Psalm 23. The focus of our exposition today is
going to be in verse 4, but we're going to read
the entirety of the psalm for context and just
to be familiar with it as we go through. The
Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes
me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside
quiet waters. He restores my soul. He guides
me in paths of righteousness for his namesake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you are
with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort
me. You prepare a table before me in the presence
of my enemies. You have anointed my head with
oil. My cup overflows. Surely goodness and loving
kindness will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father, we come
to you this Lord's Day. Lord, we ask that you
would bless your word as only you can, Lord.
Father, we ask that you would... accompany the
ministry of the word of God for the benefit and
the good of the people of God. Lord, that your
spirit would work in the hearts and the minds
of the saints today. Father, we ask that your
word would pierce the heart and the mind of the
unbelieving sinner who doesn't know Jesus Christ
by faith and repentance, that they might be brought
in to the flock of God and know you as their
good shepherd. Lord, be in our midst. Be with
us. Use your word. Bless your word. Show yourself
mighty. Show yourself powerful this day, at this
time. We ask these things in Christ's name. Amen.
You may be seated. Imagine two different men
or women, two different individuals, going through
very similar... Sufferings or trials. Two men
or two women who are struggling and wrestling
in life. One's over here, one's over here. The
problem they face is similar. The consequences,
the outcome is similar. One handles it in a certain
way. They sink down deep into themselves. Bitterness
takes root. Anger comes out. Resentment is defining
them and characterizing them because of their
circumstances, because of the suffering. Now
imagine the other man. That individual is going
through the same thing, the same experiences.
the same timing, even the same duration. But
this one doesn't seem to cave in to themselves.
It seems to press them outward. There seems to
be a peace or a contentment, a joy, a satisfaction,
a hopefulness that's present in that individual.
We think about those two men. What's the difference?
They're both men made in the image of God. They're
both sinners. They both have issues. They're
both imperfect. The difference is that one is
a sheep with a good shepherd. One is counted
among the flock of God. One has been made new
by the work of the Spirit of God. One has been
gifted faith and repentance. One has the Spirit
of God dwelling within them, sustaining them
and preserving them. And the other is left to
themselves. No faith, no repentance. The Spirit
of God is not dwelling within them. They do not
look outside of themselves. They look to themselves
for hope, for strength. Today we find in Psalm
23, that it is possible and feasible and something
that the Christian ought to strive for, that
through the valleys and through the shadows,
they are to look to their shepherd for strength
outside of themselves. We come to a new section
of the psalm. I'm sure that you can see that
the tone of the... the tone of the psalm itself
changes in verse 4. There's a couple differences.
In verses 1 through 3, we really see this pleasant
picture of the Lord providing for his people,
his care, his loving kindness at work in their
life. And then in verse 4, we're introduced to
this idea of the valley of the shadow of death.
This dark, difficult place that the people of
God have to walk through. We're going to consider
the reality that there are valleys and shadows.
There's suffering in the life of believers. We're
going to consider the fact that these are caused
by something. That suffering has a source. These
valleys and shadows. are universal. There's no
exceptions for any believer because they have
a cause. They're the result of something. We'll
see that they are inevitable for every single
believer. No believer in Christ is exempt from
hardship, trial, difficulty, or suffering. in
their life as long as they live in a fallen and
sinful world. Every single one is within the
grasp and the influence of sin and its ugly,
nasty fruit in this world. We'll see that the
real problem of these valleys and shadows in
the life of the believer is that We're people
made in the image of God. And that we have hearts.
We're not machines just walking through life.
That we have affections and longings. And so
the real problem with these valleys and shadows
in the lives of believers is the fact that they
bring with them the temptation to make us disheartened.
to overwhelm us with fear, or to become distraught.
But we also see that there's hope for every believer
in the valleys and in the shadows, not because
of them, but there's hope because the shepherd
is with them. The shepherd protects them. The
shepherd preserves them. The shepherd gets them.
through and brings them to the other side and
out of the valley as he sees fit. So the reality
of valleys and shadows for the believer. When
the words in verse 4, when we hear these words,
even though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death. He's using the imagery of a
valley in a deep, deep darkness to convey certain
truths. When we think about a valley, we think
about something that's walled in. We think about
something that's difficult and hard to get out
of. We think about something that is almost insurmountable
if you go at it the right way. There's no escape.
You're surrounded on every side. But David also
uses this language of the valley of the shadow
of death. It carries this idea of overwhelming,
complete, terrible, dreadful darkness. So it's
not so much talking about the situation as the
intensity of the situation. Interestingly enough,
this same word is used 18 times in the Bible.
Over half of those are used in the book of Job.
Now why is that relevant? Because Job suffered
a great deal in his life. He went through just
about every form of pain and loss and grief that
a human being can experience. He went through
the valley of the shadow of death in his life.
He walked through it, brothers and sisters. So
what is this language meant to convey for the
reader? What does David want to get across? He
wants us to understand that there is a reality.
That the covenant people of God, though they
have a good shepherd, difficult, trying days
in their life. Every single one of them will
go through trials, suffering, loss, hardship,
pain, grief, and mourning. To be a believer in
Jesus Christ, and we've made mention of this
on many occasions, To be a believer in Jesus
Christ is not to do away with all the problems
of life. To be a Christian is not to rid oneself
of every trying situation in life. To be a believer
in Jesus Christ is to walk through the valley
and to walk into the darkness. Facing the fear,
facing the dread, knowing that the shepherd is
with you and at your side. It doesn't take away
the valleys. That's a misconception. And that's
false thinking for the believer. We all live
in this world. We're all subject to the reality
of valleys and shadows as believers. Now this
brings us to another thing. If valleys and shadows
or suffering exist, they have to have a cause.
They have to have a reason that they exist. And
for us to understand valleys and shadows, or
for us to understand hardship and difficulty,
we really need to know the ultimate cause, the
ultimate source of those hardships and those
trials in our lives. Where should our minds go
when we think about suffering and hardship and
where it comes from? Our minds should be drawn
all the way back to the beginning of the Bible.
All the way back to the book of Genesis and Genesis
chapter 3. There was a time in this creation
when sin did not exist in the world. There was
a time. In this creation, brothers and sisters,
when there was not hardship, when there was not
suffering, when there was not trial, when there
was not pain, there was a time. But then, because
of Adam's sin, and because of the entrance of
sin into this world, everything gets broken.
Everything gets shaken. Everything gets turned
upside down. Everything gets perverted and twisted.
The things that work ought not to work. The things
that don't work do work. Sin messes everything
up in this world. Now, I think it's important
for us to understand that when we're considering
the cause of suffering in this world, As I refer
to it here today, it's not the personal sins
of individual, it's the reality of sin. It's
the whole reality and existence of sin in this
world that brings about suffering, pain, loss,
and hardship. It's because... that reality, that
sickness, that disease exists. That there's all
these manifest symptoms of suffering and hardship,
death even, in this world. Because sin exists,
suffering exists in this world. So everything
that's trying difficult, Everything that brings
pain and loss and grief and mourning and sadness
into our lives, it is the result ultimately of
what, brothers and sisters? The reality and existence
of sin in this world. Now, as we'll see, one
of the great things about the gospel is that
it fixes that problem. The gospel promises a
day when the whole concept, the whole reality,
and the whole existence of sin will be done away
with. The work of Christ will remove every single
trace of sin, iniquity, and corruption in this
world, brothers and sisters. And it's only the
gospel that can accomplish that. So we see that
there is a solution for the valleys in the shadows
of this life. But we know the cause. We know
why they are here. So we must conclude also that
valleys and shadows are in fact inevitable for
every single believer in Jesus Christ. Some might
come to Psalm 23 and come to it and think, I
love verses 1 through 3. I love the fact that
the Lord is my shepherd. I love and I rejoice
in the fact that I shall not want. What a pleasant,
what a blessed statement. Some may come to Psalm
23 and say, yes, I just adore the fact that He
makes me lie down in green pastures. Or they
come in, it really stirs my soul. That He leads
me beside quiet waters. It just encourages me
to know in the reality that He restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness. And then
stop. And just stop. At the end of verse 3. Why
would somebody stop at verse 3? Because the next
verse says, even though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death. Verses 1 -3 are not just
relevant and applicable for the believer, brothers
and sisters. Verse 4, verse 5, and verse 6 are
all applicable and relevant for the believer
in this life. Why has God given us verse 4 of
Psalm 23? Why is it present in the text of Scripture?
Why is it included in holy canon, brothers and
sisters? Because the Lord knows that every single
one of His covenant people will go through valleys
and shadows in this life. And they will need
Psalm 23, verse 4. They don't just need 1 through
3. We need to understand and grasp the reality.
That we will face trial in this life. You need
to understand and grasp the reality and wrestle
with the reality in your own soul. That you will
face hardship in your life. Sin is universal
in this world, is it not, brothers and sisters?
mucky, miry, dirty hand has touched everything.
Nothing in this world is outside of its reach.
That means that every single believer that walks
on the face of this earth until the Lord Jesus
Christ returns and renews the world and makes
all things new will deal with valleys and shadows
in their lives. This is why we read such things
as Psalm 34, verse 19, which says, Many are the
afflictions of the righteous. Many are the afflictions
of the righteous. That doesn't seem fair. The
righteous are afflicted? Those who fear God,
the saints of the living God? are afflicted,
yes, because we live in a fallen world. Many
are the afflictions of the righteous. This is
why the book of Job, chapter 5, verse 7, says
this, For man is born for trouble as sparks fly
upward. Now, that is not Job speaking. That is
Eliphaz speaking. And just an important note,
when you're reading the book of Job, it's important
to understand who's talking. Because not everything
Eliphaz says, not everything the other men say,
is completely accurate. But in this case, Eliphaz...
hits the nail on the head. What does he mean
by that statement? What does he mean in the fact
that for man is born for trouble as sparks fly
upward? You think about sparks and a fire. Some
of your kids, I'm sure, love to start fires and
make fires intentionally or unintentionally.
What flies upward? Sparks. Flames. Why? Because
there are laws in place, brothers and sisters.
There are laws of physics that exist that cause
that to come about. Now what about the birth
of a man and the experience of trouble in this
life? A man is born. Is it possible for a man
not to experience trouble? trouble in his life,
not to experience trying times. Brothers and
sisters, there is a law in place in this world.
There is a principle at work that the sovereign
hand of God maintains because of his fierce judgment
against sin. Man in this world where sin exists
will have trouble. In their life. And if you
are born in this world. You will experience.
Hardship. In this life. This is why. John. In
John's gospel. We read these words. In John chapter
16. Verse 33. This is the Lord himself saying
these words. These things I have spoken to you,
so that in me you may have peace. In this world
you have tribulation. Do you take the Lord Jesus
Christ at his word, brothers and sisters? What
is the Lord Jesus' view of this world and this
age until his return? It is to have tribulation,
trial, and hardship. This is why Peter says in
1 Peter 4, verse 12, Beloved, do not be surprised
at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon
you for your testing, as though some strange
thing were happening to you. Now, why does Peter
say this? He's talking about persecution in this
sense, in this context. But he says, don't act
like it's odd, that it's strange, that it's weird
that you're suffering in this life. It's not.
It ought to be expected in this life. It's something
that's normal. And a part of this life, actually.
Consider some of the great themes and motifs
in the Bible. What comes before the promised
land for the nation of Israel, brothers and sisters?
Wilderness wonderings. They're in the wilderness.
They're dealing with needs and provision. They're
wrestling with sin, belief and unbelief. Then
the promised land comes. The book of Hebrews
is clear that we as new covenant Christians are
in the wilderness as believers waiting for the
promised land to come, to arrive. That means
tribulations, trials and hardships, valleys.
And shadows. What about all of the exhortations
to persevere? Why do we need to persevere? Because
we need diligence in our life because it's hard
in this life. Endurance. Why does Paul say, I
have fought the good fight? Why are we exhorted
in the book of Revelation over and over, those
who overcome? Those who have victory. This life
is a battle. This life is something that must
be overcome. This life is something that we must
persevere in. What about the great proof of valleys
and shadows in this life? Death. The fact that
every single one of us in this room will die.
Is death a valley in a shadow, brothers and sisters?
Absolutely. And it's one that we're all progressively
nearing. It's one that we're all progressively
getting closer to. It's something that every
single one of us as believers must face. In a
sense, it's the valley and the shadow that each
believer will have to face and go through one
day. at some time. It's inevitable for every
single person in this room to have these trials.
Now I'm pressing this upon you for a reason.
I'm pushing this on you for a reason. Because
it's vitally important that we understand that
these are inevitable in our lives. Though they
may vary in duration or type, though they may
vary in intensity, every single believer will.
Why am I pushing this? Because, brothers and
sisters, the believer in Jesus Christ has to
have a right worldview with regards to this world.
The believer in Jesus Christ... has to have the
right expectations with regards to the days that
are coming in their life. Why? So that we're
not caught off guard. So that when the valley
and the shadow arrive, we are prepared in our
hearts, we are ready in our hearts to face it.
If we know what is coming, brothers and sisters.
then we know much better how to prepare for it.
How are you preparing your heart and your mind
in the grace of God for trials that are coming
in your life? How are you looking ahead in your
life and saying, I know. That I'm going to suffer
in some way. I know that trials and tribulation
will come into my life. How are you readying
your heart in the grace of God for those realities?
The Christian is not one who denies or rejects
valleys and shadows. The Christian is the one
who readies and prepares themselves to meet the
valleys and the shadows with the hand of the
shepherd next to them. We don't avoid them. We
don't deny them. We don't cast them off. We accept
them because we know the shepherd is with us.
We prepare ourselves and we have right expectations
with regards to hardship in this life. Now, they're
inevitable. What is the real problem with valleys
and shadows? Why are they so dangerous, we could
say, for the sheep? What is the real threat when
the darkness comes upon the believer? What's
the real danger in the valley, brothers and sisters?
Is it just pain? Is it just the experience of
something? The loss of something? No, the real
threat of valleys and shadows is that they bring
with them the temptation to be overwhelmed by
fearfulness in our hearts. This is why David
says, I fear no evil. The real problem of suffering
for the believer is what it tempts us to do in
our hearts. The real problem for the believer
in trials and hardships is what it threatens
to do when fearfulness creeps into our minds
and into our hearts. Think about, Abraham was
afraid of men. And what did that fear drive Abraham
to do? To be deceitful and to lie. That temptation,
that trial, that shadow, that valley caused him
to lapse in faith and to revert to carnality
in the flesh. What about the nation of Israel?
We see so many instances that would be great
illustrations. What about when they came up to
the promised land? And the Lord commands Moses,
and Moses commands the people, go in, scout out
the land, bring back some fruit, tell us if the
cities are fortified, what are the people like?
Are they strong? Are they weak? Are they ready?
Are they prepared? And you remember, he sends
one man from each tribe, a leader of that tribe.
It wasn't just anybody, but a leader of that
tribe. And they go and they scout out the land.
You remember, they come back, brothers and sisters.
Ten of the twelve were scared out of their boots.
Why? Because they said, we're like grasshoppers.
They're giants. They're powerful. They're strong.
They're mighty. We're weak. We're pathetic in
the sight of these men. They were fearful. They
were overwhelmed with their fear. And what did
it do? It caused them to grumble. And it caused
them to rebel against the living God and against
his appointed servant, Moses. That fear drove
them. to carnality, rebellion. Why? Because of
the lack of faith. They lapsed in their faith
because of the pressure of the fear from the
valley in the shadow. The problem with fear is
not that it could destroy our circumstances.
The real problem of fear is not that it could
strip us of our livelihood. The real problem
of the valleys and shadows, brothers and sisters,
is not that it could take away our prosperity.
That's an outward thing. The real problem with
valleys and shadows is they bring us to a place
of self -reliance and carnality if we do not
respond in faith. And that self -reliance and
that carnality can manifest itself in all kinds
of ways. Can it not, brothers and sisters? Trials
have the unique ability to make the child of
God to be utterly self -centered. To be terribly
self - to where they're just focused on themselves,
their own situation, their own life, their own
problems. Suffering has a particular way of touching
that one nerve in our heart, which causes us
to look to ourselves for strength and power and
perseverance. But we get... The last thing we
see in this text. Though this is a real problem
and temptation for believers, there is hope for
the believer in the valley and the shadows. Notice
in this text that David doesn't crumble under
the pressure and cave to himself. He doesn't
turn inward. He doesn't turn his eyes to himself.
He doesn't rely on himself. But he actually looks
away from himself. He turns his eyes outward
and he says, For you are with me. So David finds
hope in the Lord, which is outside of himself.
He doesn't go inward. He goes outward, brothers
and sisters, by faith to the Lord. Now, knowing
this and seeing this, we can understand there's
really only two ways to respond to suffering
in this life for the believer. Two ways. Not
four, not five, not six. There's two options.
For the believer in this life. When the valley
and the shadow are approaching in your life.
Where they've come upon you. When the darkness
arrives. When trouble comes. You can either respond
in the flesh. In carnality. In self -strength.
Or you can respond in faith. Looking to the living
God, the Good Shepherd, looking outside of yourself
to His rod and His staff for strength, comfort,
protection, perseverance, and preservation in
this life. Those are the only two options. How
are you responding to the hardships in your life?
Are you responding in the flesh? Or are you responding
by trusting and looking outside of yourself to
the Lord Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd? When
we look to Him, brothers and sisters, we realize
that we are safe. Because everything of verses
1 -3 is still true, even when we go through trials.
Our memory gets very, very short in hardship,
doesn't it? When pain, loss, and grief come into
our life, I think we often forget, I'm still
a sheep. And I'm still His sheep. I think in
hardship and pain in the life of God's people,
that's when it's best. To be a sheep in God's
flock and to have him as a shepherd in your life.
The shepherd will be that much sweeter, brothers
and sisters, the darker the valley is. The darker
the valley, the more you long for the shepherd.
The deeper the valley, The more you long for
the power of the shepherd and his rod, the harder
the trouble, the more you need the power of God
in your life. Listen, brothers and sisters, the
harder the situation, the sweeter the grace of
God. Valleys and shadows ought to be reminders.
That it's good to be a sheep in God's flock.
He is a good shepherd. He is a kind shepherd.
And none of that changes when our life gets difficult
or hard. The glorious reality and hope of the
believer in hardship has nothing to do with himself.
The glorious reality of the believer in the valley
and in the shadow is Christ in me, the hope of
glory. It's the shepherd himself, brothers and
sisters. Our Lord and our Savior knows what it's
like to be in the valley and to be in the shadow,
does he not? He went through the valley of valleys,
brothers and sisters. Do you understand that?
Our shepherd that guides us, our shepherd that
directs us, our shepherd that protects us and
preserves us and gets us through and brings us
through, he went through the suffering of sufferings,
the hardship of hardships. This is the gospel.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, took on flesh and
he came into the world and he dwelt among us.
And he endured hardship. He came into the valley
willingly. He walked right into the darkness
and right into the shadow. And he made it through
all by himself. He came through when he burst
forth out of the grave after dying on the cross
and facing the darkest of moments that any human
being could ever experience. He knows what it's
like to go through hardship. He knows what it's
like for his sheep to be afraid. He's a sympathetic
and a compassionate and a merciful shepherd,
as we read in the book of Hebrews. Does he not
know what you need in your life? When things
get hard. Has he not been there? Does he not
know what you need most in your soul? When you're
at the point of despair or hopelessness, he's
been there, brothers and sisters. He's the good
shepherd that faced the darkness and came out
on the other side. Does he not know how to sustain
you and preserve you? Does he not know how to
lift up your soul and provide for you even in
the worst of valleys and the darkest of times
in your life? Our shepherd not only can bring
us out of the valleys and shadows, but because
of his work, brothers and sisters, he will do
away with all valleys and all shadows one day.
Consider that grand reality. The day is coming
because of the death of our Lord, because of
the death of our Savior. The day is coming when
there will be no more hardship. The day is coming
when sin will be removed and taken out. The day
is coming when there will be no more pain and
no more suffering. There will be no more tears
and no more grief and no more mourning in the
souls of... God's people, all because of our
great and our glorious shepherd, Jesus Christ.
He can bring his sheep through the valley for
his glory, brothers and sisters. Don't forget
it.