My Soul - His Delight

The Pearl of Psalms

(POP 03)

Psalm 23:3a

My Soul - His Delight

This morning I want to unpack for you one of the most glorious truths you will find in all the Scriptures. You will, I am persuaded, have to search hard to beat what we are going to see together in the Word of God this morning. We are studying our way through the 23rd Psalm - the Pearl of Psalms as it has been called - please open your Bibles with me to that chapter. While you are going there allow me to set the secene.

Do you remember the famous artist, Michelangelo and his painting of the Sistine Chapel? One of the most famous paintings or parts of that great work is “The Creation of Adam.” It has Adam positioned on the left side and God with His angels positioned on the right. But the focus point is the center where the two hands of God and Adam are outstretched with fingers that, I believe, have just touched. It is a fascinating picture, for it is this touch that has given life to Adam, and not only to Adam, but to you and me as well. It is this touch that tells of all the love of God for Adam and for you and me as well. It is this touch that point to Calvary and to the empty tomb - it is this touch in which God cries out to all the world, ‘I love you.’ It is this touch that reaches to you and me this very hour and tells of His love. There is an old chorus that says, “He touched me, yes, He touched me - and oh the joy that filled my soul.” It is this personal touch, this momentum of divine love journeying intensely from God to man that we read about in Psalm 23 this morning. Please would you read that psalm out loud with me please.

READ - PRAY

Let’s confess that together, “He restores me soul.” No, no - I must not have said that clearly enough. Let’s say that out loud together this morning - but I want us to do that as a confession. What is a confession? A confession is the proclamation of truth in faith in such a way that it releases spiritual power from the throne of God. Let me say that again because it is early in the sermon and some of you may not have been listening yet - and I don’t want the devil to steal this one from you. A confession is the proclamation of truth with faith in such a way that it releases power from the throne of God. I want us to confess this vers together. Confess.

If you are taking notes - my title this morning is “My Soul - His Delight.”

What does it mean when we say, “He restores my soul?”

The Hebrew word for “restore” is used over 1000 times in the Old Testament and it has the connotation of rescuing and renewing, and literally means to return a thing to its original condition. Come on now - you know what I am saying. If you are going to be restored, you have to be restored to something - something that you once were. You are being returned to a former better state. So what is the former state better state that you are being returned to? A nicer you, a purer you a not as sinful you? No - there was no such thing. You have always been as sinful as you are. The only thing God can restore you and me to that we once enjoyed was not a better or a nice you - but a perfect you, a complete you, a whole you - the you He created that has got lost in the pain and sin of life. I believe that David is making a profound point and declaring a profound theological truth about what that God wants to do and about what God is doing and about what God has done to his soul. He restored it. He rescued it. He renewed it. He restored it to its original condition. He did not simply make it better, or nicer - and He did not simply put a nice coat of paint on it . . . He restored it. He did not do a cover-up job or a patch up job - He restored it to it original condition. That would be a good time to say ‘Amen!’ Don’t leave me alone up here - there are profound truths this morning, there is good food at the table, but you are going to have to reach in a take some for yourself. So stay with me and let’s not miss out on it. God does not want simply to clean you up - He wants to make you new again. He wants to take your past and not simply forget about it, He wants to eradicate it. He does not want simply want you to look good again, He wants you to be good again. Forget about ‘pimp my ride’, He wants to pimp your hide. Oh - I can see I am going too deep for some of you already and we not even started.