WEBVTT 00:00:05.360 --> 00:00:07.759 Take a trip in the Wayback Machine. We've been 00:00:07.759 --> 00:00:10.619 in Psalm 106 going through it, but we're going 00:00:10.619 --> 00:00:16.039 to go all the way back tonight to Psalm 23. Some 00:00:16.039 --> 00:00:19.460 of you may have heard this psalm before. Psalm 00:00:19.460 --> 00:00:23.920 23. If you have not ever heard it, then you should 00:00:23.920 --> 00:00:31.059 read it. You should listen to it. It's a good 00:00:31.059 --> 00:00:33.759 one for us to revisit from time to time, so we're 00:00:33.759 --> 00:00:35.759 just going to revisit it tonight, even if we... 00:00:35.759 --> 00:00:38.039 Most of us don't need to read it. Yeah, yeah, 00:00:38.079 --> 00:00:40.679 that's right. I suspect... Different translation, 00:00:40.979 --> 00:00:43.100 maybe. Yeah, I suspect a lot of you probably 00:00:43.100 --> 00:00:45.380 memorized this when you were a kid. I know when 00:00:45.380 --> 00:00:48.579 I was in third grade, we did. And if you did 00:00:48.579 --> 00:00:50.719 memorize it, you probably memorized it in the 00:00:50.719 --> 00:00:52.700 King James Version. That's the version we'll 00:00:52.700 --> 00:00:55.880 be looking at tonight, just because that's the 00:00:55.880 --> 00:00:58.539 familiar version for this verse for most of us. 00:00:59.400 --> 00:01:03.039 Psalm 23 is where we will start. Let's pray and 00:01:03.039 --> 00:01:05.739 then we'll jump in. God, we come to you. We thank 00:01:05.739 --> 00:01:08.700 you for your good word and we thank you for just 00:01:08.700 --> 00:01:11.420 the beauty of this passage that maybe we've read 00:01:11.420 --> 00:01:13.420 it a bunch of times or maybe for some tonight 00:01:13.420 --> 00:01:15.780 listening online or even in here, it's the first 00:01:15.780 --> 00:01:17.739 time they've ever heard it. I pray, God, that 00:01:17.739 --> 00:01:20.319 whether it's the first time or the tenth time 00:01:20.319 --> 00:01:23.239 or the hundredth time, God, that your word will 00:01:23.239 --> 00:01:25.159 speak to us tonight and we'd grow from it. I 00:01:25.159 --> 00:01:27.000 pray that your Holy Spirit would just be with 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:29.030 us and give us a good... A few minutes together 00:01:29.030 --> 00:01:32.170 in your word. In Jesus' name I pray it. Amen. 00:01:33.069 --> 00:01:38.129 Alright, Psalm 23. This is a Psalm of David. 00:01:38.989 --> 00:01:42.670 Now David was a shepherd, so this language that 00:01:42.670 --> 00:01:46.170 he uses describing the Lord as our shepherd and 00:01:46.170 --> 00:01:48.230 kind of that relationship and what that looks 00:01:48.230 --> 00:01:50.510 like between a shepherd and a sheep is one that 00:01:50.510 --> 00:01:53.129 David would have understood. And it's one that 00:01:53.129 --> 00:01:56.030 we can understand too, even if we're not shepherds 00:01:56.030 --> 00:01:58.689 or sheep herders, we can understand the beauty 00:01:58.689 --> 00:02:01.569 of what David is talking about here in relation 00:02:01.569 --> 00:02:04.870 to the Lord. Now, David certainly was a man after 00:02:04.870 --> 00:02:07.370 God's own heart. We see that in Scripture, but 00:02:07.370 --> 00:02:10.719 we also see that David... He did plenty of things 00:02:10.719 --> 00:02:12.960 that were not right, that were not what God really 00:02:12.960 --> 00:02:17.860 desired. And we need to learn from David's life 00:02:17.860 --> 00:02:19.659 because there are plenty of times that we've 00:02:19.659 --> 00:02:21.819 done things that are just, that are not right, 00:02:21.919 --> 00:02:25.240 sinful things. But even still, David knew the 00:02:25.240 --> 00:02:27.580 importance of calling out to the Lord, of praying 00:02:27.580 --> 00:02:30.340 to God, of praising God. And that's the type 00:02:30.340 --> 00:02:32.939 of language that we see so often in these Psalms 00:02:32.939 --> 00:02:35.800 of David. And he says in verse one, the Lord 00:02:35.800 --> 00:02:39.819 is my shepherd. I shall not want, or there's 00:02:39.819 --> 00:02:42.280 nothing I lack. I have everything I need. The 00:02:42.280 --> 00:02:47.539 Lord provides for me everything I need. And when 00:02:47.539 --> 00:02:49.580 you think about a sheep, it's really dependent 00:02:49.580 --> 00:02:52.599 on that shepherd. A sheep is probably not going 00:02:52.599 --> 00:02:55.939 to make it very long on its own. Now, a lot of 00:02:55.939 --> 00:02:58.219 times people will say sheep are dumb, but sheep 00:02:58.219 --> 00:03:00.020 are not that dumb. Sheep are actually pretty 00:03:00.020 --> 00:03:02.219 smart. They have pretty good eyesight. They're 00:03:02.219 --> 00:03:05.620 pretty fast. Sheep are pretty good animals, but 00:03:05.620 --> 00:03:09.509 nevertheless, They really need a shepherd. Sheep 00:03:09.509 --> 00:03:13.069 are an animal that's going to follow whoever 00:03:13.069 --> 00:03:17.629 is leading them. And David uses that as an illustration 00:03:17.629 --> 00:03:20.889 that the Lord is our shepherd, that we are to 00:03:20.889 --> 00:03:23.490 follow the Lord, that the Lord's going to take 00:03:23.490 --> 00:03:26.349 care of us. What does the shepherd do? leads 00:03:26.349 --> 00:03:28.969 the the sheep where they need to go for safety 00:03:28.969 --> 00:03:32.030 for security for provision and that's what we 00:03:32.030 --> 00:03:34.909 see in the rest of the verse he maketh me to 00:03:34.909 --> 00:03:37.830 lie down in green pastures he leadeth me beside 00:03:37.830 --> 00:03:41.789 the still waters beautiful imagery there he's 00:03:41.789 --> 00:03:44.430 not he's not taking the sheep to a raging river 00:03:44.430 --> 00:03:47.110 farm to drink out of he's not taking them to 00:03:47.110 --> 00:03:49.610 the middle of the desert he's taking them to 00:03:49.610 --> 00:03:53.550 a place that that is that is of abundance where 00:03:53.550 --> 00:03:56.479 there's Plenty of green grass where there's still 00:03:56.479 --> 00:04:00.020 water for them to lave aside and for them to 00:04:00.020 --> 00:04:03.860 drink from. And the shepherd, it's his job to 00:04:03.860 --> 00:04:06.979 find these places for the sheep, to say, I know 00:04:06.979 --> 00:04:10.180 where the good places are. I know where my sheep 00:04:10.180 --> 00:04:12.400 need to go. I know where there's provision. I 00:04:12.400 --> 00:04:14.379 know where there's safety. I know where there's 00:04:14.379 --> 00:04:18.420 abundance. And God, as our shepherd, leads us 00:04:18.420 --> 00:04:21.180 to the places that we need to go. He leads us. 00:04:21.519 --> 00:04:23.879 on the paths of righteousness for his name's 00:04:23.879 --> 00:04:26.839 sake. He guides us along the right way so that 00:04:26.839 --> 00:04:29.319 we can get to those green pastures and those 00:04:29.319 --> 00:04:33.639 still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth 00:04:33.639 --> 00:04:36.399 me in the paths of righteousness for his name's 00:04:36.399 --> 00:04:38.899 sake. What a beautiful first half of that verse. 00:04:39.000 --> 00:04:42.600 He restores my soul. Now there are times in life 00:04:42.600 --> 00:04:45.680 that our souls need to be restored. Sometimes 00:04:45.680 --> 00:04:48.199 it may be because of our sinfulness. It may be 00:04:48.199 --> 00:04:50.759 that we've been living in a way that is not, 00:04:51.120 --> 00:04:53.579 what God desires. We've been doing things and 00:04:53.579 --> 00:04:56.800 saying things and acting in a way of disobedience 00:04:56.800 --> 00:04:59.920 and in sinfulness that we just feel the burden 00:04:59.920 --> 00:05:04.060 of that in our soul. And praise the Lord, God 00:05:04.060 --> 00:05:06.779 will restore our souls. David understood that. 00:05:06.879 --> 00:05:09.480 He knew what it was like to call out to the Lord 00:05:09.480 --> 00:05:13.199 when he had sinned greatly. And so David understands 00:05:13.199 --> 00:05:15.959 these are powerful words when he acknowledges 00:05:15.959 --> 00:05:21.370 that God will restore our soul. Maybe our soul 00:05:21.370 --> 00:05:23.790 needs restoring, not because of sin that we have 00:05:23.790 --> 00:05:25.870 committed, but just because life is tough. And 00:05:25.870 --> 00:05:28.490 sometimes it just wears you down. Maybe you're 00:05:28.490 --> 00:05:30.829 doing the best you can and just work gets you 00:05:30.829 --> 00:05:34.990 down or life gets you down. Whatever it may be, 00:05:35.050 --> 00:05:37.670 there are things in life that sometimes we feel 00:05:37.670 --> 00:05:40.089 the burden of that and our soul just needs to 00:05:40.089 --> 00:05:43.470 be restored. And David says, hey, look, God is 00:05:43.470 --> 00:05:47.449 our shepherd and he is the one who restores our 00:05:47.449 --> 00:05:50.670 soul. He leadeth me in the past. of righteousness. 00:05:51.810 --> 00:05:55.189 Okay, so a good shepherd is going to lead his 00:05:55.189 --> 00:05:58.709 sheep down a good path. Now, we know who the 00:05:58.709 --> 00:06:00.990 good shepherd is. We read the New Testament and 00:06:00.990 --> 00:06:04.569 we see that Jesus is the good shepherd. He cares 00:06:04.569 --> 00:06:06.790 for the sheep and the sheep hear his voice and 00:06:06.790 --> 00:06:11.329 the sheep follow him. Now, same example here. 00:06:11.930 --> 00:06:15.269 Jesus is symbolically our shepherd and we are 00:06:15.269 --> 00:06:18.600 symbolically sheep. That Jesus is the one who's 00:06:18.600 --> 00:06:21.259 going to provide for us and prepare for us and 00:06:21.259 --> 00:06:24.899 lead the way for us to follow him. And where 00:06:24.899 --> 00:06:27.860 does he lead us? He leads us down paths of righteousness. 00:06:28.120 --> 00:06:31.879 He leads us down good paths. Now in life, we 00:06:31.879 --> 00:06:35.540 certainly have choices to make. We come to these 00:06:35.540 --> 00:06:38.860 forks in the road sometimes in life where we 00:06:38.860 --> 00:06:41.120 have, am I going to go down this path or am I 00:06:41.120 --> 00:06:44.209 going to go down that path? And here's the thing 00:06:44.209 --> 00:06:46.829 about the paths of the world. It's oftentimes 00:06:46.829 --> 00:06:50.930 the paths of the world, they look better at first 00:06:50.930 --> 00:06:54.189 glance. You look and you see a path going up 00:06:54.189 --> 00:06:56.810 a hill and you say, man, that path looks easy. 00:06:56.829 --> 00:06:59.949 It looks good. It looks smooth. It looks like 00:06:59.949 --> 00:07:03.269 it has everything that I ever want. And a lot 00:07:03.269 --> 00:07:06.990 of times the paths that God leads us down, they 00:07:06.990 --> 00:07:10.230 may not look so good. They may not seem like 00:07:10.230 --> 00:07:13.079 the best path in the moment. something that God's 00:07:13.079 --> 00:07:16.160 calling us to or leading us to, we may say, man, 00:07:16.319 --> 00:07:18.220 that don't seem like that's going to be very 00:07:18.220 --> 00:07:19.939 much fun, or that doesn't seem like that's going 00:07:19.939 --> 00:07:21.899 to be easy, or I don't see how any good could 00:07:21.899 --> 00:07:25.000 come from that. And sometimes the path that the 00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:27.939 Lord wants to lead us on, it may not look like 00:07:27.939 --> 00:07:31.300 the best path. But we have to be careful because 00:07:31.300 --> 00:07:34.560 if our good shepherd is leading us down a path, 00:07:34.720 --> 00:07:37.800 it is the good path. Even if another path looks 00:07:37.800 --> 00:07:41.019 better, we find out quickly when we... when we 00:07:41.019 --> 00:07:43.759 stray from following the shepherd, that when 00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:45.600 we get over the hill of that path that looks 00:07:45.600 --> 00:07:48.339 good, it's downhill from there. And we find that 00:07:48.339 --> 00:07:52.040 maybe it's not the best path, as good as we thought 00:07:52.040 --> 00:07:55.240 it was. But we need to remember that Jesus is 00:07:55.240 --> 00:07:58.079 a good shepherd. So wherever Jesus leads us, 00:07:58.100 --> 00:08:01.339 it may not always be easy. It may not always 00:08:01.339 --> 00:08:03.459 make sense. We may say, man, I don't know why 00:08:03.459 --> 00:08:07.379 God's leading me here, but if God is good, Jesus 00:08:07.379 --> 00:08:10.279 is good. He's going to lead us on the path of 00:08:10.279 --> 00:08:15.000 righteousness, not the path of destruction. Verse 00:08:15.000 --> 00:08:17.680 4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the 00:08:17.680 --> 00:08:20.439 shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou 00:08:20.439 --> 00:08:24.500 art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort 00:08:24.500 --> 00:08:27.899 me. Now that's a beautiful language because sometimes 00:08:27.899 --> 00:08:31.480 we are in dark valleys in our life. Again, sometimes 00:08:31.480 --> 00:08:34.960 it's our own doing. Sometimes we are living in 00:08:34.960 --> 00:08:37.259 sinfulness and we are in a dark place because 00:08:37.259 --> 00:08:39.240 of the way we've been living and our heart's 00:08:39.240 --> 00:08:41.840 gotten dark. And sometimes we find ourselves 00:08:41.840 --> 00:08:46.220 in dark valleys in our life. Sometimes it's not 00:08:46.220 --> 00:08:48.500 necessarily of our doing. Sometimes it's just 00:08:48.500 --> 00:08:52.460 life and our life path. We go through life and 00:08:52.460 --> 00:08:56.039 things are tough and it just seems so dark and 00:08:56.039 --> 00:08:58.840 hopeless and like there's no light at the end 00:08:58.840 --> 00:09:01.919 of the tunnel and it's not fun. Whatever gets 00:09:01.919 --> 00:09:04.899 us into that valley of the shadow of death, it's 00:09:04.899 --> 00:09:07.659 not fun to be in a dark place. It's not fun to 00:09:07.659 --> 00:09:10.980 think, man, I feel like I am so dark and I am 00:09:10.980 --> 00:09:14.460 so depressed and I am so burdened that I don't 00:09:14.460 --> 00:09:15.860 think I'm going to make it through it. It's just 00:09:15.860 --> 00:09:19.139 going to kill me this place is so dark. But what 00:09:19.139 --> 00:09:21.100 does David say? Yea, though I walk through the 00:09:21.100 --> 00:09:24.379 valley of the shadow of death, I'll fear no evil 00:09:24.379 --> 00:09:28.889 for thou art with me. So whatever may... may 00:09:28.889 --> 00:09:31.990 get us into our dark valleys in the future or 00:09:31.990 --> 00:09:34.929 whatever maybe has gotten us into a dark valley 00:09:34.929 --> 00:09:37.809 today, we need to remember that the Lord is with 00:09:37.809 --> 00:09:40.710 us, that it's just for a moment, that we may 00:09:40.710 --> 00:09:42.570 be in the valley today, but if we would seek 00:09:42.570 --> 00:09:44.490 God, that he can bring us to the mountaintop 00:09:44.490 --> 00:09:48.549 tomorrow. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort 00:09:48.549 --> 00:09:52.090 me. So the shepherd has a rod, has a staff, and 00:09:52.090 --> 00:09:55.360 certainly the shepherd protects the flock. Maybe 00:09:55.360 --> 00:09:57.820 he uses that staff to fight off a wolf or to 00:09:57.820 --> 00:10:00.879 fight off some other danger. Maybe he uses that 00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:03.779 staff to correct the sheep, to pull the sheep 00:10:03.779 --> 00:10:05.960 back into the fold. The Scripture says the Lord 00:10:05.960 --> 00:10:08.659 disciplines those that he loves, and perhaps 00:10:08.659 --> 00:10:11.320 there are times that the shepherd has to make 00:10:11.320 --> 00:10:13.919 sure that the sheep does what he says. Maybe 00:10:13.919 --> 00:10:16.820 that rod of correction or that little hook on 00:10:16.820 --> 00:10:20.840 his staff is able to pull that sheep back into 00:10:20.840 --> 00:10:23.299 the fold, even if he wants to. He wants to go 00:10:23.299 --> 00:10:25.519 off on his own. Maybe the Lord has to do that 00:10:25.519 --> 00:10:29.519 for us sometimes. Verse 5, Thou preparest a table 00:10:29.519 --> 00:10:32.759 before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou 00:10:32.759 --> 00:10:36.179 anointest my head with oil, and my cup runneth 00:10:36.179 --> 00:10:40.740 over. Again, this idea of blessing that David 00:10:40.740 --> 00:10:43.840 is saying, God has prepared a table before me, 00:10:43.879 --> 00:10:46.659 a feast before me. God has anointed me with oil. 00:10:46.740 --> 00:10:50.100 I am blessed. It's obvious to all of my enemies. 00:10:52.350 --> 00:10:55.429 The Lord is with me and I have won because the 00:10:55.429 --> 00:10:58.690 Lord has brought me victory. Now sometimes in 00:10:58.690 --> 00:11:00.610 our life we may have enemies that come against 00:11:00.610 --> 00:11:02.870 us and it may seem as though our enemies are 00:11:02.870 --> 00:11:05.350 winning. We may look at the world and we may 00:11:05.350 --> 00:11:07.690 see a lot of evil taking place and it may seem 00:11:07.690 --> 00:11:10.850 as though the enemy is winning. But ultimately 00:11:10.850 --> 00:11:13.629 those who trust in the Lord will have victory. 00:11:14.149 --> 00:11:17.929 They will be the ones who are sitting at the 00:11:17.929 --> 00:11:21.100 feast, that the table prepared before them. The 00:11:21.100 --> 00:11:23.480 enemies of God's people will look at God's people 00:11:23.480 --> 00:11:26.940 and say, man, we thought we had them, but God's 00:11:26.940 --> 00:11:30.740 people will always be victorious. And David acknowledges 00:11:30.740 --> 00:11:33.039 that truth, that God has prepared that table 00:11:33.039 --> 00:11:38.159 before him. Verse 6. Surely goodness and mercy 00:11:38.159 --> 00:11:41.559 shall follow me all the days of my life, and 00:11:41.559 --> 00:11:44.860 I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. 00:11:45.580 --> 00:11:47.799 Isn't that a beautiful thing to desire, goodness 00:11:47.799 --> 00:11:50.970 and mercy? Surely goodness and mercy will follow 00:11:50.970 --> 00:11:54.090 me all the days of my life. Now, without the 00:11:54.090 --> 00:11:56.529 goodness of God, we're in a bad shape because 00:11:56.529 --> 00:11:59.350 there is only good in God. There's no other source 00:11:59.350 --> 00:12:02.529 of good in this world. And David acknowledged 00:12:02.529 --> 00:12:05.450 that, hey, when I'm in the presence of God and 00:12:05.450 --> 00:12:07.669 His goodness, then I'm in good shape. Surely 00:12:07.669 --> 00:12:10.009 goodness and mercy shall follow me. Praise the 00:12:10.009 --> 00:12:13.289 Lord for God's mercy. We need God's mercy because 00:12:13.289 --> 00:12:16.470 we sin and we do things that are deserving of 00:12:16.470 --> 00:12:20.139 great punishment, of death. But God is merciful. 00:12:20.259 --> 00:12:23.320 He does not give us what we deserve. And David 00:12:23.320 --> 00:12:26.500 rejoices in that. He acknowledges that. Surely, 00:12:26.559 --> 00:12:29.440 he says, goodness and mercy shall follow me all 00:12:29.440 --> 00:12:31.840 the days of my life, and I will dwell in the 00:12:31.840 --> 00:12:33.659 house of the Lord forever. I will dwell in the 00:12:33.659 --> 00:12:36.960 Lord's presence forever. And that's a good place 00:12:36.960 --> 00:12:39.700 to be. It's a good place for us to be is in the 00:12:39.700 --> 00:12:41.860 presence of the Lord. Now, ultimately, we trust 00:12:41.860 --> 00:12:44.919 in Jesus Christ. When we leave this earth, we 00:12:44.919 --> 00:12:46.960 will certainly be in the presence of the Lord 00:12:46.960 --> 00:12:50.009 for all of eternity. But even in this life, when 00:12:50.009 --> 00:12:53.110 we pause and pray, when we meditate on the Lord 00:12:53.110 --> 00:12:56.490 and His Word, we are in the presence of the Lord. 00:12:56.590 --> 00:12:58.990 And it's a beautiful thing when we take time 00:12:58.990 --> 00:13:03.029 to intentionally seek out God. And David acknowledges 00:13:03.029 --> 00:13:06.649 that there. He's giving us some good words here, 00:13:06.769 --> 00:13:10.509 words of encouragement. That we need to be led. 00:13:10.610 --> 00:13:12.730 We need a shepherd. We need somebody to lead 00:13:12.730 --> 00:13:15.850 us because life is tough. And we sin and we go 00:13:15.850 --> 00:13:17.889 through dark valleys and we wonder how we're 00:13:17.889 --> 00:13:20.090 going to make it. Where's our provision going 00:13:20.090 --> 00:13:21.889 to come from? Where's our safety going to come 00:13:21.889 --> 00:13:24.710 from? Our security? How are we going to overcome 00:13:24.710 --> 00:13:26.669 our enemies? How are we going to overcome our 00:13:26.669 --> 00:13:29.389 temptations? How are we going to have our souls 00:13:29.389 --> 00:13:32.470 restored in the midst of our seasons of just 00:13:32.470 --> 00:13:35.710 burden on our soul? Well, David says it's going 00:13:35.710 --> 00:13:39.070 to be through the Lord. So Jesus Christ is our 00:13:39.070 --> 00:13:40.870 good shepherd. Are we following him tonight? 00:13:41.009 --> 00:13:44.009 He will only lead us to good places. So we need 00:13:44.009 --> 00:13:45.730 to follow him and trust him and know that he 00:13:45.730 --> 00:13:48.490 will provide for us and take care of us. Let's 00:13:48.490 --> 00:13:50.970 pray. God, we come to you. We thank you for these 00:13:50.970 --> 00:13:52.889 good words. I pray that we would think about 00:13:52.889 --> 00:13:54.470 them, that we would reflect on them, that they 00:13:54.470 --> 00:13:57.029 would come to our mind, dear Lord. Maybe there's 00:13:57.029 --> 00:13:58.830 a time in our life that things are going to be 00:13:58.830 --> 00:14:01.230 tough, and I pray that you just would recall 00:14:01.230 --> 00:14:04.230 your word, that we can draw strength from this, 00:14:04.289 --> 00:14:09.139 dear Lord, Grace, dear Lord, and just live in 00:14:09.139 --> 00:14:12.179 your mercy and know what your goodness feels 00:14:12.179 --> 00:14:15.100 like, God. I thank you for your word. I pray 00:14:15.100 --> 00:14:17.399 that it will just resonate in our life and our 00:14:17.399 --> 00:14:20.240 daily life. In Jesus' name I pray it. Amen.