The Pearl of Psalms
Psalm 23:1
Starting Right
If I had to ask you what the most well know passage from the Old Testament was would you be able to tell me? This morning I want to start a mini series through one of the best known passages in all the Bible - many people who never go to church know this passage - and can recite it word for word. I am talking about Psalm 23. I don’t want you to look at Psalm 23 with your old eyes this morning - I invite you to look at it with fresh eyes - looking for fresh truth - hungry for fresh revelation - needing fresh power. You see, I don’t know what your prayer is . . . what you cry out to God for day after day . . . where your sin or your compromise with the world lies - but I do know this. You will find what you need in Psalm 23 - and that is why I believe God wants to use this incredible little passage to radically change your life.
Through this Psalm He wants to release . . .
• strength into your weakness
• light into your darkness
• understanding into your confusion
• comfort into your pain
• courage in your fear
• faith into your doubt
• fulness into your emptiness
• resources into your want
• victory into your failure
Psalm 23 is the real life story of a man very much like you and me - he had godly aspirations in an ungodly world - and you know what that’s like. He was battered by storms and trials on every side, yet he had an inextinguishable desire to live in the victory of God. It is not surprising that Christians through the ages have consistently fled to this passage of Scripture. It expresses the heartfelt cry of every child of God who longs to be more like Jesus. It deals with the ugly reality of sin even in God’s own children. It provides encouragement for the discouraged, upliftment for the down cast, strength to the weak and courage for the fearful. Many thousands of Christians have clung to this psalm on their death beds and untold others have wondered at it’s simple but profound message. It has baffled the minds of the wise and thrilled the hearts of the simple.
This study should change every single person in this congregation. I wish I could get every Christian in Asheville to share the things God wants to reveal to you through this Psalm. This series will change your understanding of God considerably and give you a fresh love for and appreciation of God and for His Word.
Somebody has commented that if Luke 15 (the parable of the lost SHEEP, the lost COIN and the lost SON) is the Pearl of Parables, and Isaiah 53 (which speaks about us all being like sheep and having strayed but God laying on Jesus our iniquities) is the Pearl of Prophecies, then Psalm 23 is the Pearl of Psalms.
If you are looking for a title for the series - that is it -
The Pearl of Psalms
Please turn there in your Bibles. While you are doing that I think you remember that in Palestine there were four primary occupations. There was agriculture (the basis of existence), vine-dressing (supported by the many festivities of the day), fishing (which capitalized on the rich marine environment) and sheep farming which was the past time of the rich and the survival of the poor. Psalm 23 is constructed around this last occupation.
With your Bibles open I want us to read the whole of the psalm aloud together. I am reading from the New American Standard Bible, please read out loud with me.
Psalm 23:1 “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.”
There is a very real sense in which this verse says all that the psalmist intends to say in the psalm and that the rest of it is simply a commentary on these words. This is the key, the principle statement, axiom, the maxim, the pivot on which the rest of the psalm hangs.
Well, if that is true, then we do well this morning to spending our time trying to understand exactly what it means. There are 4 things I want us to talk about together this morning.
1. THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE LORD EXPRESSED
I want you to notice what the psalmist starts off saying - he says “The Lord is my Shepherd” - where does he start? He starts with God. He does not start with his predicament - he does not start with his problem - he does not start with his pain - he does not start with his pet theology - he starts with God.
When you start with God you will better understand things the way God understands them because God always starts with God.
God always starts with God. As a matter of fact - that is the way the Bible starts off, ‘In the beginning God.’ if you have been around me long enough you will have heard me tell you that those are, in my mind, amongst the most profound and accurate words every penned in the history of mankind. In the beginning God!
It does not matter what you are thinking or explaining, if you do not start with God you started wrong.
Somebody said it well when they said that of God is not known, then nothing that is know is correctly known. If in your thinking you do not start with God - then whatever else you may be doing well - you did not start well.
The devil wants you to start with your pain . . . or your problem . . . or your self - or better still - with him. If in your thinking God is not your starting point you do not have a good start and in all likelihood you will get yourself into trouble.
If you try and understand this history of the world from a different perspective - you will get yourself into trouble. That is where evolution comes from.
If you try and understand the history of this nation from a different perspective you will get yourself into trouble. That is where liberal secularism comes from.
If you try and understand the history of your life from a different perspective you will get yourself into trouble. That is where abortion comes from.
If you try and understand any particular problem you are facing you will get yourself into trouble. That is where hopelessness and failure come form.
THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE LORD EXPRESSED
Secondly notice with me if you will . . .
2. THE POSITION OF THE LORD EXPLAINED.
When the psalmist expressed that the Lord was his Shepherd, he was confessing a profound theological truth that had come to define his life.
There are two Hebrew words which are translated as ‘Lord’ in our English Bibles. The one is ’adonai’ and the other ‘YHWH’ or ‘Jehovah’ as some like to call it. Whenever you see the word ‘Lord’ in small caps in the NASB and in most of the translations you can purchase now-a-days it means that the Hebrew word is YHWH or JEHOVAH. When you see the word Lord with the first letter in upper case and the rest in lower case, it means that the Hebrew word there is ADONAI.
Adonai was the word that was generally spoken of God. As a matter fact, it was improper for a Hebrew person to ever say the word YHWH out aloud. Why? Because the name was to holy or sacred to be expressed by human tongue. So, when the rabbi read the Scriptures, he would open the scroll, for instance, at Psalm 23, and the Hebrew text read "YHWH is my Shepherd, I shall not want" but the rabbi would read "Adonai is my Shepherd, I shall not want." The position of God was sacred in the hearing. It is that name that is used here. It was too holy to utter, to profound to mingle with human voice, to sacred to fall upon Hebrew listening. Well that God, that One who is so holy and so completely different to me, He is my Shepherd.
Now here’s what I have got to remember about the name YHWH - it was God’s covenant name.
What is the significance of that? For the Jew, there was no higher court of appeal than the name of their God. There was no greater confidence they could have in anything - the name or character of their God. There was no problem He could not handle, no national or family crises He could not solve. Their society was not a democracy, and nor was it an autocracy, it was a theocracy. Why, right at the top of their social structure there was God. If He spoke, there was no debate needed, no questions asked, no arguments laid down, that was it. He was Lord. The psalmist has no doubt and no debate. He says, "I want you to know very simply, that in my life, there is One who calls the shots, and His name is LORD."
That is why it is important to understand not only the perspective of starting with the Lord, but the incredible comfort and strength that that brings.
THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE LORD EXPRESSED
THE POSITION OF THE LORD EXPLAINED.
I want you to notice thirdly with me this morning:
3. THE PROVISION OF THE LORD EXPLORED
The Bible goes on to say, "I shall not want". "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want."
The first thing we need to notice about this PROVISION of the Lord, is that:
A) IT IS A RELATIONSHIP PROMISE
By that I mean before you can say, "I shall not want" you must be able to say, "The LORD is my Shepherd". The provision of God is not indiscriminately available to everybody. It is a provision specifically for His sheep. It is true that the world receives from God’s benevolent hand but the world cannot say, "I shall not want". They shall indeed want on judgement day. As a matter of fact, it shall be said of them, as it was of Belshazzar, "You have been weighed in the scales and found wanting". But those who are the Lord’s can say with conviction and certainty, "I shall not want."
B) IT IS A REASONABLE PROMISE
The Bible does not say, "The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall have everything I can dream of." Nor does it say, "I shall have everything that my neighbor has". Nor do you read, "I shall have everything to keep my life trouble free". No, what the Bible does say is that "I will not want."
When things are going well and I have an abundance, I shall not want. When tragedy strikes and loss grips my life, I shall not want.
In poverty and in need, I shall not want. God promises to provide all you need to be completely faithful in every situation that you will ever find yourself in. That is God’s commitment to you.
It is a Relational Promise
It is a Reasonable Promise
C) IT IS A RELIABLE PROMISE
God will never give you less than you need and you will never need more than God gives you. It is a provision you can rely on no matter where you are or what your circumstances may be.
Matthew says that if God looks after the birds of the air and the lilies of the field and the sparrows in the sky, how much more will He not look after you.
GOD’S PROVISION
Said the robin to the sparrow
"I should really like to know
Why these anxious men and women
Rush about and worry so."
Said the sparrow to the robin:
"Friend I think that it must be
That they have no heavenly Shepherd
Such as cares for you and me."
Friend, God cares for you. As you are sitting here this morning, God cares for you. He cares about that financial burden, the health worry, the relational heart ache, that hidden fear. God cares about you and me.
THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE LORD EXPRESSED
THE POSITION OF THE LORD EXPLAINED.
THE PROVISION OF THE LORD EXPLORED
4. THE PICTURE OF THE LORD EXPOUNDED.
I do not know of a more wonderful analogy by which to explain the Lord’s dealing with His people than the one we have before us this morning. The Bible says, "The LORD is my Shepherd". The picture of a shepherd and his sheep is the most dynamic and powerful metaphor that the Bible uses in terms of your and my relationship to God and I want us this morning to pause to open up just some of the glorious truths about this relationship.
And the first thing I want you to notice about this picture is this:
A) IT IS PASTORAL
The Lord is my SHEPHERD. The way that God relates to me as an individual is the same as a shepherd relates to each on of his sheep. Just as it is the purpose of the shepherd to look out for and look after the sheep, so God is looking out for and after you this morning. He want’s to shepherd you and care for you and for your every need.
v1-3 tells us that He is our Shepherd in life.
v4 tells us that He is our Shepherd in death.
v6 tells us that He is our Shepherd for eternity.
B) IT IS PERSONAL
Did you notice what the psalmist said? He said "God is the Great Shepherd of this mighty flock of righteous saints and I am a part of that mighty throng and yes every now and then God looks at me and I feel good." NO NO NO. He said, "The Lord is MY Shepherd". Now He might be the Shepherd of a whole lot of other sheep as well, but He relates to me personally.
It is Personal
Some are able to affirm that the Lord is THE Shepherd but if they cannot say MY Shepherd. Friend, I want you to know that religion has no value and the Bible is of but academic interest unless you can say "my". You say, "But how can I know if the Lord is MY Shepherd.
Six marks of Christ’s sheep in John 10:-
They know their Shepherd.
They know His voice.
They hear Him calling them by name.
They love their Shepherd.
They trust their Shepherd.
They follow their Shepherd.
Perhaps we can summarize by calling them the mark of the ear and the mark of the foot according to John 10. The mark of the ear "they hear His voice" and the mark of the feet "they follow Him" (John 10v27-29).
May I ask you, do you have those marks this morning? Do you bear the mark of the ear and the mark of the foot.
Did you know that the sheep that get lost, the sheep that fall and hurt themselves, the sheep that get caught in bushes and branches are those that follow at a distance. The safest place for a sheep is at the feet of the shepherd. Are you there this morning or is it possible that some have started wandering from that place of closeness. O there was a day when you followed closely, but if you had to be honest with yourself you would acknowledge that there is some distance between you and the Shepherd this morning. Even as you are sitting here you know that that is true. It’s been some time since you could say "The LORD is MY Shepherd" and mean it, since it has been really personal in association.
Thirdly, under the PICTURE EXPOUNDED, I want you to notice:
C) IT IS PURPOSEFUL
Why does God want to be your Shepherd? Why should you want to be one of His sheep? Just so that you can belong to the church? No, listen to what Jesus says in John 10v7-10.
"I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me where thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture."
That is what Jesus wants for you this morning. He wants you to have freedom and provision of your every need. Jesus wants to save your soul. Perhaps you are sitting here this morning and you have felt a little uncomfortable. If you had to be honest you would admit that things are no longer the way they used to be. Under the Old Testament economy, the lamb was sacrificed to the Great Shepherd. Under the new, the Shepherd has been sacrificed for His lambs. And this morning God’s voice has been calling to you. You have heard His voice. He has called your name. You want to say, "The LORD is my Shepherd but you know that He is not. Won’t you come to Him right away? Lay your burden, lay your soul, lay your life at His feet and allow Him to be the Shepherd of your heart.
Amen.
