is everlasting?

God’s love is everlasting because His character is unchangeable and eternal. The notion of God’s everlasting love is foundational in Reformed theology, as it aligns with His immutable nature. The preacher highlights that if God loves us now, then He must have always loved us; thus, His love is not only everlasting but also rooted in His eternal purpose and election. Biblical passages such as Ephesians 1:4-5 reaffirm that believers were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, serving as a source of comfort and assurance that God’s love is consistent and faithful, transcending time.

Q: Why is it important for Christians to understand Jesus as their shepherd?

'Understanding Jesus as our shepherd is vital as it reassures us of His guidance, provision, and protection in our lives.' In the context of Psalm 23, recognizing Jesus as our shepherd signifies a deep-rooted dependence on Him for every aspect of life. The shepherd metaphor encapsulates care, ownership, and intimate relationship, which are key to believers' understanding of their identity in Christ. The statement 'The Lord is my shepherd' is not merely a comforting phrase but a declaration of faith reflecting trust in His sovereignty and goodness. This understanding encourages believers to find peace amid trials, knowing that their shepherd leads them through both still waters and deep valleys, ensuring they lack nothing necessary for their spiritual growth and safety.

Q: What does it mean that the Lord restores my soul?

'The Lord restoring your soul means He brings you back to spiritual vitality and wholeness through His grace.' When David states that 'He restoreth my soul,' he highlights the restorative power of God in the believer's life. This restoration is multi-faceted, encompassing renewal, healing from sin, and spiritual revival. As believers navigate the fallen world, they encounter weariness and challenges that can threaten their spiritual well-being. However, the assurance of God’s continual restoration reflects His kindness and mercy, ensuring that through His grace, believers are brought back to a renewed state of fellowship with Him. This concept of restoration is vital for understanding the ongoing sanctification process in the life of a Christian, as the Lord shapes them into His image.

All right, if you'll open your
Bibles with me to Psalm 23. Now, a lot of folks have speculated about when David
wrote this psalm, when it was written. You'd be surprised at
how much ink has been wasted trying to figure out when David
wrote this psalm. Some say he wrote it when he
was but a young shepherd sitting on the hillside watching his
father's sheep. That may be so. David played
an instrument, probably something like a guitar, and he sang. But it may have been written
then because he certainly the shepherd of the young, isn't
he? And then some others say he wrote it when he was in the
caves and the forest fleeing from King Saul, when Saul had exiled David from the kingdom
and he was alone, wondering about the purpose and will of God for
him. He may have written it then because
our Lord certainly is the shepherd of his people even in their deepest
trouble and their greatest trials. Some say he wrote it after all
the battles were over, after he was peacefully settled on
Israel's throne, reigning in peace and joy. and power. The trumpets of war had given
way to the quiet waters of peace. That may be so because he certainly,
my shepherd, in days of quietness as well as in days of conflict,
then some say, and I suppose they gather this from verse four,
talking about the valley of the shadow of death. Some say he
wrote it in the sunset years when he contemplated the valley
of death and when he thought much on the house of the Lord.
Well, that may be true because the Lord is my shepherd now as
well as in days of youth, but no one really knows. There's
no date on this psalm. This psalm was written, I'm glad
of that, and it really doesn't matter when, because this psalm
is the believer's comfort. This psalm is the believer's
assurance at all times and in all places. The Lord is indeed
my shepherd. from the cradle to the grave.
He's my shepherd. Well, actually, he's always been
my shepherd. That's right, he's always been
my shepherd. He was my shepherd designate
before the world began. Was he not? He was my shepherd designate,
my surety, my keeper. before the world began. Yours
too, who are in him. For God calls him, in Hebrews
13, the great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the
everlasting covenant. Don't forget that. Don't forget
that. You see, election, sovereign
election, and glorious predestination, though distasteful to the natural
man, is a great source of joy and comfort to the believer. God's love is everlasting. It
has to be to be God's love. Isn't that right? It has to be
everlasting. If He loves me now, If it's the
love of God, then He has to have always loved me. Is that not
true? And if it is the love of a changeless God, then He must
always love me. That's just true. God's grace
is consistent with God's character. Everything that the God of the
Bible does is consistent with His unchangeableness, His immutability. That's right. And it's infinite,
it knows no degree. He's always been my shepherd. Why should that be offensive?
He's always been my shepherd. And then, He was my shepherd
before I knew Him to be my shepherd. He was my shepherd before I could
say the Lord is my shepherd, before I even knew the Lord was
my shepherd. Paul said that, God who separated
me from my mother's womb, He called me by his grace. He was
Paul's shepherd before Paul ever knew he was his shepherd. He
didn't learn it until he was 40 years old. He said, way back yonder, he
said, other sheep I have, them I must bring. Other sheep I what? I have. So he's my shepherd designate
from before the foundation of the world, and he's my shepherd
during his earthly pilgrimage. In his obedience and in his death,
he was my shepherd then because he said he was going to be my
shepherd. I have other sheep, I must bring
them. And then he is and always will be my shepherd because he
said, my sheep, hear my voice. and I know them, and they follow
me, and I give them eternal life. My Father which gave them me
is greater than all, and no man can pluck them out of my Father's
hand. He'll always be my shepherd." Well, you know, I was talking
to my son Paul on the phone this morning, and he said, what are
you preaching on this morning? I said, the 23rd Psalm. He said, you are? I said, yeah.
He said, that'll be a blessing. I hope it is. I fear that sometimes
our familiarity with certain scriptures... How many times
have you read this? How many times have you gone
to a funeral and they have these little keepsakes, you know, with
the deceased name and on the back, the Lord is my shepherd.
We've read it a thousand times, some of us. But I think sometimes
we allow this familiarity with certain scriptures to cause us
to overlook them, maybe treat them a little carelessly and
go looking for something new and something different. I'll
tell you this, if I could tell anybody anything, as a result
of having been a preacher for a long time, I would encourage
them to stay with the simplicity of Christ. If I could encourage
any preacher, don't grow out of the gospel. Don't get educated
out of the ministry. Don't get over here dabbling
with and fooling with things you don't know anything about
and the people know less. Stay with the simplicity of Christ.
Come back to the 23rd Psalm. Come back to the 23rd Psalm.
You see, Jesus Christ is made to me all I need. All I need. He alone is all my plea. He's
all I need. Wisdom, righteousness, holiness
and power. Everything I need. He alone is
my plea. He's all I need. And so it says
here, the Lord is my shepherd. My friends, this is all of my
hope. The Lord is my shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. That's
all my testimony. That's all my hope. That's all
my assurance. That's my creed. That's my confidence. The Lord, not a God, not some
God, not somebody up there, but the Lord. Jehovah. Isn't that what that word is?
Jehovah. Just God and Savior. God my Savior. He is my shepherd. The true and living God. The
revelation of God. The manifestation of God. The
Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jehovah is my shepherd. That's settled. He is my shepherd. If he's shepherd to no one else,
he's my shepherd. My shepherd. I feel like the
Apostle Peter who said, to whom shall I go? I got nowhere else
to go. He has the words of life. He
is, that's settled, the Lord of glory, the one true and living
God. God revealed in his word. God
revealed in the person of his Son. I'm not going to try to
change the character of God. I'm glad God's God. Just like
He's revealed. Sovereign, majestic, omnipotent,
unchangeable. God is God. He's my shepherd.
That's it. He's my shepherd. He's my shepherd. He's not my co-pilot. He's not my partner. I hear people
say, well, the Lord's my partner in this business. He's not my
partner. And He's not my inspiration either. He's my shepherd. You know what a shepherd is?
A shepherd owns the sheep. He owns the sheep. If they eat
in this pasture, it's because the shepherd says they eat in
that pasture. If they spend the night in this foal, it's because
the shepherd took them to that foal. Not because they thought
it was best and he went along with them. He took them to the
foal. He's my shepherd. He owns me. He's not my co-pilot,
He's not my partner, He's not my inspiration, He's my shepherd. I'm a dumb, dependent, wandering
sheep, and He's my shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd, absolute
control, absolute sovereignty. He's my shepherd. He makes the
decisions. He's my great shepherd, my chief
shepherd, my good shepherd if He wants to feed me or try me. He's still my shepherd. If He
wants to shear me or slay me, He's my shepherd. That's right,
He's my shepherd. People kind of get the idea,
they get a little bit when they open the Bible, I don't know
why, but they get silly. People open the Bible and they
just change their whole voice, expression, countenance and everything
else. They get real religious. The
Lord is my Shepherd. He's my Shepherd, my King. If He wants to slay me or shear
me, if He wants to hold me close or let me wander, He's my Shepherd. The Shepherd has an affectionate
relationship with the sheep, but He has a control over them
too. He has the right. Sure, the shepherd
loves the sheep. The shepherd would die for the
sheep. But the shepherd and the sheep never change places. If he wants to honor me or embarrass
me, he's my shepherd. You see what I'm saying? What
I'm saying is important. It gets it out of the sentimental,
emotional rut to be read at funerals. The Lord's my shepherd. And I'm
the sheep of his pasture. He hath made us, and not we ourselves. He's my shepherd. And because
he's my shepherd, it's just fact. I shall not want. That's why I'll never want. Now,
there's going to be, in his good providence, days of trouble. There's going to be days of trial.
There's going to be days that are very difficult. But what he's saying here, the
Lord being my shepherd, I shall not want for anything good for
me. Anything eternally good and needful,
I shall not want. See, Belshazzar, Belshazzar the
king, trembled. His knees smoked together as
he saw fingers of a man's hand writing on the wall. And he had
every reason to tremble, for that hand wrote, Thou art weighed,
and found wanting, wanting, lacking. Well, that's what I'm talking
about, because he's my shepherd, I'll never want in that respect. He's made unto me wisdom and
righteousness and sanctification and redemption. He's made unto
me all I need. I'll never come up short. See
what I'm saying, Richard? I never want, never come up short.
We sin and come short of the glory of God. That's bad. See,
that's a terrible chart. Come short. You come short. But
in Christ, I never want Him. Never want Him. Because Abraham believed this,
that what God promised, he'd perform. Now what has he promised? That's what it is, Cecil. He
hasn't promised me three automobiles and six bedrooms and four baths. He hasn't promised me a life
without pain and tears and suffering. He hasn't promised any of those
things. He hasn't promised me any of those things. He hasn't
promised me earthly material prosperity popularity and applause
and he didn't promise me that. In fact, that's not good for
me. It's good for me when I'm afflicted,
David said, so I can learn something. We don't learn things on the
bed of ease. We learn things in trouble. That's when we really learn things.
And the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not walk. For anything
eternally good or needful, I shall not want or lack for any righteousness
or sanctification. I shall not want or lack for
anything when I stand before his throne, for I am complete
in him. See that? He's not going to let
the sheep want. And then he says, he maketh me
to lie down in green pastures. He leads me. beside still waters. Now here you have two things,
lying down and walking. He makes me lie down in those
soft, green pastures. But He leads
me as I walk by still waters. You see, and here's what this
is saying. Our lives are made up always of two parts. Thoughts
and deeds. I looked at this a little while
and this is true. Everything will come under one
of these two heads. My thoughts are deeds. My life
is made up of thoughts and deeds. Meditation and activity. I'm either still or moving, thinking
or doing. Everything will come under...
Is that not true? I think that's true. thoughts
and activity, meditation activity. Well, in both of these, he's
my shepherd. And in thoughts and meditations,
he makes me, he enables me to lie down, to rest, to be at peace
in my thoughts. Whatever my thoughts are concerned
with, because of my relationship with him, my thoughts can be
at peace, at peace with God. See that? I have rest. He said, My peace I have given
to you. I don't need to stand always trembling before God and
before my enemies and before my trials and before these things. I don't need to stand trembling.
I don't need to be armed to do battle. The battle is over. Lie
down. You've got some great decision
to make regarding your children, or your home, or your job, or
your business. Those are thoughts. You've got
to think about this. You've got to make some decision.
You've got to come to some conclusions. It's a very important... But
you can be at peace and rest in making that decision if He's
your shepherd. See what I'm saying? If He's
your shepherd, if He's over this whole thing and all things involving us come from
Him, then I don't need to be all uptight about it, do I? Just
be at peace. Lie down. Now, what are the green
pastures? It's His Word. Lie down in His Word. Lie down
in His promises. Meditate upon His promises. Think
upon the rich, precious promises of the Word. I'll never leave
you. I'll never forsake you. Take no thought for what you're
going to eat, drink, and wear. Your Father knows you have need
of these things. Lo, I'm with you always, even
to the end of the earth. See what I'm talking about? Lie
down. Sure, you've got some decisions
to make. Sure. Like I said to you last Sunday
night, I get all these years I've been conducting services
and I've got contacts all over the place and I get weary just
like you do, but it's a peaceful weariness. Does that make sense?
It's a peaceful weariness and it's a decision to be made involving
me and preachers and people and all these things, but he maketh
me to lie down. I don't know about all this talk,
all this yelling and screaming and clapping and shouting and
carrying on about onward Christian soldiers marching us to war.
I ain't in no war. The war is over. The battle is
done. And this whole sheep is lying
down in green pastures. And I'm just not going to put
on the gloves. I'm just not going to arm myself
to the teeth. I'm not going out to do battle.
with Satan or anybody, I'm going to lie down in these green pastures.
How about you? Because the Lord is my shepherd. I'm at peace. Sure, you understand
what I'm saying? There are things to do, and there
are decisions to make, and some of you are involved in a lot
of activities, and that's fine. But when you're making these
decisions and when you're faced with these conflicts and all
these things, remember, who your shepherd is, and it's going to
be all right. It's going to be all right. Whatever
the decision may be, whatever the future holds, He holds the
future. I don't want to overly carry
this thing on, but I just know that's what David's saying here. The Lord's my shepherd now. I'm
not going to want for anything good or necessary or needful,
and He's going to let me lie down in green pasture. Now then, he leads me, here's
the activity, he leads me by still waters. We not only think,
but we act. We're not only at rest, but we're
walking. And I'll tell you that this life, there's some trials,
there's a whole lot of trials. We know something about this.
Some of you are going through them right now. Trials are spoken
of as deep water, deep water, troubled waters, waves of the
sea. And we're acquainted with these
deep waters and troubled waters and waves of the sea. But if
the Lord's our shepherd, He'll make those waves to lie down. The disciples were in that boat
and the Lord stood on the bow of the boat and He said, Peace
be still. And the waves were still. And one of them said, What manner
of man is this that even the waves Obey His Word. And this is what he's talking
about. He leads me beside the waters. You know, water, water
is a fearful thing. Water and fire. You fellas in the Navy, were
you ever in a typhoon or storm? I was in Okinawa in that awful
typhoon in August of 1945 When you weren't allowed on the top
side of the ship, when the waves literally came up over the entire
ship, that's how high the waves were, over the entire ship, and
were tossed about like a cork. Like when you go fishing and
throw a cork out there and see that thing hopping up and down,
that ship was doing that, creaking and groaning and twisting, like
one of those Kaiser's coffins they talked about, you know. But I tell you, in these trials,
some of us go through these trials. I don't know whether I told you
about, I saw something a couple of Sundays ago that just literally
wrenched my heart hurt like I was having a heart attack. I was
down in Louisiana preaching. I may have told you about this.
I told someone about it. I'm getting old and forgetful.
I need to write things down. And there was a little boy, I
was in the service there at Ball, Louisiana. There was a little
boy there about 11. And he had on a jacket, he had
on a black New Orleans Saints jacket. And I was sitting on
the front row reading my notes and he came walking, walking
across the church there. And I reached out and took him
by the arm and I said, I like your jacket. He never cracked
a smile. He said, thank you. I said, your
team's playing tonight. I hope they win. Not a smile,
I do too. I thought that's strange. I've
always related to children, you know, but he didn't give me the
time of day. And then I got up to preach and he sat on the front
row right here on my left. And he looked so distressed.
He looked so troubled. He looked so sad. And I looked
at him when I preached, you know, and I couldn't get to him. After the service, I stand back
by the door, and he came by. I was shaking hands with the
people, and I put my arm around him. And I said, I hope we do
well tonight. I do too. We went on out. Well,
I talked to the people a while, and then I went outside the church.
There's a cemetery right next door where all their folks are
buried. And I saw that little boy standing
over there by a new grave with fresh dirt on it and flowers.
And then I saw a blonde-headed lady walk toward him and put
her arms around him. And they both stood there and
cried. And I said to the man standing next to me, I said,
what's the story? He said, that's his dad. He said
his dad was killed three months ago in an automobile wreck. And
we buried him right there. And he's standing by his daddy's
grave. That's deep water. That's deep water. And I'm not
saying that you won't expect, and you know, talk about deep
water, I went home from church, from that scene, I went home
from church, and that afternoon they told us his grandmother
got killed that day at noon going home from church. He lived with
his grandmother while his mother worked. That's just a little
too much for an 11-year-old boy. And this life, we're not immune
from these heartaches, but I tell you this, He leads me beside
still waters. Waters of quietness. He'll calm
them down in His own time. Huh? That's what I'm saying.
He'll make them to lie down. You can't. That's what that says. He's my shepherd. And He's going
to make those waters lie down. Look at this, verse 3. He restores
my soul. He restoreth my soul. Brings
it back. Brings it back. He restored me
to life. In Adam, I died. He restored
me to purity. In sin, my mother conceived me. He restored me to God. For I
was lost and separated from Him. Your sin separated you from God.
The throne, where kings and priests under our God. Adam reigned. He was a king. And you know something? He restores
me daily. You know, I got to thinking about
this. And we're... People are cruel. They're just... People are cruel. They start when they're little. I asked some time ago, I was
in a meeting somewhere, and I asked about a certain woman who was
visiting in the service from the community. I said, who's
that? And I know people don't mean to be this way, but maybe
they do. The reply was, oh, she's the
girl that had to illegitimate child. I said, when? He said,
25 years ago. And that's the way she's known
and remembered? Thank God our God's not that
way. But now you think, do we not
do these very same things now? He said, who's that gentleman?
Here's a man sixty years, seventy-five years. I said sixty, and there
was a seventy-five, eighty years old. And somebody said, well,
he's never... I grew up with him. Yeah, but he's grown now. I mean, this is a new day. Has
he got to be known for what he was when he was a kid? Thank
God, he restores my soul daily. I get a new start every day. A new, brand new start. He said,
you that are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness.
Do what to him? Restore him. Come on now. I looked for a scripture and
I couldn't find it, but the Bible teaches that God does not remember
our sins. I know where that one is, Hebrews
10, but there's another scripture where it says God does not hold
anything against us over a period of time. I can't think, but there's
a scripture that teaches that, that it's new. It's new. He does not hold grudges. No,
he does not. He does not. It's over. It's
over. He restoreth my soul. Notice
that he's restoring, he's always restoring my soul. He leadeth
me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. What's this
paths of righteousness? Well, there is a path, there
is a walk of righteousness, truth and holiness. And no man, no
son of Adam ever walked it before God. No son of Adam ever walked
it. Our path has always been the
path of error, and sin, but He walked the path. He walked the
path of righteousness, and for His name's sake, He's led me
there. And in Him, I'm perfectly righteous. That's where I walk, because
He leads me there. You see, I don't know where the
path is. I've never walked that path.
I don't have the ability to walk that path. But for His namesake,
as my shepherd, I'm His sheep. He can take me there in the favor
of His God and lead me to walk that path of righteousness with
Him. With Him. You know, the religion
of today says there's the path, walk it. There's the path. God has a holiness, God has a
salvation, God's got a path. There it is. Will to walk it. I couldn't walk it if I will
to walk it. But he can lead me there. He can lead me there. All right, let's go on. Yea,
though I walk through the valley of the shadow
of death, I'll fear no evil. I know nearly everyone regards
this as the time of physical death. But I don't believe that's
what David's talking about here. I don't believe he's talking
about the day he's going to die. The Lord will be my shepherd
then. But he says, Yea, though I walk, I walk now. I am walking. You know what he's saying, John?
Yea, I am walking through the valley of the shadow of death.
Right now. I don't find that the death of
the believer to be such an unpleasant experience anyway. It's carnation
day. When I lie down to die, I'm not
going to walk through a valley of the shadow of death. I'm going
to be born by the angels into glory. That's not going to be
any walk through any valley. But I'm walking through the valley
of the shadow of death right now. This is indeed the valley
of death. It's been that ever since Adam
fell. He brought death to everything. The flowers, the trees, the people. David says, I'm walking through
it. It's not my home. I'm not going to stay here. I'm
walking through this valley. And watch this. This is important. It's the valley of the shadow
of death. The shadow of death. Let's see
if I can do anything with that. I am walking through a valley
of death, but it's the shadow of death. It looks terrible,
seems terrible. But you know something? The substance
of death and the sting of death for me has been removed by my
Lord. It's just the shadow, that's
all that's left. That's all that's left. I'll fear no evil. The shadow of a dog can't bite
you. The shadow of a knife can't cut
you. The shatter of a gun can't kill
you. That's right. And the shatter
of death can't touch me. My Lord's removed the substance
and the sting. Isn't that right? But He hadn't
removed the shadows and these things, the appearance of these
things. Our fear no evil. Watch this. Thou art with me.
Thou art with me. Now watch this. He didn't say,
watch this, I fear no evil. He didn't say there'll be no
evil. He said, I won't fear it. I won't fear it because He's
with me. Now watch this. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort
me. Now having never been a shepherd,
having never lived in sheep country, and really knowing nothing about
sheep, Then I don't know much about a shepherd's rod or staff. I do know what it looks like.
I've seen pictures of a shepherd's staff. Rod and staff is the same
thing. He doesn't care if it's a staff
in one hand or a rod in the other. It's the same thing. Shepherd's rod
or shepherd's staff. It's a long staff. It's got a
crook on the end. And somebody told me that that
rod or that staff was used for three things primarily. Maybe
used for a lot of things, but primarily. It's used to number
the sheep when they're in the fold. He calls his own sheep
by name. They pass under the rod. They're
kept one at a time. One at a time, kept back in one,
passes under the rod. That's mine. And then this one
passes under the rod. That's mine. And this one passes
under the rod. He's passing under the rod. He
uses that shepherd's rod to number the sheep. And each sheep was
taken notice of by the shepherd. He's mine. And his rod, his staff,
has singled out this one and that one. That one's mine. Isn't
that something? What a great shepherd! What a
kind shepherd! The chief shepherd, the good
shepherd, comes by and touches me with the rod. I pass on it. He's mine. He made me his. Another way they use the rod,
somebody said, to quicken the pace of the sheep. And you and
I are spiritually kind of lazy. Yeah, we are. We're kind of lazy. We need to be encouraged. We
need to be prodded. You know, here the sheep kind
of loping along and the shepherds going along behind them, whopping
them with the rod every once in a while, you know. Move on,
you know. Move on. Move on. Quicken their pace,
you know. Encourage them. Move on here. We might quit if it wasn't for
his encouragement. Keep us in line. And then another
thing he uses a rod is to bring back the straying one. That's
probably why that cook's on there. You and I are like the straying
sheep, aren't we? We keep wandering over here and
you catch us and bring us back, you know. You see him catching
that little lamb by the... Get back in here. That's not
good for you. Yeah, but it looks good, but
it's not good for you. I know what that is. Now you
come on here. And he brings us along. Then I think he uses that
rod quicken us and bring us back and number the sheep and keep
back the wolves and so forth. But his rod and staff comfort
me. Now watch this. Watch this now. I'm going to hurry. Thou preparest
a table before me in the presence of my enemies. The believer is
not without enemies. He would not be like his Lord
if he had no enemies. You say, who are my enemies?
Oh, I'll tell you. Just one sentence. Christ said,
he that's not with me is against me. So everybody that's against
him is against you. Those are your enemies. That's
right. I don't care who that applies.
He that's not with me is against me. And everybody that's against
him are against you. They're your enemies. But he
prepares a feast. Now watch this. This is something
I've never seen before that I think is so good. A lot of things I
haven't seen before, but I saw this. It's very beautiful. Thou
preparest a table. Thou preparest a table before
me. You prefer me and prepared that
table before me in the presence of all my enemies and your enemies. Now watch this. and you anoint
my head with oil and my cup runs over." Back in these eastern
countries, and you'll see this when our Lord ate with the Pharisee
and he said to him, you gave me no kiss, you didn't anoint
my head, you didn't wash my feet, and so forth. When they prepared
a feast and invited a special guest, they met him at the door
and anointed his head with precious ointment. That's right. precious
ointment. They prepared the feast, and
then they'd give him a cup, and he'd hold the cup, and the host
would pour and pour and pour until it came all the way to
the top and ran over. And that was saying to that special
guest, while you're in this home, your every need will be met.
You'll want for nothing. I run your cup over. You're so
welcome. You're such a part of this household
that I run your cup over, indicating to you every need will be met."
And that's what he's saying here. He's prepared for me a table.
His flesh and His blood. The table of the Lord. He's right
in the presence of that archenemy. Satan and all the universe, all
his enemies, he prepared a table for me and met me at the door
and anointed my head and gave me a kiss. And then he handed
me the cup and he ran it over. My needs will all be met. All
be met. Now watch this up close. Surely,
goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days
of my life. Here comes the prince. That's
the king's son. That's the king's son. He's heir
to the throne. Here he comes. Who are those two following him?
They're always with him. They never leave him. They're
with him every hour of the day. Who are those two with him? Oh,
those are his guardians, his father. has put those men with
him as guardians. They take care of him. They protect
him. They're always with him. Those two always follow him wherever
he goes. My father has made me a prince. I'm on my way to the throne.
And he's put two guardians over me. And they meet my every need. His goodness and his mercy. And
they follow me everywhere I go. I'm never without them, waking
or sleeping, they're always with me. Surely, goodness and mercy
will follow me all the days of my life. They're with me. And
watch this, and I will, I shall, and I will dwell in the house
of the Lord forever. The Lord, the Lord is mine. Is he your shepherd? I believe
he is. He's our shepherd. He's our shepherd.
Let's just put it that way. He's our shepherd.

The Twenty-Third Psalm

What does the Bible say about the Lord as my shepherd?

How do we know that God's love is everlasting?

Why is it important for Christians to understand Jesus as their shepherd?

What does it mean that the Lord restores my soul?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

Joshua

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

The Twenty-Third Psalm

What does the Bible say about the Lord as my shepherd?

How do we know that God's love is everlasting?

Why is it important for Christians to understand Jesus as their shepherd?

What does it mean that the Lord restores my soul?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

More from Henry Mahan

Related Sermons

Same Scripture

Articles by Henry Mahan

Books by Henry Mahan

Joshua

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book