A Psalm of David

Q: What does the Bible say about God as our shepherd?

The Bible describes God as our shepherd, assuring us that He provides, protects, and guides us. In Psalm 23, David declares, 'The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.' This profound statement signifies that God not only provides for all our needs but also leads us into peace and comfort. The term 'shepherd' encapsulates God's relationship with His people, portraying Him as one who cares intimately for His flock. As a shepherd, God understands our vulnerabilities and offers protection, guidance, and sustenance, reminding us that true rest and satisfaction are found in Him.

Q: How do we know that God works in our trials?

The Bible teaches that God uses our trials to develop our character and deepen our faith. In Romans 5:3-5, Paul explains that 'we glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.' This passage affirms the sovereign purpose behind our suffering. God uses trials not only to strengthen us but to reveal His grace more profoundly in our lives. As we navigate difficulties, we learn more about God's mercy and love, which we may miss during times of prosperity. Thus, trials play an essential role in our spiritual growth and understanding of God's redemptive plan.

Q: Why is understanding our need for a Shepherd important for Christians?

Recognizing our need for Christ as our Shepherd helps us rely on Him for guidance and sustenance. Acknowledging that 'the Lord is my shepherd' emphasizes our dependence on Christ for all aspects of our lives. This relationship signifies that we are not merely individuals navigating life alone; we have a divine guide who knows our needs and leads us in righteousness. Understanding this need fosters humility and trust in God's plans, ensuring that we seek His will above our own. Our Shepherd provides spiritual nourishment, comfort, and guidance, reflecting the intimate care that God has for His children.

Q: What does it mean that our shepherd leads us beside still waters?

Being led beside still waters symbolizes the peace and restoration God brings to our souls. When Psalm 23 mentions that 'He leadeth me beside the still waters,' it reflects God's provision of peace amidst our turbulent lives. The still waters signify tranquility, where the soul can find rest and rejuvenation. In Scriptures, water often symbolizes cleansing and life. Thus, being led beside these still waters illustrates God's promise to restore our souls, providing spiritual nourishment and refreshment. As our Shepherd, He invites us to experience peace regardless of life's storms, leading us to the source of true comfort, which is found in Him.

I suppose if we can come to that
place before this life is over, we
will have manifested a measure of spiritual growth. I thank
him for the valley that I walked through today. In everything,
in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God concerning
you. If we can learn with the Apostle
Paul to rejoice in our trials, in our afflictions, in our tribulations, just a portion of the way we
rejoice in good times, wouldn't it be wonderful? We're turning
to Psalm 23 now, and yet we learn more. from our God in trouble than
we ever learn in prosperity. We learn more about his grace
and about his mercy in the valley than we ever learn on the hill,
on the mountaintop. And that's true. It cannot be
questioned. It is absolutely true. Now, Psalm
23 is well known to all of you. I need not read it again. We'll
be reading it as we proceed through our message. One of the interesting
things in studying for this message, I began to read the different
authors and watch how they tried to determine when David wrote
this psalm. One man said he believed that
David wrote this psalm when he was in the forest at Hereth,
when he was fleeing from Saul. when he was being persecuted,
when he was being hounded, when he was being hunted, when he
was rejected, that he was comforted out there in the forest of Herod
and in the caves, he was comforted to know that he would never walk
and he would never fear, since the Lord is his shepherd. And
that may be true, that may be the time when David wrote this
psalm, under severe persecution and trial. being driven out of
the kingdom, being considered, regarded as an enemy of Israel.
And he rested in the fact that Christ was his shepherd and he
would not walk. One author said this, he believed that David
wrote this psalm after all the battles were over. After David
had won the victory over his enemies and he was peacefully
settled. in great glory and splendor and
majesty on Israel's throne. The trumpet of war had given
way, he said, to the quiet waters of peace and pasture and prosperity. And that's when David wrote,
The Lord is my shepherd, quiet life. Maybe so. One man said
that this psalm was written in the sunset years of David's life. Life was almost over, and David
was contemplating the valley of death and the house of God,
which he said is evidence from the last verse, "...surely goodness
and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will
dwell in the house of the Lord forever." And verse 4, "...though
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear
no evil." Well, I considered all those, and any of the times
could be the time of the writing of this precious psalm. But I think the best answer to
the question, when was it written, was given by an author who said
this, I'm sure no one really knows when David wrote this psalm,
but one thing is worthy of notice. It followed Psalm 22. It followed Psalm 22, which is
the psalm of the cross. It's only after we read Psalm
22, verse 1, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Verse
16, dogs have compassed me, the assembly of the wicked have enclosed
me, they pierced my hands and my feet. verse 18, they parted
my garments among them and cast lots upon my vesture. It is only
after we have read of the redemption of Christ that we can say, the
Lord is my shepherd. This psalm does not apply to
everyone. This psalm is not the possession
of everyone. This psalm belongs to, and this
psalm is the possession of, those who know something about Psalm
22, who know something of the redemption of Christ. The Lord
must purchase his sheep before he can be their shepherd. I lay down my life for my sheep,
he said, other sheep I have which are not of this foal, them I
must also bring. So whether it be a young man
Whether it be a man in middle age who is peacefully settled
in prosperity and peace and good pasture, or whether it be an
old person in the sunset years of life facing death, if that
person knows something about the redemptive work of Christ,
if that person knows something in his heart about the redemptive
work of the Savior, If he knows something about Psalm 22, then
he can lay claim to Psalm 23. And then there are some well-meaning
believers who are troubled because they cannot always, at all times,
feel the joys and the comforts of this psalm. But I was sitting
there a moment ago while the quartet was singing, And I was
looking through some of David's psalms, and though David lived
a long time, and this I need. They were singing about, Thank
you, Lord, for every hill I've climbed and every valley. Though
David lived long and though David wrote much, he never wrote but
one twenty-third You go to Psalm 51 when he talks like this, restoring
to me the joy of thy salvation. My sins are ever before me. You
go to Psalm 73, turn over there just a minute, this doesn't even
sound like David. In Psalm 73, when he was so despondent
and so broken and so troubled, he said in Psalm 73, verse 1,
truly God is good to Israel. Even the suchest are of a clean
heart. But as for me, my feet were almost gone, my steps had
well nigh slipped. Why, David, because I was envious
of the foolish. I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
There are no bands in their death. Their strength is firm. They
are not in trouble as other men, neither are they plagued like
other men. Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain. Violence
covereth them as a garment. Their eyes stand out with fatness.
They have more than their heart could wish. Down in verse 12,
Behold, these are the ungodly who prosper in the world, they
increased in riches. Have I cleansed my heart in vain?
Have I washed my hands in innocency? All the day long I've been plagued
and chastened, and yet they prosper. Verse 16, When I thought to know
this, it was too painful for me, discouraging labor in my
eyes, until I went to the house of God, and then I understood
their end. What I'm saying is this, look
at Psalm 74 too. The first verse of Psalm 74, O God, why hast
thou cast us off forever? Reminds me of John Newton, who
wrote that precious hymn, Amazing Grace. How sweet the sound that
saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found.
I was blind, but now I see. And then turn right around. and
wrote how tedious and tasteless the hours when Jesus no longer
I see. Sweet prospects, sweet virgins,
sweet flowers have all lost their sweetness for me. The midsummer
sun shines but dim, the fields strive in vain to look gay. When
I'm happy in him, December is as pleasant as May. What happened? Well, there are psalms of mourning,
and there are psalms of conviction, and there are psalms of prayer,
and there are psalms of seeking, and there are psalms of rejoicing,
and there are psalms like this one. But you can't live here
all the time. And you needn't expect to, and
I needn't expect to, and I must bring myself, and you must bring
yourself. To put our confidence in and
our faith in and our trust in the providence of our Lord. And
it's the good providence of God. We've got a man in this church
that every time he uses the phrase providence, he says it's the
good providence of God. I like that, and that's what
it is. It's the good providence of God. It's the mercies of God
upon me at all times. At all times. Alright, let's
look at Psalm 23. We've dwelt too long there. The first statement,
the Lord is my shepherd, and we could dwell on these five
words. I had to stop myself in writing my notes for this message. We could dwell right here for
the whole hour and never get beyond the blessings that are
here in these five words. Look at, the Lord is my shepherd. The, not a God, not some God,
not any God, but the living God is my shepherd. Our Lord said,
This is eternal life, that they might know thee, the only true
and living God. There is one God and one mediator
between God and me and the man Christ Jesus, and that's who
my shepherd is, the living God, the God of creation, the God
of sovereignty, the God of power, the God of purpose, the God of
providence. He is my shepherd. And notice
that second word, the Lord. This is not The absolute Elohim,
this is Jehovah. This is God, not in his justice
and not in his judgment. This is God in his mercy. He's
my shepherd. In his saving grace. In his everlasting
love. The Lord, Jehovah, is my shepherd. Some Bibles translate it, Jehovah
is my shepherd. And then look at this word. There's
no if. There's no maybe. There's no perhaps, but a spirit
of blessed assurance, the Lord is my shepherd. I have no other
rock, I have no other hope, I have no other refuge. I can say decidedly,
the Lord is my shepherd. And then the word my, the Lord
is my shepherd. Spurgeon said this, he's my shepherd,
if he's no one else's shepherd, he's my shepherd. He's my Redeemer,
if he's nobody else's Redeemer, he's my Redeemer. He's my refuge,
if he's no one else's refuge, he's my refuge. He loves me,
he cares for me, he gave himself for me, he is my shepherd. And then the word shepherd. Both
the office and the sheep were given him by the Father, who
called him the chief shepherd who called him the great shepherd,
who called him the good shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. Look at this line here, I shall
not walk. You know the first thing I thought
of when I saw that phrase, I shall not walk. My mind went back to
the palace of Belshazzar, the king, who had ordered the vessels
of the temple brought to his palace during his drunken orgy. And he had everybody drink out
of those holy vessels, profaning the name of God Almighty. And
then the hand appeared over there on the wall and wrote judgment
not only against this profaned sinner, but against every son
of Adam. Thou art weighed in the balances
and found wanting. And I'll tell you, every one
of us by nature, by birth, by practice, are weighed in God's
holy balances and we are found wanting. In our flesh dwelleth
no good thing. But here David said, the Lord
is my shepherd, I shall not be found wanting. I know that it
may mean this, if Christ is my shepherd, I have all that I need
physically, I have all that I need materially, I have all that I
need spiritually. His grace is sufficient to meet
every need. But the main thing is, I shall
not walk in the presence of God's holiness, even at my need. Turn to 1 Corinthians 1.30. It says here in 1 Corinthians
1 verse 30, He of God, but of him are you in Christ Jesus,
who of God is made unto us. We're not wanting in wisdom,
he is my wisdom. We're not wanting in righteousness,
he is my righteousness. We're not wanting in sanctification,
he is my sanctification. We're not wanting in redemption,
he is our redemption. The Lord being my shepherd, by
divine purpose and by divine grace, and by his own sacrifice,
I shall not be found wanting in wisdom, in righteousness,
in sanctification, in redemption, because he is able to save to
the uttermost. them that come to God by him. 2. He maketh me to lie down in
green pastures, he leadeth me beside the still waters. Our lives are made up of two
parts, thoughts and deeds, or meditation and activity. Our lives are made up all the
time of these two parts, thoughts and deeds, meditation and activity. Blessed is the person who in
both parts can say, The Lord is my shepherd, for he maketh
me to lie down in contemplation. He maketh me to lie down in meditation. I have no reason to be depressed. I have no reason to be fearful.
I have no reason to be concerned. I can lie down. I can be at peace. I have a friend who preaches
on the sovereignty of God almost exclusively. Almost every time
he preaches, he preaches on the sovereignty of God. And the thing
that troubles me most about this dear friend Is it in the pulpit? He has such confidence of God
Almighty's absolute sovereignty, of God Almighty's absolute purpose
and control of all things. But stepping out of the pulpit
in the battle of everyday life, everyday activity and everyday
troubles and everyday concerns, he lives as if God had nothing
to do with anything. He lives as if God Almighty had
no His hand upon nothing. He's anxious and concerned and
depressed. There's something wrong with
that, isn't there? He maketh me to lie down, not
to be fearful or to be concerned. I need not stand ready to flee
from the enemy. I need not stand ready to defend
myself. I can lie down and I can rest. Christ said, Peace I give unto
thee. We have entered into his rest.
That's what lying down reveals here. He maketh me to lie down.
Now, where are the green pastures? Here are the green pastures right
here. He maketh me to lie down in the green pastures of his
word. I can rest on the rich promises
of his word. I can feed on his covenant. I can feed on his grace. I can
feed on his atonement. I can lie down at rest in his
promises. He will not fail. He said, Lo,
I'm with you always, even to the end of the earth. I will
never leave you, I'll never forsake you. He said, All things work
together for good to them who love God, who are called according
to his purpose. He said, If we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness. Whatever my need, he meets that
need with his word. Wherewithal shall a young man
cleanse his way? By taking heed to the word of
God. Sanctify thy people, sanctify them through thy word, thy word
is truth. Here is where we have it, here
are the green pastures, and my shepherd leads me to lie down
in these green pastures at peace. Look at this, and he leadeth
me beside the still waters. The first thing I thought about
when I read that. was that evening when the disciples
were out in the boat. The Lord Jesus was back in another
part of the boat, asleep. And the wind began to blow, and
the waves began to get higher and higher, and the boat began
to toss and turn and shift from side to side. And one of them
came back there and said, Lord, don't you care if we perish?
Don't you care if we perish? And our Lord walked to the front
of that boat And he raised his hand and he said, Peace be still.
Peace be still. The trials of life are pictured
in the word of God as troubled waters, waves of the sea. It doesn't matter whether these
trials come from within or whether they come from without. He leads
us by still waters. Now note this. He leads me there. My trials are sent by him, my
trials are in his plan, my trials are in his purpose, and he leads
me there, and he by his power and by his word and by his grace
will calm those waters. He'll calm those waters. The
Lord is my shepherd. I shall not walk. He maketh me
to lie down. Oh, to find that peace and that
rest and that joy in the promises of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
to be led by him by the still waters. All right, verse 3. He
restoreth my soul. He restoreth my soul to life,
for in Adam I died. That's right, dead in trespasses
and sins. And he restored my soul to life. In Adam I died, in Christ I was
made alive. He restored my soul to purity. For in seeing my mother conceive
me, I was brought forth from the womb, speaking lies. My soul
was unclean, like the leper of old who stood without the camp,
and when the shadow of a passerby came into view, he cried, Unclean!
Unclean! Unclean! Unclean! I'm unclean
no longer. My soul is pure. having been
washed as you were singing in the blood of the Lamb. With his
sparkless garments on, I am as holy as God's own Son." That'll
give you peace, that'll give you confidence, that'll give
you assurance, In Christ we are pure, unblameable, unreprovable,
holy. He is able, turn to Jude verse
24, and read this, Jude the 24th verse, the last book before Revelation,
verse 24. It says, Now unto him that is
able to keep you from falling, and present you how? Faultless,
faultless. I can find plenty of fault with
myself. You can find plenty of fault
with me. But in the presence of his glory through the blood
of Christ, robed in the righteousness of Christ, I am blameless and
faultless before his glory with exceeding joy. He restored my
soul to God, for my soul was lost. The Son of Man came to
seek and to save the lost, and he restored my soul to power. to reign with him, and look at
this in verse 3 again, Psalm 23, he does what? He restoreth
my soul. I really believe, and I'm going
to talk right out of my heart now, I'm not preaching Baptist
doctrine or fundamentalist doctrine or any other acceptable doctrine
of this day, but I really believe that we're putting in this day
too much emphasis on this thing of, are you saved? Are you saved? I hear people
come up to you and they say, are you saved? And I think the
best answer that you can give to that is the answer that I
heard Dr. Magruder give to a man one time.
A fellow came up to him and said, are you born again? Mac never
batted an eye. He looked at him and he said,
what is your definition of being born again? And the fellow stuttered
around a little while and said, well, what do you mean? Mack
said, I don't know. He said, I may not be born again
according to your definition. I want to hear what your definition
of being born again is. And so these people who come
up, are you serious? What most of them mean, have
you made a profession? Have you accepted Jesus? Have
you joined the Church? Have you had an experience? Can
you go back 20 or 25 years and point to a time when you walked
down an aisle, shook a preacher's hand, and said, I believe Jesus
died on the cross, was buried, and rose again? And consequently,
those people who keep looking back to an isolated experience
don't have the confidence and assurance and the spiritual growth
of those who look daily to Christ. Brethren, yes, we have been saved. These are scriptural terms now.
There's nothing wrong with the word saved, it's the way we're
using it. The scripture says, for by grace have you been saved. For by grace have you been saved. We have been saved. When was
I saved? Saved from what? When was I saved
from the wrath of God? When was I saved from the righteous
judgment of God? When was I saved from eternal
condemnation? When was I saved from my sins?
When Christ died on the cross 2,000 years ago, that's when
I was saved. When did I fall? I fell in Adam. In Adam I died. And you ask me,
when did you sin? When did you become a sinner?
6,000 years ago. That's when I became a sinner.
That's when I died. That's when you died. That's
when the whole human race was plunged under the wrath of a
holy God. In Adam, all died. And in Christ,
all who are in Christ are made alive. When Christ died, I died. When Christ was buried, I was
buried. When Christ arose, I arose. You say you're getting into fatalism.
No, I'm not. I'm stating what the scripture
says. For by grace have you been saved. But you ask me, when was
I saved? When did I come to believe that? When did I come to receive that?
When did the joy of what God has done for me enter into my
soul? When I believed. That's what the Philippian jailer,
he's one of God's own, and he came trembling and fell before
Paul and Silas and says, what must I do to be saved? And Paul
said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. There was a time when he didn't
believe, there was a time when he did believe. There was a time
when he didn't love Christ, there was a time when he did love Christ.
There was a time when he didn't believe the promise, there was
a time when he did believe the promise. And that's when he was
S-A-D-E-D. But Scripture also says this,
to those who are perishing, the gospel is foolishness. It always
has been, it is now, it always will be. But unto us who are
being saved, So brethren, I am being saved. I am being conformed
to the image of Christ. I am being made like my Lord.
I am being indwelt with his Holy Spirit. I am being represented
by Christ at the right hand of God. I am being interceded for
by Christ. I am in the process of being
saved. And if I stop on this road right
now, I'll never get to glory. If I stop repenting, if I stop
believing, if I stop trusting, if I stop leaning upon Christ,
if I stop loving Christ, if Christ ceases to be my Lord, that's
the day that I stop whatever progress in whatever direction,
whatever profession I claim to have. That's so. We need to come back to the word
of God. We need to put away these little clichÃ©s, and there are
many people, and this distresses my soul. I don't know about you,
but it distresses my soul when I see people leave the gospel,
when I see them depart from the gospel of redeeming grace, when
I see them like Esau willing to sell their souls for a mess
of beans. That troubles me. And I think,
well, they really never understood the birthright, did they? They
never really comprehended the glory of the birthright. There's
no man that would sell his soul if he knew the value of it. There
was no man who would surrender his relationship with Christ,
once having entered into that relationship. So John offered
this explanation. He said, they went out from us
because they never were of us. Had they been of us, had they
ever tasted the beauty of Christ, they would have left it. But
yet the scripture says that our salvation is nearer now than
when we believe. These young people in this congregation,
some of them have made professions of faith, some of them have been
baptized, some of them give evidence of knowing Christ. I hope they
are. But I'm confident of this, I'm
confident if the good seed of God's word has found its place
in the ground prepared by the Holy Spirit, it will, whether
now or years later or in future years, it will bear fruit. Those who belong to Christ will
come to Christ. All that my Father giveth me
will come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise
cast out. But I urge everyone I know and
to whom I preach, don't try to look back to a profession. Don't
try to look back to an isolated experience. Don't try to base
your hope for glory and your hope for salvation on a decision
that you made. You may not even know Christ.
And then I tell other people, don't be concerned if you didn't
have that experience. Don't be concerned if you can't
go back to a day or an hour or an experience or a decision.
When was Peter saved? I don't think there's any man
who can truthfully answer that question. And the struggles which
that man had, back when he met Christ, they found Peter and
brought him to Christ, and he was the one that said, Why, thou
art the Son of God! Three and a half years later
he said, I don't even know him. I don't even know him. He is
the man who said, We believe that God, the Christ, the Son
of the living God, he is the man who dared to walk on water
to come to Christ, and yet he is the very man. Down yonder
in Antioch, I believe it was that Paul had the rebuke to the
face because he had sided with some Judaizers and turned his
back on the Gentiles. Our Lord said to Peter, our Lord
himself said, Peter, when you are converted, strengthen your
brethren. when you're converted. So I just
know this, he restores my soul. He's restoring it now. I stumble
and he restores me. I fail and he restores me. I
doubt and he restores me. The fear comes and he restores
me. I'm going to look to him for
the restoration of my soul as long as I live. I'm not going
to look back and say, well, I'm saved because I believe in the
Bible. I'm saved because I believe Christ
died on the cross, the devil believes in trivial. I'm saved
because he restoreth my soul, because the blood of Jesus Christ,
God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin. Cleanseth. Praise the
Lord, it cleanseth. It cleanseth me. And I'll tell
you this, Brother Cecil played a while
ago and said, We know that our pastor is thy servant called
to feed the flock. I sat there and listened, and
I said, Lord, is it so? Is it so? I hope it's so. But
I'm saying this to you. If I am called to feed this flock,
if God has given me his message, Lord, don't give me sheep to
lead, to be to them the under-shepherd. who are mired in the slew of
presumption, who look back to an old experience, who hang their
hats on an old decision, who talk about they did believe and
they did repent and they did trust God, give me some people
to lead who are seeking the Lord. who are not satisfied, who are
not presumptuous, who are not trying to prove they're saved
by something they did, or prove they're saved by something they
agreed to, or prove they're saved by some decision they made, or
prove they're saved because of the so-called moral life they're
living, but who know they're saved because Christ is their
Lord and their Shepherd. He restored it. Can you get the
meaning of that? The Lord is my shepherd, I shall
not want, because he maketh every day, every day. He maketh me
to lie down. He leadeth me every day. And
maybe there's a year ahead or ten years or twenty or thirty
years ahead, but he's going to lead me beside those still waters. He doesn't. I'm gone. Decision
and no decision. He restoreth, he restoreth. If
he doesn't restore it, if he doesn't keep on restoring, and
keep on cleansing, and keep on holding, and keep on interceding,
and keep on presenting, I needn't talk about what happened in the
past. He restoreth. He leadeth me in paths of righteousness. Somebody said it's a path. I
remember, we didn't do much grass cutting when I was a kid. Grass
just grew up in the summer, but there were paths. There was a
path to the pig pen, there was a path to the outdoor house,
you know, and there's a path to the next door neighbor, and
there's a path down to the swimming pool, swimming hole down at the
creek, you know. There was a path. You know how come a path? Because
we walked it often. We walked it off. We didn't walk
anywhere else but right there in that path. But you could see
where everybody went, you know. There was a path. And this is
called, the old writer said, a path of righteousness because
he walked it before I did. He walked it. He walked every
step of the way. He was tempted and tried and
tested and hated and despised and rejected. Every step of the
way he walked, he walked, yet without seeing. And he made for
me a path. I didn't have to, and I don't
now. I didn't have to hack it out, and I don't have to hack
it out now. All I have to do is walk in it. That path of imputed
righteousness which he gave to me, and that path of imparted
righteousness, and he leadeth me. in that path of righteousness.
He leads me to walk in that path of righteousness, and he does
it for his name's sake. Move on quickly, verse 4. Yea,
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. This psalm has been relegated
to funerals Like the song, Nearer My God to Thee, or Abide With
Me, or some of those precious hymns. And I know nearly everybody
applies this psalm and this verse, though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death, they apply this to the time of physical
death. But believe me, I don't believe
it refers to the day of death entirely. It has a good application,
but I believe David here is talking about all of life. all of life,
because our entire journey through this world is in a valley of
what? A valley of life? No, sir, a valley of death. Now,
one man's sin, death, entered this world and made this world
a valley of death. The sin of Adam put the stamp
of death on everything. You go out there and look around
Especially as fall begins to come and the trees begin to die
and the vegetables begin to die. And look at your friends, they're
dying. And look at yourself, you're
dying. Everything has a mark of death
on it. And we're walking through. It's
not our dwelling place, it's not our home, we're passing through.
We're passing through this valley of death. But there's a word
here that caught my eye, and I sought a little help on it.
It's the valley for the believer. Now, this is the believer here.
For the unbeliever, it is a valley of death. He's part of death. He's part of that death. He's
dead in sin. Just like the trees are dying,
he's dead. Just like the vegetables are
dying, he's dead. Just like his family ties are
dying, he's dead. Everything about the world and
everything about the unbeliever is dead, dead, dead. But for
the believer, it's not a valley of death. It's a valley of the
shadow of death. Preacher, what does that mean?
Well, I didn't know either, but somebody helped me. And here's
what it means. It's called the shatter of death,
for death in its substance has been removed. Death in its sting
has been removed. A little old boy was playing
out in the yard one day, and he came running in and said,
Mammy, Mammy, a bee stung me! And he's crying, you know, and
he says, Mama went and got something and put on the bee sting, Kissed
it, you know, and he got happy, and after a while he went back
out, and in a few minutes he came running back in and said,
Man, that same old bee's after me! She said, Honey, he can't
hurt you. He done lost his stinger. The
shadow of a dog can't bite. You can see it. The shadow of
a dog can't bite. The shadow of a gun can't kill.
The shadow of death can't destroy. It's there, and it has effect
upon others. But he that liveth and believeth
on me, Christ said, shall never die. Never die. Now, to give us some comfort,
yea, though I walk, and I'm not staying still, I'm not sitting
down, I'm walking, I'm going through this valley, through
this valley that's been stained and permeated with death. Death everywhere. Death. But for me, it's a shadow of
death. The substance of it has been
removed. The sting of it has been removed,
because my Lord came down here and he took all of the sting
out of it, all of the fear out of it, all of the power out of
it, all of the substance out of it, and yet the shadow is
there, but it can't hurt me. I'll fear no evil." Now, he didn't
say there'd be no evil. He didn't say there'd be no evil.
He said, though I walk through this valley of the shadow of
death, I'll fear no evil. The man who promises you an easy
road as a believer is a deceiver. The man who tells you to come
to Christ and all your troubles will be over. I heard a fellow
on television today, and he was talking about people tired. And
he said, you're tired and God will bless you. He said, you
just think, J.C. Penney tied, and he made millions. And Letourneau tied, and he made
millions. And he kept on. I was pretty
well convinced that if he had tied, God would make him a millionaire.
But it's not so. It's just not so. You cannot
promise that precious believer that his baby is not going to
die. You can't promise that precious believer that his job is not
going to be taken away from him. You can't promise that precious
old believer that his house won't burn down, because it might. But I'm not going to fear any
evil. He didn't say, though I walk through the valley of the shadow
of death, there's not going to be any evil. He said, I'm not going
to fear any evil, because thou art with me. Where the shepherd
is, the sheep are. Thou art with me. I'm not going
to fear any evil, because you're with me, and your rod and your
staff." What's the rod used for? Well, first it's used to number
the sheep. The shepherd held a rod out there, and the sheep
passed under it, and he numbered the sheep as they passed under
the rod. And all the hairs of my head are numbered. I'm numbered
with the redeemed, somebody said. He numbered me when he redeemed,
his rod has numbered me. But the rod and staff are also
used for rule and guidance. A little old sheep starts running
out there and the shepherd takes that quilt and hooks him around
the leg and says, you come back here. It's used for correction,
it's used to defend me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort
me. Quickly thou preparest a table
before me in the presence of mine enemies. Someone said the
believer is not without his enemies. enemies within, enemies without. He could not be like his Lord
if he had no enemies, because Christ said, Marvel not, brethren,
if the world hate you, it hated me before it hated you. And yet,
in the presence of mine enemies, both within and without, he prepares
for me a table. And that table, I believe, For
the believer is the Lord's table. This is my body broken for you. This is my blood shed for you.
And that meets my every need. I regret. Now we've got all this
building done. We need to more often come to
the table of the Lord. It's my fault. We need to observe
the table of the Lord because of the assurance, the confidence,
the blessings. Christ said, as often as you
eat this bread and drink this cup, you show my death till It's
commanded of our Lord, Thou anointest my head with oil, that's grace
and the Holy Spirit that are given us daily. My cup runneth
over, count your many blessings, name them one by one. We count
our afflictions and we count our disappointments, but count
your blessings. My cup's running over tonight,
my sins are forgiven. Christ intercedes for me, I have
fellowship with God, my hope is secure in Christ, I have an
eternal inheritance, my cup runneth over. We're just too influenced by
the things of this world, aren't we? Too influenced by the things
of this world. One reason is we spend the majority
of our time in the things of this world. Associations and
companions and evil companions corrupt good manners. And that's
the reason we're so influenced by these things, is we spend
most of our time in them. Surely goodness, it has and it
will, mercy, shall follow me all the days of my life, and
I'll dwell in the house of the Lord forever. For me to live
is Christ, and to die is Jesus. Our Father, we thank thee for
the Psalms. to thank Thee for Thy Word. We
bow together, every one of us, who love Thee, who trust Thee,
who know Thee, and we pray, O Lord, keep me. Keep me under Thy wings. Keep me in the hollow of Thy
hand. Keep me in that blessed hiding place. Wean me from the
things of this world. Wean me from materialism and
greed and covetousness. Let me see the rich promises
of thy word. O Lord, keep me seeking Thee,
seeking Thy face, walking before Thee in faith, not by sight,
but by faith. Not looking within, but looking
to Calvary. Not resting upon an experience,
but looking to a person. Enrich us with Thy presence and
with Thy Holy Spirit. We pray for Christ's sake and
in His name. Amen.

A Psalm of David

What does the Bible say about God as our shepherd?

How do we know that God works in our trials?

Why is understanding our need for a Shepherd important for Christians?

What does it mean that our shepherd leads us beside still waters?

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A Psalm of David

What does the Bible say about God as our shepherd?

How do we know that God works in our trials?

Why is understanding our need for a Shepherd important for Christians?

What does it mean that our shepherd leads us beside still waters?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

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